Curriculum and Building Identity in Chilean Indigenous Contexts

Abstract

The results of a study on the construction and definition of curricula for education in history and social sciences in an intercultural indigenous context (Arauco Province,Chile) are presented in this article. The effective incorporation of Mapuche cultural knowledge into school curricula was examined through an empirical-documentary study founded on the declaration of recognition of cultural diversity and the promotion of identity affirmation proposed in the principle guidelines to curriculum design that emerged from the educational reform in Chile at the end of the nineties. The results show educational communities in intercultural indigenous contexts have yet to design curricula of their own that incorporate the culture of indigenous-Mapuche students in their learning processes. On the contrary, they fully implement the ministry ́s syllabuses, which give little if any consideration to the Mapuche culture in the proposed curricula.