Interculturality and Teaching Practices in History, Geography and Social Sciences in Schools with a High Percentage of Migrant Students in the District of Santiago

Abstract

This article presents an exploratory study of four teachers" teaching practices in the subject of History, Geography and Social Sciences, in schools with a high immigrant enrollment, in the district of Santiago. The purpose of this research was to explore how teachers respond to the challenge of teaching students with diverse cultural and historical backgrounds. The study uses a qualitative approach with a Grounded Theory focus, in order to generate knowledge from the practices themselves. The results indicate that teachers essentially apply two strategies in the classroom: (1) comparisons between the characteristics of Chilean events, historical processes or topics, with those of the immigrant students" countries of origin, and (2) the use of analogies between the experiences of immigrant students and the curriculum"s mandatory content. Although these strategies coincide with some principles of an intercultural teaching approach, they coexist with explanations related to an essentialist idea of national identity and narratives of cultural superiority. These findings can guide future continuing education and support programs and help teachers to improve the practices they are currently using and to deepen the understanding of interculturality in the teaching of History and Social Sciences.