14 de July de 2026
When children are treated as capable individuals and invited to play an active role in their own education, they become our greatest allies, explained Beatriz Cardoso, director of Labedu in an interview.
Beatriz spoke with Aisha Schnellmann, from the editorial team of the BOLD platform, about how to improve public education in Latin America and transform children’s learning experiences through effective professional development for teachers. BOLD is a global platform for scientific knowledge to transform children’s lives, and is linked to the Jacobs Foundation, which awarded Labedu the Best Practices Prize this year.
The interview below has been translated in full from the content published by the platform. Here you can find the original text in English.
Aisha Schnellmann: What are the biggest challenges faced by children in Latin America and globally?
Beatriz Cardoso: I believe the biggest global challenge is ensuring that all children have access to quality education, especially in regions with deep inequalities, such as Latin America. Efforts to transform public education in these areas are essential to provide children with the support and resources they need to learn and thrive.
AS: What do children need to thrive?
BC: All children have the right to learn. For them to be able to learn, school environments need to foster children’s confidence in their own abilities and promote curiosity, investigation, questioning, and collaboration.
Children need ample opportunities to engage in carefully planned learning experiences that promote their development. This requires not only a strong curriculum, but also ongoing professional development for teachers, with the goal of helping them plan and deliver activities that encourage individual and group growth.
AS: How does the work of the Education Laboratory (Labedu) support teachers and, ultimately, improve children’s learning?
BC: We collaborate with educational actors, from school administrators to institutions, to develop professional training programs for educators at all levels. These programs provide teachers with research-based tools and pedagogical strategies, helping them better understand how children learn and use this knowledge to create high-quality, equitable, and inclusive learning environments.
Last year, children who participated in our “Learning to Study Texts” program demonstrated significant progress in reading and text comprehension. Additionally, 79% of teachers reported notable differences in learning processes after participating in the program.
AS: Can you tell us something that has surprised or inspired you in this work?
BC: It always surprises me how quickly children engage when they have the opportunity to learn and collaborate. When they are treated as capable individuals and invited to actively participate in their own learning, they become our greatest allies. When teachers or parents begin to view children’s actions from a different angle, they perceive and interact with them differently. They begin to see intelligence where they previously saw lack of ability. It is deeply inspiring to realize that, with the right investment and methodology, we can positively influence the contexts in which learning occurs.
AS: What is your vision for the future of children?
BC: The children of the future will become multitasking adults, constantly facing overwhelming demands and information overload. Access to information will continue to increase, so the real challenge will be understanding this information and finding meaning in the details. The essential thing is to help children learn to filter, analyze, select, and integrate what is relevant and appropriate. It is our responsibility to provide children with the tools and practices that support complete development, grounded in solid values.