Rethinking Education in a Rural Border Area Between Costa Rica and Nicaragua: The Case of Northern Huetar Region (RHN)

Abstract

This essay discusses education in a rural cross-border area of Costa Rica, the Región Huetar Norte (Northern Huetar Region). It aims to raise the need of promoting educational processes that respond to the conditions of this territory. To do this, concepts such as rurality, border, and interculturality are problematized. Later comes a description of the historical conformation of this region, emphasizing the important role of Nicaraguan populations in the colonization of the northern territories; these territories constitute a space of cultural identity favored by the interconnection between both countries. Under the assumption that the inclusion of this “cross-border culture” constitutes a pending challenge for national educational policies, the essay argues for an intercultural education that contemplates the binational experiences of this territory in order to contribute to the exchange, the interaction and cooperation between both borders.

Keywords

• Educación
• ruralidad
• zona trasfronteriza
• interculturalidad.