Informal education, historical consciousness and social movements

Abstract

Social movements have a special value as informal education. You can see how they educate the people who participate in them and how they affect public opinion. They are a new component within participatory democracy, which try to address their message to society –sometimes through controversy and using criticism– mediate reflection on the reality that surrounds us. This paper analyzes the contributions of social movements in informal education, using Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy as an interpretation tool and trying to answer the question of whether it is possible –through these movements– to achieve social change. Likewise, the work tests the reflections presented in other studies such as the one that precedes this one and that dealt with the social movements of 1968 in Mexico and Poland; and the repercussions they had on the historical consciousness of the societies of that time. The main thrust of this paper is the events that occurred in Chihuahua on March 8, 2022, International Women’s Day, because they achieved a broad participation of university students and sought the influence of past social movements as a triggering factor. The methodology was based on the review of secondary sources to support the hypothesis about informal education as a factor of change in society and –given the extension requirements in the call for the publication– the review is reduced to the texts considered indispensable by the researchers and the use of interviews with some participants.