Pedagogical Narratives in Complex School Contexts in Latin America: A Systematic Review for Teacher Training

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative systematic review of pedagogical narratives within complex school contexts in Latin America. The topic is timely given the proliferation of settings marked by inequality, rurality, urban fragmentation, and violence—factors that challenge initial and continuing teacher education. The review addresses the fragmented nature of regional scholarship, which lacks a systematic overview of its contributions. Through searches across Scielo, Redalyc, Dialnet, DOAJ, and Scopus. The framework—the study analyzed narratives from teachers and student teachers. These narratives reveal recurring issues (such as academic lag, absenteeism, violence, and theory-practice tensions) alongside processes involving the construction of situated pedagogical knowledge, narrative reflection, and socio-emotional intervention. The study’s novelty lies in synthesizing these dimensions into a regional map and conceptualizing pedagogical narrative as a form of professional knowledge essential for teacher training in complex contexts. The objective is to identify these issues, describe the professional learning evident in the accounts, and propose curricular guidelines to strengthen initial and continuing teacher education from a situated, inclusive, and socio-emotional perspective.