Educatodos

Educatodos has a flexible schedule that requires only an average of 2.5 hours of group work per day, complemented by homework; the idea is that the participants can adapt the schooling experience to their own learning environments/needs. Classrooms are multi-grade and multi-age, with students ranging from 8 to 40 years old; 3 grade levels are completed in 1 year. The methodology is based on the complementary use of texts and audio, with the intervention of voluntary facilitators.

Specifically, Educatodos drew on the experience of previous projects in Honduras that showed the feasibility of using the "Instruction by Interactive Radio" (IRI) paedagogical model. IRI is a strategic combination of traditional models that have been shown to have didactic value, and yet also integrates new paedagogical trends. Each level contains 100 lessons of instruction by interactive radio in addition to printed materials that complement the radio lessons. Another component of the project is Telebásica, introduced in 1999 in an effort to improve the quality of the basic education centres (grades 7-9 only). Based on a methodology that is similar to the formal system but considered creative (in part because of the use of active teaching methods), Telebásica uses television and video as paedagogical resources and includes complete manuals for students and for teachers as well as a series of videos and a system of training for teachers that draws on participatory methods.

Educatodos curriculum content is the same as the basic education offered in traditional schools, and the different grades of study are equivalent to the corresponding grade levels in the national system; this strategy is designed to enable the students to be certified. Certificates obtained by participants who pass grades 1-6 are officially recognised; participants who pass the sixth, seventh, or eighth grade are authorised to matriculate into the next grade level in basic education centres, middle schools, or other institutions providing basic education; and participants who pass ninth grade are eligible to enroll in secondary education. The curriculum for grades 7-9 follows SE guidelines and was developed around performance standards in 4 basic areas: mathematics, communications, science and technology, and social science. Five cross-cutting themes chosen through discussions with key national education players and focusing on concepts and content that is pertinent to the daily lives of Educatodos participants drive the programme: population, environment, health, national identity, and citizenship and democracy. Work skills and values are incorporated into each of these themes, and participants develop community projects to integrate classroom learning into daily reality. All learning is student-centred and constructivist-based.

Local involvement and participation are key Educatodos strategies. For instance, Educatodos has worked to establish a support system made up of existing local organisations. As a result, the learning centres are situated in a variety of locations, including factories, micro-enterprises, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government installations, municipalities, vocational centres, and schools. Each participating organisation that agrees to house a learning centre signs a cooperative agreement with the programme.

In addition, the volunteer facilitators who comprise the teaching force of Educatodos come from the community itself; they receive training on programme methodology and are supported by the programme promoters and coordinators to ensure quality teaching. (Educatodos has a decentralised structure for promoting, monitoring, and evaluating quality at the local level.) At the grade 1-6 level, the facilitators often have 6 years of education or less and are primarily housewives and small farmers, although 18% are teachers. Approximately 35% are former Educatodos participants. The volunteers earn approximately US$100 per month in addition to a food basket, travel, and transportation valued at approximately US$2.90 per facilitator. Fifty percent of the volunteers at the grade 7-9 level have university degrees and 71% are trained teachers or public employees; these personnel earn approximately US$300 per month in addition to a food, travel, and transportation stipend. In contrast to facilitators of grades 1-6, 56% of the facilitators for grades 7-9 are located in the urban areas; approximately 10% are former students of the programme.

Education

According to the USAID's Evaluation to Support Learning: The Evaluation Process of the 7-9th Grade of Educatodos, an estimated 75% of Hondurans had not completed the seventh grade and approximately 1.6 million youth and adults of age had not completed the sixth grade in 2001. The government's commitment to meeting EFA has enabled more students to enroll in basic education, with gross enrollment rates increasing from 1,094,792 in 2000 to 1,227,368 in 2003. However, net enrollment dropped considerably after sixth grade, with only 29% of 13 to 18 year-olds enrolled in grades seven through 12 in 2003. Dropout rates are significantly higher in rural regions compared to urban areas.

Educatodos has been evaluated positively through diverse studies, and in 1998 received an Honourable Mention in the UNESCO International Literacy Awards.