The right to education throughout life: findings and challenges in popular territories

Abstract

Perspectives about the need for and right to education have been gradually broadened. However, its realization is still crossed by social inequalities and complex problematic situations. In the present work we focused on the right to education throughout life in popular territories of the Metropolitan Area of ​​Buenos Aires in pandemic and post-pandemic contexts, based on a qualitative inquiry aimed to identify and understand processes and meanings from the actors themselves in the territories, through observations and interviews in social institutions and organizations. The results were shared in feedback sessions with the persons interviewed. These results reveal the exacerbation of various problems in the territories that have a profound impact on the right to education throughout life, as well as critical aspects related to the role of the State as guarantor. They also reveal the educational actions and alternatives developed in social institutions and organizations from a critical and socio-community orientation, as well as the current challenges. We make reflections that aim to contribute to the construction of a socio-community pedagogical praxis, considering the contributions of Popular Education and critical Sociocultural Community Development.

Key words: Right to education throughout life; Lifelong education; Critical sociocommunity orientation; Popular territoires; COVID-19 syndemic