¿ DREAM Project – Inclusive, innovative, and community-based education for all)
In this program younger children are not the only people who go to school. Welcome to the School for Parents! Although quality care from an early age is fundamental for development, those services cannot have the desired effect without joint work with caregivers. The DREAM Project is innovative because, in addition to offering early stimulation and comprehensive quality care, it also provides orientation services for parents. The “School for Parents” offers orientation lessons on the importance of childhood interactions, and provides tools to promote positive development in the home. The topics of the workshops focus on early childhood development and on the evidence of successful practices based on the Montessori method. In addition, the curriculum is constantly adapted to the address the development process of each child.
Problematic
The first years of life are decisive for the development of children. However, deficient and under-financed public education systems reduce the prospects that children in vulnerable communities will have the resources necessary to develop their potential and break out of the circle of poverty. Overcrowded classrooms, insufficient educational staffing, decaying facilities, lack of access to libraries and innovative programs, and limited access to public water supply and electricity services, among other issues, constitute shared challenges for the countries of the region. To overcome these challenges, it is necessary to generate quality alternatives, particularly in the most challenging contexts.
Solution
The DREAM Project promotes access to high-quality education for low-income students starting from early childhood. The training of parents of small children is also provided through the School for Parents, an intervention that involves mothers and fathers in the educational process of their children and provides them with early childhood development strategies based on evidence and on the Montessori method. The focus on alternative education for children between 2 and 7 years old, based on childhood development theories, consists of promoting learning at the appropriate pace for the students through games and exploration in a safe, free, and respectful environment. Teachers act as guides for the process for each student (each teacher is in charge of approximately 12 students) and stimulate students’ independence and ownership of their own development. The project also includes support at the psychological, cognitive, and family levels as part of the academic program.
Evaluation and Impact
No information available.