The Equity Paradox in Disadvantaged High Schools in Chile

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24320/redie.2026.28.especial.e04.7889

Keywords:

educational discrimination, social justice, educational interactions processes, educational policy

Supporting Agencies:

Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo

Abstract

Educational policies play a key role in promoting equity worldwide. However, various studies have argued that these policies do not always achieve their intended outcomes. The objective of this research was to explore how administrative and management teams in socioeconomically disadvantaged high schools interpret and translate educational policies aimed at promoting equity, in addition to the potential challenges for developing quality teaching-learning processes. The study was exploratory and employed a qualitative, cross-sectional design, with a critical sociological approach. Interviews were conducted with 16 members of leadership and management teams from four socioeconomically disadvantaged secondary schools in the Valparaíso Region, Chile. Thematic analysis was used to process the information. The main findings indicate that equity policies are interpreted and implemented in a partial manner and from a deficit perspective that permeates school life, helping to shape inequitable teaching-learning processes that reinforce and perpetuate social inequalities. This study sounds the alarm about a paradox of equity policies in education and discusses the critical impact this has both on teaching-learning processes and on the student-teacher relationship.

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Published

2026-09-17
ISSN: 1607-4041

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