Educación, teoría poscolonial y perspectiva decolonial. Resonancias en España y Portugal

Abstract

Postcolonial theory and the decolonial perspective are increasingly frequent references in the current educational debate in different countries. Whether because they were ‘colonizers’ or because they were ‘colonized’, the colonial issue has become an unavoidable theme in the midst of a global debate that points to ‘old’ and ‘new’ colonialisms. While, to be consistent, we are all challenged to overcome any kind of ‘colonialism’ in education, it is possible that the postcolonial and decolonial are the prelude to changes that still need to be faced as a society. It is worth noting that, although Spain and Portugal were of fundamental importance in the colonial processes that began in the 15th century, for these countries, these issues, in the 21st century, continue to be a thorny, if not controversial, subject when it comes to confronting this past in the present. In the area of education, perhaps this issue is only just emerging in its various aspects, which makes this study all the more timely. In this paper, we attempt to examine, in an introductory way, how this discussion is being shaped in the educational sphere of Iberian countries.