Education and human rights in Ecuador

Abstract

The relationship between education and human rights in Ecuador has evolved through a complex historical process in which legal reforms, public policies and pedagogical practices have produced significant progress while also revealing persistent limitations. Although recent decades have seen the consolidation of legal and constitutional frameworks aimed at strengthening education as a fundamental right, structural, cultural, technological and gender-related tensions continue to hinder the establishment of an emancipatory and transformative model of education. A critical analysis of the policies implemented during the Citizens’ Revolution highlights systemic challenges such as territorial inequality, social exclusion, the digital divide, school bullying, discrimination against LGBTIQ+ students, the marginalisation of Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian knowledge, and the weakening of intercultural bilingual education. In response to this scenario, it is essential to incorporate contemporary approaches linked to digital education, gender diversity and plurinationality, with the aim of identifying both the limitations and the opportunities within the system. The proposal points towards a radical reconfiguration of education, not as the passive transmission of content, but as an ethical, critical, participatory and contextual practice that integrates teacher training with a rights-based perspective, embeds gender considerations into curricula, fosters non-authoritarian pedagogical relationships and strengthens shared responsibility between schools, communities and the State. In this sense, the teaching of human rights becomes the foundation of a living and plural democracy, directed towards ensuring the recognition of diverse identities, knowledges and territories, while cultivating citizens who are capable of exercising active, critical and sustainable citizenship.