Participation: a challenge for the current educational context in Cienfuegos, Cuba

Abstract

This paper aims to reflect on the current Cuban situation and address the following questions: What generates among learners the possibility of being part of a process of knowledge construction and transformation of their reality? How can this ¨beauty¨, according to José Martí, be achieved in daily pedagogical work? What should participation assume from the perspective of Popular Education? The theoretical and methodological considerations presented are the result of more than 15 years of educational work in the training processes of grassroots leaders of People's Power in Cienfuegos province. Together with a team of popular educators, we took on the task of energizing popular participation through exemplary training, where these champions could experience this process from a pedagogical perspective, combined with a necessary practical component that began with a participatory diagnosis of their socio-community reality.