Occupational perception of the alumni of the Intercultural University model in Mexico, situation at the UNICH and the UIEM

Abstract

The intercultural bachelor is a term that refers to the young people from diverse sociocultural environments who took their degree in the framework of the recently founded educational model called Intercultural University, administered by the Mexican Ministry of Education. In this paper we analyze the uneasy position of intercultural discourse incorporated in the admission and graduation profiles, which give support to superior education, and the real situation in the labor market. The initial question, and key issue, is: what happens after the completion of the intercultural university education? The perception about of this Intercultural discourse is positive from authorities and students, but the situation outside the Intercultural Universities (above all in the labor market) which is marked by a deep miscomprehension or ignorance of given of the role that the intercultural bachelors should carry in the society. They have many problems as discrimination, low salary levels and inefficient programs of individual development. Through a qualitative process we obtain the perception from several actors about of the role of the intercultural bachelors. The research was carried out in two geographical and sociocultural contexts, the states of México: Intercultural University of State of Mexico and Intercultural University of Chiapas.