From an intercultural education for indigenous peoples to another one focused on the current migration context. An analysis based on the Chilean case

Abstract

This article poses the question if the Intercultural Bilingual Education Programa of Chile (PEIB, for its name in spanish), the education policy designed for those groups that historically have been considered as representatives of cultural diversity-those groups recognized by the chilean Indigenous Law-is suitable for the rather new context that has emerged in schools due to international migration. The analysis presents the origin of PEIB and the context that made it possible, focuses on two central features of the PEIB, and then discusses the possible connection points with the new context. Based on a document analysis of the aforementioned aspects and some of the evaluations the program has gone through, we conclude that it is rather not recommendable to use the PEIB as a starting point for a education policy that attends to the migration context. At this point, the article presents some thoughts about the challenges the chilean education system-deeply rooted in a neoliberal society model-faces to advance towards a good education system for all, that also takes into account cultural diversity.