Best practices and experiences of the facilitators of the program “Edúcame Primero Colombia” for prevention of Child Labor in Barranquilla. Sustainaibility, community fit and improvement of the implementation

Abstract

Los “Espacios para Crecer” y el “Baúl de Juegos” son dos prácticas educativas basadas en la evidencia que se han mostrado efectivas en la prevención del trabajo infantil. La iniciativa “Edúcame Primero, Colombia” consistió en aplicar las actividades lúdicas, educativas y de desarrollo psicológico con menores trabajadores a través de una red de facilitadores. La introducción de esta innovación, de carácter comunitario, mejoró la pertinencia de los materiales educativos y la implementación del programa. Los mediadores comunitarios facilitaron la implicación de las madres en las actividades preventivas, mejorando la conexión entre las familias y los centros educativos. También fortalecieron la implementación, involucrando al profesorado y mejorando el ajuste comunitario del programa a la institución educativa. A lo largo de la intervención, los facilitadores desarrollaron un mecanismo informal de trabajo en red, que facilitó el intercambio de buenas prácticas y la adaptación del programa a las peculiaridades de cada contexto comunitario. La experiencia muestra cómo las estrategias de ajuste comunitario en este caso no sólo mejoran la implementación y la efectividad del programa, sino que contribuyen a su sostenibilidad.Edúcame Primero, Colombia is an evidence-based practice implemented in a network of schools and neighborhoods for preventing child labor. The intervention consists of academic orientation, socialization among peers and personal development activities, which are usually applied in academic institutions following the instructions of the educational materials of the program. These set of activities are shown to be effective in previous applications of the program in 172 schools from Barranquilla, Cartagena and Santa Marta. The intervention is effective improving academic performance and reducing absenteeism at school. There is also evidence of an impact in the number of hours of child labor, as well as the number of children doing some labor activities. During the implementation of the program, a group of psychology graduate students was selected to coordinate the activities in each school participating in the intervention. Each student was assigned to a particular school and adopted the role of “facilitator”, adjusting the program to the specifics of the context. The main task assigned to facilitators was to apply the educational materials of the program. However, during implementation they negotiated with the principal and teachers of the school, they were in contact with the families of children participating in the program, and they informally assumed a broker role between the school, the families and the neighborhood community organizations where the intervention was taking place. These activities were not originally planned in the program, but finally revealed to be essential for the successful implementation of the program. Facilitators assumed an unanticipated role of improving community adjustment of the intervention, adapting the program to the diversity of community contexts and schools