The significance of School for mapuche children in a rural zone

Abstract

This article is framed in the area of understanding about the significance given to School. In this case the issue is contextualized in Mapuche students who attend a rural elementary school with socioeconomic vulnerability. Through a qualitative approach was sought primarily to understand the meaning that children give to school and the motivations to attend. Twenty children participated in two focus groups. After initial analysis we proceeded to return to the field conducting ten personal interviews. The results show that the significance of school is set both by internal motivations of the children as expectations of parents about their children’s future. From the perspective of the students, both teachers and parents encourage them to get out of rurality, to pursue higher education as a social success formula.