Thematic Research

THE CHALLENGES OF TRAINING TEACHERS IN INTERCULTURAL EDUCATIONThe Experience of Casa de la Ciencia in ChiapasANTONIO SALDÍVAR MORENO / MIRIAM MORAMAY MICALCO MÉNDEZ / ELIZABETH SANTOS BACA / ROCÍO ÁVILA NARANJO

Antonio Saldívar is a researcher at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Carretera Panamericana s/n, Barrio María

Auxiliadora, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México, CP 29290, E-MAIL: asaldivar@sclc.ecosur.mx

The co-authors are teachers in charge of teacher training and the diploma course, “Educar en la diversidad”

(“Educating in Diversity”), of Casa de la Ciencia.

Abstract:This paper is a reflection on the challenges of training teachers to handle conceptual, methodological and attitudinal elements of intercultural education. The basis of the project is the evaluation and systematization of the diploma course known as “Educar en y para la diversidad” (“Educating in and for Diversity”), which was created to consolidate training in the normal schools of Chiapas. The central ideas were the appropriation of intercultural and participative methodologies, multi-grade techniques and the incorporation of the sociocultural elements of each context, with an emphasis on how to integrate theoretical/methodological and practical elements from a humanistic and constructivist perspective in daily work. The background information is reviewed, information is given on the theoretical/methodological process of constructing the diploma course, and an analysis is made of the pedagogical strategies and preliminary results of the course evaluation. This approach, in addition to recognizing the importance of incorporating reality and the elements of context in order to generate learning situations, presents the challenge of incorporating attitudinal elements implicit in education.

Key words: Intercultural education, teacher education, attitudes, values, constructivism, psychology, humanism, Mexico.

IntroductionDuring recent years, Intercultural Education (IE) has been at the center of the debate for restating educational proposals in various countries. The discussion has been presented not only as an urgent need for indigenous zones, but also as an indispensable strategy for the population in general (Schmelkes, 2003). Particularly in Mexico, the historical conditions of the nation’ s cultural diversity and the reappearance of the indigenous topic after the Zapatista movement of 1994, as well as the processes of economic globalization (which have favored and generated greater mobility among the population and a wider circulation of ideas), have been the fundamental elements in delving deeper into the debate. Such conditions have focused reflection on the conceptual and methodological elements of IE (an understandable situation given the appearance of this new educational paradigm in Latin America in the 1980s and its more recent incorporation into the national debate), and little progress has been made on the implications for in-service teacher training and the education of students1 who will be the teachers of the future.

Chiapas in particular gives clear evidence of wide sociocultural2 diversity, manifest in the presence of different languages and cultures: Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Tojolabal, Mam, Jacalteco, Cho’ l, ethnic groups linked to the Maya language and culture, and Zoques related to the Mixe culture. Also found is a sizeable number of groups resulting from the immigration of Guatemalan refugees to the region in the 1980s: Quiches, Cakchikeles,

Chujs, Ixil, Kanjobales. Diversity is also present in the state’ s differing sociocultural contexts (urban, rural and indigenous), educational levels, natural settings and religions. Paradoxically, contrary to such great cultural wealth is the limited interaction among distinct cultures; relations are unfortunately marked and permeated by inequality and discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, physical disability, cultural domination and hegemonic control—f actors that without doubt impede progress in establishing relations built on fairness and respect as well as cultural development.

Faced with this desolate panorama, it is important to ask questions: What are we doing in the educational setting? What are the challenges for training teachers in IE? Which pedagogical focuses are most appropriate for recognizing sociocultural and linguistic diversity? What are the fundamental methodological and theoretical tools that teachers should use in a perspective of intercultural education? And especially, what teacher attitudes are necessary in order to advance in an educational focus of this nature?

The answers to such questions are still insufficient. In a general manner, the prevailing opinion is that educational plans are not pertinent for the cultural, social and individual diversity of the students who interact at school. A homogenizing model exists at school that ignores such diversity; therefore, it will be fundamental to orient educational initiatives towards making schools a space of learning where students are equal and their cultural characteristics are respected.

The situation is important because schools are greatly responsible for the generation or overcoming of cultural, gender, ethnic and other prejudices. As a result, the proper ethical, procedural and conceptual content and strategies must be promoted to build a society that views diversity as a pedagogical opportunity for learning and growing together, rather than an obstacle or problem.

What is important about today’ s schools is that they are separated from the immediate context of socially relevant action. This authentic rupture converts learning into an act of its own and permits its insertion in a context of language and symbolic activity [...] Words, before action, are the principal invitations to form concepts (Bruner quoted by Scribner and Cole, 1982:12).

Paradoxically in Chiapas, in spite of the fact that 26.94% of the population between ages six and fourteen speaks an indigenous language, that 863 of the existing 2,452 schools are incomplete3 (35.20%), and that a high index of multi-grade and one-room schools exists, graduates from normal schools are unfamiliar with the sociocultural context of the indigenous or rural zones where they will work. Neither do these graduates have the necessary tools for their practice (taking into account the diversity of grades, levels, ages, motivation, abilities), or the proper attitudes to recognize and respect such diversity.

Rockwell (1997) states that ever since the universalization of basic education, the function of schools has been understood to be the transmission of culture. This culture is considered unique and legitimate for the entire population of children, and a requirement for inclusion in social life. Schools have the assigned function of homogenizing the basic values and references of new generations, and concepts like production and the appropriation of culture must be used to recover the heterogeneity of school life. In this process, cultural conflicts appear daily, a result of the contrasts between the cultures of ethnic groups and the culture represented by the school. Poor communication is

generated between students and teachers, and as a result, frequent situations of scholastic failure occur.

The fundamental problem, therefore, is the existence of serious deficiencies in teacher training. The fact that teachers are not prepared for the work they will face in reality affects their performance, with direct consequences on children’ s education. Yet although the lack of adequate teacher training influences the quality of educational processes, other factors of equal importance have a structural effect on the problem of education in rural and indigenous zones. Such factors are related to the limited resources assigned to education, the influence of the media, the current social devaluation of teachers, and in general, the socioeconomic conditions of families.

In response to this situation, the Pedagogy and Diversity area of Casa de la Ciencia, which is dedicated to relations with the normal schools and teacher training in Chiapas, designed and implemented an important project in systematic and structured training through a diploma course entitled “ Educación en y para la diversidad” (“ Education in and for Diversity” ). This educational proposal is presented as a complementary objective in training normal school students. It is based on utilizing and creating pedagogical strategies that address cultural diversity, grades, pace of learning, etc., to favor the transformation of education into a participative, critical and respectful practice of differences—a ll basic principles of intercultural education.

Multi-grade Workshops and their Transformation in the Diploma CourseDuring the early years of its existence, Casa de la Ciencia4 worked directly with students from the various levels of elementary, secondary and high school education. After a time, the need was seen to involve teachers in the processes of educational innovation. As a result, workshops for methodological training were formed.

Operational, administrative, and attitudinal difficulties in generating significant changes in the educational methodology utilized by teachers in service,5 resulted in the decision to make contact with students in the state’ s normal schools.6 Taking into account the regional context and the fact that students beginning to work will certainly be in rural and one-room schools, the proposal was made to carry out the first multi-grade workshop in the summer of 2001.

The diploma course, “ Educar en y para la diversidad” , was based on the experience gained from the first workshop, as well as a second workshop carried out during the 2001-2002 school year with the students from the school known as Normal Experimental de San Cristóbal de las Casas. During these courses, students mentioned that what they had learned at the workshop had not been part of their training at normal school. The final evaluation therefore reflected the need to address, with more time and depth, various aspects that were treated as simply supplementary topics. In this manner, the course/workshops were restructured as a diploma course divided into six modules.7

Fundamental Components of the Diploma Course’ s Theoretical and Methodological FrameworkAddressing only a particular demand for training not provided in the state’ s normal schools (multi-grade work and the sociocultural differences of the regional context) was insufficient. The challenge that gradually appeared for the diploma course was to develop a theoretical and methodological proposal that would also include elements of constructivism,8

humanistic psychology9 and the various focuses presented as the basis for the educational practices of intercultural education. An attempt was made to recover relevant methodological aspects for the region, in accordance with Bruner (1997:22), who stated that learning and thought are always situated in a cultural context and depend on the utilization of cultural resources.

The methodology and experience of the groups that have completed the diploma course have permitted the identification of the following aspects as fundamental elements of the educational proposal:

MetaperceptionMethodology implies a series of actions carried out by the group’ s facilitator as well as the participants, from a certain conceptual theoretical framework. Metaperception is understood as the action of encouraging participants to change their level of perspective to include both sequences of action in space and time, and to discover on their own, in the process of interconnecting the two paths, the rhythms, logic and influence of the context and materials. In this manner, encouragement is provided to reflect on and analyze educational practice from a wider and more objective viewpoint. The specific moment when these actions are carried out is called methodological recovery, which is defined as a space where the pedagogical elements experienced in activities are made explicit.

This focus is directly related to the constructivist theory and is a basic area of work during the diploma course. The fundamental objective is for the participants to appropriate consciously the participative, intercultural and integrating pedagogical strategies from the elements of the context (Annex 1, Format of Methodological Recovery).

Work with Attitudes and Skills Álvarez and Del Río (1990) point out that:

[...] education tends to be greatly concerned with instruction, i.e., transmitting knowledge and concepts less than transmitting emotions, solidarity and sharing such knowledge emotionally. In other words, education operates at the level of conceptual representation, and not at the level of motivated representation linked to the intended action [the meaning].

In traditional education, more importance is given to conceptual contents; that is, to the amount of information the child is able to retain in his memory. The diploma course at hand took conceptual contents into account and emphasized procedural and attitudinal contents. Therefore, daily identification was made of the necessary skills and attitudinal elements that were implicit in the development of certain contents.

A fundamental part of incorporating these elements was to work on generating significant learning for students; in other words, building new learning based on previous knowledge, and developing new knowledge by using students’ reality as a frame of reference. When education acquires meaning and relevance for students, learning is no longer a heavy load of memorizing and accumulating knowledge, and becomes a tool for explaining students’ reality.

In a similar manner, work aimed at group integration and the recovery of self-esteem, cultural identity, and ways of interacting with other cultures, greatly contributed to renewed discussion on the values and attitudes in education. Such work was intense, and

demonstrated the importance of approaching student reality as a starting point in building new knowledge, by taking into consideration the fact that students have a past, an identity, a concrete space of residence and an infinite number of networks of social relationships (that students construct and are constructed by), which give meaning to their existence.

Experience To address and delve deeper into this aspect (attitudinal), the fundamental proposal was a strategy that enabled students to “ experience” the constructivist and participative methodologies that were being promoted. Students discovered that work must be based on personal experience, since learning operates at the physical level and not exclusively at the mental level, as traditionally believed. Each individual imprints a unique stamp on experience by modifying his existing mental structures and creating new structures in the process we know as learning. With this discovery, humanistic psychology provided important information to emotional and physical work.

For example, to understand discrimination, an activity is organized to reveal discriminatory attitudes and facilitate the perception of the emotions, thoughts and actions generated; students describe situations in which they have experimented discrimination in their lives, either by discriminating against others or being the object of discrimination. Subsequently, by separating the educational experience from the situation actually lived, students can reflect, make abstractions, build concepts and proposals, create and then transform.

Module of InterculturalityAlthough interculturality is a transverse axis that intersects all activities, a specific module was structured to analyze and reflect on its theoretical/conceptual, methodological and instrumental elements. This module’ s objectives are:

1) To be aware of the problems generated in the presence of unequal relations among cultures.

2) To promote respectful attitudes toward cultural differences and develop intercultural competence.

3) To discover pedagogical strategies for facing problems and generating different attitudes towards diversity.

4) To attach new meaning to interculturality not as a problem but as an opportunity, which by definition implies interaction.

As part of the process of diagnostic evaluation, a chart was developed with student ideas on interculturality. The chart reflects the prevailing lack of familiarity with the concept, as well as the ambiguity involved in defining the methodological implications of a proposal (Chart 1).

The module lasts two weeks. The first week focuses on experiences and reflections regarding interculturality (Chart 2), by developing the awareness of personal experience in discriminating and being discriminated against, due to cultural differences. Then students reflect on the forms of discrimination, segregation and rejection in the classroom, at school and in the society at large, as a result of cultural prejudices.

CHART 1

Student Perceptions of Interculturality

Interculturality

It should teach us to value what we are.It should educate us about culture.To take basic knowledge to people who do not have the same advantages as the majority, without having to change concepts, the setting, or the results.To educate for a single culture, within that culture, and also to prepare materials or methodologies that refer to the culture at hand.Intercultural education is education in a community where various cultures interact.

To bring different cultures together harmoniously.

Teaching is for anyone who wants to learn, regardless of diversity.

Combination of various cultures.Interaction with different cultures.It can be a different setting, with different ideas.To know how to listen to others.To exchange ideas and unite that diversity of ideas.To associate ideas with different cultures.I do not know.

We all have the same opportunities to get ahead; groups have different skills and beliefs.To respect others. In this case, it would be to respect the ideas, customs, traditions, etc., of each child.The cultural grandeur and differences of our Indians.Their languages, traditions, customs, rites and especially, their great cultural contribution; the lack of importance we attribute to them.I do not understand.

It is what shows and guides us in learning new teaching methods, by integrating diverse cultures in a single country or state.I did not understand.

It is education that allows cultures to interact; customs are learned from these cultures.Respect for all cultures.

To respect ideas, traditions and customs.To value different cultures.To give classes in a single classroom to people who come from different places.

To associate the child’s culture with his learning.To respect each student.Learning about the culture of diverse social groups facilitates teaching strategies.Recognizing various cultures.

CHART 2

Dynamics of Reflecting on InterculturalityTechnique Objectives Procedure Questions for Reflection

Tiroliro * To become aware of our lack of knowledge of other cultures* To discover the communication problems between

The group is divided into two teams that represent two cultures (Alfa and Omega); each culture has different practices and customs.Each team first interacts with the rules of its own culture.Observers from each culture visit the other culture to attempt to understand its codes.

How did you feel in the new culture?How much do we know about other cultures?Are we all different?Are we all equal?What does being different give us?What does this dynamic mean for our daily interactions?

different cultures* To discover mechanisms of imposing one culture on another.

A new exchange of persons from the two cultures is carried out, with the idea of trying to interact.In a plenary session, an analysis is made of observations, sensations and feelings, and the implications for interculturality.

What changes are necessary in teaching practice to promote interculturality?

Counting in Tzeltal

To identify the form of Maya thinking and to compare it with the form of Western thinking.

To learn a different numerical system to encourage open-mindedness about Maya knowledge.

Groups of four are formed; all groups sit at tables.

The activity is introduced: “ Do you know how to count in Tzeltal? Do you want to learn?”The students are asked to listen carefully to the instructions.Each student is given a handful of beans and asked to count them in Spanish.Each student is asked for his total, which is written on the blackboard.The students are asked if anyone has ever counted in Tzeltal. The are also asked what is needed to count in Tzeltal.The first 20 numbers in Tzeltal are written and an explanation is given of how the names of the numbers from 20 to 100 are formed.A text compiled by the senior residents of Guaquitepec, Municipality of Chilón, Chiapas, is read; the text narrates the history of counting in Tzeltal.The students are asked to form the number of their total bean count.The class reflects on the difficulties and advantages of the experience.

What is the biggest obstacle to naming amounts in Tzeltal?

What happens when we are able to understand and apply a system of logic different from our own? What is the importance of including the language in the classroom?How would you describe the strategy utilized in counting?How can you apply this strategy to other subjects in the curriculum?

The second week focuses more on the methodology of activities that encourage respect for cultural differences. Through a process of metacognition of the methodology employed, the students construct criteria for carrying out activities in intercultural education (Chart 3).

The purpose of the methodological recovery is to extract the pedagogical elements present in it. An activity called “ Making Tamales” is used to recover symbolically the principal ingredients used in the activity. The facilitator writes the solid ingredients on paper drawings, and the participants write the liquid ingredients. While the task is presented and analyzed, the group constructs the pedagogical criteria for carrying out intercultural activities (see Chart 3).

From this perspective, the proposal seeks to develop intercultural competence (Rodrigo, 2002); in other words, it attempts to integrate cognitive and emotive aspects to show that understanding others requires understanding one’ s own lack of understanding. The idea is to rethink our own culture from the perspective of another culture. The elements involved in the task are related to empathy, motivation, the need to learn, the desire to break down cultural barriers, the recognition of ourselves and new knowledge about ourselves, the elimination of negative stereotypes and the overcoming of a paternalistic and/or victimized viewpoint. In short, the methodological sequence implies five major moments:

1) Development of a session:

a) recovery of knowledgeb) direct experience (dynamics of reflection and confrontation of educational practice)

c) personal and collective reflectiond) work of creative expression

2) Methodological recovery3) Design of classroom activities4) Educational practices5) Evaluation, feedback and systematization

These elements form the methodological axes that permit putting skills and attitudes into play, in addition to acquired knowledge. Analyzed below are the results of the process of evaluation carried out with the participants of the diploma course in 2002-2003.

CHART 3

Important Criteria for Carrying Out Intercultural Activities, as Proposed by Students at the End of the Module

Inter-subjectivity Reflections are made on the forms of interaction among cultures, historical conditions, different ideologies and the society’ s dynamics of transformation. Subjectivity and inter-subjectivity are made explicit and new forms of relationships and communication are proposed.

Teaching for life Learning must be useful for the needs of children in the community. In order to be significant, learning must serve to change daily reality.The context must be taken into account permanently.

Incorporation into the community through educational processes

The contents must be related to the community’ s daily experiences and problems. The spaces and actors that participate in this type of education are not limited to school. Learning takes place in the cornfield, in the bath house, in the arroyo, in the forest; parents are invited to participate, as well as health workers, senior residents, the educational committee, the authorities, etc..

To practice, experiment and handle materials

The basis is practice. After reflections and theory, the student returns to practice. Context-text-context. It is important for children to experiment and handle what they want to learn, in order to obtain concrete products.

Problem solving Children are encouraged to solve problems on their own in order to create enthusiasm, motivation and interest in the topic, and promote autonomy, responsibility and the transformation of their reality.

We all learn from each other

We all have important knowledge to share with others; children teach their teachers and their classmates.

The facilitator animates, motivates and creates interest in the group

If activities are interesting, fun and are presented as challenges, they make children’ s learning more significant by involving the emotional component. Fun activities encourage us to return to youthful enjoyment, investigation, questioning and risk.

Autonomy and self-teaching are promoted

Children are considered capable of teaching themselves, making decisions and taking on responsibilities in their own learning process.

Further study of knowledge and the valuing of one’ s own culture

Learning related to the local culture is valued. The wisdom of the old is recovered, along with the community’ s forms of production, organization, communication, etc..

Native languageThe native language is the basis and is taken into account during the entire learning process. It reflects the community’ s ideologies: its way of understanding life and the world.

Collective work Work as pairs, teams, or the entire group; collective work refers to the existence of processes of negotiation, cooperation, resolution of conflicts and unity.Included in this criterion is the comparison of different thoughts and ideas.

Evaluation and FeedbackIn coordination with El Colegio de la Frontera Sur and the intercultural education collective,10 an effort was made to systematize and evaluate the diploma course to discover its real impacts on teaching training. Various diagnostic instruments were designed and utilized to carry out evaluations at the beginning and end of the course, as well as evaluations of the course’ s impact. The project yielded important fruit, the instruments of evaluation multiplied and were diversified, and aspects were discovered

that we had not initially considered. Returning to the students’ diagnostic evaluation allowed us to appreciate the importance of feedback, and forms of learning occurred that we had not visualized beforehand. The purpose of the evaluation was not simply to define what had been learned, but to discover the degree teacher attitudes and self-perceptions had changed (Chart 4 and Graph 1).

CHART 4

Teacher Conceptualization at Different Times of EvaluationDiagnostic evaluation During the feedback exercise Final evaluation

Substantive teacher activities

-Take attendance-Homework-Presentation-Group control -Textbook work-Teaching-Give instructions-Use of materials

­ Recovery and exploration of knowledge

­ Use of teaching materials­ Development of creativity­ Teamwork­ Formulating questions­ Organizing dynamics of analysis and

reflection­ Problem-solving­ Facilitating­ Explaining, clarifying, proposing,

suggesting­ Evaluation and feedback­ Linking of educational process in

context­ Planning­ Encouraging and generating an

atmosphere of trust­ Enjoying

-Creativity-Eloquence-Participating-Motivating-Listening-Reflecting-Having initiative-Teaching strategies-Planning-Make dynamic-Group control-Evaluating-Facilitating-Asking-Modeling attitudes

Actors -Students-Parents-Teachers-Community-Director-Society and culture-Church

-Students-Parents-Teachers-Community-Media-Producers-Craftsmen-Merchants-Health worker-Authorities-Supervisor-Educational authority-Health worker-Traditional physician

-Students-Teachers-Community trades-Community-Parents-Institutions-Community authorities

Educational spaces

-Classroom-School-Home-Plaza -Surroundings-Sports installations-Library-Community-School outing-Multi-purpose room-Green areas-Extra classroom-Museums

­ Field, orchard, greenhouse­ Clinic­ Zoo­ Community property­ Mayan temples­ Downtown areas­ Forest­ River, spring­ Corrals, dairies­ Settlements­ Markets­ Town

-Surroundings -Classroom-Library-Home-Museums-Sports installations-Patio-Plaza

GRAPH 1

Perceptions of Teachers’ S ubstantive Activities during the Diagnostic Evaluation

Teacher Activities

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Pase de lista Tareas Exposición control degrupo

Libro detexto

Enseñanza Darinstruciones

Uso demateriales

Taking attendance / Homework / Presenting / Group control / Textbook / Teaching / Giving Instructions /Using materials

The application of incoming diagnostic instruments showed that initial teacher conceptions corresponded clearly to stereotyped ideas and revealed statist, limited notions of education. Similarly, when the actors and spaces of learning were identified, the reductionist view of education appeared, with reference made only to teachers, students and their families as the principal actors, and the classroom as the privileged place of learning.

The process of analyzing and reflecting on being a teacher, as well as discussing constructivist focuses throughout the course as well as during feedback, permitted the development of a more integral and complete idea of teachers’ substantive activities in the classroom. Participants became aware of the importance of reality not only as the background scene, but also as the space of social interactions with distributed knowledge11

and its own cultural forms.The final evaluation revealed the need to see the achieved impact on educational

practices in reality. For this reason, the commitment was made to provide continuity in real contexts, and to design and utilize instruments that would indicate qualitative change in terms of positive attitudes towards interculturality. Existing concerns were based on

how much change could be generated if other types of resistance were in operation. Progress in modifying educational practices could be hindered by community factors, administrative dynamics, union pressures and pressures from other teachers, and the demands of the ministry of education to cover pre-established contents and comply with the curriculum, while attempting to provide real congruity to constructivist, intercultural and participative methodological principles.

An outside evaluation of Casa de la Ciencia carried out by Margarita Zorrilla (2003) collected the following comments in a group interview. The speakers were fifth-semester students in the bachelor’ s program in elementary education at the Escuela Normal de San Cristóbal de las Casas, who were participating in the diploma course:

[...] I saw it as a supplement for my degree. At the normal school, everything is more theoretical. Casa de la Ciencia (CC) is practical.

Casa de la Ciencia offers me strategies to work in multi-grade classrooms. We know what we have to do but we do not know how.

Casa de la Ciencia is an opportunity to learn new strategies. At CC you can learn.

The diploma course attracted my attention. So did the guidelines of the course announcement, and especially the way the course was explained to us. Normal schools do not give us that knowledge.

The CC diploma course gives me more confidence to take risks and do interesting things with the children. At the normal school they tell us, “ You must motivate the students!” But they don’ t tell us how. That is why I say that CC gives us more confidence in our relationships with the children. They teach us how to get on the children’ s level, and to respect what the children are doing. Students must be allowed to have the freedom to create their own knowledge. CC has given us new ideas.

An important conclusion of this evaluation indicates:

The normal school students see working with Casa de la Ciencia as an opportunity to learn the practical knowledge that they do not receive in normal teacher training. On the other hand, some students have become aware of the work that Casa de la Ciencia has been doing at schools. Its work with students and teachers from regular schools is starting to function as a factor that converges in the classrooms of many concrete schools (Zorrilla, 2003).

ConclusionsContrary to expectations, rural/indigenous education has produced cultural poverty by destroying the mechanisms and networks of transmitting local knowledge; school, more than cooperating in community efforts to consolidate cultural identity and address the most urgent problems, has produced a mechanism of acculturation and cultural imposition. In this sense, a radical change is necessary in education to respond to the needs of national and regional multicultural societies. Students’ culture, social class, gender, capacity, motivation, expectations and conceptions are factors that should be present in a new conception and orientation of education.

All of us who are immersed in the task of educating others and ourselves are responsible for educational quality. Educational quality will be not possible in our country without the recognition and care of diversity in the classroom.

Diversity invites us not to skip stages, not to exclude any component of civilization, not to forget any of the relationships among knowing, doing and being. Learning to know assumes learning to do, and learning to do assumes extending individual learning to shared work, with greater assimilation of teaching through experiences of work and social tasks. But knowing and doing both lead to learning about the person himself, and this is the predominant basis of understanding the desire to make education available to all: no talent of any Mexican child, young person or adult should be lost. Only thus shall we give the human response, the Mexican response, to the challenges of the new millenium (Fuentes, 1997).

The diploma course has gradually become not only an opportunity for teacher training and updating, but also a fundamental space of educational innovation and theoretical and methodological construction and reconstruction. Such effort must be extended to the various spaces associated with educational processes. We must recover the direction and meaning of education by rebuilding and building an adequate framework for a critical revision of the teaching profession, and of the school’ s function as the privileged place for individuals to learn within their culture rather than isolated from their reality.

Learning in the “ Educar en y para la diversidad” project occurs not by teaching the path to follow, but by discovering the path with others, and facing and revealing our traditional educational practices. We may not even be aware that such practices are often racist and discriminatory. Only after unlearning what we have learned shall we be prepared to build a new path.

ANNEX 1

Methodological Recovery

To carry out methodological recovery, the students complete the following chart as a group, and then as a full class. Their observations are written on the chart: a description of what the facilitators and students were doing, as well as the role played by the didactic materials. This activity is very important because it allows students to become aware of how the educational process develops.

Beginning During End

Fac

ilita

tor

Stu

den

ts

Did

acti

c M

ater

ial

Notes1 To facilitate the reading and fluid comprehension of the text and adequate handling of gender, the document in

Spanish uses the words alumnos, alumnas, maestras and maestros.2 On the American continent, Mexico, with at least 62 distinct living languages, is the country with the largest

indigenous population in absolute terms; Guatemala, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru have indigenous populations that represent a higher percentage of the total population. According to the most recent Mexican census (reported by INEGI), 6.7 million citizens are speakers of an indigenous language yet 4 million recognized members of indigenous communities are non-speakers of the indigenous language. In Chiapas, at least in 58 municipalities, more than 30% of the population speaks an indigenous language (INI, 2000).

3 Incomplete schools are those that do not have all grades (from 1st to 6th), and that generally include all students in multi-grade groups. Secretaría de Educación Pública. Coordinación de Educación Intercultural Bilingüe. Course, “ La calidad de la educación desde un enfoque intercultural” .

4 Casa de la Ciencia began operating in October, 1994, as a result of an agreement by CONACyT, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur and the state government of Chiapas, with the objective of promoting educational reform in the scientific area.

5 This affirmation, while difficult to accept, is a reality. During recent years, being a “ teacher” has gradually become no more than any other form of paid employment. The roles of promoting community development or forming society’ s values have been abandoned. Nonetheless, we must continue to attempt to recover, through the various spaces and actors associated with education (parents, the media, institutions, civil society, etc.), the valuable contribution that teachers make to education. In this manner, teaching work will generate the changes necessary to build the new schools demanded by a diverse and constantly transforming society.

6 The proposal is aimed at students in normal schools. The stage of their studies and development is considered extremely favorable for establishing the fundamental bases for new intercultural education. The normal schools located in San Cristóbal de las Casas have participated in a direct manner.

7 I. Professional ethics and teacher identity; II. Regional context; III. Multi-grade methodological strategies; IV. School integration; V. Interculturality; VI. Education for peace.

8 The constructivist conception of education is related to genetic theory, the work of Piaget and the sociocultural theory of developing learning, by Vygotski. “ In this focus, individuals form their knowledge based on previous knowledge, by putting this knowledge to the test and contrasting it with social reality. The role of education is therefore to facilitate students in making anticipations based on representations, and putting them to test with what happens or with the conceptions of others. In this focus, the individual must build his knowledge and his ideas as his own instruments of learning” (Del Val, 2000).

9 Humanistic psychology states that the person is responsible for his life and his decisions; in this process, the body expresses individual being, and the task of the emotions is essential in producing change. See writings by Fritz Perls, Alexander Lowen, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and others.

10 The interdisciplinary team was formed by the authors of this article and by Eduardo Rubio, the general coordinator of an intercultural education collective that groups various organizations and institutions that carry out educational activities of this type.

11 Moll contributes a very important concept, that of distributed thought: since humans and the social world are indissoluble, thought is always mediatized, distributed among persons, devices, activities and settings (Moll, 1997).

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Article Received: September 5, 2003Accepted: March 1, 2004