The World Bank's discourse for education in the pandemic: neoliberalism and the expansion of remote learning as “opportunities” for Latin America and the Caribbean in the crisis scenario

Abstract

In March 2020, the world was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, and, in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, social distancing measures were adopted by the governments of different countries, resulting in the closing of schools, which teaching methodologies had to be modified, moving from the face-to-face to the remote or hybrid model. In an attempt to lead this process, multilateral organizations produced guidelines on the reformulation of pedagogical structures in peripheral countries, elaborating documents to be followed in this context of international crisis. In this sense, the World Bank published in February 2021 a report that indicates steps to be taken by governments in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study, which is characterized by a qualitative and documentary approach, aims to understand the contradictions that emerge in the discourse of the report from the historical determinants that impacted the educational reality. The methodological basis was the materialist-historical-dialectic, complemented by Bardin's content analysis, using the text mining technique as support. The results indicate the articulation of two discursive elements, the first points to the opportunities for solidification and expansion of access to educational systems, and the second, for the creation of a consensus for the implementation of neoliberal initiatives that were thought of as emergencies, however, come gaining permanent status.