Transformations of rural schools in Eastern Antioquia based on learning communities

Abstract

This article gathers the findings of two research projects that share objectives related to the interpretation of the practices and discourses of the educational communities of Eastern Antioquia regarding the appropriation of the dialogic learning principles and of the successful educational actions of the Learning Communities project in the dynamics of rural schools. The logic of qualitative and narrative research and documentary analysis of pedagogical experiences and collective narrative accounts was followed. This led to the emergence of expectations and attitudes associated with the decision-making participation of families, local self-management, the valuing of diversity, the strengthening of institutional capabilities, and educational or social cohesion, depending on the environment. This allows affirming that the Learning Communities project—in its epistemological, philosophical, and methodological approach—fulfills the principles of flexible educational models for rural education in Colombia. In this sense, it should be considered in the educational plans for rural areas.