Lived curriculum and emotions in an education based on social justice

Abstract

Education represents a project with sociocultural, political, historical, and philosophical dimensions. Therefore, its body of knowledge must be interpreted dialectically across various categories that, in some ways, appear dichotomous, notably subjectivity versus objectivity or local versus global reality. Within this pedagogical context, the concept of social justice has emerged as an ethical guiding principle associated with social movements and political rights. This study reflects on the lived curriculum and emotions in an education grounded in social justice. Analyses of the lived curriculum as a category that transcends technical rationality reveal that it offers an opportunity to give space to the meanings of students’ and teachers’ experiences, thereby informing educational cycles across different contexts and levels of education. A similar dynamic occurs with emotions in education, which, linked to well-being and ethics, allow us to understand experiences from a subjective perspective and establish pedagogical knowledge. It is suggested that these themes be addressed through a pluralistic epistemological approach to the subject, to avoid superficial and reductionist approaches that are detrimental in pedagogical terms.