Introduction

Education in Cuba is one of the hallmarks of its revolution in 1959. The literacy rate on the island is 98 per cent and Cuban students easily outperform their counterparts in neighbouring countries (Carnoy et al, 2007). According to the international student assessment in which Cuba participated in 2006, third-and sixth-grade students scored roughly one standard deviation higher than the regional average in reading and maths (LLECE, 2008). Moreover, unlike other countries in the region where there is a significant rural and urban divide in terms of students’ achievement, in Cuba, rural students scored slightly less than urban students and the difference was minimal compared to the other countries (for example, third-grade reading: 7 points [Cuba] vs. 26 points [Honduras] vs. 28 points [Colombia]; LLECE, 1998).

The reason for Cuba's academic success largely derives from the government's exceptional interest and investment in education. Numerically speaking, when government expenditure on education as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is compared, in 2010 Cuba invested more than double the global average (12.84 per cent in Cuba vs. 4.54 per cent for the global average) and more than that of high-income countries (5.31 per cent). In addition, the government is heavily involved and centrally manages what goes on in the classroom; the national government mandates that teachers practise a child-centred approach, which is strongly associated with quality education as measured by student achievement exams (Carnoy et al, 2007). In such a context, where the government imposes tight quality control over education, socioeconomic background has a weak influence on students’ academic achievement; in Cuba, regardless of the years of education their parents received, almost all students finish their schooling on time (LLECE, 1998).

Furthermore, the highly competent teachers in Cuba, who are also the beneficiaries of the government's heavy interest in education, influence students’ academic success. They are regarded as professionals and enjoy a relatively high social status. Not only are they paid generally on a par with other well-compensated professionals, but they also go through many years of a systematic, demanding, and competitive training process that is just as rigorous as that for persons in other occupations such as lawyers and doctors, who are often referred to as monetarily well rewarded and well respected (Gasperini, 2000).