Giving children the tools to participate: a case for the intercultural bilingual classroom in Peru

This thesis explores Educación Intercultural Bilingüe, or Intercultural Bilingual Education (EIB), in Peru with arguments based on ethnographic research conducted by the author between May and August of 2011 in Laborpampa, Peru. Using this primary data, as well as supplemental texts, this thesis argues that native Quechua-speaking, primary students in Peru who learn in an effectively organized, intercultural, bilingual educational setting are taught in a language and cultural context that provides them with the necessary skills to be active participants in their communities while still providing them with the knowledge and language skills needed to participate as active participants on a national level as well. In the analysis, the reader will see that Indigenous people’s right to an education in their native language is in fact part of a larger social movement to better include and value Indigenous people for their role in the nation’s cultural identity, as we will see that language rights are just a small component in a larger assemblage of rights for minority peoples. This thesis begins by detailing the historical context of the Quechua language in Peru, followed by a brief history of the Intercultural Bilingual Education Model in Peru. It then details how the program is implemented and offers an analysis of its effectiveness. Though Intercultural Bilingual Education faces many challenges in its future, it has shown great promise for creating a more unified, equitable, and educated society and nation.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Latin American Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Linares, Rebecca

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ndimande, Bekisizwe S.

• Peru
• Quechua
• Bilingualism
• Intercultural Bilingual Education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2012 Rebecca Linares

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/31081

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/31081