Productive technical education: decolonizing strategies through learning by producing and learning by doing

Abstract

Productive technical education is configured as a strategic training modality to articulate learning, production, context and identity in alternative education scenarios. The objective of the study was to analyze this modality from a decolonizing approach, highlighting the strategies of learning by producing and learning by doing as fundamental pedagogical axes. A qualitative research was developed with an interpretative approach and case study design in an Alternative Education Center in the department of Potosí. The sample was made up of 57 participants including teachers, directors and students, complemented by the analysis of an institutional population of 546 participants. Semi-structured interviews, observation guide, field diaries and documentary review were used, articulating the information through a process of triangulation. The results show a training offer relevant to the socio-labor context, the centrality of practice in learning, the articulation between production and knowledge, as well as a tension between access and educational continuity. It is concluded that productive technical education, from a decolonizing perspective, not only strengthens labor competencies, but also promotes productive autonomy, cognitive sovereignty and socio-community identity.