UNESCO’s GlobALE curriculum supports youth and adult educators in Latin America

Intercultural understanding and popular education are central to the programme, which recognises that teaching approaches need to reflect the communities they serve.

Educators working with young people and adults help learners develop basic skills and continue their education, making their own access to training essential to the quality of teaching they provide. Across adult learning and education, gaps in continuing training and professional development remain a pressing concern, particularly as digital technologies reshape education. The GlobALE Curriculum adapted for Latin America responds to this need by offering training that reflects the region's varied educational and social contexts.

The Marrakech Framework for Action calls on UNESCO Member States to develop policies and strategies that support the professionalization of youth and adult educators. Improving their preparation strengthens their professional development and helps advance the right of young people and adults to quality education. The curriculum provides a competency-based framework that institutions and educators can adapt for initial training, professional development and continuing education.

Intercultural understanding and popular education are central to the programme, which recognises that teaching approaches need to reflect the communities they serve. Content, methods, activities and study schedules can be adjusted to suit participants and local circumstances across Latin America. A free, self-directed course developed from the regional adaptation makes this training available to people involved in educating young people and adults.

Flexible training shaped around local needs

The curriculum combines compulsory and optional modules, giving training providers room to respond to different professional needs and educational settings. It supports face-to-face, online and blended learning, with an emphasis on connecting what educators learn to the realities of their countries. Its open, learner-centred approach allows training processes to reflect the characteristics, experience and needs of each group.

The self-directed course offers downloadable resources that participants can use without an internet connection, making study possible beyond a continuously connected classroom. Participants can work through the material independently, with a total study commitment of approximately 25 to 30 hours. The course is free and open to people delivering education and training for young people and adults in formal and alternative settings.

Regional collaboration helped shape the curriculum

The Latin American curriculum took shape through a collaborative process in 2016, drawing on specialists from institutions, organisations and national and regional networks. Contributors from Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia participated across three stages, bringing different perspectives on the preparation of youth and adult educators. Their work treated professional development as an educators' right and a foundation for improving learners' access to quality education.

A hackathon supported the development of digital educational resources for the self-directed course, helping make its content relevant and engaging for participants. The process created opportunities to explore new approaches to training through the production of learning materials. Verónica Gualpa, from the Humberto Marta Martínez Educational Unit, described the experience as a move beyond traditional training practices towards greater innovation.

Five modules serve a broad community of educators

The course covers five areas: the context of youth and adult education, adult learning, communication and group dynamics, teaching methodologies, and assessment. It is designed for people already involved in teaching and learning with young people and adults, including open and distance learning advisers, technical and teaching staff, tutors and trainers. Its audience also includes social promoters, popular educators, facilitators, educational liaison officers, community instructors, rural educators, trainers of educators and international teachers.