Fundamental skills development
The steppingstones for a lifetime of learning and development
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What are foundational skills?
As the name implies, foundational skills are the foundations of children’s and adolescents’ learning.
Just as we build foundations to construct buildings, foundational skills form solid layers for children and adolescents to learn how to learn Foundational skills refer to reading, writing, mathematics, and other life skills that we can transfer or use in the different environments where we interact.
Fundamental skills are acquired through a cumulative process that occurs throughout the different stages of development, from early childhood to adolescence. Hence, it is critical that children, adolescents and families have the means and opportunities to learn these skills. This requires quality services and support from different institutions.
The development of fundamental skills is a cumulative process that occurs throughout the different stages of development, from early childhood to adolescence. For this reason, it is very important that children, adolescents and families have the conditions and livelihoods to ensure this learning process, which requires the support of different institutions and quality services.
The situation in Latin America and the Caribbean
What do we do?
We believe that education should prioritize the development of fundamental skills, as this will ensure that children and adolescents achieve successful educational trajectories and acquire all the skills they need to thrive in life.
To move in this direction and support the countries in the region, UNICEF focuses on:
- Developing strategies to strengthen systems that help children and adolescents develop fundamental skills.
- Designing processes to ensure curriculums prioritize fundamental skills at different educational levels.
- Generating evidence on scalable methodologies that support fundamental skills acquisition across educational cycles.
- Promote the exchange of good practices and innovations that foster fundamental skills.
