Indigenous Education Policy, Equity, and Intercultural Understanding in Latin America

170 Pages·2017·1.874 MB·English

by  Regina Cortina (eds.)

Indigenous
Education Policy,
Equity, and
Intercultural
Understanding
in Latin America
edited by
Regina Cortina
Indigenous Education Policy, Equity, and
Intercultural Understanding in Latin America
Indigenous Education
Policy, Equity, and
Intercultural
Understanding in
Latin America
Regina Cortina
Editor
Editor
Regina Cortina
Teachers College
Columbia University
New York, New York, USA
ISBN 978-1-137-59531-7 ISBN 978-1-137-59532-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-59532-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016956892
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F
oreword
The incursion of the conquistadores into the Americas was a disaster for
the Indigenous peoples. Incumbent populations were annihilated by war
and the introduction of infectious diseases from Europe while the new
lands were looted for their treasure. The lives of the survivors and their
offspring were twisted forever through coercive assaults by the linguistic
hegemony, cultural arrogance, and religious zealotry of the conquerors
and the missionaries who followed them. Historical memory, language,
and cultural traditions were erased or derogated to marginal status by the
political, economic, and military dominance of the colonial invaders and
their rulers.
Five centuries of domination led to unspeakable destruction for the
Indigenous populations in Latin America. But recent movements to
restore the citizenship rights of Indigenous peoples, rebuild and dignify
their cultures and languages and recognize their historical roles have pro-
vided new opportunities to overcome at least some of the oppression of
the past. Evidence of these increased rights for Indigenous peoples is dem-
onstrated in the amendments that have been added to the constitutions of
several Latin American countries over the past two decades; they provide
for an education inclusive of all of their languages and cultures and recog-
nize diversity in national cultures.
Professor Regina Cortina has provided academic leadership in address-
ing the educational changes that support the recognition of Indigenous
language and culture and its realization in educational policies and prac-
tices. Throughout her career, she has promoted bilingual and bicultural
educational policies that build on the cultures of Indigenous populations.
v
vi FOREwORD
Those policies seek to enable Indigenous students to master the national
culture and language while taking advantage of unique learning oppor-
tunities that reflect their heritage and thereby strengthen the educational
process.
with the erosion of Indigenous rights, language, and culture over such
a long historical period, the quest to provide an inclusive and comprehen-
sive education for Indigenous students is a major challenge. As a specialist
in educational policy, I can attest to the difficulties of translating hopes
and promises into educational institutions and processes that can over-
come dominant educational practices. These challenges not only comprise
ideas, resources, and political support, but they also require new ways
of thinking and their transformation into practices that translate aspira-
tions into accomplishments. Indigenous Education Policy, Equity, and
Intercultural Understanding in Latin America attempts to accomplish
those goals by setting out six different chapters, each by an expert in the
chapter topic, that address a range of dimensions of both the educational
status of Indigenous populations in various Latin American countries and
major attempts to transform Indigenous education to encompass specific
intercultural and bilingual educational policies to promote enrollment,
persistence, and achievement.
what makes this book particularly pertinent is that it is not just a pre-
sentation of ideas, although they are plentiful and valuable. It is also a rec-
ognition of the challenges that interfere with putting these exciting ideas
into action. Overcoming the inertia of traditional educational approaches
and eradicating the residue of a long history of traditions that contra-
dict the new initiatives require changes in the attitudes of parents, teach-
ers, and the media, and the alteration of national policies. In particular,
such a systemic reorganization of education necessitates an expansion and
profound transformation of pre-service teacher education and in-service
teacher training, and a substantial increase in the number of teachers with
the language skills, cultural understanding, and learning approaches that
will succeed with specific Indigenous populations. Realizing these changes
will require social movements in support of Indigenous communities and
a vast upgrading of school quality in those communities in resources and
teacher capabilities.
This volume is clear about the challenges, hopes, promise, and pos-
sibilities of using education to create more productive, equitable, and
FOREwORD vii
democratic societies in Latin America, with full inclusion of Indigenous
populations. It is an insightful and informative work that will inspire
academics, professional educators, and those preparing for educational
roles to develop their own contributions to this important topic.
Henry M. Levin
Past-President of Comparative and International
Education Society (CIES),
william Heard Kilpatrick Professor
of Economics and Education,
Teachers College, Columbia University and
David Jacks Professor of Education and Economics, Emeritus,
Stanford University
A
cknowledgments
Graduate students in the International and Comparative Education
Program at Teachers College, Columbia University, participated as research
assistants during the development of this book. Special thanks go to Víctor
E. Llanque Zonta, who accurately translated the chapters “Role-Play as
a Pedagogical Tool for Intercultural Education” and “Indigenous Urban
Families and the Oportunidades Program in Mexico” into English and with
whom I was in constant dialogue throughout the book project. I also wish
to thank Amanda Earl and Karla Ruiz for assisting during the final edit-
ing of the book as well as Mirka Martel and Georgia Magni at the early
stages of the research. David Post of Pennsylvania State University contrib-
uted the tables in the Introduction that compare academic achievement
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. The final manuscript
of the book benefited from the skillful editing of wendy Schwartz.
ix
c
ontents
Introduction xiii
Part I Policy Changes and Education Quality 1
How to Improve Quality Education for Indigenous
Children in Latin America 3
Regina Cortina
Indigenous Student Learning Outcomes and Education
Policies in Peru and Ecuador 27
Joseph Levitan and David Post
Part II Intercultural Education in Practice 51
Role-Play as a Pedagogical Tool for Intercultural Education 53
Verónica Vázquez-Zentella, Teresa Verónica Pérez García, and
Frida Díaz Barriga Arceo
Inclusion or Interculturalidad: Attaining Equity in 
Higher Education for Indigenous Peoples in Mexico 73
Amanda Earl
xi
xii CONTENTS
Part III Intercultural Dialogue Beyond the Classroom 101
The Contributions of Hip-Hop Artists to Non-Formal
Intercultural Education in Bolivia 103
Víctor E. Llanque Zonta and Verónica S. Tejerina Vargas
Indigenous Urban Families and the Oportunidades
Program in Mexico 121
Guillermo de la Peña
Index 145