In 1985 the Colombian government adopted Escuela Nueva as a national policy for rural primary schools. Escuela Nueva promotes active learning. Students are active learners in the educational process, as they guide themselves through textbooks, and work in groups, while interacting with one another. Teachers are trained in a setting that promotes active learning for them as well. Flexible promotion and individualized instruction allows students to advance at their own pace.
Students learn democratic behavior by participating in student government.
Escuela Nueva schools are multigrade, with one or two teachers in charge of all grades in primary education, which lasts for five years in Colombia. The schools are multigrade due to the large variation in age of the students in rural areas. Because teachers are responsible for teaching students in different grades, the self instructional textbooks become a valuable tool, giving the teacher more flexibility in the classroom in order to attend to students that need extra help. In addition, this also allows for extra time to be spent with the first graders who are learning to read and write. Teachers attend monthly meetings, known as microcentros, which provide opportunities to discuss their concerns, problems, and experiences with one another.