A flexible and relevant education alternative for marginalized school dropouts in Guatemala

• In Event: Roundtable Session 9
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Supporting Transitions, Reducing Barriers, and Promoting Positive Youth Development: From Guatemala to MENA

Proposal

In Guatemala, 40% of the population are youth between the ages of 10 and 29. 41% of 15-year-olds have dropped out of school (Ministry of Education, 2020) and unemployment rates are 5 times higher for youth between 15 and 25 than for those over the age of 15 (INE, 2004). The lack of educational and employment opportunities contributes to high out-of-country migration among youth.
For youth who are outside of the formal school system and overage for their grade level, alternative education programs provide a vital opportunity to continue their education and earn a primary or secondary education degree while building additional skills that will help them in the job market. Youth often have work and family responsibilities, including contributing to their families’ income and raising children, that can make it difficult for them to study during traditional school hours.
CEIBA is an organization in Guatemala that offers a Flexible Alternative Education program through which youth can complete their primary, middle, and high school degrees at an accelerated pace. The program targets urban and rural youth who have left the formal education system, often due to challenging issues facing their families and communities: extreme poverty, chronic violence, underemployment, and gang presence.
CEIBA’s program is highly participatory, responsive to the local culture, and offers flexibility to students to complete coursework at times that they find convenient. The programs are free to students and are endorsed by the Ministry of Education. CEIBA operates its programs for 4,000 students (60% female, 40% male) through 52 Human and Technological Development Centers throughout Guatemala. The promotion rate is 90% and the retention rate is 80%.
CEIBA uses a constructivist, participatory, collaborative methodology. The program is delivered through a hybrid approach which includes both in-person sessions and distance education using mobile platforms. Students have flexibility to complete lessons on their own schedule. The content is delivered on an accelerated timeline, so students can make academic progress and obtain certifications quickly. The curriculum incorporates computer technology training, which reduces the gap in computer skills between typical program participants and other youth who have greater access to computers.
CEIBA uses a Project-Based Learning methodology which engages students in real-world issues. The program incorporates the Textos Paralelos methodology, in which students compile a journal documenting their constructive self-learning with written summaries and reflections, newspaper or magazine clippings, photographs, diagrams, surveys, drawings, and completed self-learning guides. The facilitator reviews these as part of each student’s learning evaluation. The program has monthly modules which include an emphasis on humanitarian values.
Participants in CEIBA’s program demonstrate positive change in several areas: attitudes, teamwork, critical thinking, creativity, purposefulness; independence; and improved analytical and deductive reasoning skills. Students are encouraged to be change agents in their communities. The program cultivates an understanding of the history of Guatemala and appreciation for the country’s diversity; respect for the opinions of others; and active political thinking. Students in the program demonstrate improved communication skills in their mother tongue as well as mastery of functional technical English.

Author

• Marco Castillo, Asociación Grupo Ceiba