Chakana
as an intercultural methodological instrument for strengthening reading comprehension
La Chakana como
instrumento metodológico intercultural de fortalecimiento de la comprensión
lectora
Leslie Núñez-Zurita
Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, Ecuador
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1522-5395
(Received
on: 11/02/2022; Accepted on: 23/03/2022; Final version received on: 15/07/2022)
Suggested
citation: Núñez-Zurita, L. (2023). Chakana as an intercultural methodological instrument for
strengthening reading comprehension. Revista Cátedra, 6(1), 144-160.
Abstract
In the
educational field there is a great variety of methodologies aimed at improving
the teaching-learning process, which has usually been centered on the
traditional methodology of knowledge transmission. However, recent times have
revealed a new way of interacting with knowledge with alternative proposals. In
this sense, the Andean Chakana is an alternative
didactic resource that can improve the critical or reflective thinking of
students, which contributes significantly in different
subjects such as Literature, a field that within the present study has been
approached taking into account reading comprehension, a fundamental factor to
acquire knowledge as well as to reinforce it. In this sense, the main results
showed that the level of reading comprehension in 5th grade students of the
"Cardenal Spínola Fe y Alegría"
educational unit has deficiencies in vocabulary, sentence construction, but
mainly, deficiencies in literal reading. In addition, teachers do not know the
intercultural methodological instrument Chakana. It
is thus concluded that in the face of the evidenced shortcomings and according
to the benefits offered by this alternative methodology under the Andean
cosmovision, the Chakana forges spaces for an
integral education such as learning in harmony according to the use of its
colors, principles and dimensions; being, in this way, of great utility in the
field of reading comprehension, where this instrument facilitates to deepen on
a previous text a process that involves harmonizing the knowledge, by putting
the student in contact with nature.
Keywords
Chakana,
reading comprehension, intercultural education
Resumen
En el ámbito educativo existe gran variedad de metodologías orientadas a mejorar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje que usualmente ha estado centrada en la metodología tradicional de transmisión de saberes. Sin embargo, los últimos tiempos han develado una nueva mirada de interactuar con los conocimientos con propuestas alternativas. En este sentido, la Chakana andina es un recurso didáctico alternativo que puede mejorar el pensamiento crítico o reflexivo de los estudiantes que aporta significativamente en distintas asignaturas como la Literatura, un campo que dentro del presente estudio ha sido abordado tomando en cuenta la comprensión lectora, un factor fundamental para adquirir conocimientos como reforzarlos. En este sentido, los principales resultados evidenciaron que el nivel de comprensión lectora en los estudiantes de 5to. año de Educación Básica de la unidad educativa “Cardenal Spínola Fe y Alegría” tiene falencias en vocabulario, construcción de oraciones, pero principalmente, deficiencias en la lectura literal. Además, los docentes desconocen el instrumento metodológico intercultural la Chakana. Se concluye así que frente a las falencias evidenciadas y conforme las bondades que ofrece esta metodología alternativa bajo la cosmovisión andina, la Chakana forja espacios para una educación integral como el aprender en armonía conforme el uso de sus colores, principios y dimensiones; siendo, de esta forma, de gran utilidad en el campo de la comprensión lectora, donde este instrumento facilita profundizar sobre un texto previo un proceso que involucra armonizar los saberes, al poner en contacto al estudiante con la naturaleza.
Palabras clave
Chakana, comprensión lectora, educación intercultural.
The
experiences of intercultural pedagogical practice in Latin America reveal that
intercultural pedagogical inclusion initiatives have been a theme that not only
vindicates indigenous struggles, but also makes visible those aspects that
indigenous communities can contribute in the educational field, in fact, this
suggests that such practices contribute significantly to improving knowledge in
various areas, including reading comprehension; a problem that in the region
presents great challenges for students, teachers and the education system in
general that, although "theoretical and practical knowledge about reading
and its teaching has proliferated remarkably" (Shanahan and Lonigan, 2010,
cited in Orellana, 2018, p. 15), the implementation in the classroom has
manifested itself slower and uneven trying, even, to repair shortcomings of the
teachers themselves who are in training. It is also observed gaps in the
inclusion of more efficient pedagogical strategies, where ancestral wisdom,
such as Chakana, has also not been considered in the
field of education. This is evident, above all, because in the classroom and
now in the virtual classroom the traditional methodology is still used, which
reflects limited educational proposals with methodological tools from spaces
such as interculturality, in areas such as Language and Literature, and more
specifically in reading comprehension, a space in which students need an
adequate level to abstract knowledge in a better way.
The above
leads to break the traditional canons of teacher-centered education under a
model of linear memoristic teaching that is still
used in countries like Ecuador, for another that promotes meaningful learning
from the contribution that students can give to the educational process, as
protagonists of the knowledge they acquire in the course of their student life,
where the proposal from the pedagogy with intercultural approach becomes an
encounter and permanent dialogue of knowledge, in which knowledge is built
based on other discourses from diverse ethnic and cultural groups.
The reality
of intercultural pedagogical practice in the national context reveals that in
the country "there are important antecedents of the struggle to achieve
the construction of an intercultural education system that makes visible the
history and knowledge of indigenous peoples" (Di Caudo,
Llanos and Ospina, 2016, p. 167). This has been a proposal that at the Latin
American level has given impetus to inclusive policies that incorporate an
approach that values the contribution that ancestral knowledge, such as the Chakana, can make to knowledge; therefore, it has become a
line of action to make these intercultural methodological tools visible in the
educational sphere.
The
National Plan for Good Living 2017-2021 in Ecuador establishes in its objective
1, "to guarantee a dignified life with equal opportunities for all" (Senplades, 2017, p. 53), as the right to grant to all, a
dignified life with equal opportunities. This in the educational sphere means
promoting spaces for inclusion, comprehensive development
and continuous and quality learning. "Similarly, it reveals the need to
promote and strengthen education with cultural, linguistic and environmental relevance,
which addresses the specific educational needs of peoples and
nationalities" (Senplades, 2017, p. 55). The
above, in effect, means to promote intercultural bilingual education in order to vindicate the achievements of the peoples and
nationalities of Ecuador in the face of the homogenizing process of the West,
in addition, to give value to the proposals that from ancestral wisdom can
contribute to education. To this end, it is necessary to promote educational
plans and projects aimed not only at training teachers in active methodologies
with a focus on intercultural bilingual education practices, but especially the
contribution that Andean wisdom such as the Chakana
can contribute to the process.
Thus, in
the research, which is the result of a thesis, the research questions are: how
does the Chakana, an intercultural methodological
instrument, strengthen reading comprehension in 5th grade students of the
"Cardenal Spínola Fe y Alegría"
educational unit in Quito? what are the essential factors of the Chakana as an intercultural methodological instrument? What
degree of reading comprehension do the students have, and what intercultural
educational proposal from the Chakana strengthens
reading comprehension in the students of 5th year of Basic Education of the
educational unit "Cardenal Spínola Fe y Alegría in Quito"? The main objective is to
investigate the Chakana as an intercultural
methodological instrument to strengthen reading comprehension in 5th grade
students of the "Cardenal Spínola Fe y Alegría" educational unit, and the specific objectives
are to identify the essential factors of the Chakana
as an intercultural methodological instrument; to determine the degree of
reading comprehension in students, and to design from the Chakana,
an intercultural educational proposal to strengthen reading comprehension. It
is thus understood the importance of promoting other teaching methodologies
with a focus on ancestral wisdom, as part of the intercultural proposal in
education, since if adequate levels of reading comprehension are not achieved
in the classroom, in practice the student will not be acquiring significant
learning.
In this
sense, the limitations of this research are mainly due to the insufficient
bibliography related to the Chakana methodology,
since it is a teaching process that is little addressed in formal education.
However, it is a great challenge to propose a proposal aimed at forging reading
comprehension in students according to the parameters of an intercultural
methodological instrument, understanding that within the teaching-learning
process it is vital to understand what is read; therefore, the purpose of the
study is to offer a methodological alternative from the ancestral wisdom to the
difficulty that students have in reading comprehension.
Thus, the
structure of this article begins with the introductory part, in which the
experiences of intercultural pedagogical practice in Latin America and Ecuador,
the research questions and the objectives of the study are presented. In the
second point, a bibliographic review is made on topics such as the Chakana, an alternative teaching method, essential aspects
of Andean symbology: its colors and dimensions; definition and scope of reading
comprehension. In the third point, the section on methods and materials is
developed, that is, the approach and design of the research, as well as the
description of the sample and the context of the research. This is followed by
the results: analysis and discussion, a step that allows, finally, to present
the conclusions.
The
pedagogical proposals that have been put forward throughout history have been
varied. This with the purpose of proposing more useful alternatives to enrich
the teaching-learning process, from a teaching action that provokes significant
knowledge towards quality education. In this sense, from the point of view of
Pérez, Africano, Febres-Cordero
and Carrillo (2016) alternative pedagogies in general, "are a set of
innovative strategies that open paths to positions based on educational trends
that claim to be renovators of the educational fact" (p. 237) and in the
specific case of the Chakana it is framed within the
so-called alternative pedagogies, posed as an intercultural methodological
tool, which takes as a basis the constructivist approach by actively involving
the student in learning.
Indeed,
within the educational context, the Andean Chakana is
used as a didactic resource that favors learning, being a facilitator to forge
critical and reflective thinking, thus becoming "an icon not only of
culture, but also of deep knowledge of multiple areas ranging from exact
sciences such as mathematics to social sciences through natural sciences and
literature" (Escandón and Rivera, 2020, p. 26);
therefore, the symbol is proposed as an alternative to promote interdisciplinarity.
It is thus understood that in the face of the great variety of didactic
pedagogies that are proposed as alternative teaching methods, the Chakana becomes an interesting proposal that from the
Andean vision promotes a new type of teaching that forges the knowledge of the
learner from the particularity of its millenary symbology.
According
to Puma (2014), "the Inca empire developed its culture assuming the Chakana as a model of territorial organization and ritual
symbol associated with wisdom" (p. 15). Thus, translated into Spanish as
Cruz del Sur is represented in a square shape with 12 points and eight edges,
whose essence according to Escandón and Rivera (2020)
symbolizes from the indigenous worldview, the harmonious relationship between
nature and the cosmos widely related to social organization and agricultural
production. In addition, it means the bridge or stairway, where it is 4000
years old. This symbol can be seen in the fabric of the Aymara culture, which
preserves the 13 moons of the year, with 28 days each. The Andean cross has a
geometric shape of a perfect Latin cross. The Andean Chakana
not only can perceive architectural or geometric concepts, but also acquires
the meaning of "stairway to the highest" (Escandón
and Rivera, 2020, p. 27).
It thus
constitutes the synthesis of the Andean cosmovision with a complex multiple
use; linked, in addition, to the seasons of the year from the astronomical
concept, in essence:
The Andean cross is the image that invites to coexistence with nature, to respect the water and all that mother earth does to give food to her children. "The chacana signifies our experience, and how we must conserve Mother Nature for our children, grandchildren and for all those to come," says Samuel. The taitas hang an Andean cross from their necks. Taita Yaku carved his own chacana out of rosewood. It is a chacana that has its white part and its dark part, this is how it represents duality, whether it is good and evil, man and woman, etc. (El Mercurio, 2017, para. 1) (See Figure 1).
Figure 1. The Chakana: Confederation of the Cayambi People
Thus, as
part of the Andean symbology, the Chakana promotes
the integrality of the human being in its different dimensions from the
construction of ancestral knowledge, where it harmoniously integrates the
elements of nature that has lasted until today assuming different roles within
the Andean cultural context.
From the
indigenous cosmovision, the colors of the rainbow "have a transcendence in
the development and union among the peoples" (Vinueza,
2016, p.27 ) expressed in the wiphala (symbol of Andean philosophy); where its
49 strokes "are closely related to the Andean Chakana,
because it creates parity order to the Andean cosmogonic world, from the
masculine-feminine duality or yanantin and from the
double duality or Tawantin divided into four
quadrants" (Quispe, 2017, para. 3). In this
sense, the colors of the Chakana constitute the most
representative element of the identity of indigenous peoples acquiring a
particular meaning by enhancing the importance of the duality of people, mother
earth, time, space, among others that, embodied in a geometric figure, in past
times was used as a resource for fields such as religious, philosophical,
social sciences and mathematics.
The colors
of the Chakana for Mayanza
(2019) reflect the ancestral vision on the importance of the knowledge of the
Andean man as the value of cultures and human life, that is, its preservation
and procreation; "as well as nature: its wealth for the benefit of the
peoples and the moral principles (from the Andean cosmovision) that every human
being practices" (Mayanza, 2019, p. 4).
In the
educational field, according to Gualavisí (2018) it
is represented by five colors: red, yellow, blue, green
and white redistributed as follows:
Yellow: Fine
and gross motor development area, hard texture, rhombus shape, earth element,
percussion, feeling of security, medicinal plant Chamomile, sweet taste, sense
of taste, Alli Ruray.
Red: Area of
Socio-Affective development, smooth and rough texture, the figure of the
square, the element of fire, the sound of the voice, feeling of love, medicinal
plant lemon verbena, sour taste, sense of smell, Alli Yananti.
Blue:
Cognitive development area, soft texture, rectangle figure, water element,
rattle, feeling of fear, medicinal plant zunfo, salty
taste, sense of hearing, Alli Yachay.
Green:
Language development area, rough texture, triangle figure, wood element,
strings, feeling of anger, medicinal plant Ruda,
bitter taste, sense of touch, Alli Rimani.
White:
smooth texture, circle figure, air element, feeling Peace, medicinal plant
Rosemary, sense of sight, spicy taste (p. 18).
In essence,
the central role of colors in the teaching-learning model is aimed at
transforming a society in unequal conditions by articulating both the ancestral
wisdom expressed, according to Castro (2017) in its four dimensions, wanting muñaña, knowing yatiña, doing luraña, and being able to atiña
with the science of the West.
Within
traditional thinking, concepts such as knowing (knowledge), knowing how to know
(internalizing knowledge), knowing how to do (skills), knowing how to be
(development of attitudes), knowing how to live together (development of social
competencies); are part of the competencies focused on the new education model
that takes as a basis the globalizing process focused on improving productivity
and competitiveness of human capital, and within it, social recognition.
However, within the Andean cosmovision, the Chakana takes into account the following dimensions:
- Knowing how to trascend-to wish–to say
- Knowing how to be
- Knowing how to do
- Knowing how to think
- Knowing how to emote/corazonar
It is
understood that, under this conception, the individual is in the capacity to
develop, within the Chakana approach, the tool that
privileges aspects such as coexistence, harmony of being, the sense of community
and equality.
The term
reading comprehension has been addressed by a number of researchers who have
not found a single and agreed definition, so according to Fuentes (cited by
Amaya, 2017), it has been defined in different ways according to the
methodological orientation, thus reinforcing the idea that it is a complex
process widely associated with the act of reading; where, reading is a
procedural activity and that reading comprehension, on the other hand, refers to
the psychological processes performed by each individual, where motivation
"is a central pillar in determining the efficiency of their ability to
understand what they read" (Amaya, 2017, p. 20). It is thus understood
that the action of reading is relevant for the acquisition of new knowledge as
the reinforcement of others, as long as the process is performed in depth,
where the student when transcending to the stage of understanding a text must
have previous knowledge as skills to grasp; so that "in this interactive
complexity, several processes -perceptual, cognitive and linguistic- are
involved, and the reader must infer information at various levels of
processing, not only in the most basic, superficial or explicit ones (Núñez and Donoso, 2000, cited by
Herrera, Hernández, Valdés and Valenzuela, 2015, p. 128 ).
The above
suggests understanding that, just as reading is a complex process, so is
reading comprehension, which involves three levels: literal, inferential, and
critical, for which a series of skills are required. In this sense, it is
essential that an effective process towards the acquisition of meaningful
learning involves strategies and methodological tools based on constructivism,
which takes into account the student as the
protagonist in the teaching process.
As the Chakana is understood as a millenary symbol coming from the
Andean cultures, it contains a series of opposing but complementary elements,
which according to Torres (2015) explains the Andean worldview based on
elements such as "masculine/feminine, sky/earth, sun/moon, north/south,
up/down, time/space" (p. 28). In this sense, for Coarite
(2014), within the educational field, the Chakana is
a skillful tool for areas such as text comprehension, where:
The two
tasks of reading to write are made possible by the use of
the Chakana as a text analysis tool. The text is read
with the Chakana model, that is, the text is analyzed
with the tool. The activity of reading with the Chakana
brings the task of writing, interpreting the parity of meaning. Writing can
derive in the structuring of different types of texts, for example: precise,
reviews, commentaries, essays, and monographs. Consequently, thanks to the
analysis tool, reading and writing activities are carried out simultaneously
(para. 28).
In this
way, the Chakana takes as its center the text, whose
problems around it are solvable by means of this tool; however, it is necessary
that there be on the part of the reader the interest in reading towards the
deployment of the strengthening of a critical reading; where for Coarite (2014), comprehension gives way to the reciprocal
and complementary parity of meaning, and that understanding the subject starts
with a critical position, which is what is of interest in reading
comprehension. In this sense, the so-called development of the vivencia or learning experience is present in the Chakanic sequence, whose process addresses four steps:
"Step 1: Vivencia from close to life (red). Step
2: Description and meanings, use of resources (blue). Step 3: Augmentations and
yapas (green). Step 4: Vivenciad of what has been
learned (yellow)" (Confederation of the Kayambi
people, 2018, p. 26). This learning experience applied to the context of
reading comprehension involves, according to Coarite
(2014), taking into account the following aspects: at
the center of the Chakana is the text, the problem to
be solved, secondly, the person's willingness to read is essential. Third,
"comprehension brings the reciprocal and complementary parity of meaning,
which occurs in the center of the Chakana, is noted
in the Taypi" (para. 32) and, finally, in the
face of what has been understood, a critical position is assumed that makes it
possible to argue.
In the research
work, the mixed approach was applied, i.e., qualitative
and quantitative; the same that according to Hernández, Fernández and Baptista
(cited by Otero, 2018) make use of a systematic, rigorous and empirical process
to produce knowledge. In this sense, the quantitative approach uses numerical
measurement to analyze a reality, where "it begins with defining an idea
that goes delimiting the sequential systemic process that the researcher gives
to the scientific rigor that he puts in the search for new knowledge" (p.
10). Thus, within the present study, the quantitative approach has served as a
basis for obtaining more information about the level of reading comprehension
in fifth grade students of the "Cardenal Spínola
Fe y Alegría" educational unit.
Regarding
the qualitative approach, Hernández-Sampieri,
Fernández and Baptista (2013), point out that it is based on the interpretative
perspective of the reality addressed, where "the qualitative researcher
uses techniques to collect data, such as unstructured observation, open
interviews, document review, group discussion, evaluation of personal
experiences, recording of life stories, and interaction and introspection with
groups or communities" (p. 9); the usefulness of this approach in the
present research was given by allowing the analysis of information obtained
from the interview technique, from which the variable of the Chakana was investigated.
Finally,
the descriptive level of research is taken as a basis, which "is carried
out when one wishes to describe, in all its main components, a reality"
(Guevara, Verdesoto & Castro, 2020, p. 165),
where in this research it is used to describe the variables: reading
comprehension and the Chakana in the educational
environment.
3.1
Description of the sample and the research setting
Within the
use of the test, the population used was the students of the fifth year of
Basic Education of the educational unit "Cardenal Spinola
Fe y Alegría", a total of 21 students belonging
to this level, where a sample was not taken because of the small number of
students.
The school
belongs to the province of Pichincha, canton Quito, and is located on Marcelo Spinola Avenue Oe3-102 and Lorenzo Flores. The school has a
morning schedule from 07h00 to 12h45. It operates from first grade to third
grade of high school, and additional subjects such as English, art and religion
are taught.
In relation
to the interview, two technical experts from the intercultural dedication of
the Cayambi people's confederation and two teachers from
the "Cardenal Spínola Fe y Alegría"
school were interviewed.”.
4.1 Student research: evaluation test
This
section analyzes the results obtained from the reading comprehension test
administered to the students according to the following scale:
a) a) Scale of 0-1 correct answer: low
b) b) Scale of 2-3 correct answers:
medium
c) c) Scale of 4-5 correct answers:
high
Figure 2. Vocabulary level
In relation
to knowing the students' vocabulary level, 67% have a high level, 28% a medium
level and 5% a low level. The results indicate that, in general, among the
group addressed, this point is mostly strengthened, a positive aspect when it
is understood that knowing the meaning of words contributes to a better
understanding of a text and, therefore, does not result in a situation that
frustrates their learning.
Figure 3. Sentence construction
With respect to knowledge of the ability to
construct sentences, 48% have a high level, 14% a medium level and 38% a low
level. It is thus inferred that this point needs more attention, since the
results are less positive in relation to the level of vocabulary previously
analyzed.
Figure 4. Literal reading level
In relation
to knowing the type of literal reading, it can be seen that
100% have not reached this point, since when indicating that within the
paragraph exposed on the work Huasipunga answer the
characters of the story, the time in which the story takes place and the place
of the story; there were strong shortcomings of response. The above leads to
determine that it is necessary to strengthen this aspect in reading
comprehension, being so far the weakest point evidenced in the test conducted
in the fifth year of elementary school students.
Figure 5. Exploratory reading level
With
respect to knowing the level of the type of exploratory reading, 86% had a high
percentage, 9% had a low percentage, 5% had a medium-high percentage and none
obtained a medium score. Thus, it can be seen that this
is the most positive result achieved in the group of all the points addressed
so far, since they were able to answer extensively the title of the text, the
chapters it contains, its author and type of story according to the options
presented (Jorge Icaza, indigenist, none and Huasipungo,
etc.).
Figure 6. Critical reading level
Finally, regarding the critical level, 62% have
a high level, 19% a medium level and 19% a low level. Thus, it can be deduced
that, within this aspect, students achieve a moderately positive score, but
that it still needs to be reinforced.
4.2
Teacher interview analysis
Within this point we have taken into account the interview with two teachers from an
educational center in the country, to whom codes have been assigned
(interviewee 1 and interviewee), in order to maintain confidentiality. Thus, in order to determine the degree of knowledge they have
about the Chakana (its definition), the results were
as follows:
Figure 7. The Chakana: an ancestral
instrument of harmony in education
Figure 7
shows that there is a knowledge base about it, understanding that one of them
stated that it encourages participation, is part of the development of
collective learning, and the second stated that he has a general knowledge
about the Chakana. "It is a very important
symbol for indigenous peoples; however, I have not been aware that it serves as
a harmonization tool" (Interviewee 1, interview, September 28, 2021).
With
respect to knowing the educational experiences from ancestral wisdom, the
following was obtained:
Figure 8. Educational experience on ancestral wisdom
In Figure
8, a general knowledge is seen in one of them, who points out that "the
ancestral part in education influences a lot in the use of colors where the
educational environment is developing, the placement of plants and sounds to
reflect nature. It helps to improve the concentration and care of each student
by placing a responsibility of protection, and
improves at the environmental level the stress of the day to day influencing calm
at the time of developing classes" (Interviewee 2, interview, September
28, 2021). The other, on the other hand, points out "I have never had any
experience linked to ancestral wisdom" (Interviewee 1, interview,
September 28, 2021).
Finally,
regarding whether they would like to learn new teaching methodologies based on
intercultural methodological tools such as the Chakana,
the following is observed:
Figure 9. Interest in learning the La Chakana
Methodology
Figure 9
shows that there was a unanimous response in indicating that it generates a
high degree of interest, it is a useful methodology, since "it would be
interesting to learn new methodologies, since in our educational establishments
we have students from diverse cultures and different customs that are an
essential part of our identity" (Interviewee 1, interview, September 28,
2021).
4.3
Analysis of expert interviews
This
section presents the results obtained from the responses of two experts in
intercultural education and the Chakana, who have
been assigned a code (Expert 1 and Expert 2). This is followed by an explanation of.
Figure 10. Chakana and education in Andean
villages
When asked
what the Chakana is or what it represents for the
education of Andean peoples, it can be seen that in
the experts' answers there are two central categories: integral development and
harmony. In this sense, one of the interviewees considers that "it is an
integral educational process, that is why it should not even be called
education but integral development. The issue is that education has been
disintegrated" (Expert 1, interview, September 24, 2021), so for the
expert the Chakana "teaches us to live a
spiritual-harmonious part" (Expert 2, interview, September 20, 2021) in
areas such as education by teaching the student to live.
Figure 11. Educational experiences of ancestral wisdom
With
respect to knowing what educational experiences from the ancestral wisdom have
been lived in the country, what results have been achieved. At this point they
point out that the educational experiences have shown the importance of the
education of the peoples, "the problem is that in the country there is no
public policy that says that the education of the peoples is worth, or that the
language has to be worth to enter a place to work. They teach rather to
eliminate because what matters is to know Spanish" (Expert 2, interview,
September 20, 2021), therefore, for one of the interviewees, education has to evolve and if it does not "we are lost"
(Expert 1, interview, September 24, 2021); it is essential to teach to develop
intelligence and to embrace the full potential of the child.
Figure 12. La Chakana and reading comprehension
Finally,
regarding the way in which Chakana can contribute to
the field of text comprehension, the answers indicated that it is necessary to
teach from Chakana based on the reading of reality,
which involves a process. "It is the ability of a person to meaningfully
interpret a text, but for us it is not only that, it is to make use of circular
Chakana, that is, to integrate nature, graphics and
symbols" (Expert 1, interview, September 24, 2021). To do this, "we
must have a good level of reading nature and, therefore, reading reality:
reading in reality" (Expert 2, interview, September 20, 2021).
In this
sense, Expert 2, from the Kayambi people, states that
the use of colors helps students to better grasp reading comprehension, where:
In each
color you can put texts depending on the topic. You can also plan in each color
in education, and there are several ways to work on the colors. For children
you can put the animals, for example, in red is the guinea pig, which teaches
us the maximum fertility, the maximum love for the loved one. In the blue color
we have the snake, and you can tell stories with the animals. In the green
color we have the hummingbird and there we also find the pig. The yellow color
gives us security, and it is represented by the little dog, the security is in
the mountains, the strength of a community that is the little dog and/or the
little bear. In the center we have the spiritual, visionary part, the condor,
the little turtle (Interview, September 20, 2021).
The data
obtained made it possible to demonstrate, on the one hand, the level of reading
comprehension among fifth grade students and, on the other hand, to determine
to what extent the teachers interviewed know the Chakana
as an intercultural methodological instrument, but also to identify the
essential factors of this proposal of the ancestral conception.
In this
way, it can be seen that in the group of students'
reading comprehension, which is clearer on the literal than on the critical
level, but also in the lack of knowledge of how to construct a sentence, it is
determined that the methodology used has not given the expected results. On
this point, the study conducted by Moreta and Mayorga
(2020) led to the conclusion that, through the traditional methodology used in
an educational center in Colta, Ecuador, "48% of
the students evaluated do not reach the expected average (normality) for their
level of education, and only 13% of them show a high or very high reading
competence" (p. 60; results obtained from a Reading Comprehension
Evaluation test, of a sample of 101 students.
Now, within
the teaching-learning process, it can be seen, in the present study, that
teachers have not introduced new methodological proposals as proposed in the
research, and that this is demonstrated by the results, widely ignoring the
benefits that the Chakana offers to education in
different fields of knowledge. Here it is important to point out the study
developed by Escandón and Rivera (2020), for whom the
current educational system does not take into account
ancestral didactic resources for the development of skills in areas such as
Geometry. This was evidenced by their research developed using the technique of
interviewing teachers and surveying students in an educational center, where it
was concluded that the group does not understand the topics covered in class,
nor does it reach the required learning under the traditional methodology, but
as a Didactic Unit Plan (PUD) was applied with a focus on the use of the Chakana, their learning process improved significantly.
Thus, it can be seen that this methodological instrument is an
interesting proposal in the field of reading comprehension (a field in which
there is not much literature in Ecuador), since, as experts point out, it not
only provides spaces to improve this process, but also articulates the
experience of reading comprehension with reality, integrating elements of
nature on the precept of learning to read reality. But, in the same way, it
contributes to forge an integral development from its principles and colors,
since it deals with aspects such as emotional aspects by generating
harmonization environments.
Within this
section, the conclusions are developed. This is based on the results obtained
throughout the research process, which are detailed below in accordance with
the specific objectives set out in the study.
On
identifying the essential factors of the Chakana as
an intercultural methodological instrument, it is concluded that within this
methodology two central categories are taken into account: integral development
and learning in harmony, where the colors of the Chakana
(good feeling: red, good thinking: blue, good saying: green, good doing: yellow
and white: harmony) allow the student to interact with reality, being the game
an important part within the educational process understood from the Andean
vision as a healing, healing entity.
It is also
concluded that another essential factor is given by focusing the methodology
according to a learning based on experiences in which both teacher and student
interact actively under a shared education. This applied to the field of
reading comprehension, involves teaching from the use of a reality-based
reading, that is, helping the student to interpret the meaning of a text, but
integrating in the process elements such as graphics, symbols
and nature. With respect to determining the degree of reading comprehension in
the students, it is concluded that among the aspects that need to be reinforced
are mainly the ability to construct sentences, but especially the reinforcement
of the use of literal reading, a point that none of the students achieved. In
addition, it is necessary to improve the level of vocabulary and the critical
level, both aspects that were evidenced to be obtained at a medium-high level;
being the best developed the exploratory reading type with more than 80%
reached in the group studied.
Finally,
regarding the objective that refers to designing an intercultural educational
proposal from the Chakana to strengthen reading
comprehension, it is concluded that the proposal should be focused on the
elaboration of a didactic guide based on the colors of the Chakana
that reinforces aspects such as improving vocabulary, literal reading and the
critical level and knowing how to construct sentences, but based on the use of
a text as well as learning to read graphics, symbols based on the game and
experiences within the context that nature can contribute to reading
comprehension. Likewise, it is concluded that the proposal should be directed
to encourage the active participation of the student, from the Chakana as an ancestral instrument of harmonization of
knowledge, giving an initial induction on this methodology, use of its colors
in education, dimensions, principles, understanding that, in the interview with
the teachers, they evidenced to have very general knowledge on the subject.
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Author
LESLIE NÚÑEZ-ZURITA obtained her Master's
degree in Education with mention in Educational Innovation and Leadership
(MEILE7) from Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, Ecuador, in 2021. She obtained her
Engineering degree in Management and Leadership from Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Quito,
Pichincha, Ecuador in 2017.
Currently
she is a Credit Officer in JEP cooperative, the last position held in the field
of education was as a teacher at the Escuela Volcán
Cotopaxi, she held the position of tutor of middle school, in the Unidad Educativa Mariscal Sucre, she taught Natural Sciences and
Language and Literature.