Educational research in Latin America: political agendas in a time of dispute

Abstract

The advance of the far-right in the Latin American landscape has created a complex scenario characterized by authoritarian projects, setbacks in rights, and the weakening of democracy. In this context, the right to education has been called into question amidst a climate of social and political polarization, with the proliferation of hate speech and hostility that erodes public debate. In light of this, the journal Educação e Políticas em Debate, aiming to contribute to discussions from a Latin American and Caribbean perspective on commitment to the right to education and democracy, offers the public consistent reflections on the subject through the publication of a Dossier titled “Educational research in Latin America: political agendas in a time of dispute”, organized by professors and researchers Ana Sheila Fernandes Costa (University of Brasília – Brazil), Myriam Feldfeber (University of Buenos Aires – Argentina), and Guadalupe Olivier Téllez (National Pedagogical University – Mexico), all members of the Asociación Latinomericana de Investigación en Educacion (ALIE). The dossier compiles manuscripts originating from the ALIE Pre-congress, held in August 2025, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, an event whose scope was to foster academic-scientific spaces with the purpose of consolidating a Latin American and Caribbean perspective on educational challenges, as well as formulating a research agenda that contemplates the complexity and heterogeneity inherent in knowledge production in the region. In addition to the dossier, the articles that comprise the continuous demand section of this edition mobilize a plurality of theoretical and methodological approaches, with public education policies as the structuring axis of their analyses.