Migrants Indigenous Students Facing Discrimination in the Urban Schools of Southeastern Cities in Mexico

Abstract

The discrimination experienced by children and young indigenous migrants in Mexican urban schools limits their right to education, by restricting the exercise of their social, political, economic and cultural rights. Using primary and secondary sources of quantitative information, we analyze the perceptions of children and young people about discriminatory situations in schools of thirteen cities located in the urban belt of Mexico’s southeast region, making a distinction between indigenous and non-indigenous students by focusing on language and self recognition. The aim is to contribute to studies on the social phenomenon of ethnic discrimination in educational contexts. Prejudicial practices directed at predominantly migrant indigenous children and young people who attend basic education, in an environment of violent coexistence that requires different adaptation processes, can contribute to their becoming abusers themselves.