Chapter 1: Research background

1.1 Introducing the motivations of the researcher and other research in the field
During the last three decades indigenous people from different parts of the world have
questioned the assimilationist agenda of school education and negotiated new forms of
schooling aimed to respond to a long history of colonisation and subjugation. Their
educational agendas have been framed on the affirmation of their collective rights. Moreover,
they have seen formal education as a key arena for the assertion of their identity, and the
revitalisation of their culture and language, as May (!!!a" and #ikman (!!!" e$plain.
During the past two decades intercultural bilingual education (%&'" has been increasingly
accepted and is now part of the educational legislation of several countries, which have also
formally acknowledged the adoption of (intercultural education for all). *owever, %&' has
become an umbrella term for different projects with diverse social, political and educational
aims as highlighted by +alsh (,--,", Tubino and .ariquiey (,--/" and #ikman (!!!". Thus,
%&' does not necessarily respond to indigenous peoples0 social and political needs and
demands.
There is a growing awareness that even %&' programmmes framed on the principle of
indigenous self1determination, that have made important efforts to introduce indigenous
knowledge and values in school curricula, share some limitations regarding their approach to
the production and transmission of knowledge, which weaken their possibilities of becoming
sites of empowerment for subalternised and marginalised people. This research e$plores this
issue through the analysis of the practice of two graduates from the Teacher Training
2rogramme of the 2eruvian #ma3on (456M#&%#2" that the 7oreto 8tate Teacher Training

9ollege of %quitos (%827" and the %nterethnic #ssociation for the Development of the
2eruvian #ma3on (#%D'8'2", have developed since !::.
The question of whose knowledge is taught in school, and its relation with homogenisation
and assimilation policies, has interested me since the early !;-0s, as % have e$plained in a
unit assignment (Trapnell ,--,". % was confronted with this issue, while working on my
thesis as an #nthropology student in an #shaninka community in the 2eruvian #ma3on basin.
9ommunity authorities asked me to help them out with everyday work in their primary
school, in e$change for their hospitality and kind assistance in my research project. My
involvement in school life made me aware that the #shaninka teacher with whom % worked
ignored or outwardly rejected his peoples0 knowledge. *e justified this practice by appealing
to civilisatory goals. During prolonged conversations with him, % learned that he paid no heed
to the fact that his students could not understand what he was teaching them. % also noticed
that he was not concerned by the negative effect that schooling had on his students0 self1
esteem and identity. *e constantly justified his work by appealing to modernity and
development. % would find this same attitude and practice in other #shaninka teachers, whose
schools % visited throughout that decade and the early !:-0s.
This e$perience led me to study education. %n !:<, % was invited to participate in the design
of the 456M#&%#2 teacher training programme for indigenous #ma3onian teachers.
456M#&%#2 aimed to develop teacher training from an intercultural approach that would
incorporate indigenous knowledge and values in formal education. #t that time, indigenous
education was bilingual and aimed to translate academic content into indigenous languages
and to develop linguistic skills in 8panish as 2o33i 'scot (!!-a" observes.
,
&rief one or two1day assessment visits to #shaninka schools made me aware that teachers
trained by 456M#&%#2 gave little attention to indigenous knowledge in the development of
their classes. %n many cases, they only used it as a referent for the introduction of western
scientific knowledge. 9onversations with my colleagues indicated that this did not only
happen with #shaninka teachers. This confirmation made me ask myself what was happening
and what could be done to change this situation, which marginalised indigenous peoples0
knowledge. +ith this motivation in mind, % decided to develop a critical action research
process with two 456M#&%#2 graduates. %t would focus on the way in which they include
their peoples0 knowledge in their curriculum planning processes and in the development of
their classes.
4ew studies in 2eru and other countries of the #ndean 6egion have dealt with the way in
which teachers approach intercultural education in their everyday school practice. The
research on indigenous primary schools such as that developed by *ornberger (!:!" and
7=pe3 (!!:" has focused on the use of language. Moreover, available literature describes
ongoing programmes. The only systematisations of %&' programmes that have reached their
completion stage are those produced by 7ope3 et al (!:;" and .>?iga (!:!". %n recent
years, various thesis of the Masters 2rogramme in %&' developed by the #ndean %ntercultural
&ilingual 2rogramme (265'%& #ndes" have focused on themes related to intercultural
education. *owever, most of them have aimed to identify local learning styles and contents
related to specific realms of culture (such as medical practices", which can be included in
formal schooling. '$amples of this can be found in 9astillo 9ollado (,--/", 9artes (,--",
@scamayta Au3man (,--<" and Taish (,--". 9astillo 'spino3a0s (,--<" thesis is the only
one that focuses on teachers0 approach to the local culture in their curriculum decision1
making procedures.
B
Carious studies e$ist about teachers0 perceptions regarding interculturalism and intercultural
education. Au3man (,--," describes the approach of si$ #ndean teachers to intercultural
education and the influence that their life stories had on it. *eise (,--" and &ulnes (,---"
present teachers0 conceptions about interculturalism and intercultural education, without
further e$amination of their content. Tubino and .ariquiey (,--/" include teachers0
approaches to both concepts, as part of a more general study that interrogates how different
social actors understand them. 4inally, *ornberger (,---" offers a thoughtful study of the
way in which the tensions between assimilationism and pluralism are approached in 2eru,
'cuador and &olivia. &y focusing on the analysis of current policy in each country and
e$amining short narratives written by intercultural education practitioners asked to depict an
intercultural e$perience in an educational setting, this author presents important insights on
how the conceptions of intercultural education and interculturalism have evolved. *owever,
most of the collected narratives focus on language and communication practices (writing,
poetry, stories, drama and song". Therefore, the study offers little evidence about the way in
which teachers approach the construction of knowledge from an intercultural perspective in
other school areas or disciplines.
My e$plicit goal when developing this research was to uncover intercultural power relations
and the way in which they e$press themselves in school curricula and practice. My twenty
years of e$perience working as an educator with #ma3onian indigenous people has led me to
believe it is essential to confront the obstacles that %&' faces in its everyday implementation.
% am convinced that as long as studies about intercultural education only approach the
conceptual discoursive level, and do not discuss what is happening in schools, we shall not be
able to propose changes that will lead to more equal power relations. %n other words, it is not
<
enough to affirm that indigenous knowledge should be included in schoolsD the important
questions are how can it be included and why.
1.2 Structure of the dissertation
This dissertation contains five chaptersE
. 6esearch background 1 describes the purpose of the study and the reasons why % developed
it. %t offers an overview of previous research in this field, as well as information regarding the
general educational background and the particular conte$t in which the research was
developed.
,. 6esearch design 1 presents the questions that guided the research, the theoretical
background on which it was based and the reasons why action research was chosen as a
research methodology. %t reflects on ethical dilemmas and rigour issues and describes the data
collection and data analysis processes.
B. The action research cycles 1 offers an overall account of the cycles that structured the
action research process. %t also anticipates some issues that are discussed in detail in chapter
four.
<. 4indings and discussion F contains the principal findings that emerge from this study in
relation to my two research questions and confronts them with current discussion about some
of the issues that they bring to light.
/. 9onclusions and reflections 1 offers a synthetic account of the overall research process and
evaluates its design and impact. Drawing from its findings, it identifies some issues that
require more research and offers some recommendations, which can help intercultural
bilingual education programmes in their quest to become sites of empowerment for
subalternised and marginalised people.
/
1.3 Initial approaches and development of intercultural education in Per
The concept of intercultural education was first used in 2eru during the !:-0s in the conte$t
of small e$perimental indigenous education programmes. %t was then conceived as an
alternative to bilingual education aimed to translate school academic contents to indigenous
languages. Gowadays, the discourse about interculturalism transcends the indigenous and
educational domains and different interpretations e$ist about its meaning and scope as +alsh
(,--,", and Tubino and .ariquiey (,--/" e$plain. %ts most widespread approach has focused
on cultural diversity and on the idea that more information about the (others) and better
communication practices can help overcome conflicts. *owever, there is a growing awareness
of the need for a critical perspective that takes into account the social, economic and political
conditions in which intercultural relations are developed. %ts adherents believe thatE
The dialogue between cultures must be from the beginning a dialogue about
the economic, politic, military and other factors that condition the honest
interchange between human cultures (H" in order to avoid the risk of
falling into the ideology of a deconte$tualised dialogue that would only
favour the interest of a dominant civili3ation, in so far as it does not
consider the asymmetry of power that rules in the world (4ornet &etancourt
,--- p,, my translation ".
The 8ummer %nstitute of 7inguistics (8%7", an #merican religious1based organi3ation,
introduced bilingual education in 2eru0s indigenous communities during the mid1!/-s. 8%7
trained 2eru0s first generation of primary school bilingual teachers and produced the material
that they would use in their schools as 8toll (!:/" e$plains in detail. 8%70s monopoly over
I
indigenous education in 2eru ended during the mid1!;-s, when a few national institutions
and some technical cooperation international agencies introduced %&' programmes in some
specific areas in the #ma3on and #ndean regions.
The first %&' teacher training programmes for primary school education in 2eru were started
during the early !:-0s by a national university based in %quitos and four state teacher
training colleges, at a time when 2eruvian teachers were all trained with a subject1based
curriculum, which overlooked 2eru0s cultural and linguistic diversity and only considered
teaching in and about 8panish. Two of these state colleges were based in the #ma3on (%quitos
and Jarinacocha" and the others in the 8outhern #ndes (@rubamba and 2uno", as Trapnell
(,--Ba" e$plains. #t present / state teacher training colleges are engaged in %&'. Most of
them work with adaptations of the national teacher training curriculum.
1.! "#R$%&I%P's approach to intercultural education
456M#&%#2 acknowledged indigenous leaders0 claims for a new type of education that
would include indigenous and western scientific knowledge. 456M#&%#2 believed that
indigenous peoples0 right to self1determination could be empowered by the design of new
forms of school education based on the continuation of their socialisation processes. %t has
therefore concentrated its efforts on training a new generation of teachers who would change
an institution devoted to civilisation and assimilation, to one that should promote respect for
cultural diversity and help indigenous people overcome the shame and insecurity produced by
a long history of colonisation and discrimination.
;
456M#&%#2 took advantage of its e$perimental condition and introduced substantial
changes in the official teacher training curriculum structure, profile, objectives and contents as
Trapnell (,--Ba" e$plains in more detail.
456M#&%#2 based its approach to the production and transmission of knowledge on the
articulation of indigenous and (estern scientific kno(ledge. %n practical terms, this meant
that teachers and students would approach different issues from indigenous and western
scientific perspectives. %n the same line as other %&' programmes in 2eru and the #ndean
region, 456M#&%#2 considered indigenous knowledge as a starting point of a process that
should be enriched with the contribution of western scientific knowledge. 'ven so, this was
an innovative strategy at the time, as far as it made indigenous knowledge visible in formal
educational sites.
456M#&%#2 believed that one of the most sensible issues for indigenous peoples was their
awareness of a significant technical difference between the instruments produced in their
societies and those manufactured by modern technology. 456M#&%#2 assumed that if
students became aware of the similarities between both types of knowledge, they would value
the technological contributions developed by their people. %t believed that this discovery
would boost their security and confidence. &ased on this supposition, its curriculum gave
particular importance to the analysis of the way in which technical instruments (bows and
arrows, blowguns, traps and snares, among others" are used and to e$plicit the scientific
knowledge implicit in their design and functioning.
The analysis of instruments paved the way for the study of other more comple$ technical
processes, which formed part of different indigenous practices. 4or e$ample, a class devoted
:
to the analysis of the man made ecosystem burnt plot, produced during the development of
slash and burn agriculture, would consider the study of its general topographyD the
identification of the elements of its inner and outer areas, and the analysis of the relations
among them. 8tudents would give particular attention to the burning process and to the sun
and the rain0s impact over the recicling of nutrients. They would finally analyse the
microenvironments where indigenous people sow each seed, as part of the sowing strategy
developed by their society. 456M#&%#2 teachers identified these elements as part of the
ones that indigenous peoples take into account during the sowing process. They identified
their implicit features with the help of their students and related them with the scientific
interpretations developed by ecologists.
456M#&%#2 designed a Diversified Curriculum for Primary School Education in
Amazonian Indigenous Communities (%8271#%D'8'2 !!:", which introduced some
important changes in the profile, objectives and contents of the official curriculum.
%n order to link school education to indigenous peoples0 physical and cultural environment,
456M#&%#2 enriched the primary school official curriculum with programmes based on the
social and productive activities that indigenous peoples develop. %t thus organised in tables,
indigenous knowledge related to the implementation of activities such as farming, hunting,
fishing, recollecting, knitting, and preparing different types of artefacts.
8pecific contents associated to indigenous and academic school knowledge linked with the
implementation of each productive activity were included under each one of the concepts or
variables included in tables, such as those presented in table .. 456M#&%#2 selected them
!
in accordance with the educational needs of each school grade, as defined in the official
curriculum (see #ppendi$ ".
)able 1.1. %ctivit* Programme's conceptual matri+. "#R$%&I%P diversified
curriculum
,atural
Resources-#b.ects
/nvironment )echni0ue Social /nd - Social
#rgani1ation
8pecies
9lassification
8ystems
'cosystem
*abitat
4ood chains
+eather and
biological cycles
Development of the
activity
9ooperation
Territorial
management
Type of activity and
transformation
processes which it
involves.
+ell being
8ocial events
Market
%ndigenous peoples
and territory
456M#&%#2 also prepared some reading material in #shaninka and some printed cards for
the development of the 2erson and 8ociety (28" and 8cience and 'nvironment (8'" areas,
which included indigenous peoples0 and school1based academic knowledge.
1.2 Conte+t of the research
#shaninka people with an overall population of appro$imately I-,--- are the largest
#ma3onian indigenous people in 2eru. #shaninka territory e$tends along eight different
valleys in 2eru0s central #ma3on, with significant differences regarding their degree of
contact with encroaching society and their relation with market economy. This study was
developed in communities of the 2erene and 2ichis valley.
-
During the last I- years, the 2erene valley has been under the intense colonisation of #ndean
settlers. This has led to the fragmentation and isolation of #shaninka communities and has
contributed to massive deforestation practices. %n contrast, #shaninkas from the 2ichis valley
still have control over the majority of its land and resources, due to the opportune
development of a land1titling programme implemented during the !;-0s, when lack of
transport facilities towards this area limited the entry of colonisers. *owever, this situation
has changed during the last twenty years. The number of migrants has increased and so has
indigenous peoples0 dependency to market economy with its consequent effects on the
environment. 7umber e$traction activities have also incremented dramatically.
%n overall terms, the social and political conte$t of the 2ichis valley is more favourable for
the development of %&' than that of the 2erene due to the negative impact that #ndean
colonisation has had on #shaninka peoples0 identity and language. %t is worth noting that
during the late !:-0s #shaninka communities rejected %&' programmes, since they
considered that they were for their (traditional) fellowmen who lived far apart from the
highways. This attitude has changed during the past twenty years and B/K of schools in
#shaninka communities of the 2erene valley are officially considered bilingual. These
schools usually have one, or, e$ceptionally, two teachers working in them. %n contrast, ;-K
of the schools in the 2ichis are bilingual and most of their teaching staff is #shaninka.
The research was developed in two communities. They will be called 2uerto 'lvira and 8anta
'lena in order to protect teachers0 anonymity. 2uerto 'lvira, with its B!;- hectares and B/-
persons, is one of the largest communities in the 2erene region. %t is located in the left margin
of the lower 2erene valley, an area where #shaninka communities enjoy an e$ceptional
situation, since they are less encroached by #ndean colonists than in the upper 2erene. 2uerto

'lvira is located at an hour by car distance from the nearest mestizo towns of 8atipo and
2ichanaki. 8anta 'lena is a small anne$ of a larger community situated in one of the upper
tributaries of the 2ichis river, at / hours by a small I*2 motor from the mestizo town of
2uerto &ermude3, and one hour on foot from a small recently opened inroad that runs parallel
to the river. 8anta 'lena has appro$imately --- hectares and a total population of --.
&oth communities have a semi1dispersed residential pattern, whereby a few families live
around the central square where the school and the community stadium is situated, as well as
the health post and a small shop in the case of 2uerto 'lvira. The majority of families live
near their farms. 8ome children from 2uerto 'lvira walk almost an hour to schoolD in 8anta
'lena, the furthest houses are located at a ,- minutes walk.
4arming is the basic activity of both communities. The sale of plantains (2uerto 'lvira" and
achiote (Bixa Orellana" (8anta 'lena" provide each household most of its monetary income.
They usually supplement it with agricultural work for nearby colonists. The bulk of the diet
consists of agricultural products, complemented with some fish, birds or small animals, or
rice, tinned tuna fish or spaghetti, when money is available. Most households keep a few
chickens and ducks to sell or to eat on special occasions. %n 2uerto 'lvira there is an incipient
social and economic stratification evidenced by the e$istence of community members with
access to rented work.
8chools were created in 2uerto 'lvira in the early !;-0s and in 8anta 'lena in the late
!:-0s. 2uerto 'lvira has two #shaninka teachers that support :< #shaninka students, while
8anta 'lena only has one for B!. The presence of an #shaninka teacher is a relatively new
e$perience for this community. #ndean teachers worked there since its creation ,- years ago.
,
This was the second year that 8anta 'lena had a bilingual teacher and this was due to the
intervention of the Ministry of 'ducation local bilingual specialist. %n both schools, all the
students have #shaninka as their mother tongue. Their skills in 8panish are quite
heterogeneous and largely depend on their possibilities of relating with 8panish speaking
persons outside the community. *owever, in general terms, 2uerto 'lvira students have a
better knowledge of oral and written 8panish than those of 8anta 'lena.
The 8anta 'lena and 2uerto 'lvira schools form part of a larger network, which comprises
the district, regional and national educational system. Teachers report to the district
educational authorities, whose specialists assess and supervise their work. The Ministry of
'ducation has promoted the creation of teacher learning communities. *owever, their
concrete operation depends on teachers0 interest and will. 2uerto 'lvira formed part of the
Kamarami #shaninka teacher learning community that had regular meetings every month.
During these, teachers planned their monthly project and evaluated their work. They also
designed e$ams to evaluate literacy and numeracy skills and organised their implementation.
The 8anta 'lena 8chool was part of a teacher learning community that was inoperative
throughout the whole year.
B
Chapter 2: Research design
&etween #ugust and December ,--I, % engaged in an action research process with two
graduates from the 456M#&%#2 intercultural bilingual education (%&'" teacher training
programme. Two fundamental questions structured the researchE
a. *ow do teachers conceptualise interculturalism and intercultural educationL
b. *ow did teachers incorporate indigenous knowledge in their everyday
schoolwork and what obstacles did they findL
4ieldwork consisted of five monthly visits of < to / days to each teacher. My role was that of
a critical facilitator, who provoked teachers to reflect about their teaching practice in the
2erson and 8ociety (28" and 8cience and 'nvironment (8'" academic areas and to think
about other ways of developing their work.
%n this chapter, % discuss the theoretical and methodological issues involved in this research. %
begin by e$plaining the nature of the enquiry, its theoretical approach and the reasons that led
me to choose a critical action research method. 4ollowing this, % include a reflection about the
way in which % have approached issues related with rigour and ethics. The chapter ends with
an account of the tools % used for producing and analysing data.
2.1 )he nature of the en0uir*
This enquiry follows a naturalistic, qualitative and critical social approach, which considers
knowledge as a social historically determined construct, in which the researcher0s personal
history, interests, and understanding of education and educational research have important
<
implications in the definition of the research problem and in the way research is done (Auba
and 7incoln !!<". % have e$posed these and some other ideas that % present in this section in
a unit assignment (Trapnell ,--,".
5ne of the most important attributes of qualitative research methods is the use of interactive
and interpretative procedures aimed to understand the meaning of events and actions. These
procedures respond to an epistemological paradigm, which questions some basic tenets of
positivism, such as the e$istence of an objective reality independent of the ways in which
people e$perience it as well as researchers0 objectivity and scientific neutrality. %n contrast, as
%ba?e3 (!!<" e$plains, qualitative research approaches are founded on the idea that reality is
conceived in terms of the meanings constructed and reconstructed by people on the bases of
e$periences developed in particular conte$ts. #ccording to this line of thinking, knowledge is
constructed on the basis of dialogical and multivocal processes, which consider the
perspectives and points of view of the different actors involved in the research process. %n this
sense, knowledge is based on shared e$perienced and the results of this type of research are
e$pected to constitute negotiated products or co1constructions between researchers and
informants (Manning !!;".
The use of interactive and interpretative procedures has been particularly important in this
research, since it was aimed to make teachers0 tacit knowledge e$plicit and to uncover the
assumptions that guided their practice. %n order to do this and assure that data was gathered
through a variety of means, % developed the e$ploratory perspective that qualitative methods
provide. Aiven the need for an open approach that can bring forward the multiplicity of
factors involved in the way in which teachers assume their practice, this research was guided
by questions such as qualitative methods suggest, rather than by hypothesis.
/
Mualitative methods are conte$t1based and allow researchers to (probe deeply into the
research setting in order to obtain understanding about the way things are, why they are that
way and how the participants in the conte$t perceive them) (Aay and #irasian ,--- p ".
This conte$t1based approach was absolutely vital in the light of this enquiry, since significant
differences e$ist between #shaninka people due to various levels of contact and assimilation,
geographical diversity and change of social and economic structures. The individuality of
their teachers, whose personal e$periences and e$pectations are fundamental for the
understanding of their approach to intercultural education, was another important reason for a
conte$t1based method.
4urthermore, this enquiry was guided by the holistic approach that characterises qualitative
methods, since it tried to understand how different factors interconnect, rather than to discover
cause1effect relations, as quantitative methods tend to do. 6esearch questions in this study had
no need of numerical data or of the mathematical analytic procedures associated with
quantitative approaches.
2.2 )heoretical background and research methods
This research was rooted in theories and approaches that address the relation between power
and knowledge and view education from a critical stance, such as the way 9ritical 2edagogy
and 2ostcolonial 8tudies do.
9ritical 2edagogy (Airou$ !!;a, !!;b, #pple and Ning !:B and Mc 7aren !!;" offers
important insights regarding how to approach school and schooling processes from an
historical and sociological perspective. %ts followers question the generalised approach to
I
schools as universal and neutral sites for instruction and try to reveal their political nature.
They thus assume the need to visualise school education as a cultural and historic process
crossed by power relations and basically oriented to the reproduction of (status quo).
*owever, critical pedagogists have different approaches regarding how this occurs. 8ome
prioritise (cultural dominance) and underline the role that school institutions play as sites for
the reproduction of the social, economic and political order, while others believe that schools
are political sites of struggle and contestation, involved in the construction and control of
meaning and subjectivities. 9onsequently, they emphasise the need to take advantage of
schools as places that can be used to promote the formation of critical citi3ens capable of
assuming leadership in the construction of democracy (Airou$ !:I". 4ollowing this theory, %
approach schools as social, cultural and political institutions involved in the construction and
control of discourse, meaning and subjectivities. *owever, % also view them as sites of
possibility for the construction of new discourses and practices and focus on the particular
role that culture can play in this process.
2ostcolonial studies offer 9ritical 2edagogy the possibility of e$ploring the multiple ways in
which colonial heritage is reaffirmed within the new world order and the actual multinational
division of labour, in everyday discourse and practice. 2ostcolonial theorists highlight how
questions of hierarchy and power between world centres and the margins are present in
different aspects of social e$perience and how they help to legitimate and reproduce social,
economic and political asymmetry.
%ntercultural education can also benefit from some of the analytic categories developed by
some postcolonial theorists. #mong them is the concept of (colonial difference), which refers
to ethnic and cultural difference as a social construction essential for the legitimisation of
;
domination. #ccording to Muijano (,---", colonial powers used race as a ta$onomic indicator
that distributed human population in a hierarchical position, which allowed them to make the
distinction between superior and inferior people. This hierarchy was naturalised and became
part of people0s beliefs. 9onsequently, the notion of the e$istence of superior and inferior
peoples is in the basis of peoples0 self1perceptions and their perceptions of (others).
Nnowledge production, language and other dimensions of social life have also been subjected
to this hierarchy. Thus, approaches to knowledge, nature, society, time, space, the person,
learning and language, which differ from hegemonic traditions, have been ignored,
invisibilised or catalogued as beliefs.
5n the basis of this analysis, postcolonial authors such as Mignolo (,---" contest
intercultural education approaches which focus on (cultural diversity) and the idea that
conflict can be overcome by means of more information about (the other) and better
communication strategies. Mignolo affirms that intercultural education should help people to
identify and revise the beliefs that reproduce the asymmetry of power and to strengthen the
development of personal processes of re1elaboration of the image of self1contempt and self1
negation generated through colonial domination.
4urthermore, postcolonial critiques highlight the need to revise epistemological issues
regarding the supremacy which western science has acquired as a universal and unique valid
source of knowledge production and the ways in which its hegemony is related to colonial
domination. 4rom this perspective, it is not sufficient to introduce contents related to
indigenous peoples0 cultural heritage in the framework of official school curriculaD
intercultural education should promote a process of (decolonisation of knowledge) (Muijano
,---", by considering the e$istence of different ways of producing it. This approach
:
highlights the need to incorporate analytic and interpretative categories different from those
developed by western scientific disciplines. The use of local languages, cognitive categories
and cultural logic as means for the creation of social understanding is a vital strategy in this
process.
This research focuses on the above mentioned issues, since it looks into the different ways in
which knowledge is produced and transmitted in primary school education and into the
particular ways in which teachers contribute to their students0 representations and
understanding about the world. Drawing from the findings of this research, % shall argue that
%&' programmes must give greater attention to knowledge and power issues if they want to
respond to %&'0s initial social and political objective of transforming schools into sites of
empowerment for subalternised and marginalised people.
This research tries to respond to some of the challenges posed by critical pedagogy and
postcolonial perspectives by e$ploring the ways in which knowledge and power issues
influence teachers0 approaches to their work, and by looking into other possibilities for the
creation of social understanding based on local language and indigenous peoples0 cognitive
categories and cultural logic. Thus, one of the basic questions that this study has tried to
answer is to what e$tent schools can develop a new role as sites of possibility for the
construction of new discourses and practices. %t has also tried to identify the obstacles that
teachers find in this process. Drawing from the data collected throughout the research
process, % shall claim that critical reflection can help teachers open schools to the
development of new discourses and practices. *owever, having said this, % shall also sustain
that educational change is influenced by the multiple conte$ts in which teachers0 work as
!
Mc7aughlin (,--" and 8cribner (,--B" sustain, and by their personal views about schooling
and their roles as teachers.
My approach to the issue of educational change has been ine$tricably related to my
methodological option for action research, as % shall e$plain in the following section.
2.3 $* methodological perspective
This research has been based on an action research methodology. %n general terms this concept
is used to refer to a research strategy which aims to relate knowledge production with the
transformation of practice. #s 'lliot affirmsE (The fundamental aim of action research is to
improve practice, rather than to produce knowledge. The production and utili3ation of
knowledge is subordinate to and conditioned by this fundamental aim) ('lliot !! p <!". 4or
the purpose of this research, % shall consider action research as a (collective, self1reflective
enquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in order improve the rationality and
justice of their own social practicesO (Nemmis and McTaggart !:: p /".
#ction research methodology consists of a series of phases or cycles, which include the
identification of a problem, analysis and reflection about it, commitment to change aspects
identified as problematic, a new phase of action and reflection about the situation that has
emerged in order to evaluate its potential, identification of new problems and new
commitments for action. This goes on for as long as the persons who participate in the process
wish to develop it.
,-
The choice of this methodology was intrinsically related to the purpose of my research. %
wanted to promote a joint reflection about the practice of two 456M#&%#2 graduates and to
search for alternatives that would allow them to enrich it and help me to revise my approach
to intercultural education. % thus needed a methodological perspective open to the
development of a participative and refle$ive process in which an adequate balance could be
found between academic research and the transformation of practice. 6ather than assuming a
researcher1researched outlook in which % could e$amine teachers0 practice within a limited
period of time, as done by Au3man (,--,", % required a method which would allow the
development of a joint e$amination and reflection on teachers0 practice throughout various
months. Due to all these reasons, % considered action research as the most appropriate method
for my enquiry.
% could have used alternative approaches such as ethnographies and grounded theory for this
research. 'thnographies of schooling, describe and analyse social interaction in a specific
conte$t and to try to incorporate the social and cultural meaning that participants give to it,
through multidimensional appro$imation to the setting as 8pindler (!:," and +oods (!!<"
e$plain. The Arounded Theory approach developed by Alasser and 8trauss (!I;" aims to
understand how participants understand their social reality. %ts strategy is to describe concepts
and hypothesis drawn from data rather than from other investigations and e$isting theoretical
approaches. Theory is developed throughout the research process by means of a (continuous
interpellation between analysis and data collection) (8trauss and 9orbin !!< p ,;B".
&oth research approaches would have allowed me to improve my knowledge about the two
basic questions that guided my investigationE how teachers conceptualise interculturalism and
intercultural education and the ways in which they incorporate indigenous knowledge in
,
curriculum planning and development, as well as the obstacles they find in this process.
*owever, if % had chosen the ethnographic or grounded theory method, % would have deprived
the two 456M#&%#2 graduates from developing the reflective approach to teaching which
part of the action research process is. 5n the other hand, % would have left out the aspect of
change, which % consider one of the vital purposes and accomplishments of this research.
2.3.1 Critical action research
There is not only one way of doing action research, in fact different traditions have developed
since the concept was first used by 7ewin in the !<-0s. 'ven though they all link research
and change, action research traditions have different ways of approaching the purpose of their
intervention and the way in which they understand the role of participants, as 8uPre3 2a3os
(,--," accurately observes.
%n this case, % chose critical action methodology (following Nemmis, McTaggart and their
work at Deakin @niversity". This methodology considers the e$istence of a researcher that
facilitates the process and one of more teachers that participate as co1researchers. %ts central
idea is to promote a critical reflection about educational practice and transform it. %n this
process, the researcher who acts as facilitator observes the work of hisQher co1researchers and
registers it. Through informal conversation, the facilitator participates with them in the
analysis and interpretation of the collected data. During this critical dialogue, teachers e$plicit
the suppositions which underpin their work, develop a critical reflection about their options
and propose others. The critical analysis of new practices and the proposal of alternative ones
are deepened throughout the research process.
,,
% considered that this methodology was better than other action research ones in so far asE
o %t aims to promote participants0 consciousness about the social conditionings that
influence their educational practice and helps them emancipate themselves from them, by
means of this critical distance (Nemmis and McTaggart !::". 9onsequently, this
methodology relates education with overall social change to a greater e$tent than other
approaches that are more focused on how to develop more efficient teaching practices
andQor to help practitioners live up to their personal values.
o %ts concern to promote participants0 awareness of social constraints and their
emancipation from them responds to the type of research questions that % shall address,
since they are concerned with power relations and with the ways in which school
discourse is constructed and transmitted.
o This methodology approaches the relation between co1researchers in a joint process of
knowledge construction in which the e$ternal researcher contributes in the process of
each teacher0s self1reflection. %n this sense, it assumes a more e$plicit political approach
than other methodologies that prioritise teacher0s self1comprehension and the
development of self1judgment (see McGiff ,--,".
2.3.2 /thical dilemmas in critical action research
7ather (!!B" and 7incoln and Auba (,---" have highlighted that researchers0 approach to
ethical dilemmas is intrinsically related to epistemological issues. 2almer confirms this idea
when he claimsE (every way of knowing contains its own moral trajectory) (2almer !:; p
,<". % designed this enquiry from a critical participatory action research approach, which
considers educational research as a practice that involves specific institutions and persons and
has an impact over their lives. Moreover, the critical action research approach to which %
,B
adhere assumes that values feed into the enquiry process. This has made me conscious of the
need to be aware of the theoretical and methodological framework for data gathering and
analysis, selection of methods, treatment of values and choice of format as advised by 7incoln
and Auba (!:/" and *arrison (,--B". % have also become aware of the need to be clear about
my political point of view, knowledge base and the purpose of the investigation.
#ction research involves some particular participatory issues, since it considers work with
co1researchers and the need to consider as much participation and collaboration as possible
throughout the whole process, in coherence with the idea of placing teachers as (producers
rather than consumers of educational research) (7avell ,--- p ". 4or this to occur,
researchers involved in action research must be particularly conscious of the tendency to
impose their own agenda and voices over that of their co1 researchers as &ishop (!!;" and
7avell (,---" recommend. %n the case of action research, it is of utmost importance to
maintain the voices of co1researchers present during the whole process.
Aiven the political knowledge and power issues that inform this research, during its process %
became aware of the need to develop a balanced and unbiased approach to each teacher0s
work. % was also conscious of the need to be careful about the way in which % would present
their stories, as 9landinin (!!B" suggests. % believe this is particularly necessary in the case
of critical action research processes.
2.3.3 $ethodological issues regarding rigour
8cientific research is intrinsically concerned with rigour, that is, with the ways by which it can
demonstrate integrity and competence (#roni et al !!!" *owever, there are a number of
,<
disputes among researchers, who follow the naturalistic paradigm, regarding the criteria used
to evaluate it. 8ome scholars outwardly reject criteria such as validity, and reliability, arguing
that they are related to positivist approaches, while Den3in and 7incoln (,---" and #ltheide
and Rohnson (!!<", among others, insist on the need of rigour in order to affirm the quality
and robustness of qualitative research. 'ven so, these researchers are also conscious of the
need to place this concept within the epistemology of the naturalistic paradigm. %n this
direction, some of them have proposed the use of alternative criteria such as (goodness),
credibility and completeness. #ccording to 8mith (!!B", Den3in and 7incoln (,---" and
#rminio and *ultgren (,--," the criterion of (goodness) includes situatedness,
trustworthiness and authenticity. 7incoln and Auba (!:/" offer the criterion of credibility as
an alternative to that of internal validity. 9redibility stresses the match that must be found
between constructed realities of respondents and realities represented by the evaluator and
attributed to various stakeholders. #ccording to these authors, credibility can be verified by
prolonged engagement, persistent observation, peer debriefing, negative case analysis and
member checks.
#ction research is one of the most questioned methods of qualitative research due to its
emphasis on action and the participation of the researcher. #ccording to some researchers, this
interferes or negates objectivity. The e$plicit political stance of critical action research is
particularly questioned by those who believe in the possibility of developing objective
research. 4inally, the criterion of generalisability is often used to discount the value of
research conducted with small samples of teachers and classrooms. 8cholars aligned with a
qualitative research approach have contested the first two issues. Nemmis and McTaggart
(,---" and 7incoln and Auba (,---", among other authors, argue against the positivistic
paradigm of objectivity and neutrality. They claim that the researcher0s subjectivity is an
,/
integral part of the whole research process. #s they e$plain in detail, the researcher0s personal
options influences the identification of the research problem, the election of the theoretical
framework and the methodology, as well as the way in which data is analysed and interpreted.
6egarding generalisability, .umwalt (!:," argues that generalisations about teaching and
learning are by definition conte$t1free. *e stresses the need to have insights into how things
work within the conte$ts of particular classrooms, rather than laws about what works
generically in all classrooms.
Drawing from the above mentioned criteria, a measure of trust for my research can be found
in the following evidenceE first and foremost, % knew both co1researchers and have worked B-
years in #shaninka communitiesD this has allowed to have a deep knowledge of the social and
cultural conte$t and to learn the language. 4urthermore, % have made use of methodological
triangulation by employing different methods for data recollection (observation, analysis of
written material, informal conversation, diaries and interviews". Moreover, % cross1chequed
interviews with the two teachers who participated as co1researchers, in different moments of
the research process.
#part from triangulating methods, % have also tried to triangulate perspectives by contrasting
those of different persons involved in the research. %n this case, % did it with both co1
researchers and with 456M#&%#2 teachers. % also interviewed influential community
members and had some informal conversations with students in order to have a general idea
of their attitude towards the teachers and towards the introduction of indigenous knowledge
in schools.
,I
The cycles of interpretation afforded by action research allowed me to refine my initial
interpretations and discard or keep some hypothesis until subsequent visits. %n this case, the
identification of teachers0 advances in their aim to find solutions to the problematic situation
they had found was vital, since it allowed us to recognise the different elements that were
constraining or favouring their work. The possibility of reviewing situations throughout
different phases was quite helpful in the production of the final analysis. Drawing from my
practice, % could say that it could be considered as one of the sources of rigour provided by
action research in the line defended by Dick (!!!". *owever, % shall evaluate the research
design in the concluding chapter, in the light of my findings and my e$perience in using it.
2.! Scope and sampling
% asked a female and a male #shaninka teacher from two schools in the lower 2erene and
2ichis valleys to participate as co1researchers. The female teacher, whom % shall call Maria,
was <- years old and had graduated from 456M#&%#2 in !!<. #lejandro was B- and had
graduated in ,--B.
% limited the scope of this research to only two persons due to the requirements that its subject
matter and method entail. % considered that the development of an action research approach
aimed at the understanding of the way, in which teachers handle what *ornberger (,---" has
called the ideological parado$ of transforming a standarising education into a diversifying
one, required sequential visits throughout at least five months during the school year, as well
as in1depth interviews and e$haustive conversations with teachers.
,;
The choice of both co1researchers considered academic qualifications, responsibility and
appreciation by the community, as well as their desire to participate. Ten years of e$perience
in school supervision had led me to believe that the initiation of an e$ploratory action research
on intercultural education can best be focused with teachers who e$cel in those aspects.
#shaninka territory e$tends along eight different valleys with significant differences
regarding degree of contact with encroaching society and relation with market economy. This
study was developed in communities of the lower 2erene and upper 2ichis regions, where
#shaninka people have regular contact with colonisers, without being absolutely encroached
by them, as occurs in other areas. The selection of the communities was conditioned by the
presence of teachers with the above mentioned characteristics.
This study was e$ploratory and sought to highlight problems for further research. %t did not
attempt to e$plain what is happening with teachers in the eight different regions that form part
of #shaninka territory or to generalise its findings. The study did not evaluate primary school
students or teachers0 competences in teaching. Moreover, the study only dealt with one aspect
of intercultural educationE the inclusion of local knowledge in curriculum planning and
development.
2.2 )he data collection process
The research design was discussed with both co1researchers a month before the research
process began, on the basis of a proposal which % had outlined for them to revise. +e then
agreed on the aims of the research and on the way in which we would develop the data
collection and data analysis process.
,:
#t that moment, we decided that % would make five monthly visits and would devote five days
to each one. +e also agreed to complement this strategy with the analysis of the work that
teachers had done during the time between my visits, as % shall later e$plain.
The action research method intended to help teachers e$plain the tacit knowledge that
orientates their selection and organisation of what they want students to learn and how they
put it in practice. The process of data collection consisted of five cycles in Maria0s case and
si$ in #lejandro0s. The first cycle aimed to diagnose the initial situation regarding two basic
issuesE how teachers conceptualised interculturalism and intercultural education and how they
approached indigenous knowledge in the 2erson and 8ociety (28" and 8cience and
'nvironment (8'" subject areas. During this cycle, both co1researchers identified the
problems they had found in their practice and defined the plan that they would follow in order
to improve it. During the second cycle, teachers evaluated the new situation created as a result
of the changes they had introduced in their practiceD reflected on its potential, identified
obstacles, and made new commitments for action. The following cycles followed the same
sequence. *owever, towards the end of the third one, both co1researchers also devoted a
whole afternoon to develop a critical analysis about the first three cycles. This helped them to
take distance from the research process and to identify their advances as well as the obstacles
they had found until then. Dialogue journals were e$tremely helpful in this process. The last
cycle was devoted to recognise the situation that had emerged as a result of teachers0
commitments. #t the end of this cycle each teacher contrasted the situation identified during
phase one with their current reflections and practice. #fter doing this, both teachers shared
their views about the whole process. Their comments focused on the impact that the action
research had had on them and on their practice.
,!
My role in the research process was that of a critical facilitator, who used different strategies
to help teachers question their practice and develop a refle$ive critique that would allow them
to recall what knowledge and approaches they had ignored and to think about alternatives.
5ne strategy was to observe teachers at work, record what % had seen, and analyse, and
interpret my notes with them through informal conversations. During these moments, % helped
teachers to e$plain the assumptions that had guided their work and to think about their social
and political implications. #nother strategy was to offer them information that would allow
them to develop a critical reflection about their training for the development of %&'. # third
strategy was aimed to help teachers recall and remember the different ways in which
#shaninka people understand society and nature and to think about how they could introduce
these approaches in their classes.
2.2.1 3ata collection techni0ues
The observation of teachers0 classes was one of my basic data collection techniques (see
#ppendi$ ,". % complemented this with informal conversation and the revision of written
documents, such as students0 copybooks and teachers0 daily class journals, in which teachers
stated the capacities they wanted their students to develop and e$plained the strategy that they
would follow in order to achieve this.
The revision of teacher0s journals and students0 copybooks, before my first visit and between
subsequent ones, allowed me to cover a longer range of time than that afforded by direct
observation and to access more data. 5verall, % observed ,B classes and reconstructed B-
through informal conversations with both teachers.
B-
%nformal conversations offered both teachers the opportunity to e$plain why they had chosen
certain contents for their 28 and 8' classes and why they had developed particular strategies.
During these conversations teachers also talked about their views regarding schools, their
roles as indigenous teachers and their approach to their peoples0 cultural heritage. They also
shared their knowledge about #shaninka world visions and talked about other ways in which
they could approach the 28 and 8' areas. 4urthermore, they identified the obstacles that they
found in their efforts to change their practice.
% proposed both teachers the use of a dialogue journal as suggested by 4reese (,--I" in which
we could maintain a systematic control of class observations, positive feedback, questions and
suggestions. % also developed a personal diary in which % included transcriptions of informal
conversations with teachers and other field notes. % also developed semi1structured in depth
interviews, which % piloted with my colleagues and other indigenous teachers to test their
validity. Their comments allowed me to revise the way in which % had phrased some
questions. % prioritised this type of interview since it (offers access to people0s ideas, thoughts
and memories in their own words) (6einhar3 !!, p !". %n this process, % tried to be
particularly sensitive to the questions that were important to the interviewees in order to try to
gain a better understanding of their points of view. Muestions focused on teachers0
backgroundsD their views about interculturalism, intercultural education and schoolingD the
ways in which they approached curriculum planning and teaching and their views about the
political underpinnings of intercultural education (see #ppendi$ B". Topics were revisited in
subsequent interviews to assure a joint deeper probing into research issues and to find out how
teachers modified their opinions during the process.
B
Data was triangulated with semi structured in depth interviews with influential community
members, and with the other teacher who worked in one of the schools. These interviews were
oriented to gain a deeper understanding of the social and cultural conte$t in which teachers
work and of the political and cultural factors that influenced their approach to intercultural
education. % also had some informal conversations with students in order to learn about their
e$pectations and appreciations regarding school their views about their teachers and their
ideas regarding their teachers0 approach to #shaninka language and culture.
)able 2.1 Summar* of the data4collection process
%ctivit* )ime scale
2resentation and discussions of research design with co1
researchers.
Ruly ,--I
"irst action research c*cle
%nitial diagnosis through observation, first in depth interviews
with co1researchers, informal conversations, analysis of
written documents.
#lejandroE #ug. B1:
MariaE #ug. ,-1,/
Second c*cle #lejandroE #ug. !18ept. ,-
B,
5bservation, informal conversations, analysis of written
documents.
MariaE #ug. ,I18ept. ,!
)hird c*cle
5bservation, informal conversations, analysis of written
documents, joint reflection about the first three cycles.
#lejandroE 8ept. ,1,<
MariaE 8ept. B-15ct. ,I
%nterview with 456M#&%#2 teachers. 8eptember15ctober
"ourth c*cle
5bservation, informal conversations, analysis of written
documents.
%nformal conversations with students. %nterviews with parents.
#lejandroE 8ept. ,/15ct. ,-
MariaE 5ct. ,;1Gov. ,;
"ifth c*cle
5bservation, informal conversations, analysis of written
documents. %nformal conversations with students, interviews
with parents. 8econd in depth interview with Maria. #nalysis
of whole process with Maria and diagnosis of final situation.
#lejandroE 5ct. ,1Gov.!
MariaE Gov. ,:1Dec. -
Si+th c*cle
5bservation, informal conversations, analysis of written
documents. 8econd in depth interview with #lejandro
#nalysis of the whole process, diagnosis of final situation.
#lejandroE Gov. ,-1Dec. :
2.5 $ethods of data anal*sis
My methods of data analysis were grounded on 'merson0s et al!s (!!/" proposal regarding
fieldnotes0 processing. % thus considered data analysis as a process of creating theory through
a (refle$ive and dialectic interplay between theory and data whereby theory enters in at every
point, shaping not only analysis but how social events come to be perceived and written up as
data in the first place) ('merson et al !!/ p I;". &ased on this approach % developed the
following strategyE
o #fter each one the five field trip visits % developed throughout the research, % prepared a
provisional interpretation about the information collected through observation, informal
conversations, structured interviews, analysis of written material (teachers0 study plans
and students0 copybooks" and field notes. #fter my last field trip, % organised this
information into a written report that % shared with both co1researchers. %n it, % also
BB
included the commitments that they had assumed during each visit. They revised this
document and enriched it with their views and perspectives.
o % also shared this report with some 456M#&%#2 teachers. This allowed me to access
their views about various aspects regarding 456M#&%#20s influence in both teachers0
appro$imation to %&'. %t also helped me to revise some affirmations and to review some
issues with both co1researchers.
o 5nce % had finished revising my first report, % read all the collected data once again with
more detail. +hen % finished this, % asked both co1researchers to participate in the process
of open analytic coding suggested by 'merson et al (!!/" in order to identify all the
aspects that could be relevant. &oth co1researchers participated in the identification of
recurring elements, which we organised in large themes. They also participated in their
depuration into core themes. 5nce this was done, % subjected these to focused coding in
order to find connections between data. %n this process % delineated specific themes and
sub themes and identified new topics of which % had not been initially aware. % wrote
these out in a final report that % submitted to both co1researchers for their comments and
suggestions.
)able 2.2 Summar* of the data anal*sis process
%ctivit* )ime scale
Roint revision of first report with co1researchers. March ,--;
6evision of first report with 456M#&%#2 colleagues. #pril ,--;
Gew revision of first written report with co1researchers based
on 456M#&%#2 colleagues0 comments.
May ,--;
Gew revision of all collected data. May1Rune ,--;
Development of open analytic coding with co1researchers and
identification of core themes.
Ruly ,--;
Development of focused coding. #ugust ,--;
B<
Roint revision of final report with co1researchers. 5ctober ,--;
%n the following chapter, % present the action reflection cycles on which the research was
structured. Their presentation helps to understand how the production of knowledge was
related to the transformation of teachers0 practice. *owever, in chapter <, % offer a more
detailed account of the findings produced as a result of the action research process and discuss
them.
B/
Chapter 3: )he action research c*cles
%n this chapter, % present a synthetic account of the action1reflection cycles that formed part of
the action research process. *owever, before continuing, % must e$plain that throughout this
and the following chapter, % shall continuously differentiate (indigenous) and (western
scientific) knowledge. % am aware that this may be considered as an evidence of a dichotomic
vision, which ignores the e$istence of other types of knowledge, as well as the fusions
produced by the appropriation of new practices and by the influence of school. *owever, by
marking this contrast, which builds on May0s considerations regarding critical
multiculturalism (May !!!b p B,", % want to evidence the e$istence of ways of
understanding reality different from those which official teacher training curricula consider as
universal and only sources of truth.
3.1 C*cle 1
This cycle aimed to identify how teachers planned their classes and how they incorporated
indigenous knowledge in the 2erson and 8ociety (28" and 8cience and 'nvironment (8'"
areas. 5bservation, informal conversations and structured interviews evidenced that they used
the 456M#&%#2 diversified curriculum and designed daily and monthly plans. &oth based
the latter on the development of projects related to #shaninka peoples0 social and economic
activities, as suggested by 456M#&%#2. Gevertheless, they had different visions regarding
the e$ecution of these activities during schools hours. #lejandro affirmed that students
participated in their implementation with their parents and other relatives and that they should
use school hours to learn about things they ignored, i.e. western scientific knowledge and
8panish. Therefore, he only used projects as frameworks for the introduction of school
BI
contents. %n contrast, Maria engaged her students and willing parents in the practical
development of each project. 8he believed that this could help children deepen their
understanding about their implementation or find out about techniques that they no longer
learnt at homeD value work, and reflect about the knowledge involved in the e$ecution of each
project.
Differences also e$isted in the priority that teachers gave to projects in their planning process.
#lejandro developed them once every other month, since he formed part of a teacher learning
community that designed their monthly plans jointly and prioritised literacy and numeracy
skills, in accordance with the Ministry of 'ducation0s 'ducational 'mergency policy. Maria
worked with projects throughout the whole school yearD however, since the appearance of the
'ducational 'mergency policy in ,--B, she had restricted the development of the 28 and 8'
areas to once or twice a week, instead of the three times proposed by 456M#&%#2 (see
chapter ".
&oth teachers used the same basic strategy in the development of the 8' and 28 areas. They
usually began their classes with some reference to #shaninka peoplesS knowledge through a
brief dialogue, in #lejandro0s case, or by narrating a myth, in Maria0s. 9ontents in the 8'
area aimed to promote children0s understanding of the environment, while most of the 28
ones were about economic activities and social obligations and rights. 'very class finished
with a summary, always written in 8panish, which teachers e$tracted or adapted from school
te$ts. Teachers and students only used #shaninka for oral communication.
% engaged with both teachers in a critical reflection about their incorporation of indigenous
knowledge in the 8' and 28 areas. My questions and comments dealt with their planning
B;
strategies and the reasons for selecting certain themes. My remarks also intended to promote
their awareness regarding the limited amount of time they had given to their peoples0
knowledge and language and the power issues involved in this. % wanted to encourage their
reflection about the e$istence of worldviews different from those provided by school te$ts.
Maria and #lejandro evaluated that their approach to their peoples0 knowledge was a result of
the training they had received and the diversified curriculum0s approach. They e$plained that
their teachers in 456M#&%#2 and in the Ministry of 'ducation %&' workshops had advised
them to (articulate indigenous and scientific knowledge). This had led them to believe that
classes should aim to help children (reach) scientific knowledge. Therefore, they had only
considered the inclusion of #shaninka knowledge at the beginning of each class. They
commented that the diversified curriculum strengthened this approach, since the majority of
its capacities were (drawn towards the apprenticeship of western knowledge). During their
critical reflections they identified other approaches to the themes they had developed in class
(see #ppendi$ <".
Drawing from their critical reflections about their practice, both teachers planned to give
more time to indigenous knowledge in the 28 and 8' areas and to include the development of
written summaries in #shaninka.
3.2 C*cle 2
9lass observation, analysis of teachers0 daily class journals and informal conversation
demonstrated that both teachers had increased the amount of time they gave to indigenous
knowledge in their 28 and 9# classes, as they had planned. The analysis of reconstructed and
B:
observed classes evidenced that Maria had avoided the articulation of knowledge strategy and
introduced two new strategiesE she either dedicated whole class sessions to her peoples0
knowledge or presented selected themes from #shaninka and western scientific perspectives
throughout them. %n either case, she included #shaninka knowledge and language in her class
summaries (see #ppendi$ /". %n contrast, #lejandro continued relying on te$tbooks from
which he e$tracted ideas for his summaries, which he always wrote in 8panish.
Teachers0 reflections about their practice highlighted the influence that the diversified
curriculum had in their approach to their peoples0 knowledge. During informal conversations,
#lejandro e$plained that he had continued using the articulation of knowledge strategy and
e$tracting his summaries from school te$ts, since the capacities he selected from the
diversified curriculum were related with western scientific knowledge. *e also e$plained that
even though he had incremented the time that he gave to #shaninka knowledge in his classes,
he only included it when he could connect it with the contents he selected from the
curriculum. +hen he could not, he limited himself to develop the diversified curriculum0s
capacities according to the information he found in books.
Drawing on their critical comments, % tried to help both teachers further their reflection and
design of alternatives with information about 456M#&%#20s critical evaluation of its
approach to knowledge. % told them that it questioned the priority it had given to western
scientific categories and to the fact that it had organised indigenous knowledge according to
the conceptual framework of western scientific disciplines. % also informed them that
456M#&%#2 teachers had become aware of the need to try to understand the different ways
in which indigenous peoples approach reality. 4inally, % e$plained that the articulation of
B!
knowledge strategy had been strongly criticised, since it had led to the idea that indigenous
knowledge was a means to reach western scientific one.
&ased on their critical reflection, both teachers planned to develop more classes of the 28 and
8' areas in which children could learn more about #shaninka world visions. They also agreed
to leave the diversified curriculum aside when necessary.
3.3 C*cle 3
The critical reflections developed during the previous cycle had led #lejandro to plan a new
strategy in which he would develop whole classes related to #shaninka world visions and
would distance himself from the diversified curriculum, as e$emplified in a class about
kinship relations between animals and plants. %t ended with a written summary in #shaninka
in which he approached his peoples0 knowledge from a different and more holistic perspective
than that offered by the diversified curriculum (see #ppendi$ I".
During his evaluation of his new practice, #lejandro commented that it was the first time in
which he had broken away from the articulation of knowledge strategy and from the
natureQsociety dichotomyE
% thought that the class was very interesting. +hen % developed it, %
recognised for the first time that the 2erson and 8ociety and 8cience and
'nvironment areas should be integrated. %n 456M#&%#2 we were told that
they should go together but % did not understand what that meant 5nly
<-
when you approach them from an #shaninka perspective you can see that
they are not separate (conversation #lejandro, 8eptember ,--I".
Maria continued in her effort to find a balance in the time she gave to indigenous and western
scientific knowledge in her 28 and 9# classes. *owever, class observation, revision of her
daily class journals and informal conversations revealed that she only referred to #shaninka
peoples0 worldview when she narrated myths during the introductory part of her classes. The
main part of them, as well as their summaries focused on botanical, 3oological and
geographical aspects that could be neatly related with scientific approaches. 8he e$plained
that this was a result of her dependency on the diversified curriculum. *owever, towards the
end of the research process, other factors were also uncovered.
9lass observation, analysis of daily class journals and students0 copybooks also evidenced that
MarTa0s approach to western scientific knowledge was aimed to transmit information and
concepts. 9ritical reflections during this cycle dealt with the reasons for this and the
possibility of relating the themes she developed in class with the analysis of social, economic
and ecological problems. They also dealt about the way in which she related intercultural
education with the promotion of indigenous rights. Maria acknowledged that she had not
talked with children about indigenous collective rights and that it was necessary to introduce
this theme as well as others related to indigenous organi3ations. *owever, she e$plained that
she did not know that she was supposed to link subject matter with students0 needs, as she
e$pressed in the following commentE
% did not have any idea that in intercultural education we must approach
problems. % did not involve myself in that.(H" % only tried to transmit my
<
theme. During %&' workshops they never told us we should do that. They
told us that we must tell a story. 4or me that was all there was to it
(conversation Maria, 5ctober ,--I".
Gonetheless, during further reflections about this matter, Maria mentioned the need to relate
classes with social, economic and ecological problems because (maybe some of the children
will develop some conscience about these problems and maybe he or she would do something
when he or she is older).
Drawing from their critical reflection, #lejandro planned to develop more classes aimed to
present an integrated approach to nature and society. Maria planned to incorporate #shaninka
world visions and to introduce themes related with indigenous organi3ations, in coherence
with her view of intercultural education as a means for the promotion and defence of
indigenous peoples0 collective rights.
3.! C*cle !
9lass observation, revision of daily class journals and informal conversations demonstrated
that #lejandro continued introducing #shaninka peoples0 world visions in his classes and that
he also tried to balance the time he gave to #shaninka and western scientific knowledge
during their development. *owever, they also evidenced that he had decided to prioritise the
production of summaries e$tracted from te$tbooks and written in 8panish.
*is confession towards the end of my visit, in the sense that he had decided that he would not
do things to make me happy, made me aware that he did not want to move away from the
<,
(articulation of knowledge strategy) and design other alternatives, as he had done during the
last cycle. *owever, % insisted that he had to take his own decisions regarding how far he
wanted to goD my role was that of a facilitator, who tried to help him develop a critical
reflection about his work, look at the obstacles he encountered and search for the alternatives
that he considered the most appropriate.
During this cycle, #lejandro evaluated the reasons why he had decided to go back to the
articulation of knowledge strategy. *e no longer talked about the limitations of the diversified
curriculum, since we had developed a joint revision of its capacities and found that there were
a few related with indigenous knowledge, which he had avoided. *is reflections highlighted
his lack of the e$pertise and knowledge he needed to develop whole classes about #shaninka
knowledge or to write summaries that included it, as well as his approach to schooling.
#lejandro affirmed that the most important role of schools was teaching #shaninka children
8panish and western knowledge and that the use of the articulation of knowledge strategy
allowed him to do this.
During this cycle, % encouraged #lejandro to revise his approach to western knowledge, which
was basically aimed to transmit conceptual knowledge. *owever, he was quite negative about
the value of doing this.
%f % do so Urelate classes to problemsV, what answer can % give the children,
what solutions can % give to these problemsL 4or e$ample, we can see the
problem related to cutting trees to sell them as lumber, they UparentsV do it
to satisfy their needs, but they also do it because they have no conscience
<B
about the impact which this will have on the forest. Therefore, what we tell
them goes in through one ear and goes out through the other (H.". +e are
not the only guilty onesD there are the industries that contaminate (H"
(conversation #lejandro, 5ctober ,--I".
#lejandro reinforced his argument about the uselessness of discussing problems with children
when nothing could be done about them with the following #pocalyptic commentE
The world will be destroyed. 'verything that is happening with nature has
already been announced in the prophecies (conversation #lejandro, 5ctober
,--I".
During this cycle Maria used the printed cards and some te$ts that the #%D'8'2 indigenous
confederation had edited for the development of themes related to indigenous organi3ations
*owever, when she developed classes related to western scientific knowledge, she continued
prioritising the transmission of information and the apprenticeship of western scientific
concepts. 8he made no effort to relate the themes she taught in class with daily life, even
though, unlike #lejandro, she had affirmed that she believed in the possibility of generating
critical reflection with her elder students. During her reflections about this issue, she initially
e$plained that she (had forgotten) to talk about social and ecological problems because she
was accustomed to transmit conceptual knowledge. *owever, during further reflections she
admitted that even though her training in 456M#&%#2 had allowed her to develop a critical
analysis about social, economic and ecological problems, she had not received any training
regarding how to develop her classes from this approach. 8he also referred to the lack of
school te$ts and materials that could help her to promote her students0 critical reflection.
<<
#t the end of this cycle, #lejandro recognised that he could diminish his limitations regarding
#shaninka knowledge and the development of written skills in his language if he used the
printed cards that 456M#&%#2 had produced for the 28 and 8' areas. Maria planned to
include projects related to the development of skills such as spinning, pottery making and
knitting which many children no longer learnt at home. 8he also planned to continue looking
for new ways of approaching #shaninka peoples0 views about society and nature and to
continue developing contents related to indigenous rights.
3.2 C*cle 2
During this cycle, #lejandro used the 456M#&%#2 printed cards as he had planned. During
his reflections, he mentioned that they had helped him to overcome some of the limitations he
had found regarding #shaninka knowledge and the production of a written discourse in this
language. *e said that this made him feel more willing to develop whole classes in #shaninka
and to write summaries and questionnaires in this language.
Maria introduced a project related to knitting fibres, as she had planned and introduced new
themes in the diversified curriculum. *owever, she continued prioritising botanical and
3oological #shaninka knowledge that could be neatly related with scientific concepts and
circumscribing #shaninka worldviews to the narration of myths. #nalysis of a critical
incident that occurred during this cycle in a class about the primary forest ecosystem, allowed
her to gain a better understanding of why this happened. *er initial e$planation was that she
began her class asking her students to identify biotic and abiotic elements, instead of referring
to #shaninka peoples0 perspectives because of the power of custom. *owever, further
reflections and a prolonged conversation about her approach to #shaninka knowledge
</
throughout the research process revealed that she had systematically avoided the selection of
themes that would confront her with #shaninka world visions. #s a result of this process, she
eventually e$pressed her concern regarding her elder students0 reactions to her presentation of
themes related to world visions, since many #shaninkas nowadays consider them
(superstitious beliefs), even though they guide their daily practice.
6eflections with Maria during this last phase were very much about the need to talk with
children about the e$istence of different ways of seeing the world. +e also reflected about the
power issues involved in the process, by which #shaninka world visions have been catalogued
as (superstitious beliefs). 'ven though Maria was conscious of this, it also became clear that
she found it very difficult to introduce this subjugated discourse in her approach to the 28 and
9' areas, due to the influence of her #dventist training and her fear of students0 and parents0
reactions.
Towards the end of this phase, #lejandro0s reflections about the themes he developed in the
28 area made him aware that his practice was not coherent with his views regarding the
relation between intercultural education and the promotion and e$ercise of indigenous rights.
Thus, he planned to start working on themes related to #shaninka history and territory.
3.5 C*cle 5
During this cycle, #lejandro demonstrated a new attitude towards the inclusion of his peoples0
knowledge in the 28 and 9' classes and new skills that allowed him to recover the strategy of
developing classes totally devoted to #shaninka peoples0 knowledge, as he had done during
the third cycle. Moreover, these skills motivated him to introduce a new strategy aimed to
<I
compare #shaninka and western scientific knowledge about different themes, throughout the
whole class. *e also took distance from the diversified curriculum and designed capacities
that allowed him to incorporate #shaninka knowledge and perspectives about different
themes. *owever, he still clung to the articulation of knowledge strategy in some of his
classes and did not follow his plan of including themes related to #shaninka people0s history
and territory.
#lejandro0s reflections about his practice evidenced that the innovations he had introduced
during previous cycles had allowed him to overcome some of his limitations regarding his
lack of knowledge about #shaninka culture. They had also helped him to feel more secure in
the design of new strategies that distanced him from his training and the diversified
curriculum. *owever, his reflections also dealt about his decision to continue using the
articulation of knowledge strategy. This option and his approach to #shaninka knowledge as
something of the past, in the classes in which he compared it with western scientific
knowledge, evidenced that he continued prioritising the latter. *e also evaluated the fact that
he had not responded to his commitment of including themes related to #shaninka peoples0
territory and history. #nalysis of the reasons why he had not followed his plan evidenced that
he felt quite insecure about how to develop classes about these matters, since he had not
received sufficient training regarding these aspects and lacked materials that could orient him.
*is reflections made it quite clear that critical reasoning was not enough to change practice
and that he needed alternative structures to frame his work.
Throughout this chapter, % have e$plained how both teachers took distance from their former
practice in the 28 and 8' areas and designed alternatives that allowed them to give more
importance to the knowledge developed by their people. %n this process, they learnt that even
<;
though the knowledge that the child brings to school is an important referent for the
apprenticeship of western scientific knowledge, the introduction of their peoples0 knowledge
in the 28 and 8' areas does not have to be limited to this function. *owever, the alternatives
they chose and their reflections about the process highlighted various social, political and
epistemological issues related to my research questions, which % shall identify and discuss in
the ne$t chapter.
<:
Chapter !: Some "indings
%n this chapter, % discuss the findings of my research, as % draw together various elements that
emerged during the different cycles of the action research process reported in chapter B. %
shall start by looking at the way in which the two #shaninka teachers who participated as co1
researchers conceptualised interculturalism and intercultural education and discuss some
social and political issues related to their approach, in response to my first research question.
*aving done this, % shall e$amine how they incorporated indigenous knowledge in the 2erson
and 8ociety (28" and 8cience and 'nvironment (8'" areas, as well as the obstacles they
found in this process in order to respond to my second research question. %n relation to this
issue, % shall discuss the concept of indigenous knowledge and how it can be approached in
school education. % shall also look into the impact that the action research process had on both
teachers0 work and the e$tent in which it allowed them to open their schools to the
development of new discourses and practices. %n relation to this issue, % shall highlight the
fact that each teacher approached this issue in a particular way, highly influenced by their
(multiple conte$ts) (Mc7aughlin ,--" and by their views about schooling and their roles as
teachers.
My findings are reported and discussed under the following three themesE Teachers0
conceptualisation of interculturalism and intercultural educationD curriculum decision1making
and the production of meaning, some obstacles for the development of intercultural education
in indigenous settings.
<!
!.1 6o( did teachers conceptualise interculturalism and intercultural education7
During initial interviews, Maria and #lejandro admitted that they were not very sure about
the meaning of intercultural education.
During our training, they talked to us about intercultural education but % did
not understand what it meant. % though it was a comparison, for e$ample, %
thought it meant that we had to translate to #shaninka the contents we
presented in 8panish (interview #lejandro, #ugust ,--I".
Truthfully, % do not know how % am in that Uintercultural educationV. % do not
know if what % am doing is intercultural education. +hat % know is that
bilingual education is teaching in two languages (interview Maria, #ugust
,--I".
During Ministry of 'ducation intercultural bilingual education (%&'" workshops, both
teachers had repeatedly heard definitions of these concepts. They eventually related
interculturalism with the recognition and awareness of the e$istence of different cultures and
intercultural education with the process whereby teachers promote children0s apprenticeship
about them. +hile Maria0s definition of intercultural education included learning about two or
more cultures, (as well as regions, countries and continents", which could be known and
compared, #lejandro restricted it to the apprenticeship of #shaninka and western scientific
knowledge.
/-
#s .avala and 9ordova (,--B" and *eise (,--" have reported about many other bilingual
teachers, Maria and #lejandro believe that intercultural education aims to value indigenous
peoples0 cultural heritage and assert their identity and self1esteem. &oth teachers make a
strong connection between language, culture and identity. #lejandro links children0s self1
esteem with their capacity of e$pressing themselves without shame and fear in #shaninka and
8panish. *e gives more importance to the valoration of the indigenous language and the
development of oral skills, than to the knowledge of specific cultural contents, since he
believes that language is a primary aspect of identity. *e affirms that it can be maintained no
matter where one lives. Maria highlights the need for children to identify with their language
and culture and believes that both are essential. *owever, her option is not aimed to retrieve
what her people have lost from ancestral culture, as .avala and 9ordova (,--B" fear, neither
does it fall into a cultural retreat which rejects what globalisation and western culture can
bring (*evia and *irmas ,--B". 5n the contrary, as she e$plains in the following quote, it is
based on a practical idea of what children should learn for their future well1being.
#shaninka knowledge is importantD someday it will be useful Ufor the
studentsV. 5n what will they base themselves if they do not have itL 5f
course, western knowledge is important but #shaninka knowledge is also.
4or e$ample, the most important thing is for them to know how to hunt and
how they can be cured to be hunters, also our myths, also about agriculture
and fishing. +omen should know how to spin, about herbs that heal, about
dyes and knitting (interview Maria, #ugust ,--I".
&oth teachers mentioned that intercultural education could also promote the knowledge of
indigenous peoples0 collective rights, in particular, their right to territory. Moreover, they
/
believe that every student in 2eru should benefit from intercultural education, in order to
become aware of the country0s multicultural nature. #lejandro stressed that this could help to
diminish the discrimination, which #ndeans and people from the 9oast inflict on #ma3onian
indigenous peoples.
#lejandro and Maria0s approach to intercultural education as a means for the affirmation of
indigenous peoples0 identity and the promotion of their collective rights is characteristic of
indigenous organisations throughout the #ndean region (7=pe3 !!!". #s 7=pe3 affirms this
position is undoubtedly political, since it questions the subjugation and marginalisation, which
indigenous people have suffered. *owever, % fear that the lack of reflection about how this can
be done, can diminish the transformative potential of this kind of discourse. My e$perience
leads me to affirm that many teachers who relate intercultural education with the affirmation
of cultural and linguistic identity restrict their school practice to the inclusion of some
elements of their peoples0 knowledge. Moreover, as Cigil (,--<" e$plains, they only use their
language to translate what they had previously e$plained in 8panish. This can be considered
as an advance in schools were indigenous knowledge was invisible and languages hardly
spoken. *owever, it does not contest, in any substantive way, the hierarchy that western
scientific knowledge and 8panish have gained, nor does it question the social, economic or
political structures, which have led indigenous societies to their actual conditions of
subordination and marginalisation. +hat % am suggesting is that the lack of an e$plicit critical
approach in the indigenous discourse about interculturalism and intercultural education, and
of a critical reflection about its implementation, can result in education processes that are
functional to the reproduction of the status "uo.
/,
This study confronted me with the problem of how to bring about changes that can allow
intercultural education to contest the (regime of truth) (4oucault !;-", which formal
education imposes on students and to promote a critical reflection about reality. *owever, it
also allowed me to understand that teachers were more interested and willing to give more
voice to their peoples0 knowledge in their 28 and 8' classes, than to relate subject matter with
the social, economic and ecological conte$t in which they worked (see chapter B".
Teachers0 reactions to this issue worried me, since % believe that giving voice to marginalised
subjugated visions and knowledge can result insufficient, if this is not part of a more global
analysis oriented to train children with the capacity of analysing their social and economic
reality and looking for ways to transform it, as Gieto (!!!" and May (!!!b" highlight. %n
this sense % agree with Gieto (!!!", who affirms that one thing is to have a culturally
pertinent proposal and another one is to form critical thinkers. % also concur with 'rickson0s
concern for aE (pedagogy and a curriculum that is genuinely transformative and not only
cosmetically relevant) 'rickson quoted in Gieto (!!! p ,-I".
*owever, reflecting upon the strategy % used to promote teachers0 reflection about this matter,
% believe that it was based on a Mar$ist inspired idea of critical thinking related to the ability
to question and challenge the e$isting social and economic order and on the idea of
empowerment associated with it. Many factors that are beyond the scope of this research
could help to e$plain why teachers resisted this idea. 5ne of them could be associated with
the fact that critical thinking is a socially constructed practice, which requires more reflection
from an intercultural perspective as Candermensbrugghe (,--<" and #tkinson (!!;"
highlight. #nother issue that appeared towards the end of the process is that both teachers
/B
lacked training regarding how to promote critical thinking with their students as well as
materials that could help them in this endeavour.
!.2 Curriculum decision4making and the production of meaning. 8hat kno(ledge is
taught in school7
The development of %&' in indigenous conte$ts is related to the introduction of indigenous
languages and other elements of their cultural heritage in school. Different proposals and
models e$ist for bilingual educationD however, there are few references about the
implementation of intercultural education.
%&' programmes frequently use the concept of indigenous knowledge. *owever, there is little
reflection about its meaning and a tendency to transpose a schoolQcurriculum based notion of
knowledge in the analysis of the knowledge which indigenous peoples constantly produce and
reinvent as &attiste (,--," and &arnhardt and Nawagley (,--/" highlight. +hat is more, as
8arangapani (,--B" and #ikman (!!!" accurately observe, there has not been enough debate
about the implications of introducing indigenous knowledge in formal educational settings.
8ince this action research process tried to identify how teachers incorporated indigenous
knowledge in their everyday schoolwork and the obstacles they found in this process, it is
necessary to e$plain the way in which it approached indigenous knowledge, before discussing
my findings regarding its inclusion in schools.
#hat does indigenous $no%ledge mean&
% use the term indigenous knowledge to refer to (articulated systems of knowledge deeply
rooted in the land, in the community, in the culturally concrete and socially constructed
/<
places) (Carese ,--I p ,:<", produced by men and women throughout various generations.
#s % have commented in a unit assignment (Trapnell ,--Bb", indigenous knowledge is not
limited to the empirical and visible but considers the different dimensions of reality
recognised by each people. Thus, apart from being based on observation, imitation and
practice and in the advice of elders, it is also constructed through contact with the spiritual
world (#ikman !!!, 4rank !!<". #s #ikman indicates, unlike public knowledge that is
stored in books, the acquisition of knowledge in indigenous societies is specific to different
groups structured on the basis of gender, age and different types of social affiliation
(residence, clans", and is subject to the abidance of norms. %ndigenous knowledge is dynamic,
even though the use of the adjective (traditional) tends to define it as static and fro3en in time
(&attiste ,--,". #s &ielawski, quoted in &arnhardt and Nawagley (,--/ p I" observes,
indigenous knowledge (has adapted to contemporary world since the contact with (others)
began and it will continue to change).
Indigenous $no%ledge in schools
%ndigenous knowledge surpasses the narrow limits that the school offers as an institution that
separates children from the social conte$t in which learning occurs. Therefore, the
introduction of indigenous knowledge in schools is restricted to the recuperation of some of
the knowledge that children learn in their every day life, of some learning strategies based on
observation, imitation and practice and in the adoption of certain interaction patterns.
#s e$plained in chapter B, when the research process began both teachers considered the
inclusion of indigenous knowledge in schools as an important element for the affirmation of
indigenous peoples0 identityD however, they limited it to the introductory part of their classes.
//
4urthermore, they had different ideas regarding possibility of increasing its presence in the
2ersonal and 8ocial (28" and 8cience and 'nvironment (8'" areas. These and other
reflections and the decisions that Maria and #lejandro adopted throughout the research
highlight three important issuesE what does it mean to incorporate indigenous knowledge in
schools, why should teachers include it and howL
'vidently, schools are not places where children can learn to fish, hunt, farm or cure with
herbs. They learn all these skills outside schools through what 7ave (!!" calls
(communities of practice). %n these, apprentices reach the condition of e$pert connoisseurs
through the means of a natural, non1structured process of increasing participation in an
activity. 5n the other hand, the apprenticeship of knowledge in indigenous societies is specific
of different groups based on gender age and different types of social affiliation and is subject
to the adoption of norms as #ikman (!!!" e$plains. Therefore, the question is not to
introduce indigenous (knowledge systems) as 8arangapani (,--B" fears. This would distort
their process of construction and transmission of knowledge and would ignore its richness and
comple$ity. 5n the other hand, schools cannot supplant the social conte$ts in which
indigenous knowledge is transmitted, as Maria commented after a class about herbs.
9hildren learn about that when they see someone being cured. % believe that
the child sees, % do not think they tell him this and this and this. 8ometimes
when he is in the forest, they let him know, they make him see. *e does not
learn here Uin the schoolV because % am talking to him, he has not seen it
(H". *ere in school, they can draw Uthe herbsV but they will not recognise
them in the forest. %n school, they learn to write it Uindigenous knowledgeV
more than anything (conversation Maria, 8eptember ,--I".
/I
Maria e$plained that she developed the class about herbs in order to promote the valoration of
her peoples0 knowledge and give it a place in an institution that has traditionally ignored it.
Talking about these themes also helped her to promote the valoration of what children learnt
at home, since they could share what they had learnt from their parents and other relatives.
4inally, she thought that its introduction in schools would make students conscious of its
importance and validity and motivate them to learn more about it in other social settings.
The findings of this research would suggest the need to promote further discussion about what
aspects of indigenous knowledge could be learnt andQor shared in schools from two
complementary perspectivesE one of affirmation and valoration of indigenous peoples0 cultural
heritage and another related to question the e$istence of (universal) and (neutral) knowledge
and the imposition of hegemonic worldviews. *owever, it is necessary to highlight that
discussion about the second perspective is very limited in %&' programmes.
#s a result of the critical reflection process developed throughout the research both teachers
took critical distance from their training and created new strategies for the introduction of
indigenous knowledge in their 28 and 8' classes. #t the end of the research, they approached
their people0s knowledge in these areas in a more profound and systematic way than they had
done before they started it. #lejandro opened his classes to the e$istence of different ways of
understanding nature and society and offered his students various possibilities to e$plore
#shaninka peoples0 worldviews. *owever, Maria did not advance as far as #lejandro in this
issue, even though she initially demonstrated more enthusiasm than he did regarding the
inclusion of her peoples0 knowledge in the 28 and 8' areas. @ntil the last cycle, she only
incorporated themes that she could relate with western scientific knowledge.
/;
#part from the way in which each teacher decided to include indigenous knowledge in the 28
and 8' classes, other important differences e$isted regarding the way in which they
approached this challenge, as % shall e$plain in the following section.
'ultile contexts and educational change
The critical reflection process developed during the research not only entailed technical
changes but also important curriculum decision1making procedures. Maria and #lejandro0s
reactions to the challenges they encountered during the research process confirm the
comple$ity and variation of indigenous peoplesW aspirations and e$periences highlighted by
*arris (!!<". They also corroborate Mc7aughlin0s (,--" and 4ink and 8toll0s (,--" claims
that personal histories and multiple conte$ts influence the particular ways in which teachers
engage in educational change.
4rom his location in the 2erene valley in which #shaninka people are encroached by #ndean
colonisation, #lejandro prioritises the affirmation of identity and #shaninka values. *e
believes that his students0 eventual migration towards the city is inevitable and considers that
there are few possibilities of maintaining traditional subsistence activities due to the severe
e$ploitation of the forest. This leads him to affirm that there is no point in prioritising the
apprenticeship of knowledge related to material culture and productive activities. The idea of
migration is present when #lejandro affirms that a strong identity and the preservation of
#shaninka values can guarantee that an #shaninka will continue identifying himself as such,
wherever heQshe may be. Maria from a very different conte$t, in which #shaninka people are
politically and socially stronger, considers the appropriation of #shaninka knowledge as basic
for her students0 future well being, since she believes that most of them will continue living in
their communities. Gonetheless, she is also conscious of increasing forest devastation.
/:
These affirmations highlight the fact that the ecological factor cannot be considered as an
independent variable in teachers0 visions about the futureD it must rather be approached in its
relation to political and social issues. 4rom the 2ichis valley, Maria perceives that her people
control a large territoryE This does not happen in the 2erene valley where #lejandro lives and
works. *owever, #lejandro0s approach does not take into account the fact that many
#shaninkas from the 2erene have decided to migrate towards communities of less colonised
valleys, rather than moving towards the cities.
The classrooms in which both teachers worked are part of a larger conte$tual network, which
includes the school, the district, the region and the nation as well as the communal
organi3ation. #s Mc7aughlin (,-- p ;I" e$plainsE (teachers multiple embedded conte$ts
affected their practice)D however, this happened in different ways. #lejandro worked with an
#shaninka colleague who was his director and respected his decisions. 4urthermore, his
school had a long tradition of bilingual education and children were accustomed to working
with #shaninka teachers. Moreover, parents highly approved his work. #t the district level, he
worked in one of the few bilingual schools in the area and received frequent supervisions
from the local Ministry of 'ducation #ndean specialists. *e also formed part of a learning
community of #shaninka teachers that had monthly meetings as e$plained in chapter . %n his
case, the district conte$t influenced his sense of priorities for practice. #lejandro felt
constrained by the need to abide by the 'ducational 'mergency policy and by the fact that
#ndean specialists would not approve a strategy that diminished the time devoted to western
scientific knowledge and 8panish in school. Moreover, he knew that most of his #shaninka
colleagues were competing with mestizo teachers in the development of the mainstream
curriculum.
/!
Maria0s case was radically differentD she was the only teacher in her school and received no
visits from local supervisors due to the distant location of her school. Moreover, her learning
community was not functioning. Maria0s professional isolation made her lack a shared sense
of practiceD however, it also made her feel more autonomous in the process of decision1
making, nonetheless this only happened to a certain e$tent. The political and social situation
in the 2ichis valley was more favourable for the development of %&' than that of the 2erene.
*owever, as e$plained in chapter B, she felt constrained to introduce her peoples0 world
visions in class for fear of her elder students0 negative reactions, since they had spent most
part of their school life with #ndean teachersE
+hen % started talking about these things, 6ebeca Ua si$th grade studentV
first was laughing, but then she referred to men$ori (clouds" and said that
when it is cloudy and we walk we should not talk because children can get
sick. % used anecdotes because they allow me to identify what happens in
our actual world (conversation Maria, December ,--I".
Teachers0 different reactions to conte$t confirm 8cribner0s (,--B" claim that the multiple
conte$ts of teachers work and their relations are comple$ and interwoven. %n #lejandro0s case,
the school conte$t was highly favourableD however, his decisions were more shaped by
influences from the professional community e$ternal to his school and by state policies. This
would question Mc7aughlin0s (,--" affirmation in the sense that the professional setting
closest to schooling has the greatest influence on how teachers understand their role and the
e$pectative they establish for teaching and learning (pgE ;I". 5n the contrary, Maria was more
influenced by the immediate school conte$t and the community. *owever, even if both
teachers were influenced in different ways by the multiple conte$ts in which they worked,
I-
their practice demonstrates that neither of them was determined as *atton0s (!:;" argues.
This research would rather confirm that (teachers do have room to act, and they do not all act
in the same way, in spite of similarities in their present and prior e$periences) (Arant and
8leeter !:; p I,".
!.3 Some obstacles for the development of intercultural education in indigenous settings
Data collected during the different phases of the research process evidences that the
development of intercultural education in indigenous settings confronts two obstaclesE lack of
in depth knowledge about indigenous culture and the absence of an intercultural curriculum.
#lejandro repeatedly mentioned his lack of e$pertise regarding different aspects of his
cultural heritage during informal conversations about his classes and during interviews. *e
also considered it as one of the main factors that limited his intents to introduce indigenous
knowledge in his classesE
+e have been trained in occidental knowledge that is clear for us. *owever,
if % am e$pected to develop other knowledge, that is not clear for me (H"
(conversation #lejandro, 5ctober ,--I".
This testimony evidenced that #lejandro felt pressed to change his work even though he did
not have the skills to do so. %n order to understand his comments, it is necessary to know that
unlike Maria, who had lived with her grandmother until she was <, and had learnt most of
what she knew about #shaninka culture from her, #lejandro had spent most of his life in a
community where transmission of #shaninka cultural heritage is particularly limited. %n
I
addition to this, he had not been interested in learning about it, as he mentioned during one of
our conversations.
+hen % entered 456M#&%#2 my identity was a bit lost, % did not identify
myself as an #shaninka. % did not want to speak my languageD neither did %
want to eat what we eat. % was ashamed. % had almost lost #shaninka
knowledge. 8ince % came to 456M#&%#2, % became closer to it. % had not
given it too much value, as % lived near the city, also because % was ashamed
to develop some activities Usuch as huntingV, to be told that % am a cama,
chuncho (offensive terms", that is why % do not know how to hunt
(conversation #lejandro, 5ctober ,--I".
'ven though his e$perience in 456M#&%#2 had allowed #lejandro to affirm his identity
and deepen his knowledge about his cultural heritage, his training in 456M#&%#20s
'cosystem academic area had been mostly oriented to the apprenticeship of western scientific
categories. Therefore, it had not helped him to deepen his understanding about #shaninka
peoples0 approaches to nature. %n several occasions, #lejandro mentioned that he had to rely
on what children told him during the development of his class. *e also affirmed that some of
his students knew more than he did about certain themes.
#lejandro depended on school te$t for the writing of summaries. *e continuously mentioned
that developing classes related to #shaninka knowledge was difficult, since it is not
objectified and stored in books as school knowledge is and that this obliged teachers to
design the content of their whole class. # note in #lejandro0s diary alludes to this difficultyE
(7ucy asks me why % can not write summaries in #shaninka % have told her it is very difficult
I,
% am not accustomed % would have to take a long time to decide where to start from and what
concepts to use).
Moreover, during various conversations about his classes, #lejandro sustained that writing
summaries about #shaninka knowledge made him feel like he was telling a story. %n one of
these occasions he stressed that this was very different from developing summaries e$tracted
from school te$ts (which had their titles and subtitles).
Maria also mentioned her limits regarding the knowledge of her peoples0 cultural heritage,
even though she had had more opportunities to learn about her peoples0 knowledge during her
childhood. Moreover, in contrast with #lejandro, she was constantly trying to improve her
knowledge through informal conversations with an uncle, with whom she lived and other
acquaintances.
&oth teachers planned their classes regarding #shaninka knowledge based on the themes they
knew and they could develop further in class with the help of their students. Geither of them
tried to draw indigenous elders into the educational process or asked them to provide them
with information about some specific themes, as suggested by 456M#&%#2. &oth stated that
they would be criticised if they did so since their fellowmen and women believed that
bilingual teachers should know everything about their culture. Moreover, they argued that
they were paid by the 8tate to teach and should assume this responsibility without asking for
help. #s Maria e$pressedE
% have to work on the basis of what % know. +hat else am % going to sayL
+here am % going to go or whom am % going to ask Uto get more
IB
knowledgeVL +hen % ask, they tell me that they do not know (H" (interview
Maria #ugust ,--I".
5ther 456M#&%#2 graduates have reported similar situations as revealed in the testimonies
collected by Trapnell and Geira (,--;".
During the initial cycles of the action research process, both teachers considered the
organisation and orientation of the diversified curriculum as their greatest obstacle in the
inclusion of their peoples0 knowledge in the 28 and 8' areas. #s e$plained in chapter , this
curriculum designed by 456M#&%#2 in !!- introduced changes in the national
curriculum0s objectives and contents. 456M#&%#2 incorporated ways of knowing embedded
in indigenous communities as a means of enriching the school curriculum and enlivening
students0 learning e$periences, through the introduction of programmes dedicated to particular
activities (hunting, fishing, farming, recollecting, among others". These programmes would
mediate the development of the official area1 based curriculum as e$plained in chapter .
&y using this curriculum, 456M#&%#2 tried to link school education with what students
already know and e$perience in everyday life and to something that is useful to the livelihood
of the community. 456M#&%#2 also tried to promote the use of natural learning
environments in which indigenous knowledge could take on appropriate meaning and value,
as proposed by 9ajete (!!<" &attiste (,--," and &arnhart and Nawagley (,--/". *owever,
data collected in this research evidences that even though these are important steps in the
process of opening spaces for indigenous knowledge and indigenous ways of knowing in
schools, they are insufficient. MarTa and #lejandro identified various limitations in
456M#&%#20s curriculum, which conditioned their approach to learning from #shaninka
I<
perspectives and confirmed 8emali and Nincheloe0s claim that (indigenous knowledge does
not fit into the fragmented packaging of western curriculum) (8emali and Nincheloe !!! p
<I". &oth teachers brought up this issue throughout the research, with particular emphasis on
the 8cience and 'nvironment area. #n e$ample of this is found in #lejandro0s reconstruction
of a class about the water cycle.
My class about water was totally developed from an occidental approach
(H".% cannot develop this theme from an intercultural approach because
#shaninka people have no knowledge about the water cycle. % could have
developed the theme from an #shaninka perspective if it had been more
ample (conversation #lejandro, 8eptember ,--I".
Maria also commented how the diversified curriculum influenced her approach to her peoples0
knowledge. 8he offered an e$ample of this in her reflection about a class devoted to food and
the need of a balanced diet. 8he then suggested the need to think about other categories such
as an$emoyeri (taking care", which refers to the need to comply with a set of prescriptions
that transcend feeding, such as avoiding contact with certain objects, animals or people who
are in a particular situation or phase in their lives.
#lejandro used terms such as the diversified curriculum is (broken into pieces) or the
curriculum0s approach to themes is very narrow, to e$press his discomfort with it. 5n some
occasions, #lejandro and Maria referred to the possibility of different entradas (ways of
approaching", some themes from an #shaninka worldview. Throughout the research both
teachers0 critical reflections demonstrated that even though indigenous peoples0 activities had
been used as a general framework for the organi3ation of the curriculum0s contents, the
I/
structure of the activity1based programmes and areas responded to a western scientific
approach.
These findings question the idea of a neutral and objective curriculum and draw attention to
issues of representation highlighted by Airou$ (!!;a", Mc7aren (!!;" and Nemmis (!:I".
4urthermore, they highlight the need for a greater discussion regarding the construction of
alternative curricula for indigenous peoples rooted on indigenous cultures and ways of
learning. The dual purpose of these curricula, which try to incorporate and value indigenous
knowledge at the same time as they aim to offer indigenous children the possibility of
acquiring the skills they need to continue their studies in mainstream schools, has
systematically derived in the production of curricula that categorise indigenous knowledge
with respect to western science. #n e$ample of this can be found in the Gative 'ducation
9entre 8cience 9urriculum studied by *aig &rown (!!/". %ndigenous knowledge is
integrated in the science curriculum through the inclusion of references to traditional and
contemporary e$periences and by the creation of spaces that allow students to relate their lives
to what they learn in the science class. *aig &rown stresses the importance of this e$perience
as far as it addresses a variety of cultural standpoints in relation to scienceD promotes the
inclusion of different cultural aspects and worldviews and questions the value of truth
ascribed to western science. *owever, drawing on the findings of this research, % would argue
that this is insufficient since this kind of curriculum continues binding indigenous peoples0
cognitive categories and cultural logic in the rigid framework of mainstream curricula.
These findings bring the discussion to an epistemological terrain and to the need for a critique
that moves beyond .avala0s (,--;" and Tubino and .ariquiey0s (,--/" negative evaluation of
the static and folkloric approaches to culture that many %&' teachers uphold, or to the limits
II
of diversification procedures that try to adapt official curricula to specific conte$ts. Drawing
from #lejandro and Maria0s insightful comments, % would affirm that a pending issue for %&'
programmes is to move away from a content1based approach to curriculum change, which
aims to include local knowledge in the majority1culture curriculum. This effort invariably
tends to categorise indigenous knowledge with respect to conventional science. 6ather than
doing so, %&' programmes should try to engage with the design of curricula that consider
new and more holistic ways of approaching reality and introduce interpretative and analytic
categories different from those proposed by western science. *owever, % believe it is not
sufficient to offer indigenous peoples this possibility. %f national educational systems want to
live up to their proclaimed commitment of (intercultural education for all), they should
approach knowledge as a social and cultural construction and accept the e$istence of different
narratives and ways of knowing.
4inally, even though % have highlighted the importance of alternative curricula, the findings
of this research, would lead me to insist that %&' programmes need to consider the
importance that teachers0 multiple conte$ts, personal biographies and skills have in their
approach to the introduction of their peoples0 knowledge and world visions in their everyday
school work.
I;
Chapter 2: Conclusions and reflections
% start this chapter with a synthetic account of my findings regarding the research questions.
#fter doing so, % evaluate the research design and its impact in teachers0 practice, in
coherence with the action research methodology that guided this study. The chapter ends with
some reflections for the 456M#&%#2 teacher training programme and some ideas about
issues that require more research.
Throughout this study, % have tried to demonstrate the potential of action research in terms of
critical reflection about the social and political nature of school education. % have also tried to
evidence that schools can be considered as sites for the construction of new discourses and
practices. Drawing from the findings of this research, % would claim that the processes of
developing intercultural educational practices that open schools up to the introduction of
indigenous knowledge and non1hegemonic ways of reading the world are comple$ and
produce different responses. %n this study, % understand teachers0 reactions as a product of a
dialectic interaction between their personal biography, their training as teachers and the
multiple conte$ts in which they work.
Data collected during the first phase of the action research process demonstrated a
contradiction between teachers0 approaches to intercultural education as a means of
empowering their pupils, and their teaching practice. %n the latter, they affirmed the hierarchy
of western scientific knowledge and hegemonic ways of understanding reality that
marginalised their peoples0 ways of reading the world. +hen the research started both
teachers promoted the apprenticeship of western scientific knowledge in the 2erson and
8ociety (28" and 8cience and 'nvironment (8'" areas and presented hegemonic worldviews,
I:
as if they were the only true and unique ways of approaching reality. 6eferences to their
peoples0 cultural heritage were restricted to a few minutes of the introductory part of their
classes. %nitial conversations identified this as a product of their training as %&' teachers and
of the approach of the diversified curriculum they used to plan their classes. *owever, further
reflections demonstrated the e$istence of other factors, such as their views about schools and
their roles as teachers, their knowledge about their cultural heritage and the influence of the
multiple conte$ts in which they worked.
Throughout the research, both teachers increased their levels of critical reflection about their
training in the 456M#&%#2 programme and in Ministry of 'ducation %&' workshops and
designed new strategies aimed to affirm the presence of indigenous knowledge in the 28 and
8' areas. They also became more critical and less dependent on official school te$ts and
began to use the material that 456M#&%#2 had produced. 9onversations with both teachers,
during different moments of the research process made me aware that it helped them to
strengthen their cultural and social identities. %t also allowed them to revise their
commitments as %&' indigenous teachers and to try to translate them into their teaching
practices. During this process, they opened their schools to new ways of producing
knowledge and meaning and offered their students new opportunities for the oral and written
use of #shaninka language.
*owever, some things did not change. The most important e$ample is that both teachers
maintained their subjugated vision regarding #shaninka knowledge and worldviews. Maria
was immediately responsive to the need of giving more time to the introduction of her
peoples0 knowledge and to the use of their language during the different phases of the
research processD however, she avoided challenging hegemonic discourse about reality in her
I!
classes. %n contrast #lejandro, made an enormous advance in the introduction of #shaninka
worldviews, to which he devoted long periods of his classes or all of them in some occasionsD
nevertheless, his basic concern was oriented to prioritise the introduction of western scientific
concepts and the use of 8panish.
2.1. 9ooking to the future
Alternative methodological aroach
My e$perience in this research process has confirmed that my choice for a critical action
research methodology was appropriate. The use of this methodology allowed me to answer
the research questions and offered important insights about crucial themes regarding
intercultural education in indigenous conte$ts, at the same time as it promoted significant
changes in teachers0 practice. *owever, % am conscious that its findings cannot be generalised
due to its limited sample. %n addition to this, % believe that various aspects of the research
design would need to be modified, in order for it to have a better approach in relation to
control and participation issues, as % shall e$plain in the following paragraphs.
This study has also helped me to understand the important impact that the research conte$t
has on the ways in which participation takes place. @nlike other university1based action
research studies that form part of pre1service or postgraduate programmes, this action
research process was linked to my dissertation and my concerns became its driving agenda.
&oth co1researchers were quite willing to participateD however, % believe that their levels of
participation would have been greater if they had asked me to facilitate a research about a
theme that they considered a priority.
;-
Moreover, % would not repeat the strategy of developing a one to one relation with each co1
researcher, due to the comple$ity of the research agenda. This study moved beyond particular
pedagogical interests, such as improving mathematic teaching, or reading methods, and
looked into the political and social dimensions of teaching and learning and its consequences
for children. 9ritical reflection questioned teachers0 trainingD their previous practiceD their
views about their peoples0 knowledge and schooling, as well as the status "uo of intercultural
bilingual education in the 2eruvian 9entral #ma3on. Therefore, it would have been better to
organise a working research community with more teachers from the 2erene and 2ichis
valleys, or to concentrate the study in one of them. Developing a joint reflection with several
teachers would have allowed the research process to be more empowering, since it would
have allowed both teachers to engage in the critical reflection as a part of a larger group. The
participation of some of #lejandro0s colleagues from his teacher learning community might
have given him emotional support and offered him a safe and supporting conte$t. Thinking
back, % believe that this could have helped him to overcome the profound insecurity he felt
during a large part of the process. Moreover, when % started this research % was very interested
in looking into the changes, which the three of us would e$perience as individuals and did not
take into consideration the way in which teacher learning communities can mediate teachers0
approach to change. This awareness has also made me conscious of the need to think of
changes at the group level, rather than the individual. % have learnt that even though critical
action research can be empowering and produce change, sustainable changes in %&' will not
be made at the individual level, they need to involve more people in order to have social and
political impact.
% have also learnt that time is a crucial factor in a participatory action research. % believe that
this is especially true in a research such as this one, due to the comple$ issues that it
;
approaches. Drawing from my e$perience, % consider that the research process would have
benefited had % given more time to each one of its different stages, and particularly to the
initial and final phases. % have understood that the joint preparation of the research process is
a crucial issue in critical action research. %t is thus necessary to invest as much time as needed
to assure that both teachers became familiarised with its Xwhys0 and Xhows0 and to guarantee
the development of a reciprocal research design. Tight schedules led me to submit my
research proposal to both teachers separately for their analysis and suggestions, trying to be
coherent with its participatory perspective. *owever, during the process % discovered that this
had not been enough. # concrete evidence of this is that #lejandro felt evaluated during the
initial two phases of the research. During our conversations, % learnt that this was because he
had not understood the difference between the participatory action research process in which
he was involved and the refle$ive evaluations about his practice he had undergone as a
456M#&%#2 student. %t would have also been favourable to e$tend the total time of the
research process to a whole school year, instead of the five months in which it occurred.
My role as a facilitator was a delicate one. 5n one hand, % tried to have a hori3ontal relation
and to avoid falling into a researcher1researched situation. 5n the other, % endeavoured to
offer teachers critical inputs to promote their reflection without imposing my own ideas.
7ooking back at the overall process, % think that it would have been better to include the other
two teachers to a greater e$tent in the research instrument development stage. %n this way,
they would have felt that they were answering questions that were important for the three of
us, and not only for me. %t would have also been important to include discussions about
literature regarding knowledge and power issues in school education. This would have
allowed teachers to have other inputs regarding this theme.
;,
#nother difficult situation was related to the strategy that % used to promote teachers0 critical
reflection. #s % have e$plained, both teachers continuously mentioned that their peoples0
visions could not be approached from the diversified curriculum. *owever, our critical
reflections were always based on the analysis of classes that teachers had planned from itD
therefore, there were few opportunities to reflect about other ways of reading the world from
#shaninka categories. Gow % believe it would have been better to combine critical reflection
about their classes with reflections about alternative options unrelated to the curriculum. This
would have offered the three of us a better idea about #shaninka notions regarding life and
the universe and the possibility of incorporating more analytic and interpretative categories
different from those developed by western science.
#ith resect to (O)'ABIAP
This study has evidenced the need for 456M#&%#2 to continue revising its teacher training
strategies and its curriculum proposals for primary education. 'ven though this 2rogramme is
highly valued due to its affirmation and valoration of indigenous cultures, and because of the
positive impact it has had on its students0 cultural identities (see Trapnell and Geira ,--;",
this research has revealed that it needs to introduce some important changes. Drawing from
both teachers approaches to the power issues raised during the research process, % have learnt
that 456M#&%#2 must promote an integral reflection that transcends the assimilationist
agenda of school education in relation to indigenous peoples, and gives more importance to
the overall analysis of democracy and power issues beyond indigenous conte$ts. This would
allow its students to comprehend that their people are part of a hierarchical system and
domination structure that transcends indigenous peoples and to recognise the way in which
education helps to reproduce and maintain it.
;B
Moreover, 456M#&%#2 students must benefit from more opportunities to revise the
inferiority judgments that they have internalised about themselves and their people. Areater
reflection about knowledge and power issues and the multiple ways in which these appear in
every day life and in their peoples0 visions about their culture and language may help this
situation. %n this perspective, 456M#&%#2 should also look for a new strategy that affirms
the value of indigenous knowledge, without trying to validate it through science. @sing
western science to validate indigenous knowledge generates two problems, on the one hand,
it maintains its supremacy as the only valid criterion of truthD on the other, it only considers
indigenous knowledge that can be related to western scientific disciplines and ignores the
e$istence and value of different ways of reading the world.
(uture research in this area
This research process has made me aware of the need for further study of various issues. The
first relates to the more favourable attitude of the female teacher to the inclusion of her
peoples0 knowledge in school, in contrast with that of the male teacher, who was more
interested in affording his students elements to relate with persons beyond his immediate
conte$t. This could be related to a gender issue, as far as different studies about indigenous
#ma3onian people distinguish the roles of women as reproducers of culture and of men as the
ne$us with the outside world (Deshayes and Neifenheim ,--B, &ellier !!". *owever, this
hypothesis would have to be verified with other studies with a much larger sample of male
and female teachers. %f it were true, it would open a completely new range of possibilities
regarding teacher training in %&'.
6esearch should also offer teacher training programmes a better understanding of teachers0
approaches to school, of what they want to achieve with their students, and of their points of
;<
view regarding how to approach social and ecological problems in primary school. Their
views could be related to their religious formation, which could also be influencing their
approach to the way in which their people comprehend reality. This is a crucial issue in the
development of intercultural perspectives that affirm the e$istence and value of different
ways of understanding the worldD however, little is known about it.
This research has addressed the relation between knowledge and power in the development of
intercultural bilingual education in two indigenous schools. Drawing from its findings, %
would highlight the need for intercultural bilingual education (%&'" programmes to approach
knowledge production from a critical perspective, which revises the visions of knowledge
that underlie their educational theory and practice and their relation to power issues.
;/
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=irou+ 6 (!:I" 9ritical Theory and the 2olitics of 9ulture and CoiceE 6ethinking the
Discourse of 'ducational 6esearch. 6ournal of .hought, ,(B", :<1-/.
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111111111(!!; a" .eor:a y resistencia en educaci9n2 una edagog:a ara la oosici9n. Third
edition. MY$ico, 8iglo ZZ% editores.
11111111 (!!; b" Cruzando l:mites/ .ra,a3adores culturales y ol:ticas educativas. 'cuador,
2aid=s.
=irou+ 6 and Purpel 3 (eds." (!:B" .he +idden Curriculum and 'oral Education/
Decetion or Discovery& Arensboro, @niversity of &oston and @niversity of Gorth 9arolina.
=lasser & = and Strauss % 9 (!I;" .he discovery of grounded theory. Dallas, *oughton
Mifflin.
=rant C % and Sleeter C / (!:;". +ho determines teacher workL The debate continues.
.eaching = .eacher Education0 >(", I1I<.
=uba / = and 9incoln > S (!:," 'pistemological and methodological bases of naturalistic
enquiry. Educational Communications and .echnology, B- (<", ,BB1,/,.
1111111111(!:!" (ourth ;eneration Evaluation. 9alifornia, 8age 2ublications.
1111111111(!!<" 9ompeting paradigms in qualitative research. %n +and,oo$ of -ualitative
)esearch ed by G.N. Den3in and J.8. 7incoln. Thousand 5aks, 9#, 8age.
=u1man I (,--," Investigaci9n cualitativa2 *a r7ctica docente0 esacio ara la
comrensi9n de la interculturalidad. @npublished M# thesis.
6aig &ro(n C (!!/" Two worlds togetherE contradiction and curriculum in first nation0s
adult science education. Anthroology and Education -uarterly, ,I (-,",!B1,,.
6arris S (!!<" 8oft and O*ardO Domain Theory for &icultural 'ducation in %ndigenous
Aroups. Pea,ody 6ournal of Education, I!(,", <-1/B.
6arrison , (,--B" Arounded Theory or Arounded DataL The production of power and
knowledge in ethnographic research. Australian 6ournal of Indigenous Kno%ledge, B,, -1
-I.
6atton / (!:;". Determinants of teacher workE some causal complications. .eaching and
.eacher Education0 >(", //1I-.
6eise $ (,--" %nterculturalidad e identidades indTgenas. Testimonios. %n Interculturalidad0
creaci9n de un conceto y desarrollo de una actitud ed by M *eise. 7ima, 2rograma 4orte
2e, Ministerio de 'ducaci=n.
6evia R and 6irmas C (,--B" *as ol:ticas educativas frente a la diversidad cultural2
ersectivas de la educaci9n intercultural. 2onencia presentada en el 8eminario
%nternacionalE 6eformas curriculares en los !- y construcci=n de ciudadanTa. 8antiago de
9hileE 9Pmara de Diputados.
6ornberger , (!:!" Teacher quechua use in bilingual and non1bilingual classrooms in
2uno, 2eru. %n *anguage Distri,ution Issues in Bilingual Schooling ed by 6. Racobson and 9.
4altis. 9levedon, Multilingual Matters 7td.
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1111111111(,---" &ilingual education policy and practice in the #ndesE %deological 2arado$ and
%ntercultural 2ossibility. Anthroology and Education -uarterly, B, ;B1,-.
Iba?e1 ) (!!<" 9onstruccionismo y 2sicologTa. )evista Interamericana de Psicolog:a0
,:(", -/1,B.
ISP 9oreto4%I3/S/P (!!;" *ineamientos Curriculares de (ormaci9n 'agisterial
Esecialidad de Primaria Intercultural Biling?e. %quitos
1111111111(!!:" Programa curricular diversificado de educaci9n rimaria ,iling?e ara los
ue,los ind:genas amaz9nicos. %quitos.
;emmis S (!:I" El curriculum2 m7s all7 de la teor:a de la reroducci9n/ Madrid,
'diciones Morata.
;emmis S and $c)aggart R (!::" .he Action )esearch Planner. Third edition. Aeelong,
Deakin @niversity.
11111111111(,---" 2articipatory #ction 6esearch in +and,oo$ of -ualitative )esearch ed by
G.N. Den3in and J.8. 7incoln (second edition". Thousand 5aks1 9#, 8age 2ublications
9ather P (!!B" 4ertile obsessionE Calidity after post structuralism Sociological -uarterly,
B<, I;B1I!B.
9ave : (!!" 8ituating learning in communities of practice. %n Persectives on Socially
Shared Cognition ed ,y 7. &. 6esnick R.M. 7evine and 8. Teasley. +ashington, #merican
2sychological #ssociation.
9avell $ (,---" %f this is empowering why don0t % feel betterL #n aboriginal educator0s
perspective on action research as a strategy for facilitating change in aboriginal education.
Ontario Action )esearcher, B(B", 1!.
9incoln > S (!!/" 'merging criteria for qualitative and interpretative research. -ualitative
In"uiry, B, ,;/1,:!.

9incoln > S and =uba / = (!:/" 1aturalistic In"uiry. Thousand 5aks, 9#, 8age
2ublications.
1111111111(,---" 2aradigmatic controversies, contradictions and emerging confluences. %n
+and,oo$ of -ualitative )esearch ed by G.N. Den3in and J.8. 7incoln (second edition".
Thousand 5aks19#, 8age 2ublications.
9@pe1 9/ (!!:" 7a eficacia y valide3 de lo obvioE lecciones aprendidas desde la evaluaci=n
de procesos educativos biling[es. )evista I,eroamericana de Educaci9n, ;, /1!-.
11111111111(!!!" Interculturalidad y educaci9n en Am5rica *atina. 2aper presented at the
%nternational +orkshopE 'ducaci=n primaria al final de la dYcadaE polTticas curriculares en el
2er> y los paTses andinos (March B1 /, !!!". 7imaE Tarea.
9@pe1 9 /< :ung I and : Palao (!:;" 'ducaci=n &iling[e en 2unoE 6efle$iones en torno a
una e$periencia. \MuY concluyeL Pue,los Ind:genas y Educaci9n, (B", IB1-I.
$anning ; (!!;" #uthenticity in constructivist inquiryL Methodological considerations
without prescriptions. -ualitative In"uiry, B (", !B1/.
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$a* S (!!!a" 7anguage and 'ducation 6ights for %ndigenous 2eoples. %n Indigenous
Community Based Education ed by 8. May 2hiladelphia, Multilingual Matters.
1111111111(!!!b" Critical multiculturalism2 )ethin$ing multicultural an antiracist education.
7ondon, 6outhledge 4almer.
$a* S and %ikman S (eds." (,--B" %ndigenous educationE addressing current issues and
developments. Comarative Education, B! (,".
$c9aren P (!!;" Pedagog:a Cr:tica y Cultura Deredadora2 Pol:ticas de Oosici9n en la
Era Posmoderna. &arcelona, 2aid=s.
$c9aughlin $ (,--" 7istening and learning from the fieldE tales of policy implementation
and situated practice. %n International +and,oo$ of Educational Change ed by #.
*argreaves, #. 7ieberman, M. 4ullan D. *opkins. Dordrecht, Nluwer #cademic 2ublishers.
$c,iff : (,--," Action )esearch for rofessional develoment/ Concise advice for ne%
action researchers. #vailable on lineE httpQQwww. action research.net.
$ignolo 8 (,---" Diferencia colonial y ra3=n post occidental. %n *a reestructuraci9n de las
Ciencias Sociales en Am5rica *atina ed by 8. 9astro1A=me3. &ogota, 9entro editorial
Raveriano.
,e(man : (!:;" 7earning to teach by uncovering our assumptions. *anguage Arts0 I< (;",
;,;1;B;.
,ieto S (!!!" 9ritical Multicultural 'ducation and 8tudents0 2erspectives. %n Critical
multiculturalism2 )ethin$ing multicultural an antiracist education ed by 8. May. 7ondon,
6outhledge 4almer.
Palmer P : (!:;" 9ommunity, conflict and ways of knowing. Change0 @A0 ,-1,/.
Po11i /scot I (!;," El uso de la lengua vern7cula en la educaci9n/ 7ima, Ministerio de
'ducaci=n.
11111111111(!!-a" &alances y 2erspectivas de la 'ducaci=n para 2oblaciones %ndTgenas en el
2er>E !!-. Allanchis B/QBI (%%" B!B1<B<.
1111111111(!!-b" 7a Discriminaci=n ]tnico cultural en la 'scuela 2eruana. Amazon:a
Peruana : (!", !1,:.
Aui.ano % (,---" 9olonialidad del poder, eurocentrismo y #mYrica 7atina. %n *a
colonialidad del sa,er2 eurocentrismo y ciencias sociales/ Persectivas latinoamericanas ed
by '. 7ander. &uenos #ires, 97#985.
Reinhar1 S. (!!,". (eminist methods in social research. 5$ford, 5$ford @niversity 2ress.
Sarangapani Padma $ (,--B" %ndigeni3ing the curriculumE questions posed by &aiga
Cidya. Comarative Education, B! (,", !!1,-!.
Scribner : P (,--B". Teacher learning in conte$tE The special case of rural high school
teachers, Education Policy Analysis Archives0 @@(,". #vailable on lineE
httpEQQepaa.asu.eduQepaaQvn,Q.
:-
Semali 9 and ;incheloe : (!!!" %ntroduction in #hat is indigenous $no%ledge& <oices
from the academy ed by 7. 8emali and R. Nincheloe. 7ondon, 4almer 2ress.
Smith : (!!B" After the demise of emiricism the ro,lem of 3udging and social and
educational in"uiry. Gorwood G.R, #ble$ 2ublishing 9ompany.
Spindler = (ed." (!:," %ntroduction in Doing the ethnograhy of schooling, Gew Jork, 9&8
2ublishing.
Stairs % (!!<" The 9ultural Gegotiation of %ndigenous 'ducationE &etween
Microethnography and Model1&uilding. Pea,ody 6ournal of Education, I!, /<1;.
Stoll 3 (!:/" \Pescadores de hom,res o fundadores de imerio& El Instituto *ing?:stico de
<erano en Am5rica *atina., 7ima, 9entro de 'studios y 2romoci=n del Desarrollo (D'895".
Strauss % and Corbin : (!!<" Arounded Theory MethodologyE an overview. %n +and,oo$
of -ualitative )esearch ed by G.N. Den3in and J.8. 7incoln. 7ondon, 8age 2ublications.
SuBre1 Pa1os $ (,--," #lgunas refle$iones sobre la investigaci=n acci=n colaboradora en la
educaci=n. )evista Electr9nica de las Ciencias Sociales, (" 1;.
)aish : (,--" Pedagog:a ancestral A%a3Bn/ *a ela,oraci9n de textiles y su ense8anza en
las comunidades de 1ueva Israel y 1ueva 6erusal5n. @npublished M# Thesis. 9ochabambaE
@niversidad Mayor de 8aint 8im=n , 265'%& #ndes.
)rapnell 9 (,--," # research plan onE The discourse and practice of intercultural education
in an #shaninka primary school. @npublished M# assignment .@niversity of &ath.
4444441 (,--Ba" 8ome key issues in intercultural bilingual education programmes as seen from
a teacher training programme in the 2eruvian #ma3on. Comarative Education0 B!(,", I/1
:B.
(,--Bb". A Critical *iterary )evie% of the Social and Cultural Asects of *earning.
@npublished M# assignment. @niversity of &ath.
)rapnell 9 and ,eira / (,--;" De la cutia a la icara/ *a exeriencia de (O)'ABIAP
@ACCDEFFG. %quitos, unpublished document.
)ubino " and Cari0uie* R (,--/" *as r7cticas discursivas en el PerB de hoy/ Prouesta de
lineamientos ara su tratamiento en el sistema educativo eruano. 9onsultorTa encargada por
la Direcci=n Gacional de 'ducaci=n &iling[e %ntercultural, mimeo.
Dscama*ta =u1mBn / (,--<" 'edicina -!iru y curriculo en los centros educativos de
+atun -!iru/ @npublished M# Thesis. 9ochabambaE @niversidad Mayor de 8aint 8im=n,
265'%& #ndes.
Eandermensbrugghe : (,--<" The unbearable vagueness of critical thinking in the conte$t
of the #nglo 8a$oni3ation of 'ducation. International Educational 6ournal / (B", <;1<,,.
Earese S (,--I" #itness to Sovereignty Essays on the Indian 'ovement in *atin America/
9openhagenE %+A%#.
:
Eigil , El uso asistem7tico de las lenguas en las mal llamadas escuelas EIB del PerB. 7ima,
mimeo.
8ads(orth > (!!:" +hat is participatory researchL Action )esearch International/ Paer
E/ %nstitute of +orkplace 6esearch, 7earning and Development, and 8outhern 9ross
@niversity 2ress. #vailable on line httpEQQwww.scu.edu.auQschoolsQgcmQarQariQp1
ywadsworth !:html.
8alsh C (,--," (De" 9onstruir la interculturalidad. 9onsideraciones crTticas desde la
polTtica, la colonialidad y los movimientos indTgenas y negros en el 'cuador. %n
Interculturalidad y Pol:tica2 Desaf:os y osi,ilidades ed by G. 4uller. 7ima, 2ontificia
@niversidad 9at=lica del 2er>, %nstituto de 'studios 2eruanos. @niversidad del 2acTfico.
8oods P (!!<" 9ollaborating in historical ethnographyE researching critical events in
educationW, International 6ournal of -ualitative Studies in Education ; (<", B-!1B,.
Cavala E (,--;" 8ituaci=n de la formaci=n docente para la educaci=n intercultural y biling[e
en la 3ona andina del 2er>. %n 1uevos 'aestros ara Am5rica *atina. ed by 6. 9uenca, G.
Gucinkis and C..avala Madrid, Morata, AT. and %n+ent.
Cavala E and C@rdova = (,--B" <olver al desaf:o2 hacia una definici9n cr:tica de la
educaci9n intercultural ,iling?e en el PerB. 7ima, 265'D@9#1AT..
Cum(alt ; (!:,". 6esearch on teachingE policy implications for teacher education. %n
Policy ma$ing in education ed by #. 7ieberman and M. Mc7aughlin.:st Jearbook of the
Gational 8ociety for the 8tudy of 'ducation. 9hicago,@niversity of 9hicago.
C?iga $ (!:!" 'l 2rograma de 'ducaci=n &iling[e %ntercultural de la @niversidad de 8an
Marcos en #yacucho. Amazon:a Peruana0 !(:", ;1,I .
:,
%ppendi+4 1: "ishing programme4for first and second grade
,atural Resources /nvironment )echni0ue Social /nd
Species
#nimals observed
while fishing.
9haracteristics and
conductE
9haracteristics of
fish regarding E
1%nstruments used to
trap them.
12laces where they
live.
1+hat they eat.
18ocial conduct.
Classification
Arouping of fishE
18pontaneous.
1#ccording to other
characteristicsE
utility, habitat.
S*stems
7ocomotionE organs
in fish and humans.
4eeding processes
in fish and humansE
organs and
functions .
&reathing in fish
and humansE organs
and functions.
/cos*stem
'cosystem where the
activity is developedE
river, lake.
'lements (plants,
animals, sun, air,
water, soil" and
relations between
them.
+aterE properties
(flavour, smell, colour"
and states (solid, liquid
and gas".
6abitat
2laces where each
species lives during
the day and night.
"ood chains
4ood chains of the
observed speciesE
+hat do they eatL
+ho eats themL
8eather and
biological c*cles
Times of the day and
night when people fish
Moments of activity
and rest of different
species.
7ife cycle of fish.
Time of reproduction.
7ife cycle of humans
beings.
3evelopment of the
activit*
2hases in the fishing
process.
9haracteristics and
functions of fishing
instruments.
9onducts and
discourses that
guarantee the
e$pected results.
2recautions.
4orms of energy
involved in the
fishing process.
Cooperation
Ninship and
cooperation relations
involved in fishing.
9hildren0s rights and
duties with their
families and in
school. 6oles.
9hildren0s rights.
Type of activity and
transformation
processes involved
in it.
4ishing techniques.
8ell being
4eedingE
%mportance of the
consumption of fish for
children0s growth.
2arts of fish that
children should
not eat.
8ystems of fish
distribution among
families.
2revention and cureE
2revention of malaria,
dengue, typhoid fever
T&9, pneumonia and other
common sickness in the
3one.
8ocial communicationE
%nternal and e$ternal parts
of fish used to prepare
different artefacts (rattles,
adornments".
$arket
8pecies of fish that are
soldE places and agents
Social /vents
'vents in the community.
#ims, participants and
activities.
Indigenous people and
territor*
:B
Design of personal and
family stories (time lines"
8ketch of the community.
9ommunal organi3ationE
authorities and their
functions.
9ommunal institutions and
their functions.
%ppendi+ 24 Class observation guide
Selected content
+hat content was selectedL +hyL *ow was it approachedL 9ould it have been approached
differentlyL *owL
)eacher's strateg*
#pproach to indigenous and western scientific knowledge during different moments
of the class.
Time devoted to each.
6elation of subject matter with social, economic, political and ecological conte$t.
+ays of approaching it (identification, analysis , reflection".
Messages that teacher transmit through reflections and recommendations.
@se of different strategies to guide the learning process (individual work, group work,
e$planations, anecdotes, comments". Time devoted to each.
+ays of approaching diversity in the classroom (work by levels, group organi3ation,
etc.".
@se of te$ts and other materials.
8trategies used to verify children0s comprehension.
Interactions
6elation between teacher and students (authoritarian, hori3ontal, distant, cordial, etc.".
6elation between students
Talk in classE
o +ho initiates the dialogue and how (analogy, question, anecdote, comment".
o Ninds of questions.
:<
o To whom are questions directed.
o +hat types of questions generate answers and which do not.
o %n what kind of situations do students talk.
o +ho does most of the talking during the class.
o +hich students participate more.
o #cceptance of different points of view.
"unctions of %shaninka and Spanish
7anguages used in class.
@se of the language or languages (present the theme, give e$amples, write
summaries, give e$planations, read te$ts, etc"
Time given to each language.
9ode1switching. 8ituations in which it occurs (discussion, sharing opinions or
e$periences, orders".
7oans. 8ituations in which they occur.
:/
%ppendi+ 34.)eacher intervie( schedule
)eacher background
. +hat is your position in this school and how long have you been a teacher hereL
,. +hat do you think are the aims of your school in relation to intercultural educationL
B. +hat kind of inputs have you received to develop intercultural educationL
Auestions about perspectives and approaches
<. *ow would you define interculturalismL
/. *ow would you define intercultural educationL
UPro,e2 its different dimensionsV
I. To what e$tent does the curriculum you are using help or hinder the development of
intercultural educationL
UPro,e2 structural and concetual frame%or$V
;. +hat are the main sources of intercultural education in you schoolL
UPro,e2 elders0 text,oo$s0 elder studentsV
:. +hat kind of knowledge should children learn in schoolL
UPro,e2 indigenous $no%ledge&0 %hy&H"
!. +hat kind of skills and attitudes should children learn during primary schoolL
UPro,e2 relation to identity0 territorial rights0 selfDaffirmationH
Auestions related to curriculum planning and teaching
-. *ow do you plan your teachingL
UPro,e2 long term0 mid term0 everyday ,asisV
. *ow do you select the contents you are going to teach each dayL
UPro,e2 curriculum0 text,oo$s0 cultural $no%ledge0 community ro,lemsV
,. *ow do you develop intercultural education in your everyday practiceL
UPro,eE indigenous identity0 $no%ledge0 indigenous values0 $no%ledge of social
and cultural diversity0 discrimination and conflict V
B. Do you relate your teaching with the communities social and economic practicesL %f so
howL
:I
<. Do you relate your teaching with social, ecological and economic problems that the
community is facingL %f so howL
/. Do elders and other community member collaborate with you in teaching about
indigenous knowledgeL %f so, howL
UPro,e2 in the classroom0 in other saces0 during school hoursH
I. To what e$tent do you include contents related to indigenous organi3ations and
indigenous rights in your classesL
;. #re there any conceptual issues that are more appropriate for certain age groupsL
:. *ow do you approach the study of your indigenous peoples0 history in classL
!. +hat kind of skills and knowledge do intercultural educators needL
,-. +hat problems do you face in the development of intercultural educationL
UPro,e2 lac$ of training0 limitations regarding indigenous $no%ledge0 lac$ of
text,oo$s and other materialV
Political underpinnings of intercultural education
,. +hat do #ma3onian indigenous organi3ations e$pect of intercultural educationL
UPro,e2 relation and difference %ith ,ilingual educationV
,,. To what e$tent can intercultural education promote the development of indigenous
collective rightsL
,B. 8hould intercultural education be developed at a national levelL +hyL
,<. +hat are the main drawbacks to promoting intercultural education in #shaninka
schoolsL
,/. #re there any areas % have not covered and you would like to comment uponL
:;
%ppendi+4!: 3ifferent approaches to (ater
+e can talk about the fact that water has a mother or spiritual owner. # young woman should
not go Uto the riverV when she is menstruating. +hen the water0s owner sees her, he becomes
angry. +e go Uto the riverV innocently after a woman that is menstruating and the spiritual
owners are angry. +e can also talk about the fact that we do not take newly born babies near
the water. %f we want to take them we bathe them with water usanga (creeping herb with
magical properties". %f we have not bathed them, we take i,en$i (plant with magical
properties" and we spit the area near the edge of the river and the child Uwith itV. +hen a
woman has a newborn baby, she should not pass over the water since ayahuas"ueros (men
and women who drink #yahuasca (Banioterosis Cai" have relations with the water.
#shaninka people take care of water when moss grows Uin itV. +hen they live near the river
and see that the water is dirty, they move on to another place. % also remember what #raroshi
('usebio 7aos 6Tos, 456M#&%#2 #shaninka specialist" told us about water. %ts spiritual
owner communicates with thunder when he sees that the water is dirty, so that thunder can
provoke rain to clean it. &ut % do not know too much about this issue, % have not deepened my
knowledge about it.
My mother in law told me that we she had her first son and he died, she did not rest. The
water0s owner was annoyed and she became very ill, she almost died. The ayahuas"uero had
to intervene with the help of the hummingbird. My mother in law (told me" that she found
herself surrounded by the offspring of the water0s spiritual owner.
The ayahuas"uero sleeps and becomes a hummingbird. +hen he takes his prey from the
water0s owner, the water begins to sound very loudly and shout are heard. The ayahuas"uero
told mi mother in law that she would only have one son. That is why she always tells my
daughter that she must not go to the river when she is menstruating.
(9onversation with Maria, #ugust ,--I"
::
%ppendi+42: Summar* of a class about the seasons of the *ear
Kiarontsi (winter". %n this season, there is a lot of rainfall and many trees such as ca8a ,rava
have flowers. There are also rainy months (H".
Osarentsi (summer". +e give this name to the dry season. +e call it this way when the water
in the rivers decreasesD there are trees that let us know that this will happen. There are
summer months (H".
There are other people like #ndeans and people from the coastD they divide the year in four2
spring, summer, autumn and winter.
(Translated from #shaninka".
8pring is the season in which many animals appear for reproduction.
8ummer is the time of growth.
#utumn is the time in which animals migrate in search of warmer places.
+inter is when some animals recuperate their vital functions by sleeping.
(Translated from 8panish"
(Transcription of a fourth grade copybook. 8anta 'lena primary school"
:!
%ppendi+45 )ranscription of a class about kinship relations among animals and
plants in Puerto /lvira
TeacherE 46ao$a i$asha,a$a eerani iratsiaye&
U*ow did animals call themselves in past timesLV
8tudentE Iriniro.
UMotherV
8tudentsE 1irento.
U8isterV
8tudentsE Iraniri.
U&rother in lawV
8tudentE Iri$on$iri.
U4ather in lawV
TeacherE 4Pashini&
U#notherLV
8tudentsE Charine.
UArandfatherV
TeacherE 4Pashini&
U#notherLV
8tudentE Irirenti.
U&rotherV
8tudentE Itineri.
U8on in lawV
The teacher writes on the boardE Peerani ainiro yatiri,eitani iratsiaye iyote i$ashiya,a$a0
i$emetatiro/ U%n past times animals were human and know how to call each other. 4or
e$ample..V
TeacherE \PaitaL
U+hatLV
8tudentsE Iraniri/
U&rother in lawV. The teacher writes this on the board.
TeacherE 4Pashini&
U#notherLV
8tudentE Iri$on$iri
U4ather in lawV. The teacher writes on the board.
!-
TeacherE \PashiniL
U#notherLV
8tudentsE Charine.
UArandfatherV. The teacher writes on the board.
The teacher reads all that he has written on the boardE Peerani ainiro yatiri,eitani iratsiaye
3ero an$irentsiaye oyoti o$ashiya,a$a/ o$emetatiro onatoto/ 4Pashini& UDuring past times
animals were persons, plants were also persons and treated each other as kin, for e$ample as
sister in law. #nother (e$ample"LV
8tudentE E,atayero/
UDaughter in lawV
TeacherE Osaro0 4irentotsori&
UArandmother, mother0s sisterLV
8tudentsE Osaro.
UArandmotherV
TeacherE 46ao$a i$ashiya,a$a iratsiaye&
U*ow do animals relate among themselvesLV
8tudentsE Iraniri.
U&rother in lawV
8tudentE Iri$on$iri.
U4ather in lawV
8tudentE Icharine.
UArandfatherV
TeacherE 4Pan$irentsiaye&
U#nd plantsLV
8tudentsE Atyo/
U8ister in lawV
8tudentsE Onatoto/
U8ister in lawV
TeacherE 4Chora irentota,a$a an$irentsi eerani&
UDid plants treat each other as sisters in past timesLV
8tudentsE .e.
UGoV
TeacherE 4Pashini&
U#notherLV
!
8tudentE E,atayero.
UDaughter in lawV
TeacherE 46ani$a an$irentsiaye o$ashiri irento&
U+hat plants called themselves sistersLV
8tudentsE Kaniri0 $oricha/
UManioc and sweet potatoesV
8tudentsE .e0 onatoto/
UGo, as sisters in law.V
TeacherE %n #shaninka we say that manioc and sweet potato considered themselves
sisters in law. Piratsiaye i$asha,a$a iye0 ani aisati charine.
U#nimals relate as brothers, brothers in law and grandparentsV
TeacherE Pin$anteri 3ao$a i$ashiri iratsiaye/
UAive me some e$amples of how animals relate to each other.V
The teacher writes in the boardE Aisati an$irentsiaye o$ashiya,a$a o$emetatya/ U2lants also
treat each other as kin, for e$ampleE V
TeacherE 4Kaniri&
UManiocLV
8tudentsE Onatoto $oricha.
U8weet potatoes0 sister in lawV
TeacherE 4Pashini ito$a maona&
U#nother relation \between pituca (Colocasia esculenta" and sachapapa
(Dioscorea trifidaLV
8ilence
TeacherE 46ao$a otimi$a irento ito$a&
U+hose sister is pitucaLV
Two students of fifth and si$th grade speak outE
8tudentsE .e0 onatoto/
UGo, sister in lawV
The teacher reads what he has written on the board.
TeacherE 4Pashini&
U#nother (relation" LV
TeacherE Irota$e mee$a aman$itero $aniri ontimatye aman$itashiteroH/
U8o, when we sow manioc which plant must we sow nearby HV
8tudentsE Koricha.
!,
U8weet potatoV
The teacher writes on the board, while he does so he reads what he is writing.
TeacherE Aisati ontimatye a8ain$atsatero an$irentsiaye aisati 4ashini&
U+e must respect the plants, and LV
8ilence
TeacherE 4Aisati&
U\#lsoLV
8tudentsE Piratsi.
U#nimalsV
The teacher continues writing on the boardE Piratsiaye tema ayota$ota$ero atiri eerani/
U+e know that animals were people.V
TeacherE \Pan$irentsiaye $antacha antsinamairo&
U\9an we joke about plantsLV
8tudentsE .e.
UGoV
TeacherE 46ao$a on$antya antsinamairi iratsiaye&
U%n what moments do we make jokes of animalsLV
Ariri$a an$emeri 3ao$a i$antya i8a,aiti tsiya ari an$eri an$ante ee itseya0 iro
$antacha an$irentsi eiro antsinamairo te o8a,aite/
U+hen we hear the chicua (a species of bird" talk we answer and say e, e, its a
lie, but we do not joke about an$irentsi (plants" because they do not talkV
Piratsipa*eni ikashi*abaika*ani peerani
Peerani ainiri yatiri,eitani iratsiaye/
Iyoti i$ashiya,a$a i$emetatiri iraniri
iri$on$iri0 icharine itineri0 itomitsori0 aisati
an$irentsiaye/ Oi3atei o$ashiya,a$a
o$emetatya $anir0 onatoto $oricha/
Ivota$e mee$a ariyori$a aan$itero $aniri
ontimatye aan$itashitero $oricha/ Aisati
ontimatye a8ain$atsata$otero
an$irentsiaye0 aisati iratsiaye tema
ayota$otiro atirieerani/
In past times animals had kinship
relations
%n past times, animals were people. They
knew how to relate with each other, for
e$ample, as brothers in law, fathers in law,
grandfathers, sons in law and sons. 2lants
also knew about kinship relations, for
e$ample, manioc treated sweet potato as
sister in law. +hen we sow manioc we must
place it near the sweet potato. +e must also
respect plants and animals because they
were persons in past times.
8ummary of the fourth grade class.
8eptember. 2uerto 'lvira school.
!B