ARES-PRD project: Sustainable Educational Leadership in Ecuador: Research-Practice Partnerships for Leadership Policy and Practices in Secondary Schools

Ecuadorian schools offering upper secondary TVET-programs (Bachillerato Técnico) are facing high drop-out rates and skills mismatch between what the local labor market seeks and what school curriculum offers. As a result, a high number of students are experiencing a difficult school-to-work transition. Leadership teams in TVET-schools have a crucial task ahead of them: while they can hardly change the socio-economic barriers to education that their students face, they should be able to create a teaching-learning environment that addresses educational quality and relevance. Through the methodology of research-practice partnerships, this project aims to describe, analyze, and improve educational leadership policy and practices in Ecuador. We will formulate recommendations, develop solutions, and influence the political world in the elaboration of sustainable leadership policies for TVET-schools.