Critical perspectives in EFL teaching : Insights for the development of a community-based curriculum within anti-capitalist and anti-patriarchal frameworks in Chile

Abstract

This research attends the decontextualisation of the Chilean educational system, which prioritises academic measurement and homogenised content over the needs and interests of educational communities. Drawing on Critical Pedagogy, Community-Based curriculum, and Anti-Capitalist and Anti-Patriarchal alignments, this work sheds light on an alternative curricular approach, which considers the territorial context and particular needs of students. This approach seeks to address the segregation in education, characterised as an Apartheid phenomena, and transform the teaching of English, by democratising its access and dismantling the stratification process around the language as a privileged capability. Through a qualitative research method, the study conducts 11 interviews with Chilean EFL teachers who implement Critical perspectives into their teaching practices. Challenges such as teachers’ high workloads, behavioral incidents, and administrative difficulties are addressed as key insights to consider when implementing a holistic Community-Based Curriculum, including Anti-Capitalist and Anti-Patriarchal elements. Furthermore, this study promotes a search for reflection and revindication of the identity of EFL teachers, the contextualisation of pedagogical practices, as well as the importance of curricular reinterpretation, not only as a tool to implement critical methodologies, but as an invaluable asset for any educator. Finally, this research concludes that a significant amount of Critically-based practices are being implemented at various levels of education in our country. These elements provide valuable seeds for developing a Community-Based Curriculum, directly challenging some of the major issues within our educational system.