ABSTRACT
Limited access to education in Latin America has contributed to highly skewed patterns of economic and social development, as educational opportunities in the region have never adequately met societal needs or demand. During the colonial period, private education was sponsored primarily by the Roman Catholic Church, which fought tenaciously for the exclusive right of overseeing education on the continent. Public education, therefore, would contain strong elements of Catholic doctrine and teachings, and would come to deeply influence the historic and social trajectory of that country. In 2007 in Cochabamba, Bolivia, education ministers adopted a set of standards designed to improve education and educational access in the region. Argentina and Cuba, with two of the highest literacy rates in Latin America, have committed more resources to teacher training than other countries in the region: each country counts about one teacher per 63 citizens.
