Citizenship Competencies and the Program of Education in Sexuality and Construction of Citizenship (PESCC): A Review of the Implementation of a Public Policy in Institutions of Primary and Secondary Education in Bucaramanga, Colombia

Abstract

Civic education is becoming increasingly important in the Colombian context and is part of the educational priorities of the national government. Therefore, it has launched the Program of Sex Education and Construction of Citizenship (PESCC) that integrates the standards in civic competencies with those of Social and Natural Sciences in the development of educational projects that promote the exercise, respect and promotion of human, sexual and reproductive rights. The aim of this paper is to analyze the use of these competencies in the creation of the pedagogical matrices of the educational institutions involved in the implementation process of the PESCC and the use standards set by the Ministry of National Education (MEN). This implementation was carried out in 24 public institutions in the city of Bucaramanga, Colombia, using the conceptual and methodological tools provided by the MEN. The conclusions suggest that educational innovations in citizenship must be accompanied by an evaluative process of the transformation of the institutions and the different actors of the educational community, in order to know the real impact of these initiatives on school life. Finally, some reflections are included for the implementation of this type of educational policies.