Indigeneity and Pathways through Higher Education in Mexico

土著群体所面临的社会和经济劣势是一项重大的全球政策挑战。世界上有3.1亿土著人民，他们大多生活在官方发展援助国家，他们的贫困率估计是非土著人口的两倍，他们的健康和教育成果也较差，他们的权利得不到承认。在应对这一政策挑战方面，许多国家在卫生、福利、就业以及最近在高等教育方面制定了开创性的社会政策。关于高等教育政策的创新，包括高等教育提供的多样化形式，如何影响土著人民的社会和经济发展，包括试图同化（通过平权行动方案）或将土著青年分开（进入专门为他们设计的大学）的政策的相对利益，人们知之甚少。在政策发展的基础上，我们可以确定两种相互竞争的话语，一种是关于土著知识和身份的集体化话语，另一种是关于技能发展和劳动力市场进入的个性化话语。这两者都代表了不同的价值观、政治和方法，以及土著人民需求中的真正紧张关系。这个项目站在这些话语的交汇处，并将通过关注墨西哥的案例，试图批判性地质疑不同类型的大学如何在社会和工具上对土著群体产生影响。墨西哥代表了理想的国际相关案例研究，因为它在开发专门为土著群体设计的新型大学条款方面发挥了先锋作用（“跨文化大学”）。我们研究了所上大学的类型如何影响土著学生的经历、获得的技能/知识以及不同社会领域的认同。该提案是与墨西哥教育部、土著社区发展非政府组织、教科文组织和墨西哥全国大学和高等教育协会合作制定的。该提案汇集了来自韦拉克鲁斯大学的土著研究领域的国际研究团队，以及来自墨西哥国立自治大学（墨西哥城）和巴斯大学的教育社会学家。为了了解参加不同类型大学的影响，将在三所有目的地选择的大学中进行定性研究，这些大学代表了墨西哥高等教育中机构类型的多样性。将在每个机构内进行参与性观察，以确定60名土著学生的身份，在3年期间进行纵向跟踪，跟踪他们在大学及其后的学习过程。采用这种纵向方法，将仔细注意连续性和变化，以及根据所上的大学在他们的经历、遭遇、获得的技能/知识和对未来的期望方面的重要差异。为了提供一个更完整的画面，还将从位于其土著“社区”、同侪群体和大学毕业后目的地（例如工作场所）的社会网络中的3名成员那里获得关于上大学的影响的观点。将与土著社区发展团体、墨西哥教育部的项目伙伴以及政策和实践领域的其他有影响力的伙伴合作，为政策和实践制定可持续的建议。这项工作与其他面临类似挑战的发展中国家相关，通过我们与教科文组织的伙伴关系，将最大限度地发挥对这些国家的影响潜力。

The social and economic disadvantage faced by Indigenous groups represents a significant global policy challenge. The world's 310 million Indigenous peoples, who largely live in Official Development Assistance (ODA) countries, face a poverty rate that is estimated to be twice that of the non-Indigenous population, as well as poorer health and education outcomes, and a lack of recognition of their rights. In terms of addressing this policy challenge, many countries have developed pioneering social policies in health, welfare, employment, and more recently in higher education. Little is known about how innovations in higher education policy, including diversified forms of higher education provision, are affecting the social and economic development of Indigenous peoples, including the relative benefit of policies that seek to assimilate (by programmes of affirmative action) or separate Indigenous youth (into universities designed specifically for them). Underlying policy development, we can identify two competing discourses, a collectivising one on Indigenous knowledge and identities, and an individualising one of skills development and labour market entry. These both represent distinct values, politics, and methods, as well as real tensions in the needs of Indigenous peoples. This project stands at the conjunction of these discourses and will seek to critically question how different types of university impact on Indigenous groups both socially and instrumentally, through focussing on the Mexican case. Mexico represents the ideal internationally relevant case study given its pioneering role developing new kinds of university provision designed specifically for Indigenous groups ('intercultural universities'). We examine how the type of university attended impacts on Indigenous student experiences, skills/knowledge acquired, and identifications across different social domains. The proposal has been developed in partnership with the Mexican Ministry of Education, Indigenous community development NGOs, UNESCO, and the Mexican National Association for Universities and Higher Education.The proposal brings together an international team of researchers in the field of Indigeneity from Universidad Veracruz with sociologists of education from UNAM (Mexico City) and University of Bath. In order to generate knowledge about the effect of attending different types of university, qualitative research will be carried out across 3 purposefully selected universities representing diversity of institutional type within Mexican higher education. Participant observation will be conducted within each institution, which will enable the identification of 60 Indigenous students to be tracked longitudinally over a 3-year period, following them as they progress through university and beyond. Taking this longitudinal approach, careful attention will be paid to continuity and change, as well as important differences based on university attended, in terms of their experiences, encounters, skills/knowledge acquired and aspirations for the future. To provide a more complete picture, perspectives will also be gained about the impact of university attended from 3 members of their social network situated across the social domains of their Indigenous 'community', peer-group and post-university destination (e.g. workplace). Working with Indigenous community development groups, and project partner in the Mexican Ministry of Education, as well as other influential partners in the fields of policy and practice, sustainable recommendations for policy and practice will be developed. The work is relevant to other developing country contexts facing similar challenges, and the potential for impact across these other countries will be maximised through our partnership with UNESCO.