Non formal Education with Mayan Women from Yucatán: An Ethnographic Approach

Abstract

In light of advances in research on nonformal education (NFE), this paper examines the experience of Mayan women from the community of Canicab, in the municipality of Acanceh (Yucatán, Mexico). The objective was to understand the levels of shared agency in an NFE activity performed in a context characterized as an attempt to produce conditions of critical interculturality. The research employs a methodology of feminist-activist ethnography. The NFE activities that the women involved took part in dealt with issues relating to women’s rights, education, and heritage, and led to the organization of the First Meeting of Mayan Women in Canicab. The findings show a high level of shared agency among women from Canicab and their external partners. The results were discussed with the women who participated in order to help them improve their educational and organizational endeavors

Keywords

• intercultural education
• indigenous populations
• feminism