Intercultural education and early childhood: strengthening knowledge based on Indigenous communities and territory

Abstract

Intercultural education in Chile has focused on early childhood for more than a decade. Different measures have been implemented to strength an intercultural approach in preschools. The most outstanding has been the connection of intercultural preschools with Indigenous communities. However, these educational policies have not been accompanied by adequate resources and teacher preparation, resulting in significant shortcomings in the collaboration between Indigenous communities and preschools. To address the relevance of Mapuche (People of the Land; Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina; speakers of Mapudungun) communities in intercultural preschools, this study created and implemented a pilot initiative. Using a decolonial and critical pedagogy-of-place approach, the main findings show that educators began considering Mapuche communities beyond families, discussed the role of urban Mapuche communities, and improved ethical practices to work with Indigenous communities. These findings lead me to propose recommendations in reference to policies and teacher education.