Between school and territory: representations of the teaching role among indigenous teachers in the northernmost region of Chile

Abstract

In Latin America, the predominance of a homogeneous concept of identity has been identified, even in those countries that recognize cultural diversity, creating a divorce between community knowledge and the school, to the point that for those stu- dents who embody diversity in the classroom, the school represents the place where they do not feel free, and their cultural identity is contradicted (Suckel et al., 2018). This is especially sensitive in border contexts.This work proposes to analyze the representations of their role held by teachers of indigenous descent in the Chilean region of Arica and Parinacota, bordering Peru and Bolivia. A qualitative, descriptive-interpretative study is presented, in which data collection was conducted through in-depth interviews and focus groups discussions. The thematic analysis, using mixed coding, revealed that the national curriculum forms the central node of the representation of the teaching role, relegating its commitment to ethnic identity to the background, revealing the imprint of centuries of cultural invisibility and national homogenization policies. In this way, the aim is to contribute valuable input to the construction of an education based on horizontal interculturality and mutual relevance.