Decolonial thinking and community knowledge: towards revaluation of ancestoral customs and knowledge

Abstract

The present academic article examines the articulation between decolonial thinking and community knowing as a foundation for revaluing ancestral customs and knowledge in plurinational educational contexts. From a critical and situated perspective, the research develops an analysis on how school can be transformed into a space of intercultural dialogue and epistemic justice, overcoming Eurocentric logics that have historically marginalized local knowledges. The study, conducted at the Bolivian Air Force Educational Unit (UEFAB), is framed in an interpretive qualitative approach, underpinned by interviews, reflection circles and pedagogical observation. The findings reveal that, although school structures reproducing cultural and epistemological hierarchies persist, pedagogical practices emerge that claim collective memory, native languages and community traditions as axes of the formative process. The article concludes that strengthening ancestral knowledge from school demands a contextualised curriculum, participatory methodologies and committed teacher training.