EDUCACIÓN MAPUCHE E INTERCULTURALIDAD: UN ANÁLISIS CRÍTICO DESDE UNA ETNOGRAFÍA ESCOLAR

Abstract

This article, based on the study of a rural school, is intended as a contribution, from educational anthropology and school ethnography, to the debate on the school education of Mapuche and other indigenous children. The rural school studied is a charter school located in the Araucanía Region, and is defined by its teachers as "non-intercultural". This educational center has appropriated the school space in order to develop a project of "Mapuche education" linked to a political agenda of selfdetermination. In this paper, it is argued that, despite the anti-intercultural and essentialist discourses, the school is a community of practice where different elements and meanings coexist in a bicultural logic. This bicultural coexistence and the predominance of the traditional school model represent for children a significant knowledge background that counterbalances teachers' work on raising consciousness about being Mapuche. The functionality of an essentialist vision of Mapuche culture aimed at social and political empowerment is discussed, suggesting that cultural essentialism might be more detrimental than beneficial for the success of this valuable educational project.