Intercultural pedagogical practices in indigenous education. Teaching experiences at primary level

Abstract

The objective of this article is to analyze the intercultural pedagogical practices carried out by teachers through the integration of local knowledge and school content at a bilingual primary school in the municipality of Chicontepec, Veracruz. This is an intercultural study of pedagogical practices aimed at constructing the school as a dialogical and horizontal space for both formal and community-based education, where the goal of education is to cultivate subjects capable of recognizing and valuing cultural and linguistic plurality. The research methodology is based on the ethnographic method, incorporating interviews, detailed descriptions, participant and non-participant observation, which together build the pedagogical narrative. The research results reveal that, in response to the hegemonic imposition of the Mexican educational curriculum, indigenous education teachers design their pedagogical practices through the acknowledgment of the sociolinguistic and cultural context of the children. Local language and knowledge are integral parts of the learning objects and form part of an ethical, political, pedagogical, and epistemic project that opens the possibility of constructing "other" educations, distinct from those that schools once oppressed, denied, and excluded.