Utopías y educación

Abstract

This article is intended as a counterpoint to the many disappointing delays in modernization experienced in recent times. It focuses on the valuable role of utopias in the progress of humanity, in particular in education. We begin with a review of the denotations and connotations—not always positive—of the term “utopia”, and of the variety of utopias in social change movements. With this, we hope to introduce and develop a concept of the inseparable relationship between utopia and education. Both discourse on the perennial search for educational excellence and an emphasis on educational reform and innovation presuppose an assumption of what is collectively deemed as multireferentially and multidimensionally desirable, inherent in a variety of sociocultural and economic contexts. Although we do not attempt to identify the most appropriate educational utopia for the twenty-first century, we bring together the key ideas and contributions of various theorists on education for the future. We emphasize the role of researchers and of the university in enabling utopian thought, and we analyze the potential elements required to construct educational utopias for the Mexican context.