Finding the contemporary in the traditional: reassessing the impact of indigenous Maya and modern western pedagogies on identity and self

Ludwig, Sheryl Ann; LeCompte, Margaret Diane

doi:10.1590/S1517-9702201508144903

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Dossier - Significant currents of ethnographic research on education: Marjorities, minorities and migrations across the Americas • Educ. Pesqui. 41 (spe) • Dec 2015 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-9702201508144903 copy

Finding the contemporary in the traditional: reassessing the impact of indigenous Maya and modern western pedagogies on identity and self

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

This work contrasts what is taught and learned – other than what is intended – in different educative settings and two historical eras. In a comparison of ethnographic studies conducted in the US and in Guatemala, it compares the “hidden curriculum” (KOHLBERG, 1975) of formal western schooling – the norms, values and practices that are conveyed by the content knowledge taught, and the interaction patterns, assessment procedures and participation structures used (PHILLIPS, 1983) – with similar structures in an indigenous Maya community in Guatemala. It analyzes what children learn, the impact on their identities, and how those types of learning connect to future social and occupational destinations. Educational settings differ in the types of learning and teaching they support; they produce different kinds of learners with different identities and goals. It has been argued that modern schooling actually interferes with the values and practices of so-called traditional cultures, leading to the abandonment of traditional languages, practices and beliefs. Such an argument denies the flexibility of traditional cultures, relegating them to a static “present” not characteristic of the dynamic identities actually being constructed in the 21st century. Conversely, we argue that traditional pedagogies can protect enduring cultural identity (SPINDLER, G; SPINDLER, L, 2000) and lead to more successful accommodation to modernity (RUDOLPH, L; RUDOLPH, S, 1984). We connect this argument with research exploring myths about what schooling can and cannot do to achieve social mobility and improved societal conditions.

Indigenous identity; Hidden curriculum; Schooling; Cultural reproduction; Sociology of education

In the cooperativa	In the public school
∙Voluntary responsibility for attendance and initiation of instruction	∙Legally imposed attendance and curriculum
∙Learners participated in intergenerational groups	∙Learners were organized into groups according to their age and years in school
∙Modes of learning involved an apprenticeship of observation in authentic social and cultural contexts. Members engaged in reciprocal, respectful dialogue across levels of age and competence	∙Mode of learning involved top-down presentation of cognitive information that often was alien to learners’ social and cultural context. Primary interaction patterns didactic and hierarchical (teacher to student)
∙Teacher guided and assisted, modeled expert practice, and provided a vision of performance that was culturally valued within Maya culture	∙Teacher transmitted information, assigned tasks, and evaluated student learning on performance and tasks valued outside Maya culture
∙Personalized, attentive guidance based on ongoing, formative assessment	∙Group instruction plus periodic summative individual performance assessments
∙Teaching by modeling and hands on experience with learning processes; practice encouraged transferable skills and understanding	∙Teaching by direct instruction anddictado; memorization of decontextualized facts; recitation of memorized content
∙Pedagogy of caring: warm support that encouraged personal expression, initiative, and resourcefulness	∙Pedagogy of authority: distanced and impersonal support that encouraged assimilation of chunked, fragmented, and disconnected knowledge
∙Learner initiated interest, took responsibility for learning, practiced what was observed as participated in authentic cultural activity, and expressively created textiles that inscribed cultural centering (as reproduced ancient symbols)	∙Learner received others’ knowledge, acquired content knowledge prescribed for them, learned to follow directives for behavior and performance distanced from authentic cultural activity
∙Rewards in the present, e.g., see results, practice one’s art, receive money from sale of one’s weavings	∙Rewards in the future, e.g.; see test scores, hear the promise of being “bien educado” and internalize its hope of a better life

Constructions of Identity Embedded in the Participation Structures of the cooperativa	Constructions of Identity Embedded in the Participation Structures of the School
Presentation of self as a weaver, a Maya construction (Goffman, 1961)	Presentation of self as student, a Ladino construction (Goffman, 1961)
Self as initiator and responsible, observant, resourceful creator	Self as ventriloquated by Western orientations to knowledge and colonized historical experience (Bakhtin, 1981, 1986), 1986)
Constructor of one’s own (Maya) knowledge and ideology (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule, 1986)	Receiver of others’ knowledge and ideology (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule, 1986)
Enduring Self (SPINDLER, G; SPINDLER, L, 2000)	Situated (and possibly endangered) Self (SPINDLER, G; SPINDLER, L, 2000)

Upper-Class School Learning	Working-Class School Learning
• Making decisions	• Following orders
• Supervising others	• Being supervised
• Having autonomy and responsibility	• Being controlled
• Being involved in all aspects of a process, seeing the “big picture”	• Being involved with fragments of a process, limited to parts of a picture
• Creating, designing, new concepts and ideas of one’s own	• Using, executing, ideas and concepts of others
• Creative work done independently	• Basics of reading, writing, math
• Expression and application of ideas and concepts	• Textbook centered
• Learning to make sense of one’s own reality;	• Teacher dominated
• Self-satisfaction with work as a legitimate evaluative criterion	• Mindless rule-following, obeying authority; living within someone else’s rule framework
• Learning complex processes rather than rote procedures	• Self-satisfaction irrelevant as an evaluative criterion
• Student centered	• Learning procedures rather than processes
• Teacher facilitated	• Rote memorization, recall
• Teacher control negotiated, few direct orders	• Copying, drill, practice
• Few rules, basically setting limits on individual activity so as not to annoy others	• One-word sentences for answers
	• Fragmented learning
	• No explanations or rationale for tasks
	• No consultation with or decisions/choice by students

	Traditional working class education	New middle-class education
Purpose	Teacher instruction	Student learning
Focus	Facts, right answers, obedience	Ideas, diversity of perspectives, understanding
Strategies	Memorization, drill, and repetition (“drill and kill”), deconstruction of knowledge into sequential factoids, sounds, basic skills	Inquiry, exploration, discovery, reflection, problem-posing, critical thinking
Classroom set up	Teacher in front, students arrayed in rows	Community of learners in collaborative and cooperative groups, hands-on learning
Affect	Avoidance of affective issues, socio/emotional knowledge	Inclusion of affective and socio/emotional concerns
Concerns	Concerns: obedience to authority, conformity to rules	Concerns: students’ interests, choice and responsibility
Teacher/Student roles	Teacher centered; teacher talks, students listen; teacher questions, students respond; teacher is repository of and transmitter of knowledge; students as passive recipients of knowledge	Learner-centered; teacher facilitates, guides search for knowledge; teacher moves around; students work in groups; teacher and students discuss; students question; students as active constructors of knowledge
Materials	Lectures, textbooks, worksheets	Original documents, primary sources, projects, texts
Assessments	Quizzes, emphasis on grades, external standards, standardized tests.	Assessments: broad-based, thematic units, portfolios, performance benchmarks
Material culture	Student desks, teacher desk, chalkboards around the walls, books, writing implements, paper in shelves along walls; rules and learning materials posted as decoration; magazines; a computer, perhaps math manipulatives	Contents: tables, chairs, rug, sofa, class pets, plants, books, computers, games; manipulatives; student projects; white board and smart board; artwork, class contracts, found objects posted as decoration

Faculdade de Educação da Universidade de São Paulo Av. da Universidade, 308 - Biblioteca, 1º andar 05508-040 - São Paulo SP Brasil, Tel./Fax.: (55 11) 30913520 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: revedu@usp.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Sheryl Ann Ludwig is adjunct professor at The Women’s College at Denver University, Denver CO.