More Time, Better Learning? Unpacking the Effects of Peru’s All-Day School Policy

Redacción HC
24/08/2023

Since 2015, Peru's public secondary schools have operated under the Jornada Escolar Completa (JEC) policy, which adds approximately 10 extra hours of instruction per week. The goal is clear: to bridge learning gaps and improve outcomes in core subjects like Mathematics. But does more time in class necessarily translate to better learning?

A study by Diego López Motta from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos offers an ethnographic perspective on this question, shifting the focus from policy intentions to student experiences. The research examines how JEC affects learning, motivation, and aspirations across two very different urban school settings in Lima.

Observing the JEC in Action

The study was conducted in two secondary schools with contrasting socioeconomic contexts:

• School A (San Juan de Miraflores): A lower-income area
• School B (Surquillo): A school with greater resources and a reputation for academic excellence

Using participant observation and semi-structured interviews, the researcher spent three months embedded in classrooms, observing teaching practices and gathering feedback from fifth-year students and a Mathematics teacher. The study aimed to capture students' own interpretations of how JEC shaped their educational experience.

While the sample size was small and limited to two institutions, the ethnographic approach allowed for deep insights into classroom dynamics and students’ lived realities—insights often missing from standardized testing data.

Contrasting Realities in the Classroom

Positive Outcomes in Underserved Schools

In School A, students welcomed the additional time. They reported:

• Improved teaching structure and engagement in Mathematics
• More opportunities for participation
• Increased motivation to pursue higher education

These findings suggest that JEC can have a transformative effect in schools where previously, instructional time and quality were limited.

Discontent in High-Performing Schools

In contrast, students in School B expressed dissatisfaction. Although they had more Mathematics classes, they didn’t perceive improvements in the quality of instruction. Their main concern: the curriculum remained basic and did not align with the demands of university entrance exams.

Despite an “active” classroom environment—group activities, whiteboard exercises, and visual experiments—students felt the extra time wasn’t being used effectively to deepen learning or prepare them for academic challenges ahead.

Quality Over Quantity: A Key Lesson

The study echoes international findings: more instructional hours do not automatically improve learning outcomes. According to the World Bank (2016) and similar studies in Chile, Brazil, and Guatemala, extended hours work best when paired with targeted pedagogy, strong leadership, and contextual adaptation.

The research found that the local implementation of JEC depended heavily on:

• School management quality
• Teacher training and motivation
• Curriculum design
• Cultural and socioeconomic context

In schools with a strong institutional culture and active leadership, JEC was more likely to yield positive results. In others, the policy risked becoming an administrative burden with little educational payoff.

Real-World Implications for Education Policy

For Policymakers

López Motta emphasizes that expanding school hours must go hand-in-hand with systemic improvements, including:

1. Teacher development programs focused on entrance exam preparation and active learning strategies
2. Curricular adjustments to balance university preparation with vocational training
3. Ongoing feedback systems involving students and educators
4. Cross-school collaboration to share best practices
5. Mixed-method research combining ethnographic insights with quantitative performance data

For Schools and Teachers

The study recommends building a dual-track model within JEC:

• One that supports students aiming for higher education through advanced Math and Science modules
• Another that strengthens vocational and technical skills for those entering the job market

Importantly, teachers must be equipped not just to fill more hours, but to deliver content with relevance, rigor, and responsiveness to student needs.

Conclusion: Listening to the Learners

JEC is a policy with transformative potential—but implementation is everything. This study underscores that the success of education reforms relies not just on time or resources, but on how they are deployed and perceived by the people they aim to serve.

Educational success cannot be measured by seat time alone. What matters most is what happens in the classroom—and whether it resonates with students' goals, realities, and aspirations.

Topics of interest

Education