Carolina Guzmán-Valenzuela

Background: Despite expanded access to higher education, engineering in Chile remains embedded in gendered and socio‐economic structures shaped by a highly marketized and stratified educational system. Objective: This study examines how working‐class women navigate intersecting gender and class inequalities within Chilean engineering programs. Design/Methods: Drawing on a critical feminist framework informed by Community Cultural Wealth, this qualitative study analyzes semi‐structured interviews with 15 women engineering students. An iterative thematic analysis was conducted to explore how participants interpret, negotiate, and respond to learning dynamics, relationships, and institutional conditions. Results: Participants described navigating overt and covert gender bias and stereotypes, academic gaps and financial pressures, while mobilizing aspirational, familial, social, navigational, and resistance capitals to navigate higher education. Their experiences illustrate how navigation is shaped by uneven institutional cultures and resources. Conclusions: This study shows that expanded access does not equate to substantive equality and shows how gendered and classed forms of capital operate within a highly marketized higher education system. The findings underscore the need for policy and institutional reforms that address structural inequities in market‐oriented systems while recognizing the collective assets women mobilize to navigate engineering education.

The paper addresses the critical challenge of decolonising universities in Chile, situating the discourse within the nation's historical trajectory and its engagement with global academic pressures. It examines how Chilean universities, historically central to nation-state-building and reflective of broader Latin American patterns, are now at a crossroads, grappling with the preservation of national identity, engagement with the global knowledge economy, and the need to address epistemic injustices rooted in colonial legacies and neoliberal agendas. Drawing on decolonial theory and Escobar's concept of the pluriverse, the paper reimagines Chilean universities as transformative spaces that resist colonial legacies while promoting inclusivity and equity in curriculum, research, governance, and social engagement. This idea challenges the commodification of education tied to global rankings and envisions a system where local and national identities align with global academic aspirations. The analysis offers nuanced insights into the decolonisation of higher education and proposes a transformative framework for Chilean universities to address these tensions.

This chapter examines the historical, national and global forces shaping Latin American universities, focusing on their entanglement with colonial legacies, national aspirations and globalisation. Historically, these institutions have reinforced Eurocentric narratives and marginalised Indigenous and black populations, serving as gatekeepers of power and embedding systemic inequalities. Even in the republican era and beyond, traditional universities have prioritised Western ideals at the expense of Indigenous knowledge systems. In the contemporary context, globalisation and internationalisation have created both challenges and opportunities. Metrics-driven paradigms such as the ‘prestige economy’ and international rankings prioritise research productivity and global partnerships, reinforcing Anglo-Saxon frameworks. This marginalisation of local epistemologies exacerbates global inequalities in higher education. In the midst of these pressures, the chapter highlights decolonisation movements that advocate diverse epistemologies and seek to defy entrenched colonial structures. These efforts aim to redress historical imbalances, promote inclusivity and empower marginalised communities, especially Indigenous groups. The chapter envisions future Latin American universities that acknowledge their colonial past while actively shaping global trends. These institutions would combine academic excellence with a commitment to social justice, offering valuable insights into the global conversation on higher education.

As we draw to a close Debates in Doctoral Education: Challenges and Opportunities, it is worth pausing to reflect on the discussions and diverse perspectives that have emerged throughout it. The volume represents a dynamic dialogue that vividly captures the evolution of doctoral education in a wide range of contexts and disciplines. The diversity of voices captured illuminates the multifaceted nature of doctoral education and offers a tapestry of ideas that point to innovative and practical strategies for the future. Rather than simply identifying problems, the contributors have laid the foundations for a transformative approach to doctoral education – one that is responsive, inclusive and equipped to meet the demands of an increasingly complex academic and societal landscape.

This study analyzes the experiences of first generation students. To carry it out, 29 interviews were held with first generation students in different universities in Chile. The results show that the experience of each student is theresult of multiple, interlinked catalysts: (i)aspirations, fears and levels of family support, (ii)contexts which facilitate or hinder the experiences; and (iii)the characteristics of the university. From this analysis there emerges what we call the academic-family aspirational capital, which points to the first generation students' abilities to choose a university, deal with the challenges of higher education and navigate their way through the university. Este estudio analiza las experiencias de estudiantes de primera generación (EPG). Para ello, se llevaron a cabo 29 entrevistas con EPG de distintas universidades en Chile. Los resultados revelan que cada trayectoria es el resultado de la interacción de múltiples catalizadores entrelazados: (i) aspiraciones, temores y niveles de apoyo familiar, (ii) contextos facilitadores u obstaculizadores de las experiencias; y (iii) características de la universidad. De este análisis emerge lo que denominamos capital aspiracional académico-familiar, que apunta a las capacidades de resistencia y navegación de los EPG para escoger y transitar por la universidad.