Education in Pursuit of the Development Dream? Effects of Schooling on Indigenous Development and Rights in Bolivia

Abstract

:Education (formal education, schooling) is generally understood as a resource which enables development and leads to the enjoyment of other human rights. In this article, relationships between indigenous education, development and rights are explored. When development is defined as a human right, it aims at improving human rights in general and should not negatively impact them. However in practice, education may produce conflicts in the realisation of indigenous peoples’ individual and collective rights, especially their linguistic and cultural rights, since cultural and linguistic assimilation are often the reported outcomes of indigenous education. This article uses Bolivia as a case study. Since 1994, indigenous peoples’ languages and cultures have to some extent been recognised in the Bolivian education law. Despite this, the implementation of the law has been slow and discontinuous. Arguably, such implementation has not been consistent with indigenous peoples’ cultural and linguistic rights; therefore indigenous peoples’ right to education has not been fully implemented, neither has it produced the expected development or empowerment results.