Americas Education Research Network Dialogue 1: Decolonial Approaches to Education Research in the Americas

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

In the last several decades, researchers in the Americas have demonstrated broader engagement with decolonial, postcolonial, anti-colonial, and southern theories to confront the persisting colonial legacies in education. Although educational researchers in this large and diverse region use multiple perspectives and approaches, there is a consensual tendency to recognize that colonialism is not a past phenomenon but a set of contemporary and evolving ontological, epistemic, and land relations and that educational institutions and practices are not neutral in maintaining or challenging the colonial actions. In this panel, recognizing that even some of the most critical scholarship runs the risk of reproducing colonial relationships (e.g., by privileging contributions from English-speaking and/or Western-based academics rather than engaging with the plurality of knowledges beyond dominant languages and academic traditions), representatives from four of educational research organizations in the Americas, will offer a critical lens for understanding the role of education in perpetuating or challenging colonial power relations and provide insights into ways to promote social justice and equity in education.

Sub Unit

• Americas Education Research Network

Chair

• Nathalia E Jaramillo, Kennesaw State University

Discussants

• Inês Barbosa de Oliveira, University Estácio de Sá

• Carmen Montecinos, Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso

• Amanda R. Tachine, Arizona State University