Constructing identity in the margins of globalisation: Education, participation and learning

This article aims to take a closer look at the ways in which identities are constructed in a globalised society, from an interpretive-critical perspective and placing a special emphasis on schooling. School is a fundamental setting from which identity is built in the early stages of a person's formation. However, this institution is guided by the values, culture and needs of the hegemonic cultural group, and it sidesteps minorities and their contributions as insignificant and residual, along with a whole variety of possibilities that would come with a more inclusive society. That is why it is important and necessary to analyse the channels that students from minority collectives use to construct their identity, and to reflect on how schools are working with these disadvantaged groups, in the globalised society. The school institution can, and must, be a place where participation and learning enable students to interpret themselves and present themselves in communication with others, despite the fact that its current position is a long way from such ideas.