Education: A Key Pillar for Venezuela’s Transformation
Our Goal
In January 2026, Venezuela began a political and economic transition. Whether the nation will be able to achieve prosperity, democracy, and the return of over 6 million forced migrants is uncertain. Much of the attention of leaders within and outside the nation has focused on economic development (especially the energy sector) and respect for human rights as essential pillars for the country’s transformation.
Education has received much less attention. Yet, education is key for human flourishing, economic growth, and inclusion in modern democratic societies.
The Education Lab for Latin America at the Harvard Graduate School of Education is committed to connecting researchers and policymakers in advancing education systems across the region through evidence-based research, policy innovation, and collaborative partnerships.
Throughout the 2025-26 academic year, under the leadership of Professor of Practice Emiliana Vegas, ELLA has brought together HGSE students and alumni, Harvard College students, and practitioners based in Venezuela and in the United States to co-create a strategy to build the foundations for an education system that provides every Venezuelan the opportunities to acquire the skills, competencies and dispositions to reach their full potential. The ultimate goal is to equip Venezuelans to actively participate in the development of a rapidly growing economy and an inclusive democratic society, where resources are used efficiently and effectively to eradicate poverty and launch the country on a path of sustainable, inclusive growth and prosperity.
To this end, the ELLA-Venezuela team is developing a set of evidence-based guides and actionable toolkits informed by international and local research and practice relevant to the specific context and challenges in Venezuela. Our hope is that a new government will prioritize education and find these materials useful.
Our Priority Areas
The ELLA-Venezuela team’s work focuses on 6 priorities for education transformation. For each priority area, the team has conducted extensive reviews of global evidence and consultations with Venezuelan and international experts and stakeholders. For some of the priority areas, we have identified partners and are in the various stages of piloting and/or adapting promising initiatives in the Venezuelan context.
- This priority focuses on rebuilding an integrated early childhood system, combining quality care, early stimulation, and parenting support with nutrition services; particularly for the most vulnerable families.
- The ELLA-Venezuela team is defining and preparing the requirements and standards for Early Childhood education to become an independent center registered within the government system and secure funding from different sources.
- This priority focuses on re-engaging children and youth who are out of school and accelerating foundational learning recovery and supporting students’ socio emotional well-being after years of disruption and crisis.
- The ELLA-Venezuela team is designing practical instruments, flexible-reentry pathways, and effective remedial practices, such as TaRL.
- This priority focuses on ensuring that schools become politically neutral and plural spaces, protected from indoctrination; while cultivating the knowledge and skills required for democratic citizenship.
- The ELLA-Venezuela team is preparing model norms and governance protocols; defining practices and roles of school leaders, teachers, students, and families.
- This priority focuses on the urgent need to rebuild and professionalize the teaching profession so that Venezuela can attract, develop, and retain effective educators committed to student learning and national reconstruction.
- The ELLA-Venezuela team is producing comparative benchmarks for compensation and benefits, proposals for incentives and career pathways, and models of teachers' professionalization that can be piloted, such as Teach for All.
- This priority focuses on creating a financing and governance framework that uses limited resources efficiently and transparently, while enabling innovation and strategic alliances.
- The ELLA-Venezuela team is developing comparative analyses and exploring pilots that can be adapted to Venezuela’s context.
- This priority focuses on ensuring that students and educators can teach and learn under dignified conditions by addressing nutritional, health, and psychosocial needs.
- The ELLA-Venezuela team is designing protocols to identify and prioritize vulnerable cases, guide transparent distribution of support, and strengthen collaboration.
Beyond Oil: Education for Growth, Inclusion, and Human Flourishing in Venezuela
On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Askwith Auditorium at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) took place Beyond Oil: Education for Growth, Inclusion, and Human Flourishing in Venezuela, a one-day conference hosted by the Education Lab for Latin America (ELLA).
Scholars and practitioners from research, policy, and practice examined how education can underpin Venezuela’s political and economic transition. While global debates often focus on energy and human rights, this convening placed education at the center of a sustainable and inclusive path forward.
The program featured opening remarks by HGSE Dean Nonie Lesaux and sessions led by students, faculty, and leading invited experts on six priority areas for education reform in Venezuela. Our goal is to foster rigorous, interdisciplinary dialogue and to spark future collaboration.
Our ELLA - Venezuela Team
Emiliana Vegas
Valentina Maza
Verónica Rosich
Eduardo Piña
