This case study profiles FUNDAEC, a Colombian organisation that has developed and refined educational programs that integrate intellectual, moral and practical learning. These initiatives aim to empower men and women – particularly rural youth – to become agents of change within their communities while shifting adolescent gender norms as a component of a larger goal: community well-being.
FUNDAEC (Foundation for the Application and Teaching of Science) was founded in 1974 in Cali, Colombia, by scientists and educators seeking to make rural secondary education more relevant to young people's lives. Its flagship programme, the Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (Tutorial Learning System, or SAT), integrates academic learning with moral reasoning and community service across six years of secondary school. A second programme, Preparation for Social Action, extends this model to older youth and young adults through community projects such as health promotion and local business development.
Rather than treating gender equality as a single lesson, FUNDAEC weaves it throughout its curriculum of over 80 texts, prompting students to question unjust social hierarchies, including those based on gender, as part of broader lessons on justice and moral reasoning. Tutors also undergo training that asks them to critically examine their own beliefs about gender.
This approach is reflected in FUNDAEC's own organisational culture: women hold 81 percent of tutoring roles and 86 percent of coordination roles within the Preparation for Social Action programme, and often become visible leaders in areas like environmental restoration and local governance.
Research backs up the model's effectiveness. A design-based study in Honduras found that adolescent boys who took part began to question machista attitudes and expressed more equitable views of gender and power, while a randomised evaluation in Uganda found dramatic improvements in academic performance among students trained using FUNDAEC's materials.
Key messages
- FUNDAEC treats gender equality as a theme woven throughout its curriculum, rather than as a standalone lesson or module.
- Its flagship programme, the Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial, integrates academic learning with moral reasoning and community service across six years of rural secondary education.
- Tutor training includes sessions where teachers critically examine their own beliefs about gender, linking gender equity to teacher development.
- Women hold 81 percent of tutoring roles and 86 percent of coordination roles within FUNDAEC's Preparation for Social Action programme, modelling leadership for students.
- A design-based study in Honduras found that adolescent boys who took part began to question machista attitudes and express more equitable views of gender and power.
- FUNDAEC's approach operates at individual, relational and structural levels, aiming to reshape not just personal attitudes but family and community structures over time.
- The organisation has reached over 300,000 youth cumulatively and its curriculum has been used for teacher training as far afield as Uganda.
