A Decolonial Approach to the Transnational Pedagogy of Solidarity: A Case Study of Primary School Teachers in Ibiza

Abstract

Ibiza (Spain) is an island with a rich environment of diversity, a mixture of tradition, opportunities, and luxury. This thesis explores the transnational pedagogy of solidarity (TPOS) fostered in Ibiza public primary schools, focusing specifically on Global North (GN) – Global South (GS) relationships. The transnational pedagogy of solidarity is the set of methodologies, predispositions and practices encompassing solidarity relations between nation-states. The centre of the investigation is the (GN) teachers’ perspective on their role as agents of social change in the decoloniality of solidarity in mass education systems. Through qualitative research, five teachers will be interviewed with semi-structured questions in search of current tendencies on their role in social justice education. The questions will reveal whether education is naturally political, the influence of the official and hidden curriculum in their solidarity practices in school, and the teachers’ responses to Freire’s (2016) real solidarity and its decoloniality. Transnational pedagogy of solidarity is an important bridge between local and global socialisation of children in their educative process. The aim is to find indicators of decolonial teaching predispositions in reimagining and renovating TPOS in Ibizan schools. Results show that three teachers believe in a pedagogy of acknowledging privileges, developing empathy, and learning from perspectives other than Eurocentric ones. On the other hand, two teachers also believe there is a need for further transformation of TPOS. For this reason, this paper dives into theories of an early introduction of the struggle of one’s oppressive role in society to promote responsibility, hope and reimagination of social change.