Rethinking Situated Learning in Contexts of Disruption and Inequality in Latin America

Abstract Book of the 11th International Conference on Research in Education, Teaching and Learning

Year: 2026

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Rethinking Situated Learning in Contexts of Disruption and Inequality in Latin America

Sonia Figueroa

ABSTRACT:

This paper examines the relevance of situated learning as a lens for understanding learning processes in the context of contemporary educational disruptions in Latin America, including pandemics and structural inequalities that have accelerated the transition to digital and hybrid learning environments. Drawing on the experiential perspective of John Dewey and the concept of legitimate peripheral participation proposed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, the paper explores how learning as a socially situated and experience-based process is both challenged and reconfigured under conditions of disruption. From a theoretical standpoint, it argues that abrupt shifts to virtual environments have disrupted the continuity of educational experience and weakened communities of practice, particularly in unequal contexts across Latin America. However, rather than signaling a decline of situated learning, these transformations point to its reconfiguration within digitally mediated contexts. The paper further discusses the pedagogical implications of designing meaningful learning experiences in digital and hybrid environments, with particular attention to how community, participation, and learner engagement are reconfigured within specific, historically grounded, and unequal contexts. It also reflects on the need to critically reconsider how educational practices can remain context-sensitive while responding to rapid and unpredictable change. In doing so, it contributes to ongoing discussions on how learning theories can be reinterpreted to address the challenges of education in rapidly changing and unequal contexts. (219 words)

Keywords: Situated Learning, Educational Disruption, Digital And Hybrid Learning, Latin America, Educational Inequality