Towards a Decolonization of Classroom Practices in Chilean Higher Education - A Suggested Framework

Gaston Bacquet

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.9n.4p.16

Abstract

Higher-education classroom practices in Chile have historically followed the Eurocentric model in which the student is an ‘empty vessel’ and the instructor the one who fills it. This has led to the perpetuation of a specific model of knowledge creation and transmission that has historically ignored both non-Western cultures and knowledges but has also neglected attempts at developing practices that might foster greater critical thinking skills or that view education as a way of increasing consciousness, advocating social changes and challenging inequalities present in the classroom. Drawing on a number of different perspectives, from Orientalism, Critical Pedagogy and indigenous knowledge, this paper is written as a way to challenge existing systems and methods, in order to suggest a framework of action anchored in non-Eurocentric approaches and that are further rooted in participatory action research.

Highlights

Even if there are those who disagree with using the term ‘global South/North’, what is undeniable is that our colonial past shapes our worldview no matter where we are in that spectrum
Drawing on a number of different perspectives, from Orientalism, Critical Pedagogy and indigenous knowledge, this paper is written as a way to challenge existing systems and methods, in order to suggest a framework of action anchored in non-Eurocentric approaches and that are further rooted in participatory action research
I will mention some possible limitations to bringing this framework into action, as well some possible implications for teachers and researchers working within the context I have established in this paper. The first of these limitations is the abundance of descriptive studies on the Chilean educational context, to the detriment of other forms of research, such as longitudinal ethnographic studies, classroom ethnographies, action research or participatory approaches

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Even if there are those who disagree with using the term ‘global South/North’ (see Toshkov, 2018), what is undeniable is that our colonial past shapes our worldview no matter where we are in that spectrum. There are people around the world, in Islamic countries, who don’t have that kind of choice This condescending and paternalistic perspective, as well as the idea that Eurocentric culture and forms of knowledge creation are somehow ‘better’ or ‘superior’, as that host seemed to imply, are certainly not new. For centuries, this Eurocentrism has permeated and shaped attitudes, perceptions and beliefs regarding the non-West which this essay will challenge in an attempt to present a suggested framework for classroom practices within the context of higher education in the global South, in Chile. As I challenge these notions, I will draw on post-colonial and decolonial theories and approaches, beginning with Said’s Orientalism (1978) and exploring the ideas put forth by other critical researchers, philosophers and educators in order to support such framework and analyze its possible advantages and limitations

BACKGROUND

CONCLUSIONS AND FINAL COMMENTS

Note from the author