Dr Silvia Espinal Meza

I am a third-year PhD student in Education (Comparative & International Research in Education). I am also a Graduate Teaching Assistant supporting units on Education & Social Justice and Sustainable Development at the University of Bristol. B.A. in Sociology and M.A. in Human Development by Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP). Lecturer and advisor with more than 10 years of experience in the fields of Sociology of Education and Research Methods. Consultant in education (UNESCO, GRADE, IEP, ISS, etc). Working experience in the Ministry of Education (Peru) and National Council of Education (CNE) as specialist in Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). Academic scholarships awarded by the World Bank & IMF, Bristol Doctoral College (University of Bristol), Gilchrist educational trust, UK; LASA, HDCA, PUCP, among others. 

Doctoral project

Title: Teachers’ Narratives of Social Justice through Critical Pedagogies in Neoliberal Times: a Discussion of the Peruvian Case

This research is focused on the praxis of social justice through critical pedagogies from the voices of a group of secondary rural teachers in Peru. Within an educational scenario marked by the dominance of neoliberalism from 1990, the study will discuss how these rural teachers practice a commitment to social justice through critical pedagogies. Furthermore, the study seeks to investigate how these practices of social justice could run into tension with neoliberal policies in Peru where inequalities persist and affect rural areas most severely.

Research Aim

To explore with critical educators in rural secondary schools in Peru how they practice a commitment to social justice through the use of critical pedagogies. 

Research Questions  

Main question: How do a group of secondary school teachers in rural Peru conceptualise and practice their commitment to social justice through critical pedagogies within the constraints of the neoliberal policy landscape?  

Secondary questions:

1. What do a group of secondary rural teachers in Peru understand by social justice and critical pedagogies?
2. How do they implement critical pedagogies through their practices as rural teachers?
3. In what ways could the praxis of social justice through critical pedagogies from these group of rural teachers run into tension within the neoliberal policies?