TEACHER TRAINING IN MULTICULTURAL CONTEXTS: THE VOICES OF THE MICHOACAN PURÉPECHA TEACHERS (MEXICO)

Abstract

This paper describes the model of intercultural bilingual education of the purépecha community which is located in the Lake Patzcuaro (Mexico) and, specifically, puts the focus on the challenges that indigenous teachers who teach in initial, preschool and primary education levels. The research process focused on conducting semi-structured interviews with different in-service teachers in this region which characterized by its cultural and linguistic diversity. The subsequent content analysis has confirmed, on the one hand, that these teachers consider initial and permanent training crucial to serve and understand indigenous communities in order to preserve their worldview and to face the challenges of globalization. On the other hand, the teachers indicate that in their day to day they have to deal with deficiencies and weaknesses in terms of didactic materials, infrastructures, evaluation systems (internal and external) and monitoring.