Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism

New Education Division Documents No. 9
Voices and Processes
Toward Pluralism: Indigenous
Education in Bolivia
By Lucia D’Emilio
SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
COOPERATION AGENCY
Department for Democracy and
Social Development, DESO
Education Division
New Education Division Documents No. 9
Voices and Processes
Toward Pluralism: Indigenous
Education in Bolivia
By Lucia D’Emilio, UNICEF
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
1
New Education Division Documents may be ordered from:
Biståndsforum, Sida
S-105 25 Stockholm
Phone +46 (0)8 698 50 00
Fax +46 (0)8 698 56 38
E-mail: [email protected]
Homepage: www.sida.se
Written by: Lucia D’Emilio
UNICEF, 1996
Translated by: Carolyn Benson
New Education Division Documents No. 9
Published by the Education Division at Sida, Department for Democracy
and Social Development
Printed by Elanders Novum AB
Stockholm, Sweden, 2001
ISSN 0283-0566
SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AGENCY
Address: SE-105 25 Stockholm, Sweden.
Office: Sveavägen 20, Stockholm
Telephone: +46 (0)8 698 50 00. Telefax: +46 (0)8 20 88 64
E-mail: [email protected] Homepage: www.sida.se
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
Contents
Forword ........................................................................................................................ 5
Translator’s note ........................................................................................................ 7
Executive summary .................................................................................................. 9
List ofabbreviations ................................................................................................. 10
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 11
PART 1: Indigenous children and their schooling
1.1 Diversity in Bolivia ................................................................................. 13
1.2 Education versus diversity ...................................................................... 16
1.3 Educational needs of indigenous boys and girls .................................... 20
PART 2: Toward education for pluralism: Case studies
2.1 The educational reform in Bolivia ......................................................... 25
2.2 The bilingual intercultural education project: Brief history .................. 26
2.3 Results in terms of student performance ............................................... 28
2.4 Empowerment of indigenous communities and organizations ............. 31
PART 3: Voices of the protagonists
3.1 Opinions of the boys and girls: Toward a defense
of bilingual education .................................................................................. 39
3.2 Opinions of the parents ......................................................................... 46
3.3 Opinions of the teachers ........................................................................ 56
Lessons learned ....................................................................................................... 59
References ................................................................................................................ 61
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
Foreword
Indigenous people constitute the majority of Bolivia´s population. There are more
than 30 different ethno-lingustic groups. The Bolivian constitution recognises the
cultural and linguistic diversity of the population.
Sida has been supporting the Educational Reform in Bolivia since it started in
1995. The reform is being implemented with a focus on Intercultural Bilingual
Education. To strengthen this important initiative Sida has, at the same time, supported Intercultural Bilingual Education through UNICEF in Bolivia.
This paper “Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism” written by Lucia D’Emilio,
(PhD in Sociology), reflects the Bolivian situation and its complexity. Lucia D’Emilio
highlights positive results and the need for Bilingual Intercultural Education through
testimonies. She also emphasizes the importance of incorporating the “voices of the
protagonists” in evaluations and educational programs.
We would like to express our gratitude to the author, who has made a valuable
contribution to the understanding of Intercultural Bilingual Education in Bolivia.
When she worked in Bolivia for UNICEF, she strongly supported the planning of
Intercultural Bilingual Education as part of the forthcoming Educational Reform
and, later, also its implementation. Lucia D’Emilio’s knowledge and experience in this
area is internationally well known. We would also like to thank PhD Carol Benson for
translating the article into English. Without her help it would not have been possible
to publish this paper.
Sida has decided to publish the paper in Education Division Documents Series in
order to make it available more widely. Views expressed in the paper do not necessarily reflect the views of Sida, UNICEF or the Government of Bolivia.
Stockholm in June 2001
Agneta Lind
Head of Education Division
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
Translator’s note
I am pleased to have been asked to translate this very important document written by
Lucia D’Emilio, who continues to do good work in the field of bilingual education,
although she is no longer in Bolivia. The insider perspective she brings to the task of
describing the situation of Bolivian children, especially indigenous children and
especially girls, is one to which we do not often have access. In the final section of this
work she allows students, parents, and teachers to speak for themselves, so we are put
in the unique position of “listening” to their seldom-heard voices.
Wherever possible I have included the original quote in Spanish, indicated in
italics, as well as particular words from the indigenous languages in bold italics. The
English translation follows immediately below, followed by the reference. In the
translations of personal testimonies I have tried to capture the tone of the speaker
rather than providing a literal translation of the words, which might not be understandable given the lack of context. I have not called attention to the minor grammatical errors which characterize everyday speech, especially the speech of non-native
speakers, since they are not relevant to this work.
To the degree possible I have consulted with the author on appropriate ways of
saying what she intended to say, and I am hopeful that this English version fairly
represents her important work. However, I am responsible for any errors which
appear in this version.
Carolyn Benson, Ph.D.
Centre for Research on Bilingualism
Stockholm University
March 2000
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
Executive summary
This work discusses the potential of bilingual intercultural education to improve
schooling opportunities for indigenous Bolivian children. The theme is developed in
the context of concepts promoted by UNICEF and other international organizations,
such as the consideration of language as both a human right and a basic need. The
concept of “minority” is seen in terms of power rather than numbers, since the
majority of Bolivians belong to indigenous ethnic groups for whom Castellano
(Spanish) is a second or foreign language. Traditional education has tried to eliminate
diversity and promote assimilation, but has been successful only at denigrating indigenous culture. Linguistic and cultural discrimination is epitomized by the traditional
teacher’s question, “Do you want to be an Indian or do you want to be intelligent?”
The author demonstrates that bilingual programs better meet Bolivian students’
basic learning needs as defined by the World Conference on Education for All,
because the mother tongue is used both for beginning literacy learning and as a
medium of instruction. The Bilingual Intercultural Education Project (1990-1995),
which applied bilingual strategies using Quechua, Aymara, or Guaraní along with
Castellano in 114 primary schools, provided important precedents for the establishment of bilingual programs as part of the Bolivian Educational Reform passed into
law in 1994. Favorable results included higher performance in reading and writing in
the early years, better academic averages overall, greater self-esteem, better performance on the part of girls, and less disciplinary action in the classroom. There were
also some limitations in terms of teaching strategies and student performance in
Castellano as a second language.
The testimonies of both parents and indigenous leaders highlight the importance
of bilingual schooling for empowerment of indigenous communities. Other benefits
include a closer relationship between home and school, greater identification of the
teacher with his or her ethnic group, and recuperation of indigenous language use in
zones experiencing language shift toward Castellano. Student testimonies provide
virtually unanimous support for use of the mother tongue in school, and demonstrate
the difficulties encountered when Castellano is used exclusively. The testimonies of
teachers demonstrate some initial ambivalence, which is also reflected in their difficult
role as mediators between the community, to which they may or may not belong, and
the school.
The author demonstrates the importance of incorporating the “voices of the
protagonists” in evaluations of educational programs, and for giving the indigenous
perspective as much weight as the outsider perspective so that a more integrative and
comprehensive assessment is possible.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
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List of abbreviations
APG
Asamblea del Pueblo Guaraní
Assembly of the Guaraní People
CEPO
Consejo Educativo del Pueblo Originario
Education Council of Original Peoples
CSUTB
Confederación Sindical Unica de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia
United Peasants’ Union of Bolivia
EIB
Educación Intercultural Bilingüe
Bilingual Intercultural Education
ETARE
Equipo Técnico de Apoyo a la Reforma Educativa
Technical Support Team to the Educational Reform
ICDC
International Child Development Center, UNICEF
ILO
International Labor Organization, United Nations
PEIB
Proyecto de Educación Intercultural Bilingüe
Bilingual Intercultural Education Project
SAE
Sub-secretaría de Asuntos Etnicos de Bolivia
Bolivian Undersecretary of Ethnic Affairs
Sida
Swedish International Development Authority
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
UNICEF
10
United Nations International Children’s Educational Fund
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
Introduction
The present work1 is based on a reflection which was initiated by the International
Child Development Center (ICDC) at UNICEF in Florence, Italy concerning the
rights of minority children. It is well known that this theme opens up some quite
polemical debates, especially in the European countries both in and outside of the
European Union. In addition, use of the term “minority” is generally questionable
when referring to the indigenous peoples of Latin America. We are not simply talking
about semantic differences; as de Lucas (1994) tells us, there are at least two meanings
surrounding the term “minority” which could be described as “minority group
rights” and “right to diversity,” and each of them implies different ideological positions and programs: the right to be a minority and as such to be treated as equal to
the majority, or a special right for special people. At the same time, the “right to
diversity” can mean the right to be treated equally despite the differences, or even the
right to be treated differently (de Lucas, 1994; Bobbio, 1994).
According to discussions around the proposed Declaration of Indigenous Rights, the
right to language is seen as an undeniable right and a “basic need” (de Lucas, 1994:105).
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has made explicit reference to the right of all
children to receive an education in the mother tongue which respects familial and cultural
traditions. Nevertheless, some consider linguistic rights a “luxury,” believing them to be
expensive or, worse, elitist, which is a frequent claim made by opponents to the linguistic
policies of Cataluña or the Paìs Vasco. Even in Latin America there are many who assert
that bilingual education is too expensive for such poor countries and who demand an
accounting of the costs of bilingual programs. For educational planners, in this total
confusion of contexts and processes, the indigenous child of Latin America somehow
becomes an “elite”; as we know, this is not the case, but rather the contrary: the indigenous child is the poorest and the least visible. “Does this mean that we are expensive too?”
was the ironic exclamation of Pablino Parapaibo, a Chiquitano leader, on this theme.
In the following pages we will discuss some educational rights of indigenous
children, referring to the nation of Bolivia, where indigenous peoples constitute the
majority of the overall population and even more of the child population. Bilingual
intercultural education is one of the primary demands of the indigenous organizations. As Stavenhagen states, “Much has been written about this issue, mainly from
the point of view of educational institutions, priorities and policies; much less has
been said about the place of children themselves in the framework of multiculturalism” (Stavenhagen, 1994:22). For this reason we have tried in the present work to pay
particular attention to the perceptions of the boys and girls involved.
The first part of this document refers to the Bolivian context within the global
framework of education of indigenous boys and girls. The principal data to be
discussed are the results of a recent sociolinguistic study sponsored by UNICEF
Bolivia, as well as other investigations promoted by the Ministry of Education in the
context of the Educational Reform, with the objective of identifying the basic learning needs of children of different cultural groups. Finally, the opinions of the indigenous children and others from the “minority” groups will be presented with regard to
their education, their linguistic preferences, and the future of their languages.
In the second section we will refer to a specific educational project which was
carried out with the support of the Swedish government. This project recognized the
1
At the time of writing the author worked for UNICEF in La Paz, Bolivia. The author is responsible for all
opinions expressed here, which are not necessarily shared by the institution.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
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linguistic and cultural diversity of the target population and has become an important
referent for a new educational policy which makes interculturalism, bilingualism, and
indigenous participation the principal ejes or foci of a transformation. We will analyze
the results and limitations of the Bilingual Intercultural Education Project (PEIB)
from a dual perspective: children’s school performance and the strengthening or
“empowerment” of indigenous communities.
The third part of this work is “spoken” by the principal protagonists: boys, girls,
parents, community leaders, and teachers. Unlike the prior section, which describes
use of quantitative instruments to analyze school performance, this part treats the
process from an emic perspective, meaning that it is expressed from the point of view
of the subjects involved,2 through testimonies collected during school visits and
meetings with focus groups. There are notable differences in results according to the
perspective taken and the investigative techniques utilized.
Finally, some conclusions and recommendations will be outlined, with the idea of
constructing proposals for education which take diversity into account. We feel that
the principal problem is not the presence of multiple identities and languages but
rather the existence of mechanisms of discrimination and exclusion. Instead of
offering pre-formulated prescriptions, we will indicate some elements which have
strategically important implications in the indigenous Bolivian context. The global
character of the debate about minority rights makes generalizations difficult, and
therefore we will try to contextualize the discussion with all possible precision, at the
risk of being repetitious.
We will also attempt to consider the questions which Rodolfo Stavenhagen presented in a debate sponsored by the ICDC at UNICEF:
What are, indeed, the “best interests of the child” as regards educational
options in a complex environment? How important is the maintenance of a
child’s mother tongue in a foreign environment? How does the use of the
mother tongue in early education enhance the child’s ability to learn and
develop? What is the best mix between the teaching of the mother tongue and
the teaching of the “official” or “national” language? How do educational
institutions strike a balance between the transmittal of the model of a “national culture” (highly valued in unitary states as an instrument of political
control and the building of a common citizenship) and the reproduction of
local or minority culture, valued as a collective human right and put forward
as a claim by members of these cultures? (Stavenhagen, 1994:22)
We believe that some of these questions have been answered in this work, while
others will require further explanation. In Bolivia, that which is different is not necessarily foreign, and its majority indigenous languages are as official and as national as
Spanish (known as Castellano in Bolivia and throughout this paper).
This work would not have been possible without the support of various collaborators, teachers, indigenous and rural community leaders, boys and girls, intellectuals,
and state officials. To all of them I offer my profound appreciation for having raised
my “nomadic consciousness.”3
2
Based on the distinction of Pike between phonetic and phonemic aspects [of language], many social scientists
differentiate between etic and emic approaches to cultural phenomena. An etic approach explains events by
using external instruments and data which are objective and verifiable. An emic approach, on the other hand,
understands a phenomenon by adopting logical categories which are established by the subjects involved (see for
example Harris, 1968).
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
PART 1: Indigenous children and their schooling
1.1 Diversity in Bolivia
Bolivia is characterized by its indigenous core, with the majority of its population
pertaining to more than 30 different ethno-linguistic groups and living in the most
varied ecosystems, from the frigid altiplano, or high plateau, to the plains and the humid
Amazon forests. Although it is known primarily as an Andean nation, a great part of
Bolivia’s territory and its ethnic groups are Amazonian. The Andean groups of Quechua and Aymara account for a few million people, while other groups consist of more
reduced populations. Similarly, some groups completely maintain their traditional
cultural practices, while others have suffered more intense and effective processes of
acculturation. Still, Bolivia continues to be a majority indigenous country.
Despite the difficulties of quantifying the indigenous population by relying on linguistic data which excludes children under 6 years old as well as parts of the population which
have ceased to speak the indigenous language,4 Xavier Albó has undertaken an important
sociolinguistic study, sponsored by UNICEF Bolivia with the contribution of Swedish
cooperation (Sida), at the request of the Technical Team of the Educational Reform
(ETARE). Among the principal findings of the investigation is the important fact that, in
relation to the earlier National Census of 1979, the number of speakers of Castellano is
going up and to a lesser degree the number of monolingual “vernacular language”
speakers is going down.5 This linguistic evolution over the period between 1976 and 1992
corroborates a tendency which was observed earlier by the same author regarding the
period between 1950 and 1976, which was: “[T]here is an apparent advance of Castellano, but its impact on the indigenous languages is less evident: it continues to lead more
to bilingualism than to Castellano monolingualism” (Albó, 1995, Vol. I:28).
This means that gaining bilingual skills, even in diglossic situations,6 does not
necessarily mean suffering loss of the mother tongue. This is evidenced in numerous
situations, among them the traditional Aymara zones and the Guaraní zone of Eiti.
In the latter case, more than 95 percent of the population speaks Guaraní, despite the
fact that 77 percent also know Castellano (Albó, 1995, Vol. II:4). Evidently, the case
of Eiti is an extreme example,7 but it is an important reference point for a language
3
“Having nomadic consciousness means not considering any identity permanent. The nomad is always on the
move… Epistemological nomadism…does not exclude more ‘sedentary’ institutionalized practices, and permits
one to play better on the institutional team” (Braidotti, 1995:40).
4
In this respect, the same author states, “[T]his questionable decision to eliminate children can create distortions as
much in the basic data as in subsequent planning measures, especially if we consider that this age range is the
most numerous and is the one which will be enrolling in the educational system. Worldwide, the number of
children between 0 and 5 is 21.5% higher than the total of children ages 6 and over, though there may be
differences between places” (Albó, 1995, Vol. I:5). The author proposes a formula which calculates the language
of children under 6, including those who do not yet speak, based on a comparison of the linguistic knowledge of
the group between 6 and 9 years with the group between 10 and 19 years (Albó, 1995, Vol. I:19).
5
We use the term “vernacular language” as UNESCO does, in the sense of “a language which is the mother
tongue of a group which is socially or politically dominated by another group speaking a different language”
(UNESCO, 1953:46). As such the term “vernacular language” emphasises the type of relationship which exists
between the languages.
6
According to Fishman, diglossia is the close correlation between utilization of one of the two linguistic codes and
one’s social class and/or certain social functions (Fishman, 1975).
7
The Guaraní zone of Eiti, apart from presenting the abovementioned sociolinguistic characteristics, is also an
unique place because of the articulation between new authorities and traditional ones (mburuvicha guasu).
The educational nucleus or school cluster of Eiti was incorporated into the PEIB project from its inception.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
13
policy which is directed toward a multilingual Bolivia, where the majority of inhabitants are bilingual, as opposed to a monolingual Castellano-speaking Bolivia.
The following is a synthesis of linguistic evolution in Bolivia, taking into account
only the data expressed in percentages:
Table 1: Linguistic evolution 1976 to 1992
Language ability
1976
1992
Speak Castellano
78.8
87.4
Speak Quechua
39.7
34.3
Speak Aymara
28.8
23.0
1.1
1.6
Only speak Castellano
36.3
41.7
Only speak an indigenous language
20.4
11.5
All
6 + years
Speak other indigenous languages
Ages covered
(Albó, 1995, Vol. I:23)
Another piece of very important data from the study concerns the cities and their
multilingual character. With very few exceptions, the majority of Bolivian cities
contain high percentages of indigenous peoples who continue to speak their own
languages. The continuous flow of migration from the countryside to the city keeps
the vernacular languages alive despite the rapidly growing access to Castellano (Albó,
1995, Vol. II:69–113). The following is a synthesis of the percentages of Quechua
and Aymara speakers in the major cities of the country:
Table 2: Aymara and Quechua speakers in cities
City
Cochabamba
El Alto
% Aymara
% Quechua
9
50
60
8
La Paz
40
10
Oruro
22
40
Potosí
2
69
Santa Cruz
4
12
Sucre
2
60
Tarija
3
14
60
5
Viacha
(Albó, 1995, Vol. II:69)
The most interesting aspect is that even in those cities considered most monolingual in Castellano, such as Tarija or Santa Cruz, a good percentage of the population
speaks one of the two majority indigenous languages. With the exception of La Paz
and El Alto, in the other Andean cities, in any neighborhood, approximately onethird of the population speaks Quechua or Aymara. Potosí being the most extreme
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
case of the departmental capitals, only one of its neighborhoods has less than 50
percent vernacular language speakers (Albó, 1995, Vol. II:71).
Based on the existing data, Albó identifies many different sociolinguistic situations
which would merit differential treatment, according to linguistic loyalty to the original
language,8 the sociolinguistic context, and the geographic location. In reality we can
note that all of Bolivia is characterized by diversity, such that even the Political
Constitution of the State recognizes it.
The school is also a diverse context, where classes are quite heterogeneous in age
and there are many multigrade classrooms. At the linguistic level, it is not rare to
encounter in one single classroom many sociolinguistic contexts, on a continuum
which ranges from monolingualism in one language to monolingualism in another,
passing through different levels of skills of both languages. In certain cases there are
more than two languages involved, as in areas of colonization or trilingual enclaves,
where one vernacular language which is prestigious in other geographical areas may
be transformed into a language of lesser prestige in the presence of another vernacular. It is difficult to mark the frontiers in dynamic demographic contexts: even in
zones which are more linguistically and culturally homogeneous, there are always
differences in a classroom which can become contexts for exclusion. For example, in
multigrade classrooms—found in a high percentage of rural indigenous schools—
where students pertain to heterogeneous age groups, the teacher usually manages to
pay more attention to the older ones, forgetting about the younger ones. Advances in
learning can also constitute indicators used to exclude, stigmatize and discriminate
against those who learn more slowly or in another way, or those who simply do not
understand what the teacher is saying in an unknown language.
At this point it may be worth stressing that this is a country with not only
sociolinguistic differences but also cultural and social-organizational ones. Even if
particular linguistic, cultural, and ethnic group identities are not so evident, it is
calculated that there are approximately 30 ethnic groups in Bolivia. Due to the
cultural distance which exists between the various ethnic groups, as well as between these groups and the dominant society, there are many different ways of
perceiving and categorizing reality, social relations, time and space. Concepts
which are so common in education, such as “knowing,” “intelligence,” and
“teaching,” can have different backgrounds and interpretations. For example, in
certain Quechua communities, according to investigations undertaken by Ruperto
Romero, a young Bolivian educational psychologist, the adjective ch’iki, commonly translated as “intelligent,” actually incorporates a much broader semantic
field which ranges from cognitive categories to social behavior.9 The testimony of
a Quechua peasant farmer, as quoted by the same author, synthesizes the amplitude of their concept of intelligence:
El ch’iki es buen hijo, los demás se fijan como hace él, no es flojo, cuando hay que hacer
juntos él controla a los demás, trabajaremos, haremos, dice, piensa, a la gente les dice así
haremos, piensa bien, dicen ellos. El puede hacer bien dicen, así debemos hacer, dicen
8
The author measures linguistic loyalty by comparing the percentage of speakers of a language from two age
groups: the age 6 to 9 group and the group over 50. Linguistic loyalty is high, good, average, or low if the
percentage holds, respectively, at over 90%, between 80 and 89%, between 50 and 79%, or under 50%.
9
The same author provides the following definitions given by adults from the population regarding a child who is
ch’iki: reflective, prudent, rational, creative, has a good memory, correct, mature, responsible, obliging, honest,
sensitive, obedient, respectful, cordial, hard-working, speaks well (also coherently and with good vocabulary),
pays attention, learns well in school, has ability, has manual and artistic skills (Romero, 1994:118).
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
15
mirando eso…es prudente, no habla sonseras, habla correctamente, no quiere sólo para él
quiere para todos. Hay otros en cambio que quieren sólo para ellos, para robar, para pegar,
para quitar, para eso son ingeniosos,…ellos no son ch’iki porque son abusivos, sólo sirven
para hacer daño a la gente.
The one who is ch’iki is a good son [or daughter], the others notice how he does
things, he is not lazy, when there is something to do together he controls the
others, we work, we do things, he says, he thinks, to the people he says this is the
way we do it, he is right, they say. He can do it well, they say, that is the way we
must do it, they say watching him…he is prudent, he does not say foolish things,
he speaks correctly, he doesn’t want something just for himself but for others. On
the other hand there are others who want something only for themselves, to rob,
to hit, to take away, they are ingenious in these ways…they are not ch’iki because
they are abusive, they only exist to hurt people. (Romero, 1994:117)
The Guaraní language translates “knowledge” as two different words, arakuaa
(literally “knowledge about the world”) and ñemboe (“what is learned from the
word”). The first concept is consistently related to the elders and the home culture,
while the other, which is sometimes used more in the sense of skills, is mainly connected with the school, though it is not necessarily limited to that context. From this
we can infer that “wisdom” does not pertain to an education from school. With
reference to arakuaa, Gustafson, an anthropologist who speaks Guaraní, recorded
the following explanation which took place in a very traditional community:
– Y esta sabiduría (el arakuaa) ¿les da la escuela?
– No, porque en la escuela se aprende como karaí.10
– And this wisdom (arakuaa), is it provided by the school?
– No, because at school one learns like a karaí [white person].
(Gustafson, 1994:13)
1.2 Education versus diversity
The diverse context indicated in the section above has been considered the main
obstacle for statisticians, planners, and educators who, since the dawn of the Republic, have conceived the educational system as a means of erasing differences and
constructing a homogeneous nation. For the indigenous person this creates a conflict
between “an identity in which it is not possible to recognize oneself and an identity
which has not been recognized” (Amadio, 1989:436). Even as late as 1993, a former
President of the Republic raised doubts about the necessity of teaching reading and
writing in languages like Quechua and Aymara, saying:
Obviamente, lo que hay que hacer es incorporar a esas masas a la corriente principal del
país occidentalizado mediante programas de educación especial que comiencen por enseñar el
castellano y alfabetizar a esas poblaciones porque sin tales instrumentos básicos, hablar de su
incorporación al país oficial, hispanoparlante y occidentalizado, sería pueril.
Obviously what remains to be done is to incorporate those masses into the
main current of the Westernized nation through special educational programs
10
Karaí is the name the Guarani use to refer to white people.
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
which begin by teaching Castellano and literacy to those populations, because
without such basic instruments, speaking of their incorporation into the
official nation, which is Spanish-speaking and Westernized, would be futile.
(Guevara Arce, 1993:21)
There has already been a great deal written about the manifestations and consequences
of educational policy on indigenous populations, not only in Bolivia but in all of Latin
America. There are statistics and testimonies which provide evidence of the terrible cost
of schooling to indigenous peoples of Bolivia, as much in cultural terms as in economic
ones. According to official data from UNESCO, the problem of school success is more
serious for the rural indigenous areas where “after completing four grades, half of the
students do not understand what they are reading” (UNESCO, 1993:27).11 In addition
it is noteworthy that, according to UNESCO data, the Latin America and Caribbean
region spends almost one-third of its public primary education budget on school repetition (Schiefelbein, 1995:18), and that in Bolivia the cost of repetition is approximately
30 million dollars annually (Schiefelbein and Heikkinen, 1991).
At the cultural and socio-organizational level, the school has imposed an even
higher cost, beginning with the imposition of a religious faith and the subsequent
prohibition of traditional cultural practices and beliefs. The educational history of
Bolivia, precisely like that of other countries with indigenous populations, demonstrates that schooling has been a means of domination of the indigenous identity.
Félix Santos, national leader of the highest peasant organization, told me that he only
went school for a few years but his teacher would often ask him, “Do you want to be
an Indian or do you want to be intelligent?” This summarizes the perspective which
agents of the educational system can have about their role and function. This view
exists up to present and we encounter it constantly in the discourse and practice of
the educational system. Only a few years ago Gustafson reported that, in the libro de
actas (book which reports school actions) of a school in a Guaraní community, a
Mestiza (Spanish-speaking) teacher wrote, “We have advanced as far as the word uña
[fingernail] but since this is a new school and besides they are Guaraní, it will be
necessary for all to repeat from the beginning” (Gustafson, 1994:19; our underline).
That teacher’s perception is reflected by the statistics. Indigenous children who speak
native languages have higher levels of repetition than monolingual Hispanic children.
According to the Bolivian Educational Reform data, the indigenous population has
almost double the probability of repetition (40 percent versus 23 percent for nonindigenous students) (ETARE, 1993b). At times repetition is “obligatory” and is not
based on actual school performance, so that the result is that many children, and
especially indigenous girls in the rural areas, repeat grades because there are no more
levels offered in their communities and no opportunities to continue studying in other
places. At times it is simply a matter of mathematics, such as needing to maintain a
certain balance in the teacher-student ratio. In these cases repetition of a number of
children from one grade level permits the community to retain the ítem (paid position
for one teacher) and in this way assure the survival of the school.12
11
The same source states that these averages are also found in the marginal areas of countries such as Venezuela
and Chile. Perhaps for this reason planners of policy and of educational programs seem to be more concerned
about pedagogical questions than about linguistic ones (see Schiefelbein, 1995 on this issue).
12
Many indigenous communities in Bolivia have access only to one-room schoolhouses which provide only the first
three years of primary education, despite the fact that official data claim there is a very good teacher-student ratio.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
17
One study done by Johns Hopkins University on maternal-infant health among the
indigenous and non-indigenous populations of Bolivia and Guatemala states that improvements in the mother’s education or in potable water supply are not associated with
similar improvements in mortality rates in either population. At the same time, it appears
that “the abilities which education provides to indigenous women and non-indigenous
women are different” (Robles, 1994:249). The same study finds that “membership in the
indigenous population presumes a disadvantage which persists even when economic and
social conditions are improved” (Ibid.). It is evident that we are talking about the subjection
of indigenous peoples to additional disadvantage in terms of cultural and skin-color
discrimination. No matter what her level of study, an indigenous woman, particularly if
she is de pollera,13 is more susceptible to poor treatment based on certain stereotypes.
Linguistic and cultural discrimination have been the rule in the Bolivian education
system, and Castellano has been the only national language utilized in the school and its
textbooks. This blindness toward multilingualism has been such that not even the
intended “Castillianization” has had the desired effects, for it has not been planned; that
is to say, Spanish has simply been used in the schools without being taught according to
appropriate methods for the teaching of a second language. In this respect, it is possible
to say that the school itself has contributed more to the loss of values and knowledge
than to the acquisition of new values and knowledge, even alien knowledge. As Tedesco
notes, for other indigenous parts of Latin America regarding the school:
[V]astos sectores de la población no sufrieron tanto la imposición de un código cultural
distinto, como la destrucción del propio. Dicho en términos más precisos, si por un lado estos
sectores no fueron considerados como destinatarios legítimos de la cultura dominante, por el
otro sufrieron la destrucción de las bases sociales y materiales que alimentaban el desarrollo
de su cultura autóctona.
[V]ast sectors of the population suffered not so much the imposition of a
distinct cultural code as the destruction of their own code. In more precise
terms, if on one hand these sectors were not considered legitimate receivers of
the dominant culture, on the other hand they suffered the destruction of the
social and material bases which fed development of their indigenous culture.
(Tedesco, 1985:8)
As we have already said in another work (D’Emilio and Albó, 1991) the dis-educational function of the school presents alarming aspects in a country such as Bolivia
with an indigenous majority. The indigenous child is constantly exposed to an educational system which negates his/her identity and, as we now recognize, is used to
discriminate against him/her even further. Even now, when the official political
discourse of the Bolivian state calls for an education which respects the languages and
cultures of children, adolescents studying at teacher training institutions are prohibited from wearing indigenous clothing. These are recent stories which perpetuate the
practice of exclusion to which children, especially indigenous girls, and their parents
have been exposed.14 Another element of identity which is constantly affected by the
13
In Bolivia women are commonly differentiated as mujeres de vestido (women with dresses) or mujeres de pollera
(women with skirts), depending on their type of clothing. The pollera is a combination of skirts used widely by
Andean women.
14
Even the wife of the current indigenous Vice President of the country, Señora Lidia Katari de Cardenas, an
Aymara teacher by profession, has been prohibited a number of times from exercising her profession because she
was wearing indigenous clothing.
18
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
educational system and by society as a whole is the person’s name. There are many
who, for one reason or another, find themselves changing their first or family names. I
recall an enrollment session for students in an Amazonic indigenous community
where finally, for the first time, the long-awaited teacher had arrived. This teacher,
who did not speak one word of the community language, tried to explain to parents
why it was important to enroll their children under other names. At times he depended on phonology (“Mateo is better than Matiwa, and it sounds almost the same”), and
other times by gender (“Ukamo is better than Ukama because men’s names end in
‘o’”). When the first day of class finally arrived and the students appeared dressed in
the best indigenous outfits and adornments, their faces painted with achiote (traditional dye), it was this same teacher who sent them immediately to wash their faces.
Later he picked up a pair of scissors and cut the hair of all of the boys, because “only
girls have long hair.”15
Regarding this divergence between teachers, students and parents, some testimonies from the colonized Aymara zones are revealing: “Parents and teachers will blame
each other, engaging in mutual mud-slinging, for the school failure experienced by
new generations” (Rivera, 1994:106). Another from the same investigation is: “Nevertheless, a deeper problem has recently been detected, a source of ‘non-well-being in
the culture,’ as an explanation of the problem of the hierarchies and the permanent
devaluation of our own knowledge and wisdom” (Ibid.:106).
In a careful analysis of the educational situation in the indigenous areas, one
document of the Confederación Sindical Unica de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia (United
Peasants’ Union of Bolivia) states:
La educación nos ha metido la idea de que era malo todo lo nuestro: la lengua, las costumbres, la vestimenta, nuestro pensamiento y nuestra tierra; muchos escolares se avergüenzan de
ser campesinos, quechuas, aimaras, guaraníes etc… La prohibición en el uso de su lengua
materna acompleja a los niños, les hace sentir como si fueran inútiles; por eso no toman
ninguna iniciativa y se mantienen callados.
Education has given us the idea that everything that was ours was bad: the
language, the customs, the clothing, our thinking and our land; many educated people are ashamed of being peasants, Quechuas, Aymaras, Guaranís
etc… Prohibition of the use of the mother tongue gives children a complex, it
makes them feel useless; for this reason they do not take any initiative and they
remain silent.
(CSUTCB, 1991:6–7)
Among the indigenous groups in the eastern part of the country, some traditional
authorities began the work of raising awareness regarding education in the mother
tongue. One pioneer was Bonifacio Barrientos, the now-deceased Great Leader of
the Guaraní of Isoso. His son, Homónimo, also took up in defense of bilingual
education, remembering the difficulty of his personal experience:
Yo he sufrido cuando fui a la escuela. No podía entender en castellano: los profesores me han
tratado de burro, que soy tonto, pero si me hubiesen hablado en guaraní, yo les hubiese podido
15
Another interesting story about name changes is told by Lusiku Qhispi Mamani, transformed through the ups
and downs of life into Luciano Tapia, an indigenous Aymara leader, in his recent autobiography. Remembering
these changes in identity, he says, “I was like something suspended in a vacuum” (Tapia, 1995:171).
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
19
contestar bien. Cuando me enseñaban a leer, claro, leía pero no entendía nada. Por eso hemos
visto que hay necesidad de estudiar en el mismo idioma, porque aquí en el Isoso hablamos
desde chiquitos hasta morir el guaraní. Rara persona habla castellano; especialmente las
mujeres, no saben de este idioma, peor nuestras mamás.
I have suffered when I went to school. I couldn’t understand in Castellano: the
teachers treated me like a donkey, like I am stupid, but if they had spoken to
me in Guaraní, I would have been able to answer well. When they taught me
to read, of course, I read but I didn’t understand a thing. For this reason we
have seen that it is necessary to study in one’s own language, because here in
Isoso from the time we are small up until death we speak Guaraní. Few people
speak Castellano; especially the women, they don’t know that language, much
less our mothers (elder women).
(Gottret et al., 1995)
1.3 Educational needs of indigenous boys and girls
There has been a lot of talk since the World Conference on Education for All about
“basic learning needs,” and many insist that educational systems must identify these
needs and satisfy them in working toward more equity in schooling. The World
Declaration of Education for All defines basic learning needs in this way:
Estas necesidades abarcan tanto las herramientas esenciales para el aprendizaje (como la
lectura y la escritura, la expresión oral, el cálculo, la solución de problemas), como los
contenidos básicos del aprendizaje (conocimientos teóricos y prácticos, valores y actitudes)
necesarios para que los seres humanos puedan sobrevivir, desarrollar plenamente sus capacidades, vivir y trabajar con dignidad, participar plenamente en el desarrollo, mejorar la
calidad de su vida, tomar decisiones fundamentales y continuar aprendiendo. La amplitud de
las necesidades básicas de aprendizaje y la manera de satisfacerlas varían según cada país y
cada cultura y cambian inevitablemente en el transcurso del tiempo.
These needs cover all of the tools necessary for learning (such as reading and
writing, oral expression, basic calculations, problem solving) as well as the
basic academic contents of learning (theoretical and practical knowledge,
values and attitudes) necessary for human beings to survive, develop their
abilities to their full extent, live and work with dignity, participate fully in their
own development, improve the quality of their lives, make fundamental
decisions and continue learning. The range of basic learning needs and the
manner in which they are satisfied vary according to each country and each
culture, and inevitably change over the course of time.
(WCEFA, 1990:2)16
In the context of elaborating the proposal for the Educational Reform of the country,
various ethnographic investigations were undertaken related to the basic learning
needs of different populations.17 All of them coincide in stating that a basic need of
16
There has been a very interesting debate in Latin America and around the world about basic learning needs and,
more concretely, whether they involve only individual needs or also collective ones.
17
We refer mainly to the work of Javier Macera (1995) with the Chimanes; Bret Gustafson (1994) with the
Guaranís of Tarija; Silvia Rivera with the Aymana in the zones of colonization; and Diez Astete (1994) with the
Amazonic groups of Mojeño and Siriono.
20
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
learning is language and identity or, more correctly, languages and identities, because
as explained above we are talking about the manifestation of multiple contexts, in a
diverse country where many languages, cultures, and socio-organizational unities
coexist, and where Castellano is no more necessary than any other national language
to the one who speaks it.18
Another basic need connected to the above is to have a teacher who shares the
language and culture, though this situation of socio-cultural proximity or group
membership often puts the indigenous teacher in an ambiguous position due to the
conflict of roles and logic which can present itself. In this sense, we have gathered
various testimonies from colonized Aymara zones as well as Amazonic ethnic groups,
for example:
Para mi, para ser un profesor modelo tendría que tener…más que todo esa relación, esa
confianza con la comunidad, tendría que ser un nativo de cada comunidad, a pesar de que
veo en cada ambiente comunal, cada ambiente social a una persona que quizás ha nacido
ahí, ha vivido siempre, hay esa discrepancia de que es uno de aquí, que sabe el por qué va dar
situaciones no sé tal vez falta de mucha confianza o a veces falta de respeto entre nosotros
porque si uno vino de allá, es lo mismo que el que sale de ahí (misma comunidad), tiene los
mismos derechos, las mismas cualidades, a pesar que todavía el que puede salir de ahí puede
tener la prioridad todavía de hacer crecer major o poder darse el 100 porciento de la enseñanza, en el crecimiento educativo. Pero a veces el reverso es, también, se creen uno superiores a
unos, a veces es un poco incrédulo también el tipo ¿no? ¿Nace de ahí no?
To me, to be a model teacher, one would have to have…more than anything
that relationship, that mutual trust with the community, one would have to be
a native of each community, despite the fact that I see that in each community
environment, each social environment to someone who perhaps has been
born there, has always lived there, there is that discrepancy in that it is someone from here, someone who knows why there are situations like, I don’t
know, maybe lack of mutual trust or at times lack of respect between us,
because if one came from far away, it is the same as the one who comes from
here (the same community), he has the same rights, the same qualities, despite
the fact that he can still leave here, he can still have the priority of [making
students] grow more or being able to give 100 percent to teaching, to his
educational growth. But at times the reverse is, also, one believes one is
superior to others, at times it’s almost unbelievable that type of person, isn’t
it? The one who’s born here, you know?
(Rivera, 1994:52)
I encountered the same contradiction a few years ago in indigenous communities of
the Peruvian Amazon (D’Emilio, 1985). On one hand an indigenous teacher is demanded by the community, and on the other hand he is not completely accepted
because he does not fulfill his sociocultural obligations, or because he does not know
much more than the others. Macera also detected, among the Chimanes of Bolivia,
the same tension between ethnic group membership and teaching obligations:
18
Silvia Rivera arrives at the conclusion that in the colonized area of los Yungas, the language against which there
is most discrimination is not Aymara but “Castimillano” (from Castellano and imilla, which means “young
woman” in Aymara), “which is what bilingual people often say to ridicule popular Andean Castellano” (Rivera,
1994:106).
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
21
El profesor experimenta en varios sentidos, dificultades en su adecuación a la comunidad.
Primero, su condición de asalariado lo coloca en una posición social particular, distanciándolo de los demás chimanes. Esto se manifiesta en una falta de consenso en la comunidad
acerca de las formas de colaboración en trabajo y productos alimenticios… En algunos
casos, el profesor fluctúa entre el retorno a su vida tradicional y las obligaciones escolares.
The teacher experiences various feelings, difficulties in his adaptation to the
community. First, his salaried position puts him in a certain social position,
distancing him from the other Chimanes. This is manifested in a lack of
consensus in the community about the forms of collaboration in work and
food products … In some cases, the teacher vacillates between returning to a
traditional life and fulfilling his school obligations.
(Macera, 1995:77)
Another educational need of indigenous children is that of membership in a community group which can be maintained as such. According to official statistics, almost
one-third of the ethnic groups in Bolivia are in a high state of vulnerability, which is
understood as “…the combination and interaction of factors related to domination
with negative effects on their dynamism and internal processes, altering the combination of social, economic, and cultural systems and institutions to the degree that they
are situated in a critical threshold of a process which conducts them to their physical
disappearance or dissolution as peoples (SAE, 1994). Therefore it is important to
consider that in the same way that there are various linguistic and cultural manifestations, there are also multiple systems of both internal and external exclusion and
discrimination, which in certain cases take the form of racism, prejudice, and stereotypes, which not only refer to the relation between indigenous and non-indigenous
people, but also extend to other internal and external forms of discrimination, for
example that of gender or of sub-groups. There is, for example, a great deal of
discrimination between inhabitants of the Andean zones (called disrespectfully
“collas”) and from the plains (called “cambas”), and this discrimination transcends
ethnic origin or pertinence to a certain social class.
We will now attempt to report the opinions of the actual children about education
and language use. We refer to a survey of 176 indigenous boys and girls at primary
school level. The majority (76 percent) was Guaraní, 3 percent were Guarayo, and the
rest were Chiquitano. Among all of these indigenous peoples there has been a movement to recuperate linguistic and cultural practices as well as pedagogical practices,
especially among the Guaraní. Half of the children surveyed had been exposed to an
experimental project in bilingual intercultural education, though only for a few years
(23.3 percent for one year, and 14 percent for the five years of primary schooling).
The majority of students spoke as a mother tongue the indigenous language of their
respective groups, but 29.5 percent of the boys and girls spoke Castellano as a mother
tongue.
The investigation was carried out in the framework of the Guaraní Teacher
Training Program and was applied to students in this program, under the direction of
the Guaraní professor Herlan Ayreyu. The study results provide some indications of
the perceptions of children about their culture, their language, and their people,
trying in addition to capture the value these have for the children. As one would
imagine, these themes are quite complex to be captured through questionaires done
22
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
by young investigators. Nevertheless, all of the investigators spoke the indigenous
language and utilized open questioning techniques.19
According to the survey mentioned, 82 percent of the children like or would like
(depending on whether or not they were involved in this educational form) to study in
their mother tongues, even if they are already bilingual. The same children (about 70
percent) had explained why, through responses that covered advantages that are
generally cognitive (for example, “We learn better” or “It is easier”), linguistic (“We
understand more,” “We always talk”), or affective (“I like it better”). Almost 10
percent of the children give responses which note the cultural strengthening of their
respective groups.
In relation to the future of the indigenous languages, 73 percent of the children
(especially those with indigenous mother tongues) were optimistic regarding their
maintenance: “It is not going to be lost.” Regarding the reasons for their optimism,
30 percent referred to oral language use (“Everyone speaks it”); 15 percent referred to
daily practice and also to its written use in education: 38 percent of those who indicated optimism regarding the future of their languages see great potential in the
writing system to maintain the language: “We already write in it,” “There are already
books,” “We already study this language, “There are already teachers.” It is interesting to note that one’s mother tongue (indigenous or Castellano) corresponds significantly with one’s expectations for the future of the indigenous language, as demonstrated in the table below, where students whose mother tongue is Castellano are
indicated separately from those who speak Guaraní, Chiquitano, or Guarayo as a first
language.
Table 3: Future of the indigenous languages, by language spoken
Language spoken
Will be lost
Will not be lost
Don’t know
Indigenous L1 (68%)
5.6%
56.8%
5.6%
Castellano L1 (32%)
12.3%
17.3%
2.5%
Total
17.9%
74.1%
8.1%
Some children who think that the indigenous language will disappear make
reference to the influence of external causes, others to affective factors (“Young
people now don’t want to speak it”). One child maintained that the language was
going to be lost “because those who speak it are dying,” referring to its use which is
limited to elders.
Regarding the children’s evaluation of non-indigenous children, the results reveal
a vast range of perceptions: 58 percent consider them different, 32 percent equal and
others do not know or did not respond. Analysis of the responses brings us directly
into the contemporary debate over differences between identities and the many ways
of perceiving them, analyzing them and putting them into practice. The differences
most often noted pertain to socioeconomic conditions; more than 46 percent consider
non-indigenous children different because “They are rich,” “They have land,” “They
have herds.” Children also mention linguistic and cultural differences, but in lower
19
The processing of this information was done with the invaluable collaboration of Gustavo Gottret.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
23
percentages. For 18 percent the difference is expressed in terms of superiority of nonindigenous people (“They are more intelligent,” “They are better”). Children recognize that many differences are associated with greater or lesser opportunities in
education, but that there is a human condition which pertains to all (“They suffer the
same way,” “They are people,” “We are all people”).
24
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
PART 2: Toward education for pluralism: Case studies
2.1 The educational reform in Bolivia
In both the official discourse and the legal corpus, Bolivia has made important
advances in recognizing indigenous rights, as well as the rights of children and women. Regarding indigenous rights, Bolivia was among the first countries to ratify the
International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention Concerning Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, known as ILO Convention
169, in 1989. In addition Bolivia has promoted dialogue on the Indigenous Decade
and the Iberian American Indigenous Fund, and in recent years has increased indigenous participation in public administration. In education, new legislation adopts
interculturalidad (interculturalism, or intercultural values) as the focus which drives the
school curriculum, and recognizes that:
La multietnicidad boliviana obliga al sistema educativo a imaginar y desarrollar estrategias
que permitan asegurar la autoafirmación social y cultural de los ciudadanos, a partir de lo
que son y desde sus proprios paradigmas y matrices socioculturales, por muy diferentes que
ellos sean. Pero, a la vez, impone contribuir a la articulación de todas esas diferencias, de
manera tal que paulatinamente se construya unidad en base a los ideales y valores compartidos: Uno de ellos es, precisamente el de la interculturalidad.
Multiple ethnicity in Bolivia obliges the educational system to imagine and
develop strategies which assure the social and cultural self-affirmation of its
citizens, based on what they are and through their own paradigms and sociocultural frameworks, even if they are very different from each other. But at the
same time, it imposes participation in the articulation of all those differences,
such that gradually unity is constructed based on shared ideals and values;
one of these is precisely that of interculturalism.
(ETARE, 1993a:59)
The Educational Reform Law recognizes the important role played by the different
languages play in public education and important efforts have been made to think of
each school as a multilingual place. Article 10, paragraph 14 of the Educational
Reform Law says:
La Educación boliviana es intercultural y bilingüe, asume la heterogeneidad sociocultural del
país en un ambiente de tolerancia que promueve la unidad nacional y la diversidad.
Bolivian education is intercultural and bilingual, and incorporates the sociocultural heterogeneity of the country in an ambience of tolerance which
promotes national unity and diversity.
(Republic of Bolivia, Law 1565–10, 1994)
Article 10 refers to how language is to be used, establishing bilingual education for all
speakers of the vernacular; at the same time it allows for the teaching of an indigenous language to monolingual Castellano speakers. It deals as such with a total
change at the legislative level. For teachers, speaking an indigenous language now
becomes a comparative advantage in applying for different positions established by
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
25
the Educational Reform, and there is an increased demand for teaching native languages everywhere, including the cities.
The intercultural focus is not restricted to the education of indigenous populations but covers the entire population of the country:
La adopción de la interculturalidad contribuirá no sólo a la construcción de un modelo
educativo más relevante y pertinente para la sociedad boliviana sino también a concebir la
pluriculturalidad del país como recurso de un desarrollo distinto y de una articulación
democrática de todas esas partes que juntas componen Bolivia. Si algo identifica a Bolivia en
el mundo no es la síntesis de lo diverso, sino la heterogeneidad de formas de vida y la
pluralidad de lenguajes hablados en el país.
The adoption of interculturalism will contribute not only to the construction
of an educational model which is more relevant and pertinent to Bolivian
society, but also to a conception of the multicultural nature of the country as
a resource for a distinct kind of development and the democratic articulation
of all of these parts which together compose Bolivia. If there is something
which distinguishes Bolivia in the world it is not the synthesis of diversity but
the heterogeneity of lifestyles and multiplicity of languages spoken in the
country.
(ETARE, 1993a:59–60)
In recent years many important accomplishments have been achieved for the educational rights of children, indigenous groups, and women. However, it should not be
forgotten that in some cases the rights of some conflict with the rights (and interests)
of others, and it is not easy to reconcile totally divergent points of view. Like in other
parts of the world, cultural identity in Bolivia is not a matter of consensus, and daily
discrimination practices can not be changed merely by passing laws or modifying the
discourse. In addition, as is quite common in Latin America at times, public policies
do not last any longer than one governmental administration, which is a problem for
any project which attempts to implement long-term change in a sustained and sustainable manner. In Bolivia there is currently a good legal and conceptual framework,
yet what seems to be lacking is dynamism and flexibility in its implementation.
2.2 The bilingual intercultural education project: Brief history
Between the old educational policy and the new chapter brought to the classroom by
the Educational Reform, there were concrete educational projects which tried for
many years to articulate the educational demands and needs of the indigenous groups
by offering bilingual intercultural education, and by introducing mechanisms of social
participation and control of schooling. We refer here to one particular experiment:
the Bilingual Intercultural Education Project (PEIB) which was initiated in 1990 in
114 rural schools with three majority indigenous languages, Quechua, Aymara, and
Guaraní, and grew to include more than 10 different ethnolinguistic groups. The
project was carried out by the Ministry of Education and Culture, with the technical
and financial support of UNICEF and various donors, especially the Swedish government through Sida.
26
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
From the beginning, the project relied on the support of the Confederación Sindical
Unica de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia (the United Peasants’ Union of Bolivia, or
CSUTCB), the Confederación Indígena del Oriente Boliviano (the Indigenous Federation of
Eastern Bolivia), and the Asamblea del Pueblo Guaraní (Assembly of the Guaraní People,
or APG), becoming a forum for negotiation between these social organizations and
the State, in the framework of the Educational Reform. Some indigenous leaders
became totally integrated into the work of the project from its planning to its evaluation. Contrary to what some have thought (Muñoz, 1994), the demand for bilingual
intercultural education in Bolivia did not come from intellectuals nor from research
centers but from the bosom of these same organizations.20 Undoubtedly the intellectuals have been involved, but their role has not been so much the protagonist, with
some exceptions as in the case of the indigenous intellectuals, among them the former
Vice President of the Republic, Víctor Hugo Cárdenas Conde.21
Among the main strategies of the project, in addition to indigenous participation,
it is appropriate to note the following:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Capitalization on national and international experiences, taking particular
account of experiences in neighboring countries with the same languages;
Coordination of efforts between the public sector and civilian society,
especially in the form of indigenous organizations and NGOs
(non-governmental organizations);
Linguistic standardization for developing written forms of the languages
involved. Those involved in the process of standardization have considered
as much as possible advances made in other countries with the same languages;
Training of national human resources for administration of bilingual
intercultural education programs;
Participation of parents in the schools;
Identification of intermediate levels of educational planning and management
which can cooperate with indigenous social organizations.
Bilingual strategies were implemented in the classroom beginning with the first grade,
and each year the next level was added until all five years of basic education were
covered. Education began in the mother tongue of the children, with the gradual
introduction of Castellano through second language teaching methods.22 The project
was designed to be implemented in communities with monolingual speakers of the
vernacular; nevertheless, in practice, due either to pressure from local organizations
or to unintentional errors in school selection, PEIB was also implemented in many
communities with high rates of bilingualism.
Processes of linguistic and educational planning were initiated some years ago,
with the participation of the indigenous organizations, for the schooling of children
from Amazonic and other groups in eastern Bolivia. In only three years they were
20
On this topic see also López (1995c).
21
Other indigenous intellectuals have also contributed to the reflection on schooling and education. We are
reminded of Felix Layme, among others, and the group of investigators involved in the Oral History Workshop
(Taller de Historia Oral Andina).
22
Two types of Castellano materials have been developed: one type for Guaraní and another for Quechua and
Aymara children, since the latter two languages present the same types of interference with Castellano in phonology and syntax. The project used a complete package of didactic materials and guides for the first five years of basic
education in the main areas of the curriculum: language, mathematics, social sciences, and natural sciences.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
27
able to obtain quite positive results by using an operative strategy different from that
used by the three earlier indigenous language groups. One major contextual difference was the lack of indigenous teachers for many Amazonic groups, which caused
them to prioritize human resource development and training in implementing bilingual intercultural education (EIB) in the classroom. Other differences were the scarce
written tradition among the Amazonic languages and the lack of orthographic
norms.
In the following section we will discuss the principal results obtained in implementation of the five years of EIB in the three major indigenous languages. We will
consider two aspects: first, school performance of the children and second, processes
of empowerment of the communities and indigenous organizations.
2.3 Results in terms of student performance
After five years of EIB implementation, various results were obtained. To begin with,
in Bolivia, contrary to what had happened in many other similar projects in the
region, the number of schools involved in the project rose constantly, along with
enrollment rates, until finally the project could not meet the demands of the communities due to lack of bilingual teachers. This occurred especially in the Guaraní area
where, when EIB implementation began in 1990, only 10 percent of the teachers in
service spoke Guaraní. This increase in demand for EIB also occurred among the
other ethnic minority groups, not only those who predominantly spoke the vernacular
language, but also groups which had begun to lose their ancestral language. In this
context, application of EIB methodology began in 1990 with the first grade in 114
Quechua, Aymara, and Guaraní schools, and by 1995 covered the five grades of basic
education in 140 schools. Unfortunately, to continue their studies, PEIB students
would have to pass on to intermediate level schools where the only language used by
the teacher would be Castellano.
From the beginning, the Bilingual Intercultural Education Project designed and
implemented a system for longitudinal evaluation to monitor the children’s performance throughout basic schooling and, at the same time, compare them with control
groups, that is, with children with the same sociolinguistic characteristics who were
exposed to the monolingual Castellano education system. The longitudinal evaluation
also examined community contexts, including involvement by parents and traditional
authorities in the project, as well as teacher performance. For the internal longitudinal evaluation, undertaken by the actual project teams, evaluations carried out by
external personnel have been reviewed.
From the first year, bilingual schools obtained favorable results in almost all of the
domains considered, with highly significant positive differences from the control
group in reading and writing levels (Sichra, 1992; Plaza, 1993; Robles, 1993). As
Sichra comments, “The results reveal something which is common sense: one learns
to read and write more easily and better in the first language” (Sichra, 1992:10). This
is a highly significant accomplishment if we take into account that the majority of
public education systems in Latin America present serious limitations to the teaching
and learning of reading and writing, and as such share high rates of repetition (see
among others UNESCO, 1993 and Amadio, 1989).
One external evaluation, which unfortunately is not comparable because it did
not include control groups, relates the achievements and reports that there are limita28
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
tions in terms of interactional patterns between teachers and students, cognitive
strategies, and classroom planning (Muñoz, 1994). Nevertheless, the most recent
external evaluation undertaken by the team directed by Gustavo Gottret supports the
Muñoz findings to some extent through its classroom observations. The following was
observed in the control schools:
Procesos de enseñanza aún más verticales… Esto muestra que si bien la práctica educativa
al interior del Proyecto comprende aspectos procesuales que necesitan ser mejorados o corregidos, la orientación global de la misma no parece ser incorrecta.
Processes of teaching which are even more top-down… This shows that if the
educational practice within the project [PEIB] actually comprises procedural
aspects which need to be improved or corrected, the global orientation of the
same does not appear incorrect.
(Gottret et al., 1995:200)
Regarding the performance of the children, the latter evaluation maintains:
El análisis de los resultados de una muestra representativa de más de 400 niños, revela que
el promedio general de los alumnos de escuelas experimentales es superior al de los de las
escuelas control…
Analysis of the results of a representative sample of more than 400 children
reveals that the general average of the students from experimental schools is
superior to that of the students of the control schools…
(Gottret et al., 1995:201)
From the beginning, both student evaluations and teacher testimonies indicated that
children in bilingual schools had greater self-esteem. At the end of the 1994 school
year, psycho-diagnostic tests23 were administered, with highly satisfactory results for
bilingual school children in comparison with their control school peers:
El conjunto de niñas y niños de las escuelas del proyecto muestran un nivel de autoestima
significativamente superior al de aquéllos de las escuelas de control… Los niños demuestran
satisfacción al estudiar en su propia lengua y afirman, por lo general, recibir un mejor trato
en relación a otras escuelas (aquellos que tienen parámetros de comparación).
The entire group of girls and boys from the project schools demonstrate a
level of self-esteem which is significantly higher than that of students from
the control schools… The children demonstrate satisfaction in studying in
their own language and generally confirm that they receive better treatment
in relation to other schools (those which have parameters of comparison).
(Gottret et al., 1995:201–202).
23
The psycho-diagnostic tests which were administered were: the family test, the human figure test (DFH), and
Bender’s visual-motor gestalt test. These are projective tests, “understanding projection as the operation through
which the individual comes out of him/herself and is placed into another person or object, feeling, quality,
desire, etc… The projective tests applied are in graphic form, such that the subject gives free expression to his/
her impulses through drawing, projecting the concept of him/herself, attitudes, etc. toward other people”
(Gottret et al., 1995:113). Although there are many doubts regarding the application of these types of instruments in non-Western contexts, in this specific case the comparison was between children from experimental
schools versus those from control schools, and all share the same cultural and linguistic patterns.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
29
The following provides greater detail about the results of the psycho-diagnostic tests:
El 86% de alumnos de las escuelas del Proyecto dibujaron a su familia. En las escuelas de
control el porcentaje obtenido fue un tanto menor pero significativo 66.7%. El niño que
dibuja a su familia, pone de manifiesto que en él prevalece el principio de la realidad…
Respecto a la inclusión o no del alumno en el dibujo, se encuentra que aproximadamente la
cuarta parte (24%) de los niños que asisten a las escuelas del Proyecto se incluyeron como
parte de la familia que dibujaron… En cambio, en las escuelas de control, sólo el 3.3% lo
hizo, lo que nos hace ver que los alumnos de las escuelas del PEIB tienen mayor capacidad
de adaptación, un yo menos débil, más tolerante a la frustración y mayor autoestima…
86 percent of students in the Project schools drew their families. In the control
schools the percentage obtained was lower, but significant at 66.7 percent.
The child who draws his/her family is dealing with realism. With respect to
the inclusion or not of the student him/herself in the drawing, it was found
that approximately one-quarter (24 percent) of the children attending Project
schools included themselves as part of the family which they drew… On the
other hand, in the control schools, only 3.3 percent did so, which shows us
that students from the PEIB schools have greater capacity for adaptation,
stronger egos, more tolerance for frustration, and greater self-esteem…
(Gottret et al., 1995:115–116)
As can be noted in the following, the indigenous boy or girl develops in a quite difficult
school context and is exposed to many physical punishments. Bilingual Intercultural
Education has succeeded in significantly reducing bodily aggression, almost surely
because of the root of legitimacy in use of the mother tongue in the classroom; nevertheless, there is still a long road to be taken toward fulfillment of the rights of the child:
Los niños en su totalidad son agredidos física o verbalmente. En las escuelas de control, 9 de cada
10 niños son agredidos físicamente (93.3%). En las del Proyecto, esta proporción es mucho
menor: 6 de cada 10 reciben castigos con palo, coscorrones o les jalan de la oreja, el cabello, etc.
The children overall are attacked physically or verbally. In the control schools,
9 of every 10 children are physically attacked (93.3%). In the Project schools,
this proportion is much lower: 6 of every 10 receive punishment with the
stick, blows on the head, or being pulled by the ear, the hair, etc.
(Gottret et al., 1995:117)
Though it may be true that in other countries the equalizing function of bilingual
education in girls’ school achievement has been proven (López, 1995a), in Bolivia the
school performance of girls continues to be inferior to that of boys (Gottret et al.,
1995). Nevertheless, as López maintains:
Hecho que podría obviamente reflejar, más que una diferencia entre niños y niñas, el trato
diferencial dado por los maestros en desmedro de la niña. De un lado, esta conclusión se
deriva del hecho de que esto no es sólo una característica de las escuelas bilingües sino
también de las escuelas tradicionales. De otro lado, es interesante observar que un análisis
más fino de los ítemes de las pruebas utilizadas permiten que, por ejemplo, en lectura oral—
en la que la autoestima juega un rol fundamental—los varones superan a las mujeres, más
no así en aquellas tareas relacionadas con la expresión escita, hecho que también se dio en las
30
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
escuelas tradicionales. Vale decir, en aquellas tareas en las cuales los alumnos y las alumnas
tenían que trabajar por su cuenta y apelando a un uso más reflexivo del lenguaje, los varones
no mostraban ninguna superioridad frente a las niñas. Lo propio ocurre en matemática
cuando se establece la diferencia entre aritmética verbal y aritmética numérica. Los niños sólo
superan a las niñas en ítemes de aritmética numérica.
This fact could obviously reflect, more than a difference between boys and
girls, actual differential treatment by teachers to the detriment of girls. On
one hand, this conclusion comes from the fact that this is a characteristic not
only of bilingual schools but also of traditional ones. On the other hand, it is
interesting to observe that a more detailed analysis of the test items permits us
to find, for example, that men surpass women in oral reading— something in
which self-esteem plays a fundamental role. This does not happen in some
tasks related to written expression, either in bilingual or traditional schools. It
is worth saying that in some tasks which call for more reflexive use of language and where male and female students have to work alone, boys do not
demonstrate any superiority over girls. This same thing occurs in mathematics
when a difference is made between verbal and numerical arithmetic. Boys
only surpass girls on numerical arithmetic items.
(López, 1995a:20–29)
In addition, even the data collected by Gottret et al. reveal in both Aymara and
Quechua contexts that the gap between boys and girls in reading and writing is much
greater in the control schools.
The evaluations done in Bolivia up to present demonstrate that bilingual education has a great equalizing function depending on the type of school. In the total
analysis of test items, there is a significant superiority of students in the multi-grade
schools which are most remote, in contrast with students from larger and more
centrally located schools served by many teachers. Once more this demonstrates that
it is the boys and girls from the most dispossessed contexts who get the greatest
comparative advantage from implementation of bilingual intercultural education. As
early as 1993, Robles indicated the following regarding the Guaraní area:
Algunos niños que son reprobados en el sistema regular, y catalogados de “retrasados,” son
derivados por sus maestros a los cursos bilingües. Las estadísticas indican que la situación de
estos niños varía radicalmente en las escuelas bilingües, se adaptan rápidamente a la nueva
modalidad y logran resultados satisfactorios.
Some children who are failed in the regular system and labeled “backward” are
directed toward teachers in the bilingual classes. The statistics indicate that the
situation of these children changes radically in the bilingual schools, they adapt
rapidly to the new form of schooling and achieve satisfactory results.
(Robles, 1993:57)
2.4 Empowerment of indigenous communities and organizations
The Bilingual Intercultural Education Project in Bolivia has always depended on the
resolute backing and support of indigenous and peasant organizations, even in the
early years of implementation when neither the educational authorities nor the
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
31
teachers and their unions looked with appreciation on indigenous participation,
having considered indigenous people non-experts in educational matters.
This situation has made it possible for the project to be appropriated by the
indigenous organizations and communities. In the case of the Guaraní this appropriation was immediate, while with others it took longer, though nevertheless these latter
achieved the same enthusiasm and commitment as the Guaraní area. Cumulative
experience demonstrates that it is mere prejudice to think that it is the parents who do
not want education in the mother tongue. This question is addressed by Hector
Muñoz in his evaluation of the project:
De hecho, no se conocieron estructuras comunitarias que no aceptaran o participaran de la
concepción del control comunitario de la escuela bilingüe. ¿Cuáles son los principales
referentes de esta concepción? En el fondo, tres: reivindicación socio-cultural, relacionamiento armónico entre los distintos participantes del proceso educativo y equidad educativa.
In fact, there were no community structures which did not accept or participate in the conception of community control of bilingual education. What
were the main concerns of this conception? At the foundation, three: sociocultural recovery, harmonious relations between different participants in the
educational process, and educational equity.
(Muñoz, 1994:56)
This is particularly important if we consider that there were more than a few
times when communities were not even informed of the existence of a project that
concerned them. Unfortunately, cases like this are not uncommon in a country that
receives so much aid (in donations and loans) as Bolivia does.
The key to this appropriation has not only been the participation of indigenous
organizations in all phases of the project: planning, supervision, problem identification, and problem solving. In fact, the testimonies which have been collected demonstrate that an extremely important role has also been played by use of the mother
tongue and the emphasis placed on cultural identity, the latter which, as Stavenhagen
has noted, has become a mobilizing force (Stavenhagen, 1994). In this respect an
Aymara community authority said:
Esta educación está bien no más, puedo decir, porque la educación quiere desaparecer, nos
quieren quitar. Las comunidades tienen que tener fuerza, y con la educación bilingüe se cobra
harta fuerza ¿no?
This education is simply good, I can say, because education wants us to
disappear, it wants to take us away. Communities have to be strong, and with
bilingual education we are gaining great strength, right?
(Aymara authority in Gottret et al., 1995:190)
As many of those involved in the process of bilingual intercultural education and
adult literacy activities have indicated, written use of the mother tongue opens up
new opportunities for recuperating and reaffirming indigenous identity. Specialists
who supported the Guaraní literacy campaign reported the reactions of Guaraní
people who for the first time saw texts written in their own language and discovered
that Guaraní could be written:
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
El descubrimiento provocó fuertes emociones que sacudieron a todos los presentes… Descubrir que el guaraní también se podía escribir venció todos los obstáculos y los transformó
completamente. Ni siquiera la lluvia pudo deternerlos. El primer día de trabajo llovió tanto
como en cinco años no había sucedido.
This discovery provoked strong emotions which shook everyone present… To
discover that Guaraní could also be written overcame all the obstacles and
transformed them completely. Not even the rain could stop them. The first
day of work it rained more than it had in five years.
(Ventiades & Jauregui, 1994:32)
One Guaraní woman who taught literacy wrote:
Es un despertar y un nuevo comienza el saber leer y escribir en nuestro idioma, y por eso
estamos contentos todos los guaraníes.
It is an awakening and a new beginning to learn to read and write in our
language, and for this reason all of us Guaraní are happy.
(APG, 1992:45)
At another time, one indigenous colleague, Enrique Camargo, spoke to us of “the
appetite for letters” which comes from “seeing our words transformed into letters.”
In fact, legitimization of vernacular language use in education means removing the
limitations established by a diglossic system and enables people to begin feeling
pride, not shame, in speaking their language. According to information collected
from field visits, greater linguistic loyalty and greater use of the indigenous language was observed in public places. Unfortunately the sociolinguistic work done by
Albó was not able to quantify this phenomenon in a precise way, since that work
was based on the National Census of 1992, when the bilingual education experiment had not even completed three years of work. Even so, the author finds some
interesting indications:
Del total de seis casos, hay cuatro en que la existencia de la EIB ha frenado, al parecer, el
transfugio de niños al monolingüismo castellano, hay otro caso guaraní (norte y sur de
Charagua) dudoso—por tener cifras en ambos sentidos—y sólo un caso en que el transfugio
se ha acelerado precisamente allí donde existe EIB. Se trata de Turco, no lejos de la frontera
childrena en el altiplano aimara de Oruro. Ambas excepciones tienen que ver con la fuerza
que tienen allí otras presiones ambientales, al margen de la escuela.
Of a total of six cases, there are four in which the existence of EIB has
slowed, it seems, the shift of children to monolingualism in Castellano, there
is another Guaraní case (north and south of Charagua) which is dubious—
because the data demonstrates shift in both directions—and only one case in
which the shift accelerated precisely where EIB existed. This is the case of
Turco, not far from the Chilean border in the Aymara-speaking high plateau
of Oruro. Both exceptions have to do with the strength brought to bear by
other environmental factors outside of the school.
(Albó, 1995, Vol. II:164–165)
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
33
Nevertheless, regarding other Guaraní zones like Ipitá-Ipitamí and Kaaguasu, the
same author indicates the following:
Pero nuestras cifras son contundentes en el sentido de que el uso regular de la lengua materna en la
escuela tiene allí un impacto inmediato: si en los dos grupos de comunidades [con o sin EIB, nota
nuestra] la diferencia del monolingüismo era de sólo un 3% entre padres, ahora en sus hijos
menores que están entrando en la escuela, ya es de un 19%: los que no tienen EIB siguen
pasándose al castellano a un ritmo acelerado (37%). En cambio, en las comunidades que ya
tienen EIB, algunos también siguen pasándose, pero a un ritmo mucho menor (18%) y menos
aún que los que en su misma comunidad, por algún motivo, no han entrado en la escuela (25%).
But our numbers speak for themselves in the sense that the regular use of the
mother tongue in school has an immediate impact: if in the two groups of
communities [with or without EIB, our note] the difference of monolingualism was only 3 percent among parents, now in their younger children who are
entering school it is already 19 percent: those who do not have EIB continue
shifting to Castellano at an accelerated pace (37 percent). In contrast, in the
communities which already have EIB, some have continued shifting, but at a
much slower pace (18 percent) and even less those in the same community
who, for whatever reason, have not entered school (25 percent).
(Albó, 1995, Vol. II:166)
Use of the mother tongue and including other cultural elements in formal education
have facilitated establishment of a new closeness between parents and the school, and
the school has become a context which is less alien to daily life in indigenous communities. There are many testimonies of community members, especially women, who
confirm that they go to school meetings and even to the classroom, because now they
understand what is being said and done. In this respect bilingual education has
demonstrated that social participation can mean more than simply contributing free
labor for school construction or repair.
As a result of this new closeness between parents and the school, new demands
have arisen from the adult population or from boys and girls who have not yet had the
opportunity to attend school. In almost all of the communities with bilingual primary
schooling, adult literacy programs have been or are being offered in the mother
tongue. These programs are characterized by high levels of participation by women,
many of whom are mothers of primary students, and high levels of involvement of
children (bilingual school students) in the teaching-learning process of their parents
or older siblings. This testimony by a Guaraní boy illustrates such involvement:
Mi mamá sabe preguntar cómo se escribe en guaraní esto o esto otro, y le muestro diciendo,“Así,
así,” porque ya me han enseñado. Mi papá sabe ir a la escuela y charla y ríe con el maestro.
Otras veces el Mburuvicha [autoridad tradicional] sabe ir a charlarle a la profesora.
My mother asks how this thing and that thing are written in Guaraní, and I
show her saying, “This way, this way,” because they already taught me. My
father goes to the school and chats and laughs with the teacher. Other times
the Mburuvicha [traditional authority] goes and chats with the teacher.
(Guaraní boy, in Gottret et al., 1995:188)
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
Bilingual intercultural education has also succeeded in overcoming differences
within the same ethnic group. As we know, any social group may also have its internal
prejudices which manifest themselves through language or social relations. The act of
emphasizing group unity, beginning with the language, has strengthened ties of unity
and solidarity. Unlike other projects which developed different alphabets and educational materials for different varieties of each language, the PEIB project emphasized
linguistic standardization and consolidation of the “larger identities,” which has
created new ties of solidarity in areas where earlier excessive development of local
terms had sharpened differences. Under the motto “One language must unite and
not divide the group that speaks it,” a single alphabet has been used for all varieties of
each language. This allows for a degree of linguistic development and strength which
is unprecedented in Bolivian history, even though there were earlier projects, such as
those of the Summer Institute of Linguistics. The latter organization, due to the
particular descriptivist approach of its linguists and the consequent lack of emphasis
on a diachronic perspective, has carried out a certain degree of linguistic fragmentation in its work with individual groups.24
Another achievement of EIB has been greater identification of the teacher with
his/her group of origin and the recuperation of his/her ethnic identity. All of this is
manifested inclusively in the language. As a Quechua teacher once told me:
Antes hablando de los demás quechuas decía “ellos,” ahora ya no tengo vergüenza en decir
“nosotros.”
Before when I spoke of other Quechuas I said “they,” now I am no longer
ashamed of saying “we.”
(personal communication)
The Guaraní literacy campaign which was carried out in 1992 merits special mention. The year not only commemorates the fifth centenary of the arrival of the
Spaniards, but also the centenary of the defeat of the Guaraní people at the hands of
the republican army in the violent battle of Kuruyuki on January 28, 1892, in which
thousands of Guaraní lost their lives. The campaign had two aspects: that of literacy
training and that of “guaranización” or “Guaranization,” that is, teaching reading and
writing in Guaraní to those who were already literate in Castellano from their prior
schooling. The campaign succeeded in this way to mobilize the entire group through
true immersion in the Guaraní culture and language. The campaign also aimed to
enter zones of haciendas, or large farms, where thousands of Guaraní lived in inhumane conditions, lacking any community organization, working for a patrón (allpowerful employer) and trying to repay their never-ending debts, which required
them to hand over their adolescent sons and daughters to work as peons or domestic
servants. The majority of these haciendas had never had a school, so that there were no
local Guaranís who could be literacy teachers. It was necessary to call upon Guaraní
volunteers from other areas. The response was surprising:
Se pidieron cien voluntarios y se ofrecieron doscientos… Todos querían ser parte de esta
hazaña y la edad casi no tuvo importancia. Los postulantes eran mayoritariamente jóvenes.
24
For more information see López & D’Emilio, 1992.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
35
One hundred volunteers were requested and two hundred were offered…
Everyone wanted to be part of this adventure and age was of little importance. The candidates were mostly young people.
(Ventiades y Jauregui, 1994:97)
In the work cited above and other work (D’Emilio, 1994), many moving testimonies
have been reported concerning these young people known as Kereimba, as they
called themselves in memory of the events of Kuruyuki. The Kereimba were
Guaraní soldiers who fought “more than a century ago with bows and arrows, and
now with pencils and notebooks but the same yearning for liberty,” as traditional
Guaraní authority Mateo Chumiray has said. Here we will report some testimonies
from the beneficiaries of this labor of the Kereimba, those men and women of the
haciendas, many of whom succeeded in organizing themselves and getting support to
buy land to create “free” communities. The following are the words of Estefanía, a
37-year-old woman:
Yo pues…jamás pensé que iba a suceder esta cosa. Yo siempre pensé en mi patrón, pensé que
siempre viviríamos así pero jamás ser libre y estar organizando a mi comunidad. Es una cosa
muy grande y buena lo que nos ha pasado a todos… Gracias a lo que nos han enseñado en
la campaña de alfabetización estoy luchando por mi pueblo. Ahora estoy libre y puedo hacer
lo que es mejor para el bien de mis hermanos.
But I…never thought this would happen. I always thought of my patrón, I
thought we would always live that way, but I never thought of being free and
or of being here organizing my community. This is a very large and good
thing that has happened to us all… Thanks to what they have taught us in the
literacy campaign, I am fighting for my people. Now I am free and I can do
what is best for the well-being of my brothers and sisters.
(Yandura, 1996:12)
Similarly, Marcelino T., elected authority of a free community who had always
worked as a peon, tells us:
Muchos han entrado a estudiar sin conocer jamás una letra o un número. En esa campaña
aprendimos a mirar sobre nuestra realidad… Aprendimos a ver la realidad de nuestra
cultura. Aprendimos a pensar en nuestra sabiduría… también muy hermoso ha sido el
estudio como nosotros hablamos. Como nosotros vivimos. Como sufrimos… Ahí veíamos
nuestra propia cultura y daba ganas de saber algo más. Y después uno tiene ganas de
recuperar, de levantarlo todo, volver a hablar guaraní, volver a vivir en una comunidad sin
patrón… Daba ganas de ser libre y no esclavo. Libres como eran antes los guaraníes y no
dejarse mandar. Así vimos en el libro de alfabetización… ¡pucha que era bueno…lindo,
lindo!
Many have begun to study without ever knowing a letter or a number. In that
campaign we learned to look at our reality… We learned to see the reality of
our culture. We learned to think about our wisdom… Also how beautiful it
has been to study how we speak. How we live. How we suffer… There we saw
our own culture and got a desire to know something more. And then one gets
the desire to recuperate, to bring back everything, to go back to speaking
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
Guaraní, to go back to living in a community without a patrón… It gave us the
desire to be free and not be a slave. Free as the Guaraní were before and not
allow them to command us. This we saw in the literacy book… Damn it was
good…beautiful, beautiful!
(Yandura, 1996)
Remembering the time when he was a peon, Marcelino T. continues:
Mirá, la tierra no es sólo para cultivar. También es para que tu seas cultivado en ella como
persona. Por eso cuando la tierra está en manos de otros, tu sólo eres una herramienta…
You see, the land is not only to cultivate. The land is also for you to be cultivated in it as a person. This is why when the land is in the hands of others,
you are only a tool…
(Yandura, 1996)
Another Guaraní youth named Santiago comments:
Mientras aprendíamos a leer y escribir en nuestro propio idioma íbamos viendo la gran
necesidad de una organización grande para garantizar el proceso de nuestra recuperación
como personas, desde las haciendas hacia la libertad.
While we learned to read and write in our own language, we saw the great
need for a large organization which would guarantee the process of our
recuperation as people, from the haciendas to liberty.
(Yandura, 1996)
All of the actors in this great campaign maintain that these results would not have been
attained if a different language had been used and if there had not been a foothold in
Guaraní cultural and linguistic identity. This explains the unconditional support given
by the Assembly of Guaraní People (APG) and other indigenous organizations to
bilingual education. The following section reports the words of Froilán Condori,
education supervisor for the CSUTCB, in a speech given at the Governmental Palace,
at the end of the experimental phase of 5 years of bilingual education:
Consideramos que dentro de la historia boliviana este es un momento en que nació una
plantita que es la EIB; de esta semilla que desde los años 1989–1990 hemos estado
cultivando; naturalmente esa plantita no puede detenerse en su normal crecimiento y obviamente hay que cuidarla, protegerla, alimentarla y no se puede permitir que alguien la
maltrate ni la mate, y si alguien se atreve a hacerlo… la CSUTCB se convierte en un celoso
guardián, para que la EIB no sea sólo una educación en dos lenguas sino que se trata de un
cambio curricular, un cambio programático, basado en la solidaridad y en el respeto del
hombre y de la naturaleza, frente a una educación alienante y verticalista que hasta ahora se
ha practicado. Una educación que no está concorde con nuestra realidad, una educación
memorística, una educación en contra de nuestras culturas, nuestras vestimentas y nuestras
lenguas. Por eso decimos que EIB es una alternative para los explotados y por eso estamos
presentes acá.
We consider that within the history of Bolivia this is one moment in which the
seedling which is EIB is born; from this seed which since 1989–1990 we have
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
37
been cultivating; naturally, this small plant can not be stopped from its normal
growth and obviously it has to be cared for, protected, fed, and no one can be
allowed to mistreat it or kill it, and if someone interferes and tries to do so…
the CSUTCB will turn into a jealous guardian, so that EIB is not only an
education in two languages but it also means a curricular change, a programmatic change, based on solidarity, repect for the individual and for nature, in
contrast to the education practiced up until now which is alienating and topdown. An education which is not in accordance with our reality, an education
of memorization, an education which goes against our cultures, our clothing,
and our languages. This is why we say that EIB is an alternative for those who
have been exploited, and this is why we are present here today.
(Froilán Condori, educational supervisor of the CSUTCB)
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PART 3: Voices of the protagonists
In this section we make reference to the opinions of some of the protagonists in
this teaching-learning process in two languages. We will begin with the opinions
of the actual children, as they are the principle actors. Following this we will
provide some testimonies of fathers and mothers, and finally we will give the floor
to the teachers.
Though there have been many evaluative studies of PEIB, there has been little
consideration for the opinions of the children involved. In general, they have been
subjected to testing and to studies of interaction with teachers, but their opinions have
rarely been sought out regarding the type of education they are receiving or how they
themselves perceive their education.
In particular, we will refer to the investigative work carried out by Nora Mengoa
with 238 children and 109 parents.25 The main result is that it is the girls and women
who defend bilingual intercultural education most strongly, whether they live in more
traditional zones or in communities close to the cities.
3.1 Opinions of the boys and girls: Toward a defense
of bilingual education
Those boys and girls whose opinions were solicited were in bilingual programs at two
levels: those in the final year of the basic cycle of primary education (grade 5), and
those who had graduated from bilingual programs and entered the first level of
intermediate education where all schooling was in Castellano. In the latter case, the
intent was to explore whether or not students from bilingual programs experienced
particular difficulties when, after five years of using the mother tongue in school, they
were incorporated into monolingual Castellano instruction. In fact, the majority of
intermediate level teachers in the surveyed schools, especially in the Aymara and
Guaraní areas, did not speak the language of their students.
Interviews and group meetings were employed, in which girls and boys were
separated.26 The results of meetings with focus groups of boys and girls were unanimous: all said they prefer bilingual education to monolingual Castellano education.
Responses were most rapid and decisive in the girls’ groups: they said they want
education in both languages up through high levels of study (i.e. university). As can be
seen from the testimonies below, for boys and girls in grade five, to learn in the mother tongue is “easier” because “we understand more,” “we comprehend more,” and it
is “faster.”
Comprendemos mejor en aimara, para luego entender el castellano.
We comprehend better in Aymara, so that later we understand Castellano.
(Aymara girl, grade 5)
25
The sample was composed of 168 children (45% girls) in the fifth grade of basic education; 70 children from
lower intermediate school (51% female); and 109 fathers and mothers of students (60% women). The Quechua
area was represented by the communities of Buena Vista, Aguadita, Tukma Baja, Raqay Pampa, and Santiago in
the province of Mizque; the Aymara by Tacaca in the province of Ingavi and Corqueamay, Suriquiña, and
Iscallani in the province of Los Andes; and the Guaraní by Eiti and Itanambikua in the province of Cordillera.
26
The investigation of student and parent perceptions about bilingual intercultural education to which we refer
was carried out by Nora Mengoa Paclas in the framework of a consultancy for UNICEF Bolivia. Unfortunately
the final document based on the investigation was not available at the time of this writing, so we only have access
to fieldnotes and transcriptions of audiotapes. This is why there are no references to specific documents in
quoting the testimonies here.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
39
En aimara se comprende mejor y en castellano es un poco difícil.
In Aymara more can be understood, and in Castellano it’s a bit difficult.
(Aymara boy, grade 5)
Es fácil aprender en quechua.
It is easy to learn in Quechua.
(Quechua girl, grade 5)
Leemos, escribimos y entendemos bien en quechua.
We read, we write and we understand well in Quechua.
(Quechua boy, grade 5)
Aprendemos más rápido y fácil en quechua.
We learn more quickly and easily in Quechua.
(Quechua girl, grade 5)
En nuestro idioma es más bonito, porque escribimos lo que hablamos.
In our language it is nicer, because we write what we say.
(Guaraní girl, grade 5)
In monolingual Quechua communities, it is evident that boys and girls know about
the difficulties faced in Castellano, as these testimonies demonstrate:
En castellano no podemos siempre.
In Castellano we can’t ever [learn].
(Quechua girl, grade 5)
No podemos hablar en castellano.
We can’t speak in Castellano.
(Quechua girl, grade 5)
En castellano no podemos porque no retenemos en nuestras cabezas como en el quechua.
In Castellano we can’t [learn] because we don’t keep things in our heads like
we do in Quechua.
(Quechua girl, grade 5)
Despite these difficulties, the children seemed to understand that these limitations are
not due to lack of capacity for learning, but rather to the sociolinguistic context in
which they grow up:
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
En nuestras casas hablamos quechua por eso no podemos aprender el castellano. Si en
nuestras casas todos hablarían en castellano, podemos hablar.
In our homes we speak Quechua and that’s why we can’t learn Castellano. If
everyone at home spoke in Castellano, we could speak.
(Quechua boy, grade 5)
El castellano hablamos sólo en la escuela con los profesores.
We only speak Castellano in school with the teachers.
(Quechua girl, grade 5)
Even in the communities with higher levels of societal bilingualism, there were
children who preferred the vernacular language, even when there were no problems
in using either language:
Está bien en aimara y castellano, en aimara leemos y escribimos bien, comprendemos mejor
en aimara.
It’s good in Aymara and Castellano, in Aymara we read and write well, we
understand better in Aymara.
(Aymara girl, grade 5)
No es difícil aprender tanto en aimara como en castellano, desde cuando hemos entrado no
había dificultades en aimara y castellano, igual nomás hemos aprendido.
It is not difficult to learn in either Aymara or Castellano, since we entered
[school] there have been no problems in Aymara and Castellano, we have
learned equally in them both.
(Aymara girl, grade 5)
No nos cuesta escribir ni leer en guaraní y castellano, nos ha gustado.
It’s not hard for us to write or read in Guaraní and Castellano, we have
enjoyed it.
(Guaraní boy, grade 5)
La matemática es más fácil para mí en aimara; en castellano es más difícil.
Mathematics is easier for me in Aymara; in Castellano it’s harder.
(Aymara girl, grade 5)
During the meetings, children were also asked their opinions regarding the probable upcoming suspension of the bilingual intercultural education program. The
girls’ choral response was, “It can’t be.” As demonstrated by the testimonies, they
not only defended bilingual schooling for the first five years of basic education, but
said they would like the type of bilingual education which specialists define as
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
41
“maintenance,” that is, that the vernacular language be used throughout all levels
of schooling.
La EIB es mejor y debe continuar para todos los años..
EIB is best and it must continue through all the years.
(Aymara girl, grade 5)
De aquí en adelante todo el estudio debe seguir en aimara y castellano.
From now on all study must continue in Aymara and Castellano.
(Aymara boy, grade 5)
La EIB debe continuar hasta el final de estudios y no cortarse a media enseñanza. En
aimara se entiende mejor.
EIB must continue up to the end of study and not be cut off in the middle of
teaching. In Aymara one understands better.
(Aymara boy, grade 5)
Me gustaría que me sigan siempre enseñando en guaraní y en castellano.
I would like them to keep teaching me always in Guaraní and in Castellano.
(Guaraní girl, grade 5)
The same opinions were held by boys and girls from the first level of intermediate
education, who had already passed through the bilingual system to study in monolingual Castellano classrooms:
La EIB es mejor, se aprende mejor.
EIB is better, one learns better.
(Aymara girls in chorus, interm.)
Es mejor aprender en los dos idiomas, debe seguir hasta tercero intermedio.
It is better to learn in the two languages, it must continue through the third
year of intermediate school.
(Aymara boy, interm.)
Es más fácil estudiar en guaraní porque es nuestra lengua, en guaraní sabemos hablar.
It’s easier to study in Guaraní because it’s our language, we know how to
speak in Guaraní.
(Guaraní girl, interm.)
With the intermediate level students who came from bilingual programs, the Mengoa
study attempted to identify the difficulties they encountered in the all-Castellano
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
system. In this respect there were three types of situations: one, where boys and girls
had a lot of difficulty because of the language (this was the case mainly with children
from contexts which were monolingual in the vernacular), and for whom the intermediate school caused fear; two, where children had no particular problem with language (the case of those in bilingual contexts); and three, where children demonstrated a certain pride or sense of superiority to other children and even teachers because
they knew another written code.
The following are testimonies from the first group:
Nosotros tenemos miedo a los maestros porque sólo hablan en castellano y no entendemos
algunas cosas, en cambio los maestros de EIB eran muy buenos. Además no los conocemos
bien, ni ellos nos conocen.
We are afraid of the teachers because they only speak in Castellano and we
don’t understand some things, unlike the EIB teachers who were very good. In
addition we don’t know them [the intermediate teachers] well, nor do they
know us.
(Aymara boy, interm.)
Los maestros de intermedio son malos, en cambio en EIB nos enseñaban, si no entendíamos
nos ayudaban una y otra vez.
The intermediate teachers are bad, unlike in EIB where they taught us, if we
didn’t understand they helped us from time to time.
(Aymara girl, interm.)
Tengo miedo a los maestros de intermedio, tengo miedo de preguntar, en cambio en la escuela
EIB yo no tenía miedo, siempre preguntábamos a los maestros.
I’m afraid of the intermediate teachers, I’m afraid to ask questions, unlike in
the EIB school where I wasn’t afraid, we always asked the teachers questions.
(Aymara girl, interm.)
Ahora nos explica sólo una vez y tengo miedo de preguntarle.
Now they only explain once and I’m afraid to ask [the teacher] questions.
(Aymara girl, interm.)
Cuando todo nos enseñan en castellano no podemos aprender.
When they teach us everything in Castellano we can’t learn.
(Quechua boy, interm.)
Cuando nos enseñan sólo en castellano tenemos miedo.
When they teach us only in Castellano we’re afraid.
(Quechua boy, interm.)
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
43
No podemos aprender sólo en castellano.
We can’t learn only in Castellano.
(Quechua boy, interm.)
The following are testimonies from the second group of intermediate level students
consisting of those who have not had any particular difficulties:
No hay diferencia entre nosotros, igual nomás somos los de EIB y los otros..
There is no difference between us, those of us from EIB and the others are
just the same.
(Aymara boy, interm.)
Con otros niños que son de escuela castellana casi estamos iguales.
We are almost the same as the other children from the Castellano school.
(Aymara boy, interm.)
Cuando no se entiende en castellano, nos ayudamos con el aimara para comprender mejor
porque nosotros no sabemos bien el castellano.
When something isn’t understood in Castellano, we help each other to comprehend better in Aymara, because we don’t know Castellano well.
(Aymara boy, interm.)
The following are testimonies from the third group, who see themselves as better
equipped because they speak an indigenous language:
Nuestros compañeros no saben escribir aimara.
Our colleagues don’t know how to write Aymara.
(Aymara boy, interm.)
Nuestros profesores entienden aimara y no saben escribir, en eso nosotros somos mejores y los
maestros quieren aprender aimara.
Our teachers understand Aymara but don’t know how to write it, in that way
we are better and the teachers want to learn Aymara.
(Aymara boy, interm.)
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
Los maestros saben que nosotros somos de EIB y algunas veces nos sacan a la pizarra para
escribir aimara, nosotros escribimos y nuestros compañeros se admiran y se quedan sorprendidos, piensan que el aimara es difícil para escribir y leer.
The teachers know that we’re from EIB and sometimes they send us to the
blackboard to write Aymara, we write, and our colleagues admire us and are
surprised, they think that Aymara is hard to write and read.
(Aymara boy, interm.)
Los profesores del intermedio no son iguales porque sólo nos enseñan castellano, no saben el
guaraní.
The intermediate teachers are not the same because they only teach Castellano, they don’t know Guaraní.
(Guaraní girl, interm.)
The children are conscious that certain subjects are easier to learn in the native
language, for example mathematics and natural sciences:
Antes todas las materias eran fáciles en EIB, ahora matemáticas es difícil en el intermedio,
multiplicación, división.
Before all of the subjects were easy in EIB, now mathematics is difficult in
intermediate school, multiplication, division.
(Aymara girl, interm.)
It is interesting to note how clear the children’s opinions are regarding teaching
practice, and how children compare the two forms of education:
En EIB se maneja la yupana,27 en el intermedio no se hace trabajos productivos en la
escuela, sólo es teoría, nos enseñan de libros.
In EIB the yupana is used, [but] in intermediate school no productive work
is done in the school, it’s all theory, they teach us from books.
(Aymara girl, interm.)
Todo en la escuela intermedia es diferente.
Everything in the intermediate school is different.
(Aymara boy, interm.)
Las materias las desarrollan en aula cerrada, mientras que en la EIB era con práctica, sobre
todo si se trataba de materias técnicas.
The subjects are developed in a closed lesson, while those in EIB were taught
in practice, especially if dealing with technical subjects.
(Aymara girl, interm.)
27
The yupana or Andean abacus is a traditional instrument for doing calculations which has been recuperated by
ethnomathematicians. It is used in bilingual education projects in various Andean countries.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
45
Nuestros maestros nos enseñan sólo en la pizarra, no nos hacen practicar.
Our teachers teach us only on the blackboard, they don’t make us practice.
(Group of boys, interm.)
Con los profesores del intermedio pasamos clase en el curso no más, cuando estábamos en
bilingüe sabíamos pasar clase en el patio y en el curso… También era lindo acarrear agua
para dar de beber a las plantas.
With the intermediate teachers we have class only in the classroom, when we
were in the bilingual [program] we knew how to have class on the patio and in
the room… Also it was nice to carry water to give the plants a drink.
(Girl, interm.)
Regarding their future professions, almost all of the Aymara girls in intermediate
wanted to keep studying to be bilingual teachers. Among the boys, half opted for the
same thing. In the Quechua area, undoubtedly due to greater poverty and distance
from the population centers, many girls know that their futures are already established: “I’m just going to be at my house, raising sheep.” In the Guaraní communities
there are also many girls who want to be teachers, though there is no shortage of
people with higher expectations, such as the girl who wants to be a lawyer to work in
her community “so that our people move forward.”
3.2 Opinions of the parents
The above-mentioned investigation also solicited the opinions of fathers and mothers
of children in the bilingual schools. In general, we observe the same enthusiasm
among parents as among their children in EIB, especially those parents who can
compare learning results between EIB children and their siblings:
Mi hijo ha resultado mejor alumno, ha vencido o sobrepasado a sus hermanos mayores, por
eso yo digo que la enseñanza en aimara y castellano es mejor para nuestros hijos.
My son has turned out to be the best student, he has outdone or passed his
older siblings, that’s why I say that teaching in Aymara and Castellano is
better for my children.
(Aymara father)
Cuando reviso sus trabajos y cuadernos de mis hijos tanto dictado como escritura veo que no
encuentro errores como tenían mis hijos mayores. Por estos avances yo quiero que en el
intermedio también la educación debe ser en EIB en aimara y castellano para que los niños
tengan mejor aprovechamiento. La EIB debe continuar desde básico hasta medio.
When I look over my children’s work and their notebooks, in dictation as well
as writing, I see that I don’t find errors like my older children had. Because of
these advances I also want intermediate level education to be EIB in Aymara
and Castellano so that the children have better results. EIB must continue
from basic through intermediate.
(Aymara father of interm. student)
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Están ganando a otros alumnos en leer y escribir en castellano y aimara.
They are outdoing other students in reading and writing in Castellano and
Aymara.
(Aymara mother of interm. student)
Tengo una hija que está en intermedio y estudió en la EIB, le está yendo bien. Ahora tengo otra
hija en V grado. También está bien. A parte de ellas tengo dos hijos menores que les puse en escuela
castellana y pienso cambiarlos a la escuela EIB porque es mejor, aprenden con más facilidad.
I have a daughter who is in intermediate school and studied in EIB, it’s going
well for her. Now I have another daughter in grade five. She’s also good.
Apart from them I have two younger sons who I put in the Castellano school
and I’m thinking about changing them to the EIB school because it’s better,
they learn more easily.
(Guaraní mother of interm. student)
Mi hija está bien, desde que empezó a estudiar en la EIB siguió sin dificultad, sin aplazarse. En cambio cuando le enseñaban sólo en castellano se aplazaba.
My daughter is fine, since she began studying in EIB she continued with no
difficulty, without needing to repeat a year. In contrast, when she was taught
only in Castellano, she had to repeat.
(Guaraní mother)
In addition, some parents have already seen proof of the potential for transfer of
reading and writing skills from one language to another; they have noticed that, as the
specialists say, one learns to read and write only once in life, and then when a second
language is learned, the literacy skills are easy to transfer. Parents also notice that
there is less interference between the two linguistic codes:
Yo veo que sí se ha logrado aprender, en aimara al menos no hay nada que decir, es perfecto,
lee, escribe, comprende tanto que hasta nos corrigen, el aimara le sirve para comprender la
lectura en castellano, le ayuda bastante.
I see that yes, s/he has succeeded in learning, at least in Aymara there’s
nothing to say, s/he’s perfect, s/he reads, writes, and understands everything
and even corrects us, Aymara works so that s/he can understand reading in
Castellano, it helps her/him a great deal.
(Aymara father)
Ahora parece que los niños están aprendiendo hablar el castellano sin mezclar con el aymara;
en tanto que nosotros mezclamos.
Now it seems that the children are learning to speak Castellano without
mixing it with Aymara; meanwhile we mix them up.
(Aymara father)
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
47
Las bases de lectura y escritura ya están sentadas, de aquí en adelante sino hubiera EIB
entonces sería gran perjuicio para nuestros niños.
The bases of reading and writing are already established, from now on, if it
weren’t for EIB great damage would have been done to our children.
(Aymara father)
Obviously good performance in intermediate education reinforces parents’ positive
opinions:
Tengo un hijo en el intermedio y veo que está bien. El profesor del intermedio me ha dicho que
está muy bien en el colegio. En el colegio les han felicitado por saber escribir y leer en aimara.
I have a son in intermediate school and I see that he’s doing well. The intermediate teacher has told me that he’s doing very well in school. At the school
they have congratulated him for knowing how to read and write in Aymara.
(Aymara father)
Esta EIB es muy buena, mi hija en el primer año tenía dificultad; pero una vez que tomó el
camino avanzó con mucha firmeza y seguridad con EIB, por eso para mí esta clase de
educación es buena y no debemos dejar sino debe continuar por toda la vida.
This EIB is very good, my daughter had difficulties in her first year; but once
she took the road she advanced with great firmness and confidence with EIB,
and so for me this type of education is good and we must not leave it but
rather continue for our whole life.
(Aymara father)
Parents compare the educational experience of their children in EIB with regular
education or with the experience of other children, and find that there is greater
understanding and, above all, a loss of fear of school:
Antes era castellano, no había caso de entender, pero ahora como es en aimara y castellano,
me parece que está mejor como yo no sé leer y escribir, pero observo que está mejor.
Before it was in Castellano, there was no chance to understand, but now that
it’s in Aymara and Castellano, it seems to be better, though I don’t know how
to read and write, but I observe that it’s better.
(Aymara mother of gr. 5 student)
De mi parte la lengua materna es buena para los pequeños; porque cuando les enseñan
directamente en castellano se asustan y no quieren venir a la escuela. Además lloran porque
no saben el castellano, viendo eso creo que es bueno.
To me the mother tongue is good for the little ones; because when they are
taught directly in Castellano they get scared and don’t want to come to school.
They even cry because they don’t know Castellano, and seeing that I think it
[the mother tongue] is good.
(Quechua father)
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Sería bueno que se enseñe en quechua, luego en castellano, en las dos lenguas siempre estaría bien.
It would be good if Quechua was taught, later Castellano, it would always be
good in both languages.
(Quechua father)
The comments which express some doubt about EIB refer mainly to the difficulties
that children may encounter when they continue their studies in Castellano only:
Tengo preocupación; porque cuando llegue al colegio es probable que tenga problemas, pero
otras personas me indican que ha de estar bien. Porque en los colegios sólo enseñan en
castellano. Los maestros de castellano dicen que castigan por eso el niño tiene miedo y dicen
que de repente nos castigan en el colegio por eso hay miedo.
I am worried; because when he arrives at the (intermediate) school he will
probably have problems, though other people have told me that he will
probably be fine. Because in the intermediate they teach only in Castellano.
The Castellano teachers say that they punish [children], that’s why the boy is
afraid, and they say that they punish us suddenly in the intermediate and
that’s why it’s scary.
(Aymara father)
La enseñanza en dos idiomas está bien nomás, les enseñan a pronunciar bien, pero parece que
pueden confundirse.
Teaching in two languages is just fine, they are taught to pronounce well, but
it seems that they may get confused.
(Aymara father)
Mi hijo tiene dificultades en castellano oral no puede muy bien, eso es porque en la casa
todos hablamos en aimara, no se practica el castellano por esa razón es que debe tener
dificultades.
My son has difficulty with oral Castellano, he can’t speak very well, it’s because we all speak Aymara at home, he doesn’t practice Castellano, that’s why
he is bound to have difficulty.
(Aymara mother)
En castellano tiene dificultades en la ortografía.
In Castellano s/he has difficulty in orthography [spelling].
(Aymara father)
El castellano parece más difícil, cuando sea grande mejorará seguro.
Castellano seems more difficult, [but] when s/he gets older s/he will surely
improve.
(Aymara mother of gr. 5 student)
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
49
Nevertheless, some parents feel that their children from EIB schools speak better
Castellano, without interference from the mother tongue:
En castellano está resultando bien, ahora castellano y quechua están en un nivel, leen y
escriben perfectamente los dos idiomas.
In Castellano there are good results, now Castellano and Quecua are at the
same level, they read and write perfectly in both languages.
(Quechua father)
En los primeros años parece que tenían dificultades en leer aimara, ahora están mucho mejor,
leen, escriben y entienden bien el aimara y el castellano.
In the early years it seems they had difficulty reading Aymara, now they are
much better, they read, write and understand both Aymara and Castellano
well.
(Quechua mother of gr. 5 student)
For fathers and mothers, the bilingual teachers are better mainly because they allow
the children to understand and they do not maltreat them. This makes children more
enthusiastic about school:
Los maestros que enseñan en aimara y castellano son muy buenos, ayudan bien a los niños a
comprender.
The teachers who teach in Aymara and Castellano are very good, they really
help the children to understand.
(Aymara mother)
Antes los maestros eran malos por eso los niños no querían venir a la escuela. Ahora los
niños vienen a la escuela porque los maestros son buenos además enseñan bien y en dos
idiomas, eso es bueno porque nosotras todas somos aimaras nuestros niños no tienen que
olvidar el idioma aimara.
Before the teachers were bad, and that’s why the children didn’t want to come
to school. Now the children come to school because the teachers are good and
in addition they teach well and in two languages; that’s good because we are
all Aymara [and] our children don’t have to forget the Aymara language.
(Aymara mother)
Los profesores enseñan muy bien en aimara y castellano, el niño no tiene miedo ante la gente
ni su maestro.
The teachers teach very well in Aymara and Castellano, the boy isn’t afraid in
front of the people nor in front of his teacher.
(Aymara mother)
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Vienen contentos al colegio. Antes los maestros nos hablaban en voz alta, nos pegaban. Pero
ahora es diferente.
They come happily to the school. Before the teachers spoke to us in loud
voices, they hit us. But now it’s different.
(Aymara father)
Antes los maestros no eran buenos como ahora, eran castellano y nos pegaban.
Before the teachers weren’t good like they are now, they were Castellanos and
they hit us.
(Aymara father)
En mi tiempo nosotros teníamos mucho miedo al profesor en cambio con EIB, los niños
comparten experiencias con sus maestros. Vienen a la escuela con confianza y alegres, antes
no ocurría esta horizontalidad con los profesores, no hay miedo.
In my time we were very afraid of the teacher unlike with EIB, the children
share experiences with the teachers. They come to school confident and
happy, before this horizontal relationship with the teachers did not occur,
[now] there is no fear.
(Aymara father)
Los maestros son buenos y los niños son muy apegados a la escuela, los niños tienen confianza con el maestro.
The teachers are good and the children are very fond of the school, the
children trust the teacher.
(Aymara father)
El trato es muy diferente entre ambos: el profesor bilingüe de muy cerca, abiertamente les
enseña a los chicos. Los de castellano no son así, escriben no más la materia y después uno
no entiende lo que está diciendo. Claro, no todos los chicos entienden castellano.
The treatment is very different between the two: the bilingual teacher is very
close, and teaches the little ones openly. The Castellano teachers are not like
this, they just write the material and then one doesn’t understand what they’re
saying. Of course, not all the little kids understand Castellano.
(Guaraní mother)
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
51
No tienen miedo al profesor bilingüe, como están en su casa normal hablan con su profesor,
charlan y le hacen preguntas, en cambio con el profesor de castellano no se acercan, los niños
mismos no entienden, le están reteando. En cambio el profesor guaraní habla con cariño.
They’re not afraid of the bilingual teacher, they speak to their teacher normally just as if they’re home, they chat and ask questions, unlike with the
Castellano teacher, they don’t come close, the children really don’t understand, they withdraw. In contrast the Guaraní teacher speaks affectionately.
(Guaraní mother)
When asked about the future of EIB, the parents express no doubts, saying that EIB
must continue:
Es mejor que la EIB continúe en los dos idiomas, desde ahora hasta los cursos superiores.
It’s best that EIB continue working in the two langauges, from now through
the highest levels
(Aymara mother)
En caso que dijeran que va a cambiar la EIB por escuelas castellanas, reclamaríamos para
que la enseñanza continúe en dos idiomas.
If they said that EIB would be replaced by Castellano schools, we would
oppose them so that teaching would continue in two languages.
(Aymara father)
La EIB es progreso; por eso se lee, escribe y comprende mejor en los dos idiomas.
EIB is progress; that’s why [children] read, write, and understand better in the
two languages.
(Aymara father)
Los maestros de educación bilingüe son buenos, hay buenas relaciones entre la comunidad y
maestros por eso no deben cambiarse.
The bilingual education teachers are good, there are good relations between
the community and the teachers so they must not be transferred.
(Aymara mother)
En una reunión… dijimos conjuntamente con los maestros, que si nos quitaran el PEIB
haríamos bloqueos con los miembros del Consejo Educativo Nuclear hasta hacernos escuchar.
In a meeting… we said together with the teachers that if they take PEIB away
from us we will set up blockades with the members of the School Cluster
Board until we make ourselves heard.
(Quechua father)
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
Es bueno que poco a poco se aprenda el castellano. Tampoco es bueno que el quechua nos
olvidemos, eso tiene que seguir en las universidades, normales. El govierno tiene que darse
cuenta que el quechua también se habla. Como en el mes de octubre creo que ha sido la
reunión de los niños quechuas, aimaras y guaraníes en La Paz, y dijeron, “Todos somos
bolivianos.” Debemos hacer conocer lo que tenemos, nuestra cultura, las materias deben
seguir en quechua en los cursos superiores.
It’s good that Castellano is learned little by little. It’s not good for us to forget
Quechua, it needs to continue up to the universities, the teacher training
schools. The government has to notice that Quechua is also spoken. Like in
October I think there has been a meeting of Quechua, Aymara, and Guaraní
children in La Paz, and they said, “We are all Bolivians.” We must make
people recognize what we have, our culture, the subjects must be be taught
continuously in Quechua up to the highest courses.
(Quechua father)
Sería bueno que en intermedio lleven las materias que más les gusta en guaraní; yo quisiera
que no se olviden, por eso quisiera que se lleve nomás en el intermedio.
It would be good if the intermediate school taught their favorite subjects in
Guaraní; I would like it if they didn’t forget, that’s why I would like Guaraní
to be used just up through intermediate school.
(Guaraní mother)
Por mi parte es bien la educación bilingüe para que se enseñe en nuestra lengua guaraní y en
castellano, en dos lenguas, eso a mi me gusta, porque tienen que saber ellos como nosotros
nuestra cultura, nuestra lengua, para que no se pierda nuestra cultura de nuestros abuelos,
por eso yo pienso así, que siga adelante y que sigan estudiando más allá del quinto curso, que
haiga más bilingüe eso es lo que yo digo.
For me bilingual education is good so that teaching in is our Guaraní language and in Castellano, in two languages, I like this, because like us they
have to know our culture, our language, so that the culture of our grandparents is not lost, that’s why I think this way, that [Guaraní] continues and that
they keep studying it past fifth grade, that they become more bilingual, that’s
what I say.
(Guaraní mother)
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
53
According to some parents, people who are against EIB “don’t understand that they
are mistaken.” Even some mothers note that when EIB was suspended it hurt the
children:
Los primeros años decían que no está bien la educación bilingüe y se la llevaron a otras
escuelas, pero estos últimos años han vuelto a traer a nuestra escuela. La escuela monolingüe
castellano ha hecho que regresen a sus hijos aquí mismo, los han atrazado.
In the early years they said bilingual education isn’t good and they took it to
other schools, but in recent years they’ve brought it back to our school. The
monolingual Castellano school has made their children here regress, it has
retarded them.
(Aymara mother)
Like what happened in the Guaraní area some years ago, the new proximity between
school and community has brought about new demands for training of fathers and
mothers:
Nosotros hablamos el quechua pero no sabemos leer y escribir para poder controlar a nuestros
hijos, necesitamos capacitación para los padres, así para controlarlos. En castellano con lo
poco que sabemos tratamos de controlar y algunas veces ayudamos. Pero al controlar el
quechua también estamos aprendiendo.
We speak Quechua but we don’t know how to read and write so that we can
monitor our children’s work, we need training for parents to be able to monitor them. In Castellano we try with the little we know to monitor their work
and sometimes we help. But we are also learning how to monitor Quechua.
(Quechua father)
Esa capacitación al padre de familia es muy importante para poder corregir en la lectoescritura de quechua, en matemáticas igualmente no podemos ayudar porque nosotros no
hemos aprendido en bilingüe. En castellano estamos ayudando. Pensamos los padres que el
quechua es fácil, pero no es así. Pero con esta reforma vamos a entender y aprender nosotros
también.
This training of parents is very important so we can correct Quechua reading
and writing, the same in mathematics, we can’t help because we haven’t
learned bilingually. In Castellano we are helping. We parents think that
Quechua is easy, but this is not so. But with this [educational] reform we’re
also going to understand and learn.
(Quechua father)
In the section below we report an interesting discussion which arose during a meeting
of Guaraní fathers and mothers in the community of Itanambikua, close to the city
of Camiri. There the difference in opinion between the women and the men regarding EIB was quite impressive. One father maintained that children in EIB had problems when they went to the intermediate school in the city, and said that EIB “isn’t at
the level at which they teach elsewhere,” and he added, “My daughter writes, but
54
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
what happens is that she can’t express herself in Castellano.” This same father complained that his daughter couldn’t even write a letter. The following are the vehement
responses of the women:
Mi hija Alejandrina estudia recién dos años en EIB para mi está bien nomás, desde que
empezó sus clases los profesores empezaron a enseñarle en nuestra lengua y hasta en castellano escribe bien, yo no tengo problemas de eso. De otros es su propia culpa que no sepan
escribir ni en guaraní ni en castellano, mi hija está yendo muy bien, cada año no se aplaza.
My daughter Alejandrina has just studied two years in EIB but to me she is
doing fine, since she began classes the teachers began to teach her in our
language and she writes well even in Castellano, and I don’t have any problems with that. With others it’s their own fault if they don’t know how to write
either in Guaraní or in Castellano, my daughter is doing fine, each year she’s
not kept back.
(Guaraní mother)
Para mi está bien nomás, porque… aunque mi hija no entró desde pequeña, recién de cuarto
curso la metieron en bilingüe porque primero ella estaba en castellano, así es que a partir de
cuarto entró en bilingüe, al comienzo no sabía pero ahora ya parece que sabe porque ya no se
está aplazando.
For me it’s just fine, because… although my daughter didn’t begin when she
was little, she was just put into a bilingual fourth grade because first she was in
Castellano, so that beginning in fourth grade she entered bilingual [schooling], at the beginning she didn’t know but now it seems that she knows because now she’s not kept back.
(Guaraní mother)
The demands of fathers and mothers refer not only to the use of the mother tongue
but also to the quality of language teaching for, as they well know, a teacher who lacks
fluency in the language can not sufficiently promote teaching-learning processes. The
following testimony of a Guaraní woman demonstrates this issue:
Yo soy una convencida de que la EIB debe seguir adelante, también quisiera que las profesoras de EIB deben dominar el guaraní, porque hay algunos profesores que en viejo quieren
aprender para enseñarles a nuestros hijos y eso no está bien porque nuestros hijos no les
entienden y se acaban de confundir. Si los profesores fueron de nosotros mismos, ellos podrían
enseñar en bilingüe, porque las señoras28 siempre su castellano lo van a llevar adelante,
porque nuestro guaraní apenas lo hablan, por eso yo digo que debe enseñar un profesor
bilingüe entero como nosotros, eso nomás digo yo.
I’m one of those convinced that EIB must continue, and also I would like EIB
teachers to have to master Guaraní, because there are teachers who in old age
want to learn so that they can teach our children and that’s not good because
28
In this testimony, the reference to señoras identifies not only gender but also origin. The Guaraní language
joins gender identification with ethnicity, so that there are two terms for woman: kuña for Guaraní woman and
señora for white woman, mestiza, or non-Guaraní. Likewise the terms for man are mbia for Guaraní man and
karaí for non-Guaraní man.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
55
our children don’t understand them and they end up confused. If teachers
came from among us, they could teach bilingually, because the señoras [see
footnote] always have their Castellano to take them further [in life], because
our Guaraní is only spoken, and so I say that the one who should teach is the
completely bilingual teacher who is like us, that’s what I say.
(Guaraní mother)
Speaking about how to deal with parents who do not want their children to learn
Guaraní in school, the traditional authority in one Guaraní zone, Bonifacio Barrientos of Mburuvicha Guasu del Isoso, has maintained the following:
No hay caso de imponer por la fuerza, hay que concientizarlos. Yo les hablo la verdad,
porque ellos tratan de hablar en castellano para que no sufran con los karaí pero les digo
este castellano que les estás hablando está mal hablado, por eso es mejor que aprenda en la
escuela los dos idiomas con libros que digan la verdad de su escritura y de su hablar.
There is no reason to impose by force, we must raise their awareness. I tell
them the truth, because they try to speak in Castellano so that they won’t
suffer with the karaí [whites], but I tell them this Castellano that you are
speaking is poorly spoken, for this reason it is better to learn the two languages
in school with books that tell the truth in writing and speaking.
(Gottret et al., 1995:190–191)
3.3 Opinions of the teachers
Teachers’ opinions vary widely, ranging from passive compliance to militant defense of
EIB, and even from tacit resistence to active boycotting. In fact, teachers have played a
very important role throughout the experiment, as it is the teachers who have contributed their labor in the technical-pedagogical area. The teachers’ union even participated
actively from the beginning of the project. Despite this, major conflicts arose in the
communities during this process, and they originated with the teachers. For example,
there is evidence that the few cases of community opposition to EIB which appeared
were rooted in the strong influence of some teachers, who were not usually indigenous.
In the end these schools did not completely abandon EIB, but were able to change
power relations in the communities to repulse the attacks.
Although there are not many studies on the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic profile
of Bolivian teachers, important investigations have recently begun to overcome this
lack of information. The sociolinguistic study of Albó (1995) reveals that in Andean
communities of Quechua and Aymara populations, the majority of teachers speak
one of the two languages. The same does not apply to Amazonic and eastern indigenous groups, including the Guaraní, where only small percentages of teachers speak
the mother tongue of the children. On the other hand, indigenous Andean teachers
are those who have been most exposed to processes of acculturation through the
teacher training institutions, whether in the nationalist framework of national unity or
the Marxist paradigm of class struggle.
Teachers’ opinions reflect the diversity of situations mentioned above and, in
addition, have changed over time. For example, the majority of teachers went
through a period of initial skepticism until the advantages of EIB were established, as
demonstrated by this teacher’s testimony:
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
Inicialmente pensé que estaba mal la enseñanza en quechua, sin embargo con los cursos de
capacitación me esclarecí. Ahora por mi experiencia me parece que es lindo enseñar al niño
sobre su cultura, por ejemplo yo no sé nada sobre la historia de mi pueblo, y he tenido que
aprender cosas sobre los países occidentales.
Initially I thought that teaching in Quechua was bad, even though I got
clearer with the inservice training courses. Now from my experience it seems
nice to teach the child about his/her culture, for example I don’t know anything about the history of my people, because I have had to learn things
about Western countries.
(Quechua teacher from Tukma Baja)
From the beginning, teachers realized that the children understood better and that
bilingual education did not mean double work, as some teachers had thought, but
rather meant better communication with the students:
La diferencia entre un alumno bilingüe y otro monolingüe es que los alumnos del bilingüe son
más despiertos, hablan más de los otros.
The difference between the bilingual student and the monolingual one is that
the bilingual students are quicker, they talk more than the others.
(Marcelino Revollo, Guaraní teacher)
Me parece que la educación intercultural bilingüe a los alumnos les hace despertar más.
It seems to me that bilingual intercultural education awakens the students
more.
(Quechua teacher)
Even so, as mentioned above, teachers do not always comprehend the importance of
EIB. As one educational authority in a Guaraní municipality maintains:
En algunos casos hubo enfrentamiento entre maestros y padres de familia, porque había
maestros que no admitían que hablen en guaraní.
In some cases there was a clash between teachers and parents, because there
were teachers who didn’t allow students to speak in Guaraní.
(Sergio Hoyos, as told to Mengoa)29
Overall it has been difficult, and we are still paving the road going away from the
teacher who refuses to acknowledge his/her identity as well as that of the students, to
the teacher who recognizes this identity and affirms it, without refusing others or
discriminating against them. There has also been fear and worry on the part of
monolingual Castellano-speaking teachers that they will lose their positions. Along
with this is the recognition that, especially in the Guaraní and Amazonic eastern
29
Mengoa recorded this testimony of Sergio Hoyos, Director of the Educational District of Camiri. The same
authority, speaking about the bilingual experiment, explained, “We have overcome school desertion [dropout
problems] and have a higher percentage of children receiving schooling. This is a profound triumph… The child
who comes out is not the child who gives in or who bows before the karaí.”
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
57
areas, neither the educational system nor the teachers’ union incoporated indigenous
professionals into administrative levels. The indigenous teacher, as some studies have
revealed, does not feel part of either the community or the official state system.
Nevertheless, for the many indigenous teachers involved, EIB has meant a new
closenesss with the community and the students. The testimonies of children and
parents above have revealed this aspect.
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Lessons learned
Bilingual education is felt to be a necessity for all children, and especially for
indigenous girls. Use of the mother tongue in the schooling of indigenous children is not only a strategy to improve education; it is, above all, a right of children and of indigenous populations and a contribution to their empowerment.
We can not forget about the unbalanced diglossic relationship between indigenous
languages and Castellano, nor about the discrimination which affects speakers of
indigenous languages. This lesson, which is valid in the Latin American context,
can not be applied in a decontextualized way to minority groups in other contexts.
It is necessary to have a “multiple consciousness of difference,” as Braidotti (1994)
says, because discrimination in based not only on ethnicity or language spoken. In
this repect it may be useful to present three possible types of differences on the
conceptual level which characterize indigenous identity:
–
Differences between indigenous and non-indigenous.
–
Differences among indigenous peoples.
–
Differences within the indigenous individual.30
No matter the point of entry (ethnic identity or gender), the three types of difference
above must always be present in an educational project for children who pertain to
minority groups or have been “minoritized.”
The experiences of indigenous peoples related in this work have been nourished
consistently by the involvement of indigenous organizations. It is perhaps this organized indigenous participation which has given meaning to and mobilized action in
bilingual education in Bolivia. The Educational Councils of Indigenous Peoples
(CEPOs), which were defined by the Educational Reform Law of 1994, are still new
but demonstrate great potential. Such indigenous participation is even more important if we consider that so often national entities accept any prescription coming from
an international organization uncritically, which may result in high costs and low
impact or even negative consequences.
In earlier work done by a group of UNICEF authors, some practical suggestions
were offered for planning, execution, and evaluation of educational projects with
indigenous populations (UNICEF, 1992).31 The following salient aspects were synthesized: above all, that the Convention on the Rights of the Child and ILO Convention
169 should be carried out to the letter; in addition, that indigenous peoples along with
their organizations should be made “visible” in situational analysis data. It was
suggested that from this point on, mother tongue education for indigenous groups,
whether they are minority or majority groups, should be considered an indicator of
equity in an education system.
30
This is based on the work of Rosi Braidotti, who applies the schema to gender studies of differences
between men and women, differences among women, and differences within the individual woman. For the
author “feminism is the multiple consciousness of difference… The central point is the interconnection
between identity, subjectivity and power… This type of consciousness joins qualities which are usually
considered opposing: possession of a sense of identity which is not based on stability but is fluid” (Braidotti,
1995:37).
31
The following specialists participated in the work group under the coordination of Lucia D’Emilio: Rosa Maria
Torrez, Ines Pozzi Escott, Madeleine Zúñiga, Luís Enrique López, Ruth Moya, Ingrid Jung, Norma Reategui,
Francisco Basili, and Camila Encinales.
Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
59
In the same document, it was recommended that all evaluations of educational
programs for indigenous populations consider as much the indigenous perspective as
the external one, with the aim of providing a more integrative and comprehensive
assessment of any actions taken. Evaluations which confuse the two perspectives have
been and continue to be a cause of failure of projects undertaken in indigenous areas.
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Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism
New Education Division Documents Series, No 1–, 1996–
The Education Division at Sida initiates and implements a large number of studies regarding education, especially in
Sida’s programme countries. A selection of these studies is published in the series New Education Division Documents.
This new series follows the previous Education Division Documents Series published between 1981–1995.
No. 1 ”O Direito à Educação na Guiné-Bissau”, Análise genérica
dos problemas do sector por Kajsa Pehrsson. Sida
1996.
No. 2 ”Fact finding mission to Bolivia in the area of bilingual
primary education” by Kenneth Hyltenstam & Birgitta
Quick. Sida 1996.
”Mision de investigación a Bolivia en el área de la educación primaria bilingüe” por Kenneth Hyltenstam, Birgitta
Quick. Sida 1996.
No. 3 ”Textbooks as an Agent of Change”, Gender aspects of
primary school textbooks in Mozambique, Zambia and
Zimbabwe by Paul Brickhill, Catherine Odora Hoppers,
Kajsa Pehrsson. Sida 1996.
No. 4 ”Education in Zanzibar” classrooms, quality and costs by
Angela W. Little, Leah Dotto, Tharsis Luwongo. Sida 1996.
No.
5a/5b ”Baseline Study on Teaching Learning Material – Availability in Primary Schools in Tanzania” (No 5a), ”Appendix IVIII” (No 5b) compiled by Fred Hedkvist. Sida 1996.
No. 6 SWAp Management, Experiences and Emerging Practices, Compiled by Lars Rylander and Martin Schmidt, SPM
Consultants. Sida 2000.
No. 7 Rajasthan Shiksha Karmi Project. An overall appraisal.
Desk study commissioned by Sida, Embassy of Sweden,
New Delhi. By Vimala Ramachandran and Harsh Sethi.
Sida 2001.
No. 8 Final Report on Bilingual Education. Results of the external evaluation of the experiment in bilingual schooling in
Mozambique (PEBIMO) and some results from bilingual
adult literacy experimentation. By Carolyn J. Benson.
Sida 2001.
No. 9 Voices and Processes Toward Pluralism: Indigenous
Education in Bolivia. By Lucia D’Emilio. Sida 2001.
SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AGENCY
S-105 25 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: +46 (0)8-698 50 00. Fax: +46 (0)8-20 88 64
E-mail: [email protected] Homepage: www.sida.se
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