Social innovation in education: perspectives from Brazil and Mexico

Abstract

Social innovation in education remains under-researched despite its growing importance in addressing educational challenges in Latin America. Whilst innovation in education can encompass systemic reforms or incremental classroom changes, social innovation specifically involves novel partnerships, institutions, methods, and collaborative arrangements amongst communities, schools, local governments, and non-governmental organizations, emphasizing societal participation through co-creation processes. This paper addresses the research question: How do social actors construct and sustain social innovations in education through networks, partnerships, and community participation? Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Brazil and Mexico between 2013 and 2014 and a follow-up interview in 2023, this study employs case study methodology examining three long-standing educational innovations: City School-Apprentice and Campos Salles School in São Paulo, Brazil, and the Institute of Educational Innovation in Chiapas, Mexico. The analysis suggests that, in the cases examined, social innovations emerged through iterative processes involving collective action, sustained relationship-building, and collaborative governance at the micro level. The findings show how locally rooted networks developed connections to wider institutional structures, under conditions that varied considerably between the two national contexts. The paper's primary contribution lies in offering an empirically grounded sociological account of social innovation in education in two contrasting Latin American contexts. This study shows the influence of diverse stakeholders on the implementation of educational innovations in environments with limited resources. It also emphasizes the transformative potential of grassroots innovation, civil society involvement, and community-centred approaches to educational change in Latin America.