Mapping ethnic and educational inequalities in an uncharted territory. Argentinean research traditions, their contributions and challenges

MEO, ANALÍA INÉS; CIMOLAI, SILVINA

Newcastle upon Tyne

Conferencia; 6th EducEight International Conference Ethnicity and Education. Old Issues, New Insights; 2012

This paper maps research traditions examining ethnic and educational inequalities in basic education in Argentina from the 1980s up to 2010. The lack of any previous similar analyses implies a considerable challenge and one which has involved acknowledging not only the history of the education system but also the nature of the recent developments in the field of educational knowledge production. This paper offers a typology of research traditions, which are described via a set of studies that have addressed specific research themes or topics, and have deployed similar theoretical tools and methodological strategies. Boundaries between traditions are not clear and tend to overlap; however, each revolves around specific educational research concerns involving indigenous people and/or immigrants. This paper is organised into five main sections. The first section presents basic information regarding social and educational policies targeted at indigenous people and immigrants both before and during the period under analysis. It also depicts the current socio-demographic situation of these groups. Moreover, it offers key data on the Argentine education system, such as structure, governance, participation of the state and private sector, and recent democratising trends of basic schooling. The second section examines the recent configuration of the field of educational knowledge. On the one hand, it argues that this field has been dramatically reshaped during the last three decades, and different scientific policies have contributed to its expansion, together with its diversification and regulation, across different disciplines (such as sociology, anthropology and educational sciences). On the other hand, this section also argues that the state´s and educational researchers´ interest in indigenous groups and immigrants is only recent and at best marginal. Moreover, existent production has been misrecognised by previous review studies. The third section presents the methodological strategy deployed to make "visible" what previous studies have neglected. It describes a set of systematic and flexible criteria used for searching, identifying and sampling research on ethnic and educational inequalities in Argentina. The fourth section explores the identified five research traditions:  "Mapping educational Access", "Intercultural educational policies", "Language conflict and schooling", "Difference and diversity", and  "School texts as a means of othering" and each of these traditions are examined in turn. After summarising the key findings of this article, the last section identifies potential territories to be charted by these expanding, rich and promising research traditions.