Una escuela para emprendedores: producción de discursos sobre las infancias y las funciones sociales de la escuela en el contexto neoliberal

Objective: Adopting a critical ethnographic perspective, this article examines how entrepreneurship education policy, introduced into Colombian schools in the late twentieth century, shapes discourses about childhood and expectations regarding the social functions of schools and the roles of children in the neoliberal context. Methodology: The analysis draws on fieldwork records from an ethnographic study conducted at a private school in Bogotá between 2015 and 2020, as well as documentary materials concerning Colombia’s policy for promoting a culture of entrepreneurship through education. Originality: The article contributes to fields such as the anthropology of childhood, the anthropology of public policy, and school ethnography by demonstrating how policies affect the lives of contemporary children, their families, and their school environments. Conclusions: The findings reveal various tensions between this educational policy and how children, teachers, and parents understand its effects on their everyday lives.