Paper
Educational model for young people from rural communities in Colombia
presenters
Diego Juárez Bolaños
Nationality: México
Residence: México
Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México
Presence:Face to Face/ On Site
Keywords:
Rural education; Rural youth; Upper secondary education; Colombia
Abstract:
Developed collaboratively by the Caldas Coffee Growers' Committee, the Government of Caldas, university institutions, government agencies and public and private companies, the Rural Education with New School Model is a pedagogical proposal that has brought formal education from pre-school to higher education to rural inhabitants of the department of Caldas, Colombia. The model aims to be flexible and adaptable to the circumstances of children, adolescents and young people in this region of the Eje Cafetero, stimulating the construction of life projects that facilitate and promote their permanence in rural territories. This paper aims to provide an overview of the scope and limitations of the New School Education Model in Caldas by describing the general characteristics of the New School Education Model, identifying particularities of its implementation and examining the testimonies of graduates of the Universidad en el Campo (University in the Countryside). The primary information that feeds the study comes from interviews with young people in various rural localities in the Department of Caldas. The results of the study analyse the possibilities for educational inclusion that the Universidad en el Campo has opened up for young people, as well as the achievements and challenges faced by this model, which has sought to be replicated in other Colombian departments and even in other countries. The paper's findings highlight the importance of examining educational experiences developed at the departmental level and the fact that the Rural Education with New School Model offers continuity from pre-school to university level to rural children, adolescents and young people, following certain pedagogical principles. This is uncommon in urban and rural regions of Latin America.