Afrodescendant Ethnoeducation and the School-to-Work Transition in the Colombian Caribbean: The Cases of La Boquilla, Tierra Bomba, and Libertad-Sucre

Davide Riccardi (), Verónica del Carmen Bossio Blanco and José Manuel Romero Tenorio
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Davide Riccardi: International Institute of Caribbean Studies, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena de Indias 130001, Colombia
Verónica del Carmen Bossio Blanco: Faculty of Educational Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Pereira 660003, Colombia
José Manuel Romero Tenorio: Faculty of Humanities, Universidad del Atlántico, Barranquilla 080003, Colombia

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-20

Abstract: This study analyzed the intersection between Afrodescendant ethnoeducation and the school-to-work transition in three marginalized communities of the Colombian Caribbean: La Boquilla, Tierra Bomba, and Libertad-Sucre. Using a qualitative methodology, the research reconstructed, on the one hand, the institutional framework of Afro-Colombian ethnoeducation since the 1991 Constitution, highlighting public policies implemented and their impacts. On the other hand, it examined the educational dynamics in these localities and their link (or lack thereof) to local labor markets, identifying innovations, limitations, and structural barriers affecting young people’s transition from school to work. The findings show that the Colombian ethnoeducational model has introduced curricular and participatory innovations aimed at enhancing cultural relevance and preparing students for productive life. However, its implementation faces persistent barriers including inadequate infrastructure, the legacies of internal armed conflict, structural racism, limited employment opportunities, and chronic public disinvestment. Despite valuable local initiatives—such as technical training in collaboration with the SENA (National Learning Service, Colombia’s public technical education system) in sectors like fishing and tourism—Afrodescendant youth continue to experience limited labor market integration. Finally, the article offers policy and practical recommendations from a decolonial ethnoeducational perspective, inspired by the pedagogy for liberation, to strengthen the school-to-work transition in contexts of vulnerability.

Keywords: ethnoeducation; Afro-Colombian studies; Colombian Caribbean; school-to-work transition; pedagogy for liberation; decolonial education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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