Session Information
07 SES 02 A, Different Perspectives on Social Justice
Paper Session
Contribution
The need to rethink pedagogical procedures and practices pursuing social justice in education has brought various changes. Ethno-education as a form of inclusive education has been one of these emergent educational proposals. Inclusive education has been defined as a process aimed to transform education in order to account for the needs of diverse populations (Ainscow, 2005). In turn, inclusive education has been a way to fight discrimination (Vitello &Mitahug, 1998 as cited in Ainscow, 2005). In light of this, ethno-education is a type of education that has been proposed in some countries as a way to fight for social justice and combat discrimination. Discrimination and education as an area of research has been a long-term interest in contexts like the USA or the UK (e.g. Ladson-billings, & Gilborn, 2006; Banks,2002; Leonardo, 2002,). However, a different outlook is seen in Colombia where that interest is less common. This presentation focuses on a reflection about the role of education in the fight for social justice in terms of decreasing discrimination. This reflection is done by exploring the context of Colombia, its relation with education and the impact of current policies of ethno-education.
Ethno-education is a contemporary type of differentiated education for indigenous communities in Colombia (MEN, 2015). After constitutional recognition of Colombia as a multi-cultural country in 1991, a boom called ethnisation has been experimented. Hoffman, (2010) defines ethnisation as the process of visibilisation of minority groups and communities through constitutional recognition of their identities. This involves: access to land, political representation, health, education and others (1993, National Constitution. Law 70, 1993)[1]. In this context, ethnisation has attempted to transform the monolithic history of Colombia as a ‘mestizo’ country to integrate an ideology of recognition of difference. Ethno-education has therefore cropped up as a program for a differentiated education to Colombian indigenous communities and Afro-Colombian tribes that are still alive in order to preserve their ancestry, traditions and customs.
The program of ethno-education alongside ethnisation have brought advances in the Colombian society in terms of inclusion and fight against discrimination. Curieux (2010) suggests that ethnisation has brought more visibility to indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. These groups have gained spaces of participation in political bodies (Cassiani, 2008). In ethno-education, Afro-Colombian cross curricular projects have been designed to integrate Afro-Colombian or indigenous activities and contents in the curriculum (Patino, 2004). Nevertheless, even if the current landscape apparently shows more sensitive ‘racial’ relations, discrimination is still evident. By reflecting on the impact these changes have brought to indigenous communities and Colombian people in general through education, this presentation seeks to understand the role of education in the permanence of discriminatory practices. To this end, this presentation deals first with an analysis of the evolution of the ‘race’ situation in Colombia and its impact into nowadays social practices (Munoz & Runge, 2005). This situation is contrasted with the case of Europe and USA. Second, I touch on wider new views of education that have contributed to transforming not only the education system itself but also the way in which it influences social practices nowadays. Finally, I develop an analysis on the impact that ethno-education has had as an inclusive education in the general dynamics of social practices of the country.
[1] Law 70 of 1993 grants afro-Colombian communities access to lands where they used to live as a culture preserving ways of living and economy. This law is comes from a transitional article 55 of the National Constitution of Colombia. Derived from the National decree 2941 of 2009 about the national patrimony and its immaterial nature
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Ainscow, M., 2005. Developing inclusive education systems: what are the levels for change? Journal of educational change, 6(2), pp.109-124 Banks, J, A. 2002. Race, knowledge construction, and education in the USA. Lessons from history CHAPTER II. Ethnicity and Education, race. 5 (1), 7-27. Cassiani, A., 2008. II Foro internacional de Educación superior inclusiva. Min. De Educación Nacional-Colombia. Bogotá, 9-10 septiembre de 2008. Crotty, M. 2012., The foundations of social research. Meaning and perspective in the research process. SAGE publications Ltd. London. Curieux, T. R. 2010., La etnoeducación en Colombia: un trecho andado y un largo camino por recorrer. Colombia Internacional Revista, (46). Delgado, R & Stefancic, J. 2001., Critical race theory. An introduction. New York University press: USA. Denzin, N & Lincoln, Y., 2003. Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. 2nd Ed. USA. Sage publications. Hoffman, O., 2010. Entre etnizacion y racializacion: los avatares de la identificación entre los afrodescendientes en México. Hal. Archives-ouvertes. HAL ID: halshs-00463377. Pp.163-185. Hrrp://halshs.archives-ouvertes,fr/fr/halshs-00463377 Ladson-billings, G & Gilborn, D., 2006. The multicultural education. Routledge Falmer. Taylor and Francis Group. Leonardo, Z., 2002. The souls of white folk. Critical pedagogy, whiteness studies, and globalisation discourse. Race, ethnicity and education. 5 (1), 29-50. Libreros, D., 2002. Tensiones de las políticas educativas en Colombia. Balance y perspectivas. Colombia: Universidad Pedagógica Nacional MEN (Ministerio de Educacion de Colombia)., 2014. En Japón el programa, todos a aprender se consolida como referente mundial de transformación educativa. 26 de Junio de 2012. Retrieved from http://mineducacion.gov.co/cvn/1665/w3-article-342915.html 04-07-14. Accessed 01-072014. Muñoz, G, D. A & Runge, P, A., 2005. El evolucionismo social, los problemas de la raza y la educación en Colombia, primera mitad del siglo XX: el cuerpo en las estrategias eugenésicas de la línea dura y la línea blanda. Iberoamerican Jounal of educación. N. 39. P. 127-168. ISSN-e 1022-6508 Ng’weno, B. 2007., Can ethnicity replace race? Afro-Colombians, indigeneity and the Colombian multicultural state. Journal of Latin-American and Caribbean anthropology. Vol 12 N. 2. P414-440 ISSN. 1925-4940. University of California. Patiño, P. E. 2004., Estado del arte de la etno-educación en Colombia con énfasis en política pública. MEN. Dirección de poblaciones y proyectos sectoriales. Scotland, J. 2012., Exploring the philosophical underpinnings of Research: Relating ontology and epistemology to the methodology and methods of the scientific, interpretive, and critical research paradigms. English Language teaching journal. Vol 5. N. 9 pp. 9-16. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 12 December 2013. Woodward, K. 1997. Identity and Difference. SAGE publications Ltda: USA.
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