Call for Papers “Intercultural Education, the Inclusion of Indigenous Societies in the Latin American Educational Model, and the Achievement of Educational and Social Justice Goals”

Call for Papers
“Intercultural Education, the Inclusion of Indigenous Societies in the Latin American Educational Model, and the Achievement of Educational and Social Justice Goals”

Objective: This special issue seeks to disseminate research analyzing, from the perspectives of academics, teachers, and Indigenous educators, the processes of intercultural education and the inclusion of Indigenous societies within the Latin American educational model. The goal is to identify practices and approaches that contribute to achieving educational and social justice, in alignment with collective rights, decolonial processes, and the historical demands of Indigenous peoples.

Guest Editor:
Dr. Carlos Miranda Carvajal (Simma Lickannatay), Basic General Education Teacher specialized in Rural Education and Development, Master in Educational Evaluation, PhD in Psychology. Principal investigator of the postdoctoral project Intercultural Education and Linguistic Revitalization: Perceptions of Rural Indigenous Families in the Valparaíso Region, funded under the State Universities Strengthening Plan UPA 24991 of the Ministry of Education – Universidad de Playa Ancha de Ciencias de la Educación.
Email: carlos.miranda@upla.cl

Submission Deadline: February 28, 2026

All manuscripts must be uploaded to the journal’s platform, specifying in the “pre-review discussions” section that they are intended for this thematic issue. A copy must also be sent to the guest editor’s email: carlos.miranda@upla.cl.

Articles may have a maximum of three authors from the same institutional affiliation. Each issue of the Journal may include a maximum of 20% of authors affiliated with the publishing institution (Universidad de Chile).

Following a double-blind peer review by at least two specialists, the Editorial Board reserves the right to critically evaluate submissions and make final publication decisions. Articles may be published in Spanish, Portuguese, or English.

Rationale:
The integration of Indigenous educators, teachers, and academics into formal educational processes and institutions represents a fundamental step toward recognizing and legitimizing Indigenous knowledge (Quilaqueo Rapimán & Torres Cuevas, 2024; Loncón Antileo, 2021). Their participation makes visible and validates knowledge systems, languages, histories, and worldviews that have historically been marginalized (Cunningham, 2010; Narváez Trujillo, 2022), contributing to an epistemological transformation beyond frameworks established exclusively from the global North and fostering decolonial perspectives in education (Rivera Cusicanqui, 2012; Tuiwai, 20).

Moreover, Indigenous educators play a central role in linguistic and cultural revitalization. Schools that acknowledge and welcome educators from Indigenous communities support intergenerational transmission of language and culture (Miranda, 2023a, 2023b). Thus, formal education ceases to be an arena of cultural assimilation and becomes a space for identity affirmation (Quilaqueo, 2017), where ancestral knowledge resists hegemonic impositions and schools become sites of decolonization (Xakriabá, 2018; Rivera Cusicanqui, 2010).

We invite traditional educators, Indigenous teachers, and Indigenous academics from Abya Yala to submit empirical and scholarly contributions that highlight educational experiences in primary, secondary, and higher education oriented toward intercultural education, educational justice, social justice, and Indigenous decolonization.

Thematic Lines:

• Intercultural education and linguistic revitalization: teaching-learning experiences of Indigenous languages, cultural transmission, and the role of schools in revitalization processes.

• Decolonizing pedagogies and Southern epistemologies: knowledge dialogues, critiques of colonial school models, and pedagogical proposals rooted in Indigenous worldviews.

• Bilingual Intercultural Education (BIE) and education policies: curriculum experiences, community participation, and challenges of BIE in Latin America.

• Education, territory, and social justice: school–community relations, environmental education from Indigenous worldviews, and the impact of extractivist models on education.

Special emphasis will be placed on first or corresponding authors belonging to an Indigenous people, reinforcing principles of authorship and epistemic representation. Contributions may include reflective articles, systematizations of educational experiences, or empirical studies—all aimed at advancing the horizons of educational justice, social justice, and Indigenous decolonization.

References:

Cunningham, M. (2010). Educación intercultural bilingüe en América Latina: Retos y desafíos. En N. Mato (Ed.), Educación intercultural en América Latina: Memorias, horizontes históricos y disyuntivas políticas (pp. 173-184). UNESCO-IESALC.

Loncón Antileo, E. (2021). Az mapu: Epistemología mapuche, aprendizajes y conocimientos. LOM Ediciones.

Miranda Carvajal, Carlos. (2023a). Transitar del telar al palillo: la escuela y la identidad lickanantay. Desde el Sur, 15(3), e0039. Epub 25 de julio de 2023.https://doi.org/10.21142/des-1503-2023-0039

Miranda Carvajal, Carlos. (2023b). Familia indígena y escuela rural: participación de los ayllu lickanantay en los procesos educativos. Revista enfoques educacionales, 20(2), 179-201. https://dx.doi.org/10.5354/2735-7279.2023.73780

Narváez Trujillo, A. (2022). Defensa territorial y educación en comunidades amazónicas: Experiencias del pueblo Cofán. En L. Ortiz & M. García (Eds.), Educación y resistencia en la Amazonía (pp. 95-112). Abya-Yala.

Quilaqueo Rapimán, D. (2017). Kimeltuwün: Saberes y prácticas mapuche en contextos escolares. Editorial Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano.

Quilaqueo Rapimán, D., & Torres Cuevas, H. E. (2024). Indigenous socio-educational knowledge: An epistemological challenge for the Mapuche people in Chile. Cogent Education, 11(1), 2396187. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2396187

Rivera Cusicanqui, S. (2010). Colonialidad del saber y descolonización epistemológica. Ediciones Tinta Limón.

Rivera Cusicanqui, S. (2012). Ch’ixinakax utxiwa: Una reflexión sobre prácticas y discursos descolonizadores. Tinta Limón.

Xakriabá, C. (2018). Educación indígena y reafirmación identitaria en Brasil: Perspectivas desde el pueblo Xakriabá. Revista Latinoamericana de Educación Intercultural, 12(1), 9-18.