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

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  • Víctor Hugo Quintanilla Coro

    (Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia)

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.

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Handle: RePEc:cvp:pedagi:v:5:y:2026:i:1:id:163
DOI: 10.69821/constellations.v5i1.163
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