Decolonial institutional management model in regular education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63688/aprendizaje.v3.i2.26Keywords:
institutional management, decoloniality, intercultural education, community participation, Indigenous knowledge.Abstract
Introduction: Implementing decolonizing education in Bolivia requires translating normative principles into school management practices capable of linking curriculum, community, and local knowledge. Objective: To design and implement a decolonial institutional management model at the “Brasilia Tarde” Educational Unit in El Alto and describe changes observed in academic and community-participation indicators. Methods: A decolonial action-research approach integrating quantitative and qualitative evidence was conducted. Participants included 306 students, 27 teachers, and family and community actors. Institutional records from 2024 and 2025, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, planning documents, community records, and culturally agreed assessment rubrics were analyzed. Results: Attendance increased from 86.6% to 92.0%; failure decreased from 11.9% to 6.7%, and dropout from 4.4% to 2.3%. Family participation rose from 40% to 76%, while annual operational-plan goal attainment increased from 65% to 83%. Testimonies indicated greater contextualization of learning and shared community responsibility. Conclusions: The model was temporally associated with improved institutional indicators and stronger participation; however, causal effects and transferability require assessment through comparative designs and implementation in other contexts.References
Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia. Constitución Política del Estado. La Paz: Gaceta Oficial del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia; 2009.
Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia. Ley N.º 070 de la Educación “Avelino Siñani-Elizardo Pérez”. La Paz: Gaceta Oficial del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia; 2010.
da Silva C, Pereira F, Amorim JP. The integration of indigenous knowledge in school: a systematic review. Compare. 2024;54(7):1210-1228. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2023.2184200
Porter JM, Morrison AR. From pilots to policies: challenges for implementing intercultural bilingual education in Latin America. Int Rev Educ. 2024;70:11-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-10039-5
Briseño-Roa J. Indigenous land-based education in Mexico: practices to perpetuate communal knowledge of territory. AlterNative. 2023;19(3):593-602. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801231188181
Arias-Gutiérrez RI, Minoia P. Decoloniality and critical interculturality in higher education: experiences and challenges in Ecuadorian Amazonia. Forum Dev Stud. 2023;50(1):11-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2023.2177562
Cadaval Narezo M, Méndez Torres G, Hernández Vásquez A, Castro-Sotomayor J. Contributions to the pluriverse from indigenous women professors of intercultural universities. Globalizations. 2023;20(7):1144-1162. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2023.2193546
Hohenthal J, Veintie T. Fostering Indigenous young people’s socio-environmental consciousness through place-based learning in Ecuadorian Amazonia. Globalizations. 2024;21(2):349-369. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2022.2038831
Veintie T, Hohenthal J, Betancourt Machoa K, Sirén A. The (im)possibilities of education in Amazonia: assessing the resilience of intercultural bilingual education in the midst of multiple crises. Diaspora Indig Minor Educ. 2022;16(4):259-272. https://doi.org/10.1080/15595692.2021.2015317
Quilaqueo D, Torres H. School contextualization with indigenous group’s socio-educational methods and pedagogies. Front Educ. 2024;9:1425464. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1425464
Torres Cuevas H, Quilaqueo Rapimán D. Indigenous socio-educational recognition in the construction of intercultural knowledge dialogues in education. Cogent Educ. 2024;11(1):2396187. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2396187
Canessa A. Learning ignorance and illiteracy through education: reflections on highland Bolivia. Cult Psyché. 2023;4:19-31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43638-023-00062-6
Kim YH. Indigenous politics of emancipatory education in Bolivia: the role of the Escuela-Ayllu of Warisata. Lat Am Perspect. 2024;51(4):62-80. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X241288918
Rodriguez Alvarez G. A plurinational transformation: an entanglement between change and continuity. AlterNative. 2023;19(1):23-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801221126703
Krainer AJ, Chaves A. Interculturality and higher education in Latin America: a critical view. Rev Educ Super. 2021;50(199):27-49. https://doi.org/10.36857/resu.2021.199.1798
Leithwood K, Harris A, Hopkins D. Seven strong claims about successful school leadership revisited. Sch Leadersh Manag. 2020;40(1):5-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1596077
Flessa J, Bramwell D, Fernandez M, Weinstein J. School leadership in Latin America 2000-2016. Educ Manag Adm Leadersh. 2018;46(2):182-206. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143217717277
Khalifa MA, Gooden MA, Davis JE. Culturally responsive school leadership: a synthesis of the literature. Rev Educ Res. 2016;86(4):1272-1311. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316630383
Boonk L, Gijselaers HJM, Ritzen H, Brand-Gruwel S. A review of the relationship between parental involvement indicators and academic achievement. Educ Res Rev. 2018;24:10-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2018.02.001
Bush T. School leadership and student outcomes: what do we know? Educ Manag Adm Leadersh. 2024;52(1):3-5. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432231210364
Zidny R, Sjöström J, Eilks I. A multi-perspective reflection on how Indigenous knowledge and related ideas can improve science education for sustainability. Sci Educ. 2020;29(1):145-185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-019-00100-x
Yeseraw A, Melesse T, Kelkay AD. Inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the new primary and middle school curriculum of Ethiopia. Cogent Educ. 2023;10(1):2173884. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2173884
Chibuye B, Singh IS. Integration of local knowledge in the secondary school chemistry curriculum: a few examples of ethno-chemistry from Zambia. Heliyon. 2024;10(7):e29174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29174
Burman A. Black hole indigeneity: the explosion and implosion of radical difference as resistance and power in Andean Bolivia. J Polit Power. 2020;13(2):179-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/2158379X.2020.1764802
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Raúl Oresteds Choque Flores (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Unless otherwise stated, associated published material is distributed under the same licence.
