Considerations on the inclusion of Indigenous students in higher education in Colombia

Abstract

Access to higher education for Indigenous students involves multiple expectations regarding educational achievement. In Colombia, in recent decades, there have been increasing measures to improve access to higher education for low-income students and ethnic groups from different regions of the country, both in public and private institutions. The objective of this review is the analysis of the limitations in the inclusion of Indigenous students in conventional higher education in Colombia, considering the expectations of formal education and Indigenous peoples, through different stages for the selection, organization and analysis of the information. The limitations in the inclusion of Indigenous students in higher education are presented through the analysis of two dimensions entitled: Limitations in access, permanence and graduation and limitations in the retribution and survival of Indigenous peoples. Narrow understandings of social inequalities and cultural diversity call for the need to consolidate dynamic perspectives on inclusion.