BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:732@ukfiet.org DTSTART:20250227T153000Z DTEND:20250227T170000Z DTSTAMP:20250219T160920Z URL:https://www.ukfiet.org/events/global-north-global-south-and-sdg-4-unpa cking-the-challenges-of-education-change-in-latin-america/ SUMMARY:Global North\, Global South\, and SDG 4: Unpacking the Challenges o f Education Change in Latin America DESCRIPTION:27 February\, 15:30-17:00 GMT\nLocation: Maison de la Paix & \; Online (Zoom)\nREGISTER HERE\nUNESCO Chair Series in Comparative Educat ion Policy. Lecture with Felicitas Acosta\nHow are the terms Global North and Global South\, educational systems\, educational reforms\, Latin Ameri ca\, and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 interconnected? These concep ts have deep historical roots and have evolved significantly within compar ative education policy studies\, particularly regarding the transnational circulation of educational processes.\nA central concern in this context i s the presumed standardisation of educational reforms and policies\, a the me that has gained increasing importance with globalisation. A clear examp le of this trend is SDG 4\, which sets broad educational goals to ensure i nclusive\, equitable\, and quality education for all by 2030.\nDespite its universal aspirations\, SDG 4 faces significant challenges in its realisa tion. Although these goals have guided the development of educational poli cies in numerous countries\, many outcomes have not met expectations. This does not mean no progress has occurred\, but rather that global objective s remain unmet in many countries. Several factors contribute to this gap\, including insufficient funding\, limited institutional capacity\, and dee p-rooted historical challenges—issues identified early in studies of edu cational expansion that are closely tied to the specific contexts in which education systems develop.\nGiven these complexities\, we must critically examine the language used to frame global educational goals\, as it often overlooks the unique characteristics of individual education systems. Thi s issue is critical when considering the relationship between the Global N orth and Global South concepts\, SDG 4\, and educational systems with dist inct traditions and histories. This presentation focuses on Latin America\ , a region historically shaped by the internationalisation of education. B y exploring the region’s educational development and its alignment with SDG 4\, this analysis aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of both the progress made and the ongoing challenges in expanding access to educa tion.\nGlobal South is widely used in social sciences and development stud ies to refer to countries historically marginalised by colonial and neolib eral systems\, particularly in Africa\, Asia\, and Latin America. However\ , critics argue that the term oversimplifies the diversity within these re gions. It can obscure the historical\, cultural\, and social contexts shap ing educational challenges. For example\, while the Global South label is often used to discuss educational struggles in Latin America\, it can mask the region’s unique colonial legacies and socio-political dynamics\, wh ich differ from those in Africa or Asia. Therefore\, applying a blanket te rm like Global South to diverse regions can hinder a deeper understanding of educational realities.\nThe case of SDG 4 illustrates how global polici es\, while broadly relevant\, may fail when applied uniformly across diver se regions. SDG 4 promotes inclusive\, equitable\, and quality education f or all\, emphasising lifelong learning opportunities. However\, policies d erived from these goals often neglect regional specificities\, leading to limited impact. In Latin America\, educational challenges go beyond simply increasing access to schooling\; they involve addressing issues like curr iculum modernisation\, teacher training\, and historical inequities. Moreo ver\, while state institutions are often seen as key drivers of reform\, s cholars argue that civil society and academia also play vital roles in fos tering change. Some advocate for incremental improvements to the existing system\, while others call for more radical alternatives\, such as emancip atory education models that challenge neoliberal frameworks. These diverse perspectives reflect Latin America’s complex relationship with global p ower structures and its ongoing struggle to implement reforms that meet lo cal needs and respect regional histories.\nAs comparative education studie s have evolved\, scholars have increasingly called for approaches that acc ount for each education system’s historical\, cultural\, and social part icularities. Suppose the goal is to strengthen educational systems that ar e inclusive\, equitable\, culturally relevant\, and historically informed. In that case\, it is crucial to focus on the interactions between transna tional discourses—such as the goals of SDG 4—the policies that states\ , in collaboration with other actors\, derive from these goals and the edu cational systems’ internal dynamics. Understanding these interactions re quires explicit attention to the role of institutional dynamics and histor ical matrices of educational models. These factors serve not only to filte r but also to hinder or re-orient policies\, revealing their variations an d limitations.\n \; ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ukfiet.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/0 2/UNESCO-Chair-Serices-Felicitas-Acosta.jpg CATEGORIES:Seminar END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR