Call for papers 66

(January-June 2026)

Topic: Racism and education: obstacles, challenges and opportunities

Deadline for reception:

June 30, 2025[1]

 

Coordinators

Elisa Martina de los Ángeles Sulca[2]

Nayra Eva Cachambi Patzi[3]

Monica Sonia Chacoma[4]

 

Racism, as an ideology and a power regime, is an integral part of the modern world and continues to be a fundamental cause of generalized inequalities in all contemporary societies (Mato, 2024). Pluricultural and plurilingual diversity, present in all societies, drives deep-rooted practices and discourses that involve discrimination, marginalization, and stigmatization (Van Dijk, 2016). Diversity of this kind is prevalent in educational institutions from elementary schools to universities, which makes it crucial to recognize the multiple forms of racism that arise in educational contexts and impact the diverse identities that interact there.

We conceive of racism as an ideological system of domination that differentiates and hierarchizes people based on race, ethnicity, class, religion, among other factors. It is expressed not only in specific, explicit social practices but also in historical inequalities in the economic, political, educational and cultural spheres. These inequalities are produced and reproduced through institutional norms, behaviors and discourses, as well as through common sense (Essed, 1991). Racism plays out as naturalized practice in social life and has a significant impact on educational systems, which are permeated by value structures that marginalize, overlook, and exclude culturally diverse pedagogical subjects.

The normalization of racist and xenophobic representations in educational settings drives their reproduction and persistence, “thus setting up a circular system that is hard to break without targeted intervention” (Aranda, 2011). Racist representations that skew educational practices can obstruct or completely block the trajectories of culturally diverse and racialized pedagogical subjects, which makes it urgent to design a transversal intercultural education encompassing the entire mandatory and non-mandatory educational system that is capable of recognizing subjects’ cultural characteristics, difference markers, and trajectories.

The complexity and multidimensionality of racism calls for interdisciplinary dialogues to understand the different aspects of this phenomenon that impact education in countless ways, from the formulation of socio-educational policy to the intimacy of classroom dynamics. Identifying existing racist practices, studying them and denouncing them can help us construct situated educational proposals to eradicate racism in each territory.

The dossier being proposed here seeks to compile academic papers from the field of education that use a sociocritical and historical-cultural approach to look at expressions of racism in educational institutions, the obstacles and challenges that the educational system faces in trying to eradicate racism and its consequences, as well as the opportunities for promoting antiracist education.

The specific topics are listed below:

  • Racism and educational inequality
  • Racism and educational practices
  • Racism and teacher training
  • Epistemic, systemic, and institutional racism
  • Racialized identities and bodies in educational settings
  • Experiences of antiracist teacher training in the educational field
  • Educational and institutional policies for addressing racism at different educational levels
  • Educational experiences with an intercultural and antiracist focus

 

Bibliography

Aranda, V. (2011). Reflexión y análisis de políticas y prácticas innovadoras a la luz de las representaciones sociales y de la necesidad de una educación intercultural en la formación inicial docente. Estudios Pedagógicos, vol. XXXVII, No. 2, pp. 301-314.

Castillo Guzmán, E. and Caicedo Ortiz, J. A. (2022). El racismo escolar. Debates educativos y crónicas. Editorial Universidad del Cauca.

Essed, P. (1991). Understanding everyday racism. An interdisciplinary theory. Sage Publications.

Guaymás, A. and Chacoma, M. S. (comps.) (2021). Protagonismos y reivindicaciones de jóvenes indígenas: construcciones identitarias en escenarios educativos. Grupo Editor Universitario.

Kaplan, C. V. and Sulca, E. (2021). Racismo y pueblos indígenas en Argentina. Retos para la micropolítica escolar. InterNaciones, vol. 9, No. 22, pp. 161-181.

Mato, D. (2024) Factores clave en la naturalización y reproducción del racismo en la educación superior en América Latina. Aprendizajes para el diseño de políticas e iniciativas anti-racistas. RELAPE, No. 21, pp. 124-139.

Van Dijk, T. (2016). Racismo y discurso en América Latina. Gedisa.

 

[1] Manuscripts must be submitted through Sinéctica’s website, and only after the author has registered. Research and theoretical articles are received in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. Only unedited work is accepted. All articles, without exception, will be subjected to blind peer review by outside experts.

[2] National Council of Scientific and Technical Research-National Institute of Social Science and Humanities Research/Universidad Nacional de Salta, Argentina

[3] National Council of Scientific and Technical Research-Center for Social and Educational Research of Northern Argentina/Universidad Nacional de Salta-School of Humanities and Social Sciences/Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Argentina.

[4] School of Social Sciences/Universidad Nacional de San Juan, Argentina.