Abstract
In this paper, we introduce the Penguin Revolution, a social movement of high school students in Chile who are protesting the neo-liberalization of education in their country. This new activism surprised many because of the marked decline in political mobilization witnessed over the past 18 years since the Pinochet dictatorship. Findings from an earlier study of the women’s movement in Arica, Chile bear important clues to understanding the re-emergence of social action in the current generation, particularly the role of intergenerational learning (Chovanec, 2006a, 2006b). First, previous generations of women had developed a strong critical social consciousness that did not disappear during the years of retreat from direct political engagement. Second, although social movements may be quiescent, there are mechanisms for quiet continuity that engage all three generations of women in the community. We argue for providing a deliberate political education to the younger generations by drawing on the radical educational potential of parents as organic intellectuals and the historical promise of political parties as political educators.
Highlights
Penguins are on the march in Chile! Named for the colour of their school uniforms, the Penguins are Chilean high school students fed up with the neo-liberalization of public education in their country
We introduced an emerging social movement in Chile
The movement known as the Penguin Revolution is led by high school students using national strikes and school takeovers to protest the neo-liberalization of education initiated during the military dictatorship in the 1980s and sustained through almost two decades of a democratically elected centre-left government
Summary
Penguins are on the march in Chile! Named for the colour of their school uniforms, the Penguins are Chilean high school students fed up with the neo-liberalization of public education in their country. We turn our attention to the mothers and grandmothers of this generation of students to begin a provisional analysis of the role of intergenerational learning in the current student movement, with a particular focus on the development of critical social consciousness and the role of local mechanisms for social movement continuity. Derived from this analysis, we argue for the importance of incorporating a deliberate educational dimension into social movement activism, emphasizing the radical pedagogical potential of parenting education and recognizing the historical promise of political parties as institutions of radical adult education. We briefly recount some key historical moments from the recent past to outline the socio-political context within which the current student movement has emerged
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