Epistemological Paradoxes of the Socio-Community Model: Decolonization and Essentialism in Bolivian Education

Víctor Hugo Quintanilla Coro
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Víctor Hugo Quintanilla Coro: Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia

Pedagogical Constellations, 2026, vol. 5, issue 1, 406-428

Abstract: The historical-social foundation of Bolivia's socio-community productive educational curriculum (Law 070, Avelino Siñani-Elizardo Pérez) is analyzed. These foundations are outlined as the realities the curriculum must address. They bring with them four paradoxes. Firstly, the theory-practice gap – a universal epistemological challenge – is reduced to a mere "colonial legacy," ignoring its constitutive nature in all human knowledge. Secondly, a dichotomy is established between technical and humanistic education, when in reality these are interdependent forms of education: technique without humanism dehumanizes, while humanism without practical application loses social relevance. Thirdly, indigenous essentialism is promoted by seeking to "reconstitute" precolonial knowledges as if they were static entities; their intercultural development is overlooked. Fourthly, cognitivism – the foundation of learning – is condemned through a performative paradox, as rejecting cognitive processes (memory, analysis, comprehension, or explanation) nullifies the possibilities for critical thought.

Keywords: Theory and practice; technical and humanistic education; indigenous essentialism; cognitivism; Interculturality; curriculum; sociocommunity model; colonial reductionism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cvp:pedagi:v:5:y:2026:i:1:id:163

DOI: 10.69821/constellations.v5i1.163

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