Community organization as a communication space for democratic self-management in a rural Mexican school

Abstract

Rural education, particularly community education, is one of the educational priorities for providing quality education from a perspective of equity, inclusion, and interculturality. In Mexico, the Consejo Nacional de Fomento Educativo (National Council for Educational Development, CONAFE), as a government agency, offers educational services to rural communities, as an innovative pedagogical alternative with low operating costs. One of the key players in achieving this goal is the Association for the Promotion of Community Education (Asociación Promotora de Educación Comunitaria, APEC), which is characterized by the collaborative participation of families organized in each community in support of educational services. This article presents a reconstructive analytical review of the democratic exercise related to the development of community education services, using an ethnographic approach to understanding the communications that emerge within APEC, as a space for discussion, participation, and decision-making for school management. The study is conceptually grounded in Luhmann’s systems theory and Edgar Morin’s theory of complexity. The findings point to an organized community system that prioritizes operational efficiency over democratic public policies, although it is not disconnected from them.