Resources

A children’s mother tongue is the best medium to teach them through; it is the language system whose symbols are most firmly established in their minds and which allows them to express themselves and understand fully. It is also a means of identification among members of the same community. In educational terms, children learn more quickly through their mother tongue than through an unknown or unfamiliar language.

Notebook 1. Traditional education based on cultural imposition

Reflection on how indigenous children’s culture and language have not been respected in traditional schools. Teaching strategies can be created that are in line with new currents of thought and new educational theories that deal effectively with the issues of acculturation, prejudice and exclusion, as well as helping to understand the processes that have led to native languages and cultures being left by the wayside.

Notebook 2. IBE experiences in Bolivia

This notebook looks at the country’s multi-cultural and multi-lingual nature and ties it into the wealth of pedagogical tools that can be applied day to day in the classroom. It explores IBE experiences that have taken place in different situations and contexts, both within Bolivia and abroad. It goes on to propose that the positive aspects of these experiences be capitalised upon to create national and international IBE strategies.

Notebook 3. A new educational proposal including diversity

Native peoples have traditionally benefited the least from the country’s educational processes. New educational processes that have drawn from census information and identified needs now allow us to take the country’s linguistic and cultural context into consideration and to focus on children’s real needs.

Notebook 4. Culture and the building of intercultural dialogue

Building and consolidating intercultural acceptance at school and in the classroom requires an understanding of different logics and ways of seeing the world around us; in this way we can take advantage of the wealth that cultural diversity offers us. One must recognise the practices of native cultures in order to build intercultural understanding in the classroom and to thus optimise learning processes.

Notebook 5. Monolingual and bilingual education in schools

By the end of this notebook, the teacher should be able to reflect on the consequences of Spanish-based monolingual education on children who speak a different native language. In order to fully appreciate this, one must be aware of and consider the day-to-day linguistic situations that arise in learning situations. Bilingual education must be a two-way street and must be supported by legislation to ensure that it is not only for indigenous populations.

Notebook 6. Cultural and linguistic management

This notebook seeks to help teachers implement State policies on IBE through participative linguistic planning within each school. Over the last several decades, the importance of intercultural and bilingual education has begun to be recognised, both within schools and in society as a whole; there is therefore an urgent need to define relevant cultural and linguistic policies.

Notebook 7. Legal norms governing I.B.E. in Bolivia

This notebook demonstrates the importance of adopting international norms in favour of the world’s indigenous peoples and the interests of Bolivia’s indigenous population. Teachers must communicate to the educational community that there are current legal provisions that allow us to infuse both Native and Spanish values and cultural practices into our pedagogical activities.