Issue: 36, July-October 2026

 

Education is a process that goes beyond the school setting and is enriched by the learning that children acquire at home and within the community, contributing to integral social development and the building of more just and critical societies. In Central America, Indigenous education is deeply rooted in community life, linguistic preservation, and the relationship with the land.

In recent years, plans, programs, and policies have been designed to promote bilingual and intercultural education, with the aim of recognizing Indigenous languages and cultures. Nevertheless, gaps and tensions persist that require attention and research. For communities, education is a living practice tied to identity and collective memory.

In this regard, intercultural methodologies are essential, as they make it possible to engage with knowledge without reducing it to folklore while also fostering a critical perspective. Moreover, being participatory, they give children a voice and acknowledge their authorship through narratives, photography, or drawing—valuable tools to address sensitive issues such as discrimination, racism, or inequality. In this way, these practices encourage learning and transformations in thought.

Although the outlook for Indigenous education varies by region—for example, in Central America, the defense of cultural rights and the preservation of language and traditions are particularly emphasized—there remains a pressing need for education situated in Indigenous contexts, aimed at social justice and the continuity of community knowledge. From a decolonial pedagogy perspective, the goal is to question and transform models that have marginalized local worldviews, promoting a critical intercultural education. Likewise, southern epistemologies provide a framework to legitimize and bring into dialogue the traditional knowledge safeguarded by the Indigenous communities of Central America.

Below are some suggested lines for this issue, though they are neither exhaustive nor exclusive:

• Indigenous, intercultural, and bilingual education
• Education in Indigenous contexts for social justice
• Decolonial pedagogy
• Methodologies and tools for critical intercultural education
• Southern epistemologies

Only texts related to this thematic axis will be accepted.