Developing Intercultural Science Education in Ecuador

Resumen

This article traces the recent development of intercultural science education in Ecuador. It starts by situating this development within the context of a growing convergence between Western and indigenous sciences. It then situates it within the larger historical, political, cultural, and educational contexts of indigenous communities in Ecuador, and goes on to explore ideas of interculturality in education and of native science as voiced by indigenous interviewees in Ecuador in 2004. The primary need voiced by native Ecuadorian leaders is that of defending their communities against various kinds of encroachment—economic as well as cultural—and the enterprise of education is viewed within this reality. The article goes on to describe a recently developed intercultural environmental studies curriculum unit and to indicate possible directions for expanding intercultural science education in Ecuador.