Intercultural integration and adaptability of Venezuelan migrant students in Boyacá: contextual, theoretical foundations, and challenges

The Venezuelan migration crisis represents the largest humanitarian influx in Latin America, with Colombia hosting more than 2.8 million migrants, 23% of whom are children and adolescents. In Boyacá, this phenomenon has increased school enrollment of Venezuelan students to 5,372 by 2025, posing challenges in integration and adaptability. The objective was to analyze contextual and theoretical factors and challenges that influence the intercultural integration and adaptability of these students, identifying inclusive pedagogical strategies to strengthen social cohesion and academic performance. A qualitative approach with a structuralist paradigm and ethnographic method was used, triangulating observations (120 hours), interviews (75 key informants), and secondary documents in 12 municipalities of Boyacá. The results revealed a 9.7% increase in enrollment, structural factors such as poverty (65% of mentions), theoretical factors such as emotional adaptability (70% of observations), and psychosocial challenges such as xenophobia (60%), along with opportunities for cultural diversity. In conclusion, differentiated policies and teacher training are needed for equitable education, positioning Boyacá as a benchmark in migrant inclusion.