A New Context for Teachers in Latin America and the Caribbean

School attendance in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has increased exponentially in the last two decades, almost every child goes to primary school and access to preschool and high school is fast catching up. This increase in access has been mostly led by more attendance to school of previously excluded children and youth -poor, rural and indigenous populations-, which has created a heterogeneous pool of students with very diverse needs, abilities and interests. Based on descriptive statistics on increased access to education and some learning and life outcomes, this paper discusses in detail how the new roles called upon teachers can help improve the quality of education in LAC. This paper concludes with some promising examples on how countries and international organizations are attempting to create a teaching force that can fulfill these roles.