Práxis Educativa

Towards a liberating teaching practice

Ignácio Martín-Baró — 2025-12-01

In this article, the Salvadoran social psychologist develops a critical analysis of the role of university teaching in both the reproduction and possible overcoming of the structures of domination in force in Latin America. By examining the technical and institutional aspects of higher education, he argues that, when detached from its social and political function, teaching practices become alienated, serving the maintenance of interests that do not favor the working class. In this condition, it reinforces intellectual conformism, hierarchical relations, and cultural dependency. In contrast, Martín-Baró proposes a liberating teaching practice—grounded in autonomy, critical reflection, and ethical-political commitment, and supported by pedagogical diversity and social participation. Such a pedagogy must integrate teaching, research, and community engagement with the organic formation of students and, simultaneously, with the concrete demands of Latin American peoples. The author concludes that transforming teaching requires more than methodological adjustments: it demands a revolution of institutional structures and an explicit recognition of the political dimension of education, turning the university into a space for fostering the emancipation of the working class.

Keywords: Teaching. University. Alienation. Latin America. Liberation Psychology.

Educational inequalities in academic performance in secondary education in Peru: a multilevel analysis

Myrian Luz Ricaldi Echevarria — 2025-11-26

This study examines academic performance inequalities in mathematics, reading, and social sciences among peruvian students, considering gender, school management, and geographic location. Using multilevel models, disparities were quantified, and variance was estimated at the individual, school, and regional levels. Results indicate that students in urban areas and private schools achieve significantly higher performance. Additionally, a strong association between reading proficiency and social sciences achievement was observed. These findings underscore the need for evidence-based educational policies to address structural inequalities in the education system.

Keywords: Educational inequality. Secondary education. Multilevel analysis.

Students’ repertoire of pictorial transformations in problem solving using the Singapore Bar Model

Luiz Augusto Richit — 2025-11-27

This article presents a survey of the pictorial transformations that make up the repertoire of students who use the Singapore Bar Model to solve word problems. Based on a literature review guided by searches in the Scopus and ERIC databases, we mapped the articles on the topic and systematized the findings. The analysis of the manuscripts revealed that solving problems using the Bar Model involves different pictorial transformations applied to the models used to represent numbers and their relationships in word problems. Three general types of pictorial transformations were identified, herein referred to as “partition transformations,” “completion transformations,” and “repositioning transformations.” These transformations reveal different processes involved in students’ use of the Bar Model and constitute part of the knowledge required by teachers who guide problem-solving activities using this model in Mathematics classrooms.

Keywords: Singapore Bar Model. Pictorial transformations. Problem solving.