Machismo and Mamitas at school: exploring the agency of teachers for social gender justice in Bolivian education

Historically, Bolivia’s society and education system have been characterised by marginalisation based on poverty, ethnicity and gender. The central objective of the Morales government is to redress this imbalance and create a society inclusive of all Bolivians so that they can ‘live well’. Our article illustrates how, while the international development agenda sees gender equality as an important element for an egalitarian education system, the latest Bolivian education reform gives gender equality diminished importance in favour of the focus on interculturality. Applying an analytical framework that uses social justice theory and a strategic relational approach, this article explores the agency of teachers to effect social change in relation to gender inequalities in Bolivia. Our research approach is embedded within the interdisciplinary field of international development studies and used mostly qualitative techniques to examine teachers’ strategies to act towards gender equality.