Educational Trajectories and Territorial Mobility of Indigenous Youth in the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract

This article analyzes the educational trajectories of Amazonian youth of Indigenous origin from a biographical perspective and examines their movement through the territory. The conceptual framework uses life course theory and engages with the ‘community cultural wealth’ approach (Yosso 2005), which calls for recognizing a set of ‘capitals’ different from the dominant ones, in order to avoid falling into a deficit-centered perspective. To this model, we add the concept of ‘territorial capital’, developed from the experiences of mobility and migration. The methodology used is based on biographical interviews conducted remotely due to the health context. We identify high mobility of children and youth between villages, towns, and cities at various stages of their lives, enabling them to develop territorial capital. Likewise, we identify various forms of capital – family, social, aspirational, navigational, and resistance – that contribute to their access to and persistence in higher education.