Envisioning Venezuelan migrant children accessing inclusive play-based, and quality ECE programming at scale in Colombia

• In Event: Part 1: A systems approach to equity at scale in early childhood development in emergencies: challenges, opportunities, and new directions

Proposal

Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, face huge protection risks, poverty, food insecurity, poor health, and increased xenophobia. Within this context, migrant children and their families face significant challenges in accessing early learning opportunities and when they do access early learning, children face elevated discrimination because of their ethnicity and migratory status, affecting their psychological and emotional development. The high levels of parental stress coupled with limited opportunities for high quality and equitable early learning, threaten both the immediate and long-term health and well-being of young children and may have lasting detrimental effects on the societies in which they live.
While Colombia benefits from robust and comprehensive ECD policies and programs, the large influx of Venezuelan migrants has placed a strain on the existing system and has underscored the need for increased emphasis on inclusion of migrants. The example in this session highlights a “big to better” approach of strengthening existing systems not only to include migrant children and families in existing national frameworks, but to also ensure provision of sustainable, robust quality ECDiE services for both host and migrant communities as a conduit to equity. Through Play to Dream, [organization] and [partner organization] are leading in setting a joint agenda among key ECE actors to coordinate supportive actions for integrating Venezuelan migrant families into existing ECE systems including working with the new government.
[Organization] and a national leading education partner created the Play to Dream project to advocate for the rights of people on the move and those with irregular migratory status in Colombia and the importance of quality play-based early childhood development services with key government stakeholders within Colombia. Play to Dream targets both ECD centers and community-based “Hogares Communitarios,” (both of which are sustained by the GoC) via teacher training focused on integrating migrant children. Trainings of providers are rooted in promotion of social emotional learning competencies, understanding of migration in Colombia, and child safeguarding and includes classroom-level play based strategies to reduce xenophobia and foster equity, safety and a sense of belonging within the classroom setting and communities. Through this model, Play to Dream promotes sustainable approaches through a community led approach where ECD facilitators and teachers are leading in the creation of communities of practice and support including teaching personnel, parents and community leaders and supporting the integration of both Colombian and Venezuelan communities via learning and play.
Key challenges to further scaling this approach include low teacher retention, lack of career pathways for teachers and the absence of a sustainable coaching and mentoring model that continuously support teachers to apply key skills and continue to foster inclusion of Venezuelan children and their families in their communities. Though 86% of teachers (N=405) were satisfied with the training, many requested additional and continuous coaching. This paper will explore the emerging challenges and opportunities for scaling this ECDiE model.

Author

• Camilo Valenzuela, IRC