Equity in Education: Accelerated Education as a catalyst for migrant inclusion in Colombia

• In Event: Accelerated Education as a catalyst for migrant and refugee integration in Latin America

Proposal

Due to deteriorating educational conditions in their home country, long migratory routes, and the process of settling in a host community, a significant proportion of Venezuelans are overage for their grade level. In fact, as of 2021, 22 percent of Venezuelan students in the country were overage, (compared to Colombian students, at 6 percent) which emphasizes the importance of scaling accelerated education models.

Juntos Aprendemos (JA) / “Together We Learn”, a USAID funded initiative in Colombia that seeks to increase children and youth access to quality education in areas impacted by migration, implements Accelerated Educational Programs (AEPs) to help children and adolescents overcome the overage status and be able to enter regular classrooms.

There are at least two reasons why AEPs are of great relevance for migrant and refugee children and adolescents. First, AEPs allow for student leveling, enabling them to have complete educational trajectories and eventually access economic and social opportunities. Second, by involving students, teachers, and their families through active and participatory methodologies, AEPs serve as tools to foster social and economic integration and inclusion of children and adolescents.

JA’s work on AEPs focuses on strengthening and expanding the use of accelerated education models through a two-pronged approach. First, JA works with municipal Secretariats of Education to identify the extent to which accelerated education models are being used in their region, and to scale-up investment in these models. Second, JA works with schools to highlight the benefit of different accelerated education models, and to strengthen teachers’ capacities to lead accelerated learning classrooms. JA’s use of accelerated education models aligns with USAID’s education in crisis and conflict priorities and learning agenda by improving equitable access to education, learning outcomes, school retention, and school completion.

It is important to note that JA also focuses on strengthening students' social-emotional learning through accelerated education. Social-emotional skill development directly relates to cognitive skill development because it enables students to engage more in their learning environment. Moreover, social-emotional learning is a key component of accelerated education in Colombia because many overage students come from marginalized and low-income households, and/or have been displaced from their communities due to political instability and armed conflict. As a result of their challenging personal situations and early life experiences, many/ some of these students lack confidence, find it difficult to relate to others and adapt to school environments, and often have a sense of hopelessness for their future. Social-emotional learning can help address challenges by strengthening students’ self-esteem, building students’ resilience, and providing students with guidance on how to set and achieve their life goals.

This panel will present JA’s work with AEPs in Colombia, particularly in strengthening them as a means to help provide inclusive education to migrant students.

Author

• Catalina Prada, Fundación Carvajal