Progress Towards SDG 4 in a Culturally Diverse World: Experience of Modalidad Propia in Colombia

• In Event: 3-151 - Developmental Science and Pathways to Sustainable Early Childhood Development: Implications for UN Sustainable Development Goals

Integrative Statement

Introduction
The intersection of public policy, culture and community life has been understudied in developmental science (Ball & Pence, 2006; Bernheimer & Weisner, 2007; Lowe & Weisner, 2004; Mwaura & Marfo, 2011; Serpell, 2011). National early childhood development (ECD) policies have struggled with how to incorporate the perspectives of indigenous and rural communities authentically in the national policy development and implementation process (Yoshikawa, Wuermli, Raikes, Kim, & Kabay, 2018). The national (ECD) policy of Colombia, De Cero a Siempre, has developed a mechanism for policy implementation specific to ethnic-minority, rural and indigenous populations in the country (the Modalidad Propia). We discuss the Modalidad Propia as a scalable process to ensure access and quality resources for early childhood development, care and pre-primary education (SDG Target 4.2) among diverse indigenous, rural, remote as well as mainstream or majority communities. We explain how national policies must take into account the contexts of the cultural nature of human development as well as regional livelihood dynamics in order to define how services can be structured and delivered to children and their families.
Methods
We describe the development of the idea of Modalidad Propia in Colombia and its implementation and integration into the national ECD policy. To do this we focus on one case example of Modalidad Propia, drawing on the experiences of the Kamëntša people in the southern region of Colombia.
We conducted a systematic analysis of the policy documents and informant perspectives produced by the team of Cero a Siempre in the national Ministry of Education. Informants include leaders of the community as well as government representatives of the national policy. Data sources also include reference documents that were produced within the Modalidad Propia process by Kamëntša community.
Results
Modalidad Propia defines a methodology that facilitates a series of community discussions centered on some concepts of the national early childhood public policy. We describe the processes of a) constructing community dialogue processes; b) how this indigenous community established the curricula, quality standards, staffing, budget, and implementation guidelines of their interpretation of De Cero a Siempre standards; c) implementation of this approach in practice.
Implications
Although the SDGs are universal in nature, contextualization of policies to the diversity of ethnic, indigenous, and language-minority groups within countries is necessary to achieve progress in access, equity and quality. The Sustainable Development Goals’ combined emphases on universality, equity and quality require a flexible integration of community, cultural, and policy specificity. The Modalidad Propia mechanism may help other governments to engage in reciprocal dialogue with culturally diverse communities to ensure progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. In contrast with similar experiences in New Zealand, sub-Saharan Africa, and elsewhere (Carr & May, 1993; Mwaura & Marfo, 2011) we discuss this approach and its relevance for implementing SDG 4 with attention to quality, equity and diversity.

Authors

• Andrés Motta, UNICEF Colombia consultant
  Presenting Author

• Hirokazu Yoshikawa, New York University
  Non-Presenting Author