One of the challenges still to be met in the 21^st century is that of genuinely embracing diversity.

How can education help to overcome the barriers that continue to exist between people on the basis of language, culture and gender? This case study takes the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua as an example of a multilingual / multiethnic region and examines how the community university URACCAN is contributing to the development of interculturality. It describes participatory research that was carried out with university staff and students with the intention of defining an intercultural curriculum and appropriate strategies for delivering this. One model used as a basis for discussions was the Model for Community Understanding from the Wales Curriculum Council, which emphasises the belonging of the individual to different communities or cultures at the same time. Factors supporting the development of an intercultural curriculum include the university’s close involvement with the ethnic communities it serves. However, ethno-linguistic power relations within the region and the country as a whole still militate against egalitarianism within the university. The research highlights the importance of a participative pedagogy (based on the teaching of Paulo Freire) as the basis for promoting interculturality and achieving social transformation in the long-term.

One of the challenges to be met by educationalists in the 21^st century is that of genuinely achieving unity in diversity. We still live in a world where ethnic conflict and domestic violence flourish, with a resulting increase in numbers of migrants and refugees. How can education help to overcome the barriers that continue to exist between people on the basis of language, culture and gender? Documentation of projects set up by majority groups within the school sector across Europe indicates some progress (see Reid and Reich,1992). Perhaps ways forward can also be found in initiatives from minority communities themselves. In Wales, Welsh language rights and the development of y cwricwlwm cymreig (the Welsh Curriculum) have been accompanied with a looking outward to other minority groups in Europe and beyond (Curriculum Council for Wales, 1992). Links with the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua have pointed us to new ways of providing community education. The research exercise described in this paper is in itself an example of interculturality in action as it formed part of ongoing links between two historically marginalised regions.

The Autonomous Regions of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua comprise about 50% of the country’s surface area but less than 10% of its population. The area contains most of the natural wealth of Nicaragua – timber, fishing and mining – although this has largely been under the control of central government (located in the Pacific side of the country) and foreign companies. Because of the dense forests and mountains in the centre of the country, the Atlantic side has historically been isolated from the rest.

There are six identified ethnic/linguistic groups, although there are racial overlaps between these. The figures below are quoted from the URACCAN mission statement, 1998:

The national language of Nicaragua is Spanish, which is the first language of the majority population. However, according to the Autonomy Law passed under the Sandinista government in 1987, all peoples have the right to use their own mother tongue. A ‘bilingual intercultural education’ programme, established at that time by teachers on the Atlantic Coast, provides early primary education in English, Miskito or Mayangna for some 6000 of the Atlantic Region’s children (Feeland and Maclean, 1995). The adult literacy campaign of 1980-81 produced materials in these 3 languages as well as Spanish. Since 1992 there is an elected Regional Council to ensure the observance of the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Atlantic Coast; however the area still comes under central government control.

Against this background, the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (URACCAN) was set up in 1994 with the vision of ‘developing the human resources of the area in order to manage the natural resources.’ Its objectives include the following (see URACCAN, 1998):

1. to strengthen the ethnic and cultural identity of each community
2. to serve as an academic reference point for intercultural and pluricultural education.

In order to serve the whole Atlantic community, the university has three main campuses with outlying branches within communities. Because of the distribution of the distinct ethic groups, the ethnic/linguistic composition of the three campuses varies from one to the other, although Spanish is the medium of instruction in all of them. The university offers five academic (degree level) programmes which are pertinent to the needs of the regions: BSc in Agro-Forestry; Administration; Sociology (with a focus on Autonomy); and BEd in Educational Sciences; and Bilingual Education. All students are timetabled for Spanish, English and Misikito.

The programmes are all part-time, since many students hold responsible jobs in the region and few can afford to study full-time. It should also be emphasised that the full-time staff at each campus is small in number; most teachers having professional jobs elsewhere and teaching part-time. Often teachers are themselves following a degree course in their spare time.

URACCAN also runs intermediate level programmes for community leaders and community workers, for example, the Diploma in Gender and Development and the Diploma in Indigenous Human Rights. These are held in the communities and organised on a modular basis, with short intensive courses, to make them as accessible as possible.

The research took place as part of the developing links between the University of Wales at Bangor and the URACCAN. Links began in 1992 when one of the founding members of the URACCAN visited Wales for the first time and similarities between the two regions – Wales as part of the UK and the Atlantic Coast as part of Nicaragua – became clearer. Both are historically marginalised regions, having been subject to linguistic oppression and economic exploitation by central government, but now working to strengthen autonomy and language rights. During later exchange visits these similarities have been explored in conferences and seminars to mutual benefit (see, for example, Daniel, 1996a, 1996b).

The research was carried out in response to a specific request from URACCAN for support in the area of intercultural gender-sensitive curriculum. The objective was to carry out a diagnostic on the present curriculum and pedagogy in use at URACCAN with reference to the issues of language; culture; and gender-sensitivity. The diagnostic involved the following methods:

• workshops with curriculum coordinators
• workshops with teaching staff
• a questionnaire to first year degree students
• observation of classes
• focus group discussions with students
• one –to –one discussions with key staff members and individual students
• analysis of teaching/learning materials

The approach taken was that of activist participatory research inspired by Feire (1972), using dialogue and joint research to enhance awareness and confidence and to empower participants to take transformatory action. Freire’s ‘pedagogy of the oppressed’ was also the basis of the award-winning Nicaraguan literacy crusade and thus the philosophy is not new to Nicaraguan educationalists. The research also reflected the participatory learning approach (PLA) developed, for instance, from Chambers (1997). The results were disseminated in a report (see Daniel, 1999) and some of the issues raised will be followed through by students as dissertation topics.

In the workshops with teachers, we worked with a spiral model of interculturality which is taken from the Curriculum Council for Wales Guidelines for Community Understanding (see Fig.1). This model, proposed as the basis for a cross-curricular dimension in school education in Wales, takes the individual as its starting point. Since everyone has different experiences and influences we can see the individual as belonging to an idioculture of one. Viewing interculturality as a spiral, we see how it is possible for the individual to belong to many different communities or cultures at the same time. Thus personal identity is per se intercultural rather than monocultural, as it is often perceived.

This model takes us away from the traditional view of a culture as closed, unchanging and separate. The traditional view is that relations between two cultures is one of ‘otherness’, difference, lack of understanding, hostility and conflict. The spiral shows it is possible for communities to be interlinked and harmonious - while recognising that change is a characteristic within all communities and this can be a cause of conflict between individuals who respond more or less slowly to change. The spiral model) is well suited to the pluri-ethnic reality of the Atlantic Coast, where, in fact, inter-marriage over many years means that individuals do belong to more than one ethnic community as well as to other social / political / geographical groups. Gender is another community which interfaces with all the other communities / cultures to which an individual belongs. Gender can be seen as an integral part of interculturality in this model.

At the basis of the intercultural educational process, then, must lie the nurturing of relations of respect and equality between individuals. In order for this to be achieved, existing hierarchies of power (relating to gender, language, ethnicity, ability etc) need to be challenged and changed. In one of the workshops, as the participants developed their own spiral for the Atlantic Coast, they emphasised the importance of two particular aspects of community understanding / interculturality:

• political consciousness

• active citizenship

All institutions to a certain extent create their own culture (see Daniel, forthcoming). The desired nature of the culture of the URACCAN was what we explored in the curriculum workshops with degree coordinators. In our discussions it was agreed that the curriculum does not only include the obvious aspects such as programme and content. The coordinators emphasised a ‘much wider definition of curriculum (which) avoids the assumption that ... the important learning takes place by means of lessons and subjects’ (Lawton, 1975). This also includes consideration of the human resources, staff and students and community.

As regards the objectives of an intercultural curriculum, a consensus was agreed on the following outcomes.

Discussions with staff were also helpful in defining an appropriate pedagogy - the teaching / learning processes for an intercultural curriculum through which social transformation can be achieved (see Freire,1972). The suggestions emphasise relevance, participation, egalitarianism and change.

Responses from the student questionnaire confirmed the need for a more participative approach which involved elements such as small groupwork, problem solving, student contributions, exchange of personal experiences and cultural knowledge. Such methods would help students overcome their timidity, develop relationships of friendship and ‘reduce egoism and pride’ (Daniel, 1999: 29)

Through a SWOT analysis, we identified the internal strengths and weaknesses of URACCAN as regards delivering an intercultural curriculum, and the external opportunities and threats. On the positive side, the following strengths and opportunities were identified:

• the university has autonomy in terms of establishing its curriculum and its degree courses are all relevant to the needs of the region
• through its 3 main campuses it is located in the heart of different communities
• the BEd. programme in Intercultural Bilingual Education is highly strategic in terms of the future of the region. It raises the profile of issues of language and culture, enhances the teaching skills in schools and thus contributes to a stronger educational foundation for the next generation.
• URACCAN has four 4 research institutes working: i)on linguistic and cultural recovery projects; ii)tradition medicine; iii)autonomy; and iv)natural resources of the region

• the university has good links with a range of organisations (NGOs, ethnic community groups, women’s groups etc) and the opportunity to develop collaborative projects

• the students are actively involved in research projects in the communities, often in collaboration with other organisations, and all will carry out community-oriented research for their dissertations

• the teaching staff reflects a good gender balance as well as the pluri-ethnic / linguistic context

• the university recognises the need for integrating a gender perspective into the curriculum

• the university has become a focus of interest for academics from abroad, because of its involvement with the local communities and its intercultural ethos, and this presents an opportunity for exchange, support and development

• from the outset the university has been involved in the autonomy struggle and it plays an important part in the region’s history.

As regards internal weaknesses hindering the delivery of an intercultural curriculum two main aspects were identified. The first relates to staffing: many of the teachers are not trained in methodology at all, especially those working part-time and there is a specific need for training and staff development in the areas of interculturality, bilingualism and gender-sensitivity. Resistance of some of the teaching staff to changing their teaching style has been noted. Another area is the lack of appropriate of teaching / learning resources to support a change in pedgagogy. Administration was seen to lack understanding of the problems. . Poor communication up until now between the 3 campuses and the central office (in the capital, Managua) has meant difficulty in sharing experiences, ideas and material resources.

Externally, there are two main threats to the continued success of the university itself. One is the present political situation whereby the right-wing government, elected in 1990, is backtracking on the rights awarded to the Atlantic Coast in the Autonomy Law passed under the Sandinista government in 1987, in the areas of health and education as well as in control over communal lands and natural resources of the region. The other threat is the constant need to look for outside funding to keep the project going, despite the fact that URACCAN is recognised within the state system and receives some central support.

Lack of acceptance among the communities for the concept of intercultural bilingual education in general was also noted as a threat. The reasons for this are complex. Lack of resources in the school sector mean that there are problems in implementing the programme of intercultural bilingual education effectively at school level and this causes concern among parents. Central government (through the Ministry of Education) have taken these problems as an excuse to bring Spanish speaking teachers over from the Pacific side to work in primary schools on the Atlantic Coast, replacing local teachers from the indigenous communities. The BEd course in Intercultural Bilingual Education was not supported by the Ministry of Education and many school teachers were dissuaded or prevented from attending the course.

Sensitisation programmes are being carried out in the North (and suggested in the South) in order to help parents and communities develop an understanding of the importance of intercultural bilingual education for the future of the region, and to encourage their participation in lobbying central government for greater support.

Another threat comes from within the regions themselves – the complex ethno-linguistic hierarchy which has developed historically through contact with outside peoples: ‘Different interventions privileged different groups, altering relations between them all and giving rise to a complex of inter-ethnic divisions and rivalries...’(see Freeland, 1993:72). This hierarchy is still reflected within the university and is a serious weakness in terms of delivering an intercultural curriculum, despite all the university’s research on linguistic recovery and the inclusion of minority languages in the degree courses.

The issue of language arose in all discussions with students and it became clear that the domination of the Spanish language as a lingua franca in the Atlantic Coast and the university continues to undermine the status and respect awarded to the minority languages. There is the additional problem of the local language pecking order whereby, for example, English is seen as more important than Miskito, and this is reflected in their weighting in the curriculum: only 2 semesters of Miskito as compared to 6 of English.

Students who speak Spanish as a second language are often disadvantaged in class and in written assignments because they find it more difficult to express themselves in Spanish. One of the teachers recognised that:

This problem was also recognised by students from the range of ethno-linguistic backgrounds; they recommended that explanations could be given in their first language if necessary either by the teacher or other students. As well as helping individual students, the use of minority languages in class would also provide more exposure to their classmates ‘and they would be encouraged to learn them.’ Students highlighted that language skills are important for carrying out research in the communities. Those students (eg Spanish speaking Mestizos) who don’t speak minority languages are actually at a disadvantage in this situation and this may affect the effectiveness of the research.

Both Creole and Mestizo students recognised the importance of learning English, while the Creole students said: ‘We only pass through Spanish because we have to’ (see Peters, 1999).

Staff from linguistic minorities are also disadvantaged in the university environment because of the lingua franca and this can affect maintenance of egalitarian relations. Spanish speaking teachers could attend classes to develop skills in Creole, Miskito or Mayangna and many expressed their willingness to do so. But there is more to a language than just speaking it. Language awareness has been found to be equally, if not more, important in the development of a truly intercultural community (see Daniel 1998). Awareness training for all staff was recommended by the coordinators at both campuses: this would include, for instance, the importance of first language for identity and well-being as well as educational achievement; language rights of the region; and an exploration of interculturality in the classroom.

Another complexity is the interface between gender and culture. Teachers pointed out that gender relations within the classroom still reflected a traditional male dominance. Students also felt that although ‘women have an equal right to, they often don’t in fact make an equal contribution in class’ (Daniel, 1999: 28). Lack of participation was seen by students not only as a factor of gender but also a factor of culture, motivation or personal shyness. These issues may equally relate to the composition and the subject of the class. Students pointed out that when women were in a majority in the class this meant that the men contributed less and seemed less motivated. In one Agro-Forestry class, only one student was female. Second Year students indicated that female students were more timid and contributed less. This was attributed to the traditional Miskito culture, where women have defined roles distinct from those of men and are not traditionally active in decision-making fora. But this could also be said of the Creole and Garifuna communities (see Garcia, 1993).

Students recommended an interactive pedagogy, including small groupwork and cultural exchange, as a way of overcoming shyness. In general it was noted that small groupwork involving men and women exchanging knowledge and experience enabled them to carry out tasks to a higher level:

On one campus there are Agro-Forestry classes comprising equal numbers of men and women. The number of women in the programme is a positive force for change in perceptions of women’s contribution to agriculture, forestry and fishing. One of the teachers described how fieldwork provided valuable cultural exchange and the opportunity to develop new perspectives on all sides. For example, some female students from the countryside were more adept at dealing with cows than some male students. On the other hand, women farmers in the countryside served as good role models to female students from the town. It was felt that women farmers were happy to see the women students, but there was still some resistance from male producers and a tendency not to take the female students seriously.

At present, culture is not considered as an integral part of the Agro-Forestry degree. However, considering and comparing traditional practices more explicitly may help to identify what kind of support and interventions can be most effective. The university has been involved in projects aimed at introducing new models of agro-forestry as part of an economic strategy of diversification. These include the promotion of women’s traditional activities in the kitchen garden (chickens and pigs, vegetables, medicinal herbs, fruit trees, basic grains, processing milk products) aiming to raise their economic independence and decision making status within the household, as well as making a greater contribution to the development of the community and the region (Pro Patio, 1999). Such moves have met with resistance from the communities involved. This might be explained by a reluctance on the part of men to taking on new types of economic activity, especially those that are seen traditionally as a women’s tasks (and thus not considered ‘work’). Yet, while men go further afield to find ‘work’, women are left with responsibility for the household, subsistence farming and community needs. Examining these gender roles and expectations has been difficult in Diploma courses for Community Leaders (who are mainly men).

Sociology students have been involved in a large scale survey into the productive farming, forestry and fishing activities of different communities as part of a UNESCO funded project. There is a clear opportunity for cross-disciplinary work in analysing the results with Agro-Forestry students and making recommendations for future productive activities.

Collecting disaggregated statistics on enrolment each year will be useful in helping to prioritise strategies for encouraging a better gender and ethnic balance into all the courses. In the BSc Administration programme it was also clearly possible to integrate aspects of gender and culture into the different units. For example Human Resource Management could include statistical analysis of the recruitment of women and ethnic/ linguistic minorities into regional business and NGOs; attitudes regarding employment for women and ethnic/ linguistic minorities; examining the practice of organisations as regards pregnancy, maternity leave and the right for women to return to work.

Staff development workshops for university teachers are being planned in collaboration with women’s organisations and NGOs.These courses need to include practical analysis of how the staff can integrate a gender perspective in the content and methodology of their courses, using small interdisciplinary groups to examine specific topics. It will be important to focus on gender and development, especially related to students carrying out community research for their monographs. The workshops need to consider the roles and responsibilities of men and women in the different ethnic communities and how new expectations and opportunities for women (and men) may impact on traditional values.

Strategies for use in multilingual classes were explored in the teachers’ workshop in an experiential manner. Activities included: producing personal banners; brainstorming; production of an Atlantic Coast Community Understanding spiral; discussion of specific problems within the classroom, related to language, culture and gender; small groups working on specimen plans for a cross-disciplinary lesson. Figures 3 summarises the classroom strategies that were provided as a basis for discussion.

It was emphasised that planning needs to include consideration of gender and cultural aspects, as well as language use (see Fig. 4). All programmes of study need to be revised to include objectives specifically related to these aspects. For example, cross-disciplinary groups took the task of preparing a lesson on the theme of ‘The importance of plants for people (medicinal, industrial and nutritional)’which was taken from the Botany module of the BEd in Sciences programme.

Different groups focussed on:

• the universal value of plants to all peoples of the Atlantic Coast, whatever language, culture or gender

• the use of different parts of the plant (root, stem, leaf)for medical purposes

• the participation of women in the practice of natural medicine in their activities as midwives and healers

• use of language in the classroom and field research in communities

• classification plants according to production, processing and use by men and women

• names of plants in the 4 written languages of the Coast: Spanish, English, Miskito, Mayangna

Some of the participants highlighted that through this process they had actually learned something new themselves about the plants of the region.

As a result of the workshop, teachers began to feel more empowered to deal with some of the problems identified. Especially notable in Bilwi campus was the initial resistance of Miskito speakers to the concept of allowing Miskito to be spoken in class to provide understanding and recognition. This was closely linked with the fear teachers felt about the central government’s threat to replace indigenous teachers with Spanish speakers from the Pacific side. The teachers’ perception of their own Miskito language and culture seemed to have changed through the workshop because its importance in the classroom and curriculum was emphasised. According to the written course evaluation, participants learned:

However, participants still felt:

Evaluation from the workshops was elicited in writing under four questions to which the following indicative responses were given:

What did I learn?

• Each individual is different and must be treated as such yet at the same time he or she can still work with people of different culture and in different settings.

How did I feel?

• That I am part of a community of co-existence of different languages and cultures but that we can listen to and understand each other with a shared voice.
• I felt strengthened and with confidence
• I felt good, motivated and identified with the theme

What do I still need?

• To learn more about the Coast culture and the local languages
• To liberate myself from this status quo of only using Spanish in my classes
• To develop new strategies for a better male-female dynamic, better staff-student relationships and intercultural exchanges

What will I now do differently?

• The greater richness of diversity requires greater care in teaching preparation so that we get the best results for all our students

In conclusion, the participatory research exercise highlighted the following componenst were necessary for intercultural curriculum to flourish:

• government support
• community sensitisation
• skilled and committed staff
• revolutionary pedagogy
• involvement of students in developing equality of language and gender
• disaggregated statistics

In the long term it was agreed that, within the university, support and advice to staff should be provided in a variety of ways: for example, through an intercultural curriculum coordinator at each campus; exchange of experiences between campuses; development of teaching / learning resources; training for. In particular, cross-disciplinary workshops are seen as an effective method of reviewing course objectives and classroom methodology.

What the research also highlighted was that, even in the short-term, training of staff is an important step in developing a shared awareness and understanding of interculturality and a commitment to change. This depended on the participative dynamic which was an aspect of the transformative pedgagogy we explored. It is particularly through this pedagogy that the wider objectives of intercultural curriculum may be met, enabling us:

For her companionship and professional contribution, many thanks are due to Helen Peters of University of North London who co-facilitated the workshops, helped to record the research and provided support to the university on the English curriculum.

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