Education for Development
The Education for Development program offers an innovative series of online courses that make FUNDAEC’s educational approaches accessible to people across the globe.
With a strong practical focus and the support of experienced tutors, these courses empower individuals and groups to take meaningful steps in advancing social action. Using a dynamic and participatory methodology, students not only study core principles and practices of education for development but also learn how to apply them directly—linking knowledge with concrete initiatives that strengthen their communities.
The goal is not just to teach, but to unleash potential: fostering the growth of committed, capable individuals who can contribute to building more just, resilient, and caring societies.
To contribute meaningfully to social change, individuals must draw on knowledge, guiding principles, and insights gained from real experience—elements that are coherent with one another and rooted in a shared conceptual framework. Learning to understand these elements, apply them to one’s own reality, and share them with others is itself a living process. This process unfolds both through personal study and application and through collective learning within a community committed to conversation, reflection, and action.
Refined over five decades of continuous experience in education and development, these courses are offered as a humble yet practical contribution by FUNDAEC to individuals, groups, and institutions. They invite exploration of how the interrelationship between scientific and spiritual knowledge can illuminate new patterns of social development—patterns capable of advancing the material and spiritual well-being of humanity.
At the heart of our approach lies a twofold purpose:
seen not as separate aims but as parallel and interconnected processes. For this reason, our courses are designed to nurture intellectual and spiritual growth, while also channeling talents and energies into the construction of a just, sustainable, and flourishing civilization.
In our online courses, students take ownership of their learning journey, advancing with the guidance of a tutor and the support of peers equally committed to enhancing their capacity to serve humanity.
Contributing to the Advancement of Civilization: Toward a Framework is a graduate-level text developed by FUNDAEC after more than five decades of applying its programs in diverse contexts.
The text is composed of two units, each studied in a separate course:
Taken together, these two units invite participants to explore the nature of an evolving conceptual framework that shapes both thought and action as we strive to contribute to the construction of a materially and spiritually prosperous civilization.
These courses are designed for graduate students and professionals across diverse fields.
Each unit is studied as a separate course, lasting eight weeks, with an estimated workload of 10–15 hours per week.
This first unit in the series Contributing to the Advancement of Civilization: Toward a Framework is a graduate-level course that examines the nature of an evolving conceptual framework that informs our thought and action in the effort to advance civilization. It presents a focused discussion of two essential elements of that framework: the oneness of humankind and justice.
This unit is composed of three chapters. The first examines the nature of an evolving conceptual framework that guides our thought and action as we strive to contribute to the advancement of civilization. Each of the following two chapters focuses on one of the framework’s fundamental elements: the principle of the oneness of humankind is addressed in Chapter 2, while Chapter 3 presents a discussion on justice as an essential attribute of both individuals and the social structures and processes in which they participate.
The elements that constitute the conceptual framework explored in this text can be grouped into categories such as:
Several elements within each of these categories are discussed further in subsequent units of this text.
This course is designed for professionals and graduate students from a wide variety of disciplines who are eager to explore how their scholarship, careers, and service can be oriented by principles of justice and the oneness of humankind. Participants are invited to join a growing global conversation that links intellectual inquiry with the practical pursuit of social transformation.
The course runs for 8 weeks, requiring approximately 10–15 hours per week. Beyond study and assignments, participants will find that the real investment lies in the opportunity to reflect, engage in dialogue, and connect their learning with concrete contributions to community well-being.
This graduate-level course forms the second unit of the series Contributing to the Advancement of Civilization: Toward a Framework, a text developed by FUNDAEC after more than five decades of experience in diverse contexts.
Building on the first unit (Justice and the Oneness of Humankind), The Big Push invites participants to continue exploring the conceptual framework that guides our collective efforts to construct a civilization both materially and spiritually prosperous. In particular, this unit examines the key ideas that clarify what we mean by “material civilization” and how it can be pursued in ways that uphold human dignity, protect the environment, and foster collective flourishing.
This is more than a course—it is an opportunity to step into a tradition of inquiry and action, joining others who believe that the future of humanity depends on new patterns of thought and practice grounded in unity, justice, and service.
This second unit is structured into five chapters that build on the foundation established in the first unit.
This exploration takes participants through a detailed examination of the evolution of development thought during the second half of the 20th century, as reflected in government policies and the programs of major international agencies. Importantly, however, this is not a course in development economics or policy in the conventional sense. Instead, the goal is to understand how five decades of intense global efforts to “modernize” the so-called developing countries have shaped the dominant ideas of what it means to build civilization.
Participants are then invited to take on a twofold task:
This course is designed for professionals and graduate students from a wide range of disciplines who wish to deepen their exploration of social development. It is particularly relevant for those who recognize that true progress must embrace both material and spiritual dimensions and who are seeking a framework that reflects this integration.
The course runs over 8 weeks, requiring an estimated 10 to 15 hours per week. Beyond study and reading, it emphasizes reflection and application—linking historical analysis with conceptual rethinking, and guiding participants toward a new vision of civilization in which human dignity and collective well-being stand at the center.
“A Discourse on Social Action” is an undergraduate-level text developed by FUNDAEC after more than five decades of experience applying its educational programs in diverse contexts.
The text is organized into three units, each studied in a separate course:
Basic Concepts
This undergraduate-level course forms the first unit of the series “A Discourse on Social Action.” It offers participants the chance to deepen their understanding of foundational ideas that bring coherence and meaning to both individual and collective efforts for social transformation.
Enrolling in this course is, in itself, a sign of your commitment to engage in purposeful social action. We live in turbulent times—moments marked by both danger and possibility. The spirit of this age stirs within us a desire to contribute to the betterment of society, to dedicate our time, energy, and talents to selfless service to humanity.
But important questions remain:
This unit is designed to address these questions by exploring a set of concepts essential to participating in the discourse on social action. Through its 11 chapters, the text invites reflection on themes such as:
Together, these themes create a conceptual foundation that enables participants to act with clarity, vision, and coherence as they engage in the noble task of contributing to enduring social transformation.
Education
This undergraduate-level course corresponds to the second unit of the series “A Discourse on Social Action,” a text developed by FUNDAEC after more than five decades of applying its educational programs in diverse contexts.
The course invites participants to reflect on the meaning of education—both in universal terms and in relation to their own learning journey—within the broader framework of efforts to contribute to social transformation.
Education is not simply the transmission of information; it is a foundational force in the lives of those who aspire to contribute to social change. For this reason, this second unit focuses on examining the purpose and nature of educational processes that aim at the moral and intellectual empowerment of participants. It emphasizes the strengthening of understanding and the development of moral capabilities as essential pillars of transformative learning.
The text encourages students to adopt a proactive posture toward their own learning and invites them to explore central themes such as:
Through these explorations, participants come to see education not only as an academic pursuit, but as a transformative process that shapes both individual lives and society as a whole.
This course is designed for university students eager to take an active role in processes of social action and to contribute thoughtfully to the prevailing discourses of society.
It also provides a rich opportunity for educators—whether in formal or non-formal settings—including teachers, coordinators, and school administrators at all levels. Additionally, it welcomes those engaged in NGOs and community development initiatives who seek to explore the nature of educational processes that empower individuals and communities for meaningful transformation.
The course runs for 8 weeks and requires an estimated 4 to 6 hours of study per week.
Ciencia
This undergraduate-level course corresponds to the third unit of the series “A Discourse on Social Action,” a text developed by FUNDAEC after more than five decades of applying its educational programs in diverse contexts.
The course gives participants the opportunity to deepen their understanding of key elements of the scientific method, with the aim of developing a more systematic and methodical perspective—one that enhances the effectiveness of their initiatives in the field of social action.
The first unit of this series emphasized the importance of integrating learning into our efforts as a means of strengthening our effectiveness in social action. The second unit explored fundamental concepts related to education. In this third unit, participants take the next step: examining the idea that to truly learn effectively, one must adopt a methodical approach. And to do this, it is essential to become familiar with the methods of science.
Personal and social transformation requires us to approach life as investigators of reality and seekers of truth. To investigate reality, we need skills, attitudes, and a body of knowledge that allow us to observe, measure, design and carry out experiments, identify patterns and relationships, construct models of different aspects of reality, and apply theories developed by various scientific communities.
This course examines key concepts within the scientific enterprise, explores the characteristics of the language of science, and considers its applications to processes directly linked with social action and development. The aim is not simply to study science for its own sake, but to equip learners with the tools to make their social engagement more thoughtful, rigorous, and impactful.
This course is especially designed for undergraduate students, graduates, and professionals across all disciplines who wish to deepen their understanding of science as a system of knowledge and the methods it employs. It is equally valuable for those engaged in community development, education, or social initiatives who want to strengthen their capacity to link action with systematic learning.
The course runs for 8 weeks and requires an estimated 4 to 6 hours of study per week.
Requirements
All online courses last eight weeks. However, the cost and weekly time commitment vary depending on the series. Successful completion requires consistent effort to meet the following expectations:
Participation in scheduled Zoom meetings
