Learning Mapuche Language and Culture at School: Case Study of the Implementation of the New Subject Indigenous Language in the light of an Analysis of "Educational Resources"

Abstract

The article analyzes a case of implementation of the curricular subject Indigenous Language focusing on the educational resources employed as "learning mediators". Based on an ethnographic work of participant observation in class, the development of teaching and learning activities is examined, giving attention to the educational resources or materials employed. These included those intentionally introduced by the researchers who collaborated with the teacher in seeking better teaching strategies, and the explicit school demand for support. Besides introducing a technical definition of educational resource, different learning situations are analyzed from the perspective of "situated cognition" which allows identifying those elements that make "playful activities" in particular, not only intrinsically motivating but also effective for the development of academic abilities.