From language to the environment: pedagogical practices of traditional indigenous educators, Chile

Abstract

Introduction: The revitalization of indigenous culture has taken various strategies in Latin America, with education being one of the most relevant. In Chile this has materialized in the creation of a course on indigenous languages, which is offered by traditional educators. Although the literature reports the limited impact of this course on linguistic subjects, in this article we focus on the environmental teachings of this subject, so the objective of this study is to analyze how the practices of traditional educators share key environmental knowledge and skills to face the environmental challenges of the present Methodology: a semi-structured interview was applied to traditional educators in the Los Lagos Region, and observations were made of their classes. Results: The results show that through their pedagogical practices, traditional educators address global environmental challenges, but with a focus on local relevance, of education based on the territories. Discussions: These practices, however, are strained by the bureaucratic nature of the educational system, expressed in the “curricular coverage” and “Environmental Certification”. Conclusions: The conclusion is that it is important to expand strategies to address environmental education in schools, recognizing the contribution that intercultural education has to it.