Futuro Infantil Hoy

Futuro Infantil Hoy (FIH) is a trans-national community capacity building research project that began as a 3 year pilot program in the Northern Chile city of Antofagasta and continued for 8 years in Chile and Australia. Researchers from the School of Education entered into a unique collaborative arrangement with the Chilean Government and the Fundacion Minera Escondida Foundation (FME) to design and implement a project aimed to improve children’s learning achievements and meaningfully engage families in their children’s learning.

"Children's future is always now, tomorrow will be too late."

Gabriella Mistral, Chilean Poet Laureate

The research, led by Associate Professor Christine Woodrow has expanded to more than 35 early education centres and schools in Chile and 18 preschools in Western Sydney and has consolidated a research
based, sustainable model of building local capacity in pedagogical and community leadership. The model incorporates a ‘Funds of Knowledge’ approach to children’s learning and family engagement, providing an innovative and effective framework for young children’s successful literacy learning.

The research program has been implemented in Antofagasta, Tocopilla and Calama in northern Chile, and in several communities in the capital, Santiago. More than 5000 children and their families and 500 educators in Chile have benefited from the new strategies that have been developed to strengthen learning and expand opportunities for families to be involved in their children’s learning. Similarly, children and educators in Western Sydney have benefited.

The Western Sydney University wants to share these beautifully captured images, that depict only a small sample of the distinctive and challenging environments of the research contexts to illustrate the energy and enthusiasm of families and children, their involvement in the program, and to celebrate the innovative strategies developed by the educators, acknowledging the distinctive geo-social contexts in which these centres, schools and homes of children and families are located.