The community project as an identity strategy in the indigenous preschool

Abstract

This work is part of a broader community project aimed at promoting the identify of students attending an indigenous preschool. It was observed that important components, such as language and some traditions, are not incorporated into the school. Older members of the Otomí-Chichimeca community consider that these elements should not be promoted, viewing them as potential sources of discrimination. However, following the humanist, intercultural and inclusive approach of the New Mexican School and its methodologies, which encourage students to recognize themselves as part of a community where the school can contribute to the preservation and improvement of knowledge, traditions and beliefs, a community project was developed. It was created as part of the professional practice course in the fourth semester of the Preschool Education degree, integrating the four training fields and two articulating axes. The project incorporated elements from the environment, such as native vegetation, which the pupils did not recognize as part of their daily lives, as well as the daily practices of parents in caring for their children’s health. Among its outcomes were the creation of a medicinal plants album and the establishment of a school garden featuring these plants.