16 - Whither Education and Development in Central America and the Latin Caribbean? Dialectical Reflections, Decolonial Options

Summary

Introduction

This brief concluding chapter has two purposes. The first is to reflect on possible paths forward for education and development in Central America and the Latin Caribbean (CALC). Having interpreted each case in the present volume through an international political economy lens, the task at hand is to reflect on the implications for the region. The second purpose is to point to future directions for research and action. The suggestions offered pick up on issues mentioned in this volume about what more can and should be said as stakeholders grapple with how to respond to the tensions that affect the region. As will be seen, this section of the chapter takes a decolonial orientation. The last section of the chapter then offers concluding commentary on contributions of the present volume as well as the new gaps that have become evident in process of filling old ones.

Within and beyond the dialectic of global capitalism

The CALC region is a hotbed of education reform. This is not surprising as education in this region (and all world regions) is one of the key avenues available to governments for managing threats to its legitimacy and the legitimacy of the systems on which it is based. The chapters of this volume draw attention to a wide spectrum of education policies, ranging from school-and community-based management, administrative decentralization to standardized testing, various forms of digital technology, convivencia programmes, gender-equity initiatives, gang prevention programmes, and teacher retention schemes. There is no reason to believe that these programmes have not had at least some positive outcomes. However, as the analysis and discussion in Chapters 2 and 15 has emphasized, both education and the state are situated within, and are permeated by, various structures and logics that prevent the aforementioned initiatives from functioning as hoped or as stated in policy. Chief among these structures and logics is capitalism. This section reflects on the implications of, and possible responses to, this system, both generally and in the realm of education. The reason for focusing on capitalism – and the state's relationship to it – in this final chapter is because the state-capital dynamic is, as discussed in the previous chapter, central to what drives ‘development’ and, within that, education policy.