When you educate, you question and take risks: teacher training and gender equity in Colombia

This report analyses teacher training in gender equity in Colombia, exploring the pedagogical practices and the structural, political and social challenges faced by teachers in this area. 

Although there are important legal developments and strong social activism in favour of gender equity in education in Colombia, there is also growing opposition that seeks to halt these advances. In this context, teachers are playing a key role in the struggle for gender equity in education, developing innovative pedagogical strategies despite the risks and resistance they face. 

This report focuses on the experiences of both current and trainee teachers in three cities: Bogotá, Medellín and Barranquilla. It examines their perceptions both of such pre- and in-service training as they have received, and also the support networks they have developed to share innovative practices and provide support, sometimes in the face of violence. 

This report argues that teacher training in gender equity should focus on the pedagogical practices already in place in schools, recognising the situated knowledge and strategies developed by teachers in their specific contexts. It concludes with recommendations for universities, the Ministry of Education and city-level education authorities, civil society and international cooperation organisations.