Abstract:

Scholars on social reconstruction in periods of post-conflict state that these moments are the best or worst for educational transformation. The stance informing this communication is that the post-agreement stage that began in Colombia at the end of 2016 is an opportunity for the changes the national education system needs. Although in the literature some questions have been addressed about the role that language plays in peacebuilding, great gaps have been identified. One of these gaps is related to the need to study the educational role language plays for peacebuilding. This role is of particular interest here since it can (re)produce social exclusion, one of the causes of conflict, or it can promote social inclusion. Based on the concept of ‘ethical literacy’ under elaboration, this paper draws from a critical ethnography of education aimed at describing how a group of 44 university students envisioned pedagogic practices that could contribute to get a more inclusive education system in Colombia. Based on interviews, written stories and group discussions, these students were invited to remember, select and narrate classroom situations in which they felt that some type of social exclusion had occurred. They were specifically asked to identify and reflect upon aspects of the communication practices linked to the pedagogic practices involved in the episodes evoked. They described the conditions under which these practices happened, as a milestone to envisage a more inclusive education in Colombia. As useful theoretical resources, the study took into account contributions about ‘imagination’ as the most political mental faculty, reflections upon language and conflict, the theory of practice architectures, as well as one of the most important perspectives on critical pedagogy in Latin America.

Keywords:

Ethical literacy, peacebuilding, imagination, social inclusion, higher education.