Education and training, knowledge production, and colonial difference. A perspective from inside Europe

Abstract

Colonialism has ended, but the structure of colonial power persists, and education is a key vehicle for the colonization of the mind. Following the research of the Latin America collective project modernidad/ colonialidad, this paper analyzes the continuous reproduction of colonial power in European programs on education and training as well as in the production of educational knowledge. The neoliberal impact of European politics affects societies in and outside of Europe and intensifies a hegemonic struggle over educational knowledge production, educational studies, and the humanities. The complex praxis of what I call the ‘epistemic community Europe’ articulates the hegemonic and colonial power. I then take a closer look at the elements of this epistemic community and discuss two of them in detail: the ‘scientification’ of politics and the relevance of the human capital approach. The neoliberal turn of European governance produces standardized educational knowledge and, simultaneously, ‘absences.’ Resistance emerges from absent experiences and knowledges, which open the field for decolonial options.