Intercultural education and indigenous cultures in Latin America: an analysis of the degree in Pedagogy of Mother Earth

Abstract

This article analyzes the experience of implementing and get working the degree in Pedagogy of Mother Earth at the University of Antioquia (Colombia) as a specific and innovating program for higher edu-cation —unique in Latin America— that aims to delve into the questions raised by the intercultural university education adapted to the specific needs of the indigenous communities. This degree program is built from different points of view and approaches related to the development of indigenous schemes of life and their world views and cosmogonies and favors the intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity. The analysis and progress made in the systematization of this educational model is centered, amongst other aspects, on area training meetings organized to gather the team of professionals, teachers and faci-litators of the academic program and the indigenous communities, the curricular structure, the profiles of the community projects carried out by indigenous students, the homologation of degrees and the op-portunities, limitations and difficulties they face, and the perspectives that have been opened up thanks to the institutional and academic recognition of this degree.