Clues to reflect on (in) equality in Latin American higher education in relation to its present and future actors and curricula

Abstract

Based on the recognition of three major problems, pressing issues and challenges for higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean, such as the environment, democracy and inclusion, in this essay we intend to focus on a part or derivation of the last of these three, inequality. Through a reflective perspective, nourished by previous precedents and specific cases, we try to dialogue between two libraries in order to build a bridge between evidence and perspectives from different analytical frameworks. Our fundamental premise is that higher education in our region, the most unequal on the planet, faces numerous challenges. To investigate this issue, we first developed some notions of inequality at the higher education level, considering current realities and urgent needs to overcome problems. Subsequently, we explored some clues about what the students and teachers of the future are and will be like, and some necessary curricular adjustments that should be made to fight inequality. It is interesting to note that universities in the region will have to adapt to future global changes, taking into account the expressions of the problems and characteristics of higher education systems in the region.