Immigrant Pedagogies in Northern Chile: Giving Space to My Identity Formation as Researcher

• In Event: Research Positionality and the Process of Developing One´s Voice in Decolonial Projects: A Transnational Dialogue

Abstract

Through my presentation, I aim to contribute to the discussion about research positionality and the process of developing one´s voice in decolonial academic projects by reflecting on my experience as a champurriado (Alvarado, 2021) educational researcher. The term "Champurriado" in the Mapudungun language is used by Claudio Alvarado Lincopi to describe the identity formation of Mapuches in frontier/border sites, culturally and historically speaking. Here, I will use champurriado to frame my personal background as a mestizo o Ch’ixi (Rivera-Cusicanqui, 2012) who has learned from borderlands throughout my life as a son of exile provoked by Pinochet that later became a history teacher and currently is a junior researcher dedicated to study borderland situations in northern Chile. Particularly, my research aims to value the transnational experiences of current immigrant students in Chilean society.

Historically, Chile has only recognized Western-European migration as a fundamental heritage for ideologically being a Western and White society (Tijoux & Palominos, 2015). However, the current influx of Latin American and Caribbean migration, with its blackness, brownness, and indigeneity, intervenes in the Chilean neoliberal space via pragmatic practices and frictions (Gago, 2017; Tsing, 2005). This situation invites us to rethink our understanding of migration and diversity in education, unveil expressions and mechanisms of racism, and find ways to honor and understand the fund of knowledge (Gallo, 2019; Gonzalez et al., 2006; Yosso 2005,) and context-based knowledges driven by transnational migration (Gago, 2017). By doing so, we can imagine alternative worlds that are more inclusive, equitable, and committed to social justice and antiracist education.

In addressing this commitment, I analyze what I call “pedagogies of immigrant cultural wealth”—daily life lessons to convert transnational experiences into social assets to successfully navigate scenarios of marginalization–of northern Chile immigrant students and their mothers. In my work, I ask: 1) How do immigrant students and their families forge durable educational pathways in northern Chile? 2) What pedagogies emerge from domestic and economic arrangements of immigrant mothers to achieve upward mobility? and 3) How can educational scholars draw on the Cultural Wealth model (Yosso, 2005) to address the lived experiences of South-South immigrant students and their families within the discourse on cultural diversity in education? I deployed a qualitative research approach to answer the above research questions by investigating the formation of cultural-wealth pedagogies.
Drawing lessons from my fieldwork, my identity as a champurriado, and my commitment to gaining a deeper understanding of both visible and unseen dangers in having the cultural knowledge for researching race and culture in education (Milner, 2007), I attempt to contribute to this panel by reflecting on my positionality in a decolonial practice. That is, interweaving peripheral ways of knowing, situated in border zones, into a dialogue that considers my own and the participant's positionality. With all, I expect to contribute to deflecting the deficit perspective against Latin American immigrants in the south-south migration pattern in South America.

Author

• Manuel A. Pérez-Troncoso, PUCV-CIAE Postdoctoral Researcher