GIVING CHILDREN THE TOOLS TO PARTICIPATE: A CASE FOR THE INTERCULTURAL BILINGUAL CLASSROOM IN PERU BY REBECCA E. LINARES THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Latin American Studies in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 2012 Urbana, Illinois Adviser: Professor Bekisizwe S. Ndimande ii Abstract 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. Keywords: Peru; Quechua; Bilingualism; Intercultural Bilingual Education iii Dedication This thesis is humbly dedicated to all the teachers, in Peru and around the world, who believe so strongly that children come to classrooms full of knowledge, and that they deserve to be educated and appreciated in their native language. As the children in Peru sang,“Dame la mano con mucho amor, somos el espíritu de una patria major (give me your hand with lots of love, we are the spirit of a better homeland).” iv Acknowledgements I would like to first thank Profesora Vilma for opening her classroom to me and for treating me as a friend; this project would have never happened without her initial trust in me. I would secondly like to thank my adviser, Dr. Bekisizwe Ndimande, for guiding me, encouraging me, and believing in the work we do as advocates of intercultural bilingual education. I would also like to thank my Quechua professor in Peru, Dr. Felix Julca Guerrero, for his guidance and contribution to education in Peru. Lastly, immense thanks to the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, specifically the Tinker Field Research Fellowship 2011 Committee, for funding this research; without the Center’s support this project would have never happened. v Table of Contents Chapter One: An Introduction to Peru and Intercultural Bilingual Education ................................1 1.1 Peru: The Background Information ..............................................................................2 1.2 The Historical Context of the Quechua Language in Peru ............................................4 1.3 History of the Intercultural Bilingual Education Program.............................................6 1.4 The Organization of this Thesis...................................................................................10 Chapter Two: Building Relationships and Gathering Data: Research Methodology and Project Planning .............................................................................................................................11 2.1 Research Site I: Lima, Peru .........................................................................................11 2.2 Research Site II: Huaraz, Peru.....................................................................................13 2.3 Research Site III: Laborpampa, Peru...........................................................................15 2.4 School Setting and Classroom Observation.................................................................17 2.5 Recruitment of Participants .........................................................................................19 2.6 Ethical Issues Considered ............................................................................................20 2.7 Parameters....................................................................................................................23 Chapter Three: The Issues Surrounding the Choice of Intercultural Bilingual Education and the Challenges that Remain .....................................................................................................25 3.1 The Challenges of Decentralization.............................................................................26 3.2 The Challenges of the Rural-Urban Divide .................................................................28 3.3 The Role of Non-Profits in Intercultural Bilingual Education ....................................30 3.4 Classrooms and Curriculum are not Neutral................................................................32 3.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................37 vi Chapter Four: An Inside Look at an Intercultural Bilingual Classroom in Laborpampa ..............39 4.1 The Bilingual Aspect of Intercultural Bilingual Education .........................................39 4.2 Classroom Content: Creating Young Bilingual and Intercultural Community Participants.........................................................................................................................42 4.3 Building a Bridge Between Community and School: Local Representation in the Classroom ..........................................................................................................................44 4.4 Empowering the Lifestyle and Validating Students’ Reality: The Use of Indigenous Knowledge in the Classroom.............................................................................................46 4.5 The Effects of Decentralization and the Rural-Urban Divide on the Laborpampa School ................................................................................................................................49 4.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................51 Chapter Five: The Future of Intercultural Bilingual Education in Peru ........................................53 5.1 The Challenges in the Future of Intercultural Bilingual Education.............................54 5.2 Democracy in Schools .................................................................................................55 5.3 Active Participants with Active Futures ......................................................................57 5.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................58 References......................................................................................................................................59 Appendix A: Informative Letter for Interested Participants..........................................................63 Appendix B: Drawing done by a Laborpampa Student Using Flower and Plant Rubbing ...........65 Appendix C: 2011 Communal Agro-festival Calendar for the Department of Ancash, Peru .......66 1 Chapter One: An Introduction to Peru and Intercultural Bilingual Education Sitting in my aunt’s kitchen in Lima, Peru in July 2006, I remember casually watching the Congressional Oath Ceremony on a small black and white television, hardly paying much attention. As I poured myself a glass of Inca Kola, I remember my surprise when I heard a language I did not understand interrupt the usual Spanish. I turned to the television to see Hilaria Supa, an Indigenous Congresswoman representing the Department of Cusco, attempting to take her Congressional Oath in Quechua. Congresswoman Supa caused quite a stir, visibly irritating the government officials who insisted she take the oath in Spanish. After several minutes of tense, inaudible dialogue between officials and Supa, she finally relented and recited her oath in Spanish. While on the surface it might not seem so, language is political and has long been recognized as one of the most important tools for sustaining the culture and identity of a community or nation. Simply defined, language is just a set of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements, that allows us to communicate (Chomsky, 1957). However, language is much more than that; it has become not only a mode of communicating and sharing information, but also deeply connected to how individuals and populations identify themselves socially, politically, and culturally. According to Teresa McCarty (2011), only by shifting our understanding of the technicalities of language per se, to the role of language in living, breathing communities can we go beyond this strict understanding of language to a more