Factors that Affect Educational Equity in Rural Schools in Mexico

Summary

Educational equity is one of the main problems in Mexico, with a major impact on the rural population. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, the main obstacle faced by rural children was lack of access to schools. The expansion of basic education  coverage in the second half of the twentieth century helped to reduce the gap between rural and urban areas in access to education. The main educational equity issues facing the rural population in the twenty-first century include lower retention rates  for children attending rural schools, meaning that fewer of these students complete basic education, and the fact that inequality is expressed in lower levels of educational achievement among rural students. Education research over the past two decades has  helped to elucidate the main factors behind why rural children have lower retention rates and display lower achievement, which prevent them from fully exercising their right to quality education. This paper organizes these results, aiming to identify  alternatives to improve educational equity in rural areas.