Intercultural bilingual education in Guatemala

Intercultural bilingual education in Guatemala was begun as part of a 20th-century educational reform effort intended to promote the country's cultural diversity. The programs merge Mayan language and culture with Spanish language and Ladino culture, a shift from the assimilation policy of educational programs promoting Spanish literacy which reduce the use of indigenous languages. During the 20th century, education reform evolved from castilianization and the 1965 Bilingual Castilianization Program to the 1980 National Bilingual Education Project. Each program aimed to increase Spanish fluency. In 1985, the Constitution legalized bilingual education and the Ministry of Education formed the Programa Nacional de Educación Bilingüe (PRONEBI). PRONEBI developed from the 1980–1984 National Bilingual Education Project, and aimed to provide bilingual education for rural indigenous children.

PRONEBI differed from previous education programs in recognizing the value of Mayan culture and language in Guatemala's multicultural and multilingual society, and has played a major role in institutionalizing intercultural bilingual education. In 2005 there were bilingual programs in Q’eqchi’, Achi’, Kaqchikel, Ch’orti’, Poqomam, Mam, Q’anjob’al, Garifuna, Mopán, K’iche’, Tz’utujil and Xinka, and the Ministry of Education’s Strategic Plan for Education 2012-2016 has made bilingual, intercultural education a national priority. Intercultural bilingual education programs in Guatemala have received criticism and support from Mayan activists, indigenous communities and international scholars and activists.

Guatemala was described as a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual country in the Constitution of 1985, which recognizes the right to cultural identity (Article 58) and says that bilingual instruction is preferable in regions with large indigenous populations. Guatemalans identify as mestizo, European and Mayan; its population is 59 percent mestizo and European and 40 percent Mayan. Spanish is the official language of Guatemala, with 60 percent of the population speaking the language. Speakers of Amerindian languages constitute 40 percent of the population, and the government officially recognizes 23 Amerindian languages. Education policy distinguishes between Mayan and Ladino education, but does not address the education of the Xinca (whose languages are nearly extinct) or the Garífuna (who speak Garífuna). Guatemala is one of a number of Latin American countries (including Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua and Mexico) whose governments have implemented intercultural, bilingual education reform.

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