Education Policy and the State in Research on Latin America: A Systematic Review of Theoretical Approaches

This paper presents the results of a systematic literature review on how the state has been explicitly and implicitly conceived in research on K–12 education policy in Latin America. Based on a review of 177 studies in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, seven general theoretical approaches are identified in research on Latin America that focuses on K–12 education policy and employs the language of “the state.” These approaches are labeled political economy, policy process, governance, institutionalism, poststructuralism, post-/decoloniality, and historical accounts. In addition to delineating the characteristics of these seven general approaches, this paper also identifies how each approach conceptualizes the state, or does not, as well as the implications of these approaches for how “the state” and other actors can purposefully act to guide education systems toward particular ends. The discussion section considers the consequences of the fact that the studies in the sample vary not only in terms of the explicitness of their theoretical approach, but also in terms of clarity around the nature of the state. The concluding section comments on the value of combining various theoretical perspectives for understanding the relationship between states and K–12 education policy in Latin America.