Machismo and Mamitas at School: Exploring the Agency of Teachers for Social and Gender Justice in Bolivian Education

• Published in: European journal of development research Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 574 - 588
• Main Authors: Lopes Cardozo, Mieke T A, Sawyer, Jennifer, Talavera Simoni, Maria Luisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Palgrave Macmillan UK 01.09.2015; Palgrave Macmillan
• Subjects: Bolivia; Bolivians; Children & youth; Classrooms; Decolonization; Developing countries; Development and Social Change; Development Economics; Development Policy; Development Studies; Economic development; Economic policy; Education; Education policy; Education reform; Education systems; Equal rights; Equality; Ethnic groups; Ethnicity; Focus groups; Gender equity; Latin America; LDCs; Morale; Native rights; Neoliberalism; Original Article; Politics; Poverty; Schools; Sex equality; Social change; Social exclusion; Social justice; Social policy; Social Sciences; Society; Students; Studies; Teachers; Women; Bolivia; education; Bolivia; teacher agency; gender justice; inclusive development
• ISSN: 0957-8811; 1743-9728
• DOI: 10.1057/ejdr.2015.51

Historically, Bolivia’s society and education system have been characterised by marginalisation based on poverty, ethnicity and gender. The central objective of the Morales government is to redress this imbalance and create a society inclusive of all Bolivians so that they can ‘live well’. Our article illustrates how, while the international development agenda sees gender equality as an important element for an egalitarian education system, the latest Bolivian education reform gives gender equality diminished importance in favour of the focus on interculturality. Applying an analytical framework that uses social justice theory and a strategic relational approach, this article explores the agency of teachers to effect social change in relation to gender inequalities in Bolivia. Our research approach is embedded within the interdisciplinary field of international development studies and used mostly qualitative techniques to examine teachers’ strategies to act towards gender equality.