Indigenous Identity Formation in Chilean Education

This book offers rich sociological analysis of the ways in which educational institutions influence indigenous identity formation in Chile. In doing so, Webb explores the mechanisms of new racism in schooling and demonstrates how continued forms of exclusion impact minority groups.By drawing on qualitative research conducted with Mapuche youth in schools in rural and urban settings, and in private state-subsidised and public schools, this volume provides a comprehensive exploration of how national belonging and indigeneity are articulated and experienced in institutional contexts. Close analysis of student and teacher narratives illustrates the reproduction of historically constructed ethnic and racial criteria, and demonstrates how these norms persist in schools, despite apparently progressive attitudes toward racism and colonial education in Chile. This critical perspective highlights the continued prevalence of implicit racism whereby schooling produces culturally subjective and exclusionary norms and values.By foregrounding contemporary issues of indigenous identity and education in Chile, this book adds important scholarship to the field. The text will be of interest to researchers, academics, and scholars in the fields of indigenous education, sociology of education, and international and comparative education.

“Andrew Webb's book offers a conceptually rigorous and empirically rich account of new racism in Chilean schooling. Drawing on a decade of research, Webb examines the exclusionary consequences of teachers' 'racelessness' that denies ongoing racism and underpins white norms and micro-level practices of structural racism. Critical of north American and European accounts of new racism in education, Webb demonstrates how the experiences of Chile's Mapuche youth reflect the damaging outcomes of not talking about race and racism, and the limits of intercultural bilingual education. In clear and accessible prose, this book provides a rigorous and timely contribution to urgent debates in education and Latin American studies.” -- Sarah A. Radcliffe, Professor of Latin American Geography, University of Cambridge, UK“In this meticulously researched book, Andrew Webb has produced an extraordinary account of how racism thrives in new and unexpected ways in Chilean schools, even when intercultural and bilingual programming is in place. Webb demonstrates how "color blind" and "color mute" racism are built into educational systems and reproduced by teachers and peers in schools, and explores the pernicious effects of this on Indigenous youth, showing that while some are able to persist in strong Indigenous self- and group identifications, many others are negatively affected by the contradictions and ambivalences of the new racism. He further demonstrates how neoliberal logics of "choice" and "individual/familial responsibility" justify persistent racial hierarchies and discrimination in schooling. While others have drawn attention to the intersections of neoliberalism, multiculturalism, and racism in Chile, Webb provides a vital account of how racism is reproduced through schooling and continues to shape the life chances and identities of Indigenous youth. This book is essential reading for those interested in racism and education in Latin America and beyond.” -- Particia Richards, Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, University of Georgia, USA

Andrew Webb is Associate Professor of Sociology at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile.