Collaboration across education systems between families, communities, schools, and governments can significantly improve childrenās learning and well-being. The experience of Intercultural Bilingual Education (IBE) in Peru shows why this collaboration is especially important for Indigenous children.
Peru is an extremely diverse country, with more than 40 Indigenous languages spoken nationwide. Around one million children grow up speaking an Indigenous language at home, with Spanish as a second language. For many years, schools did not reflect this reality. Indigenous children were taught and assessed only in Spanish, creating deep gaps in learning and limiting their ability to thrive.
Intercultural Bilingual Education was created to address this inequity. IBE is a public policy that guarantees Indigenous children the right to learn in their mother tongue while also learning Spanish. Today, more than 26,000 schools serve over 1.2 million Indigenous children through the IBE model (Hidalgo Collazos & OrdoƱez Hidalgo, 2025).
Collaboration Across Levels Made Progress Possible
Meaningful progress in IBE emerged when different parts of the system began working together. National leadership prioritized rural and Indigenous education, education authorities developed policy frameworks, and schools began implementing bilingual and intercultural teaching practices. Learning materials were created in 18 Indigenous languages, and systems were developed to recognize Indigenous schools, languages, and bilingual teachers.
Families and Indigenous communities also played a central role. Their languages, knowledge, and cultural practices became part of classroom learning rather than being excluded from it. This alignment between policy, schools, and communities created better conditions for children to learn.
The results showed why this mattered. Data from the 2014 national student evaluation revealed higher reading comprehension among Indigenous children when schools had trained bilingual teachers, culturally relevant materials, and an intercultural teaching approach (Hidalgo Collazos & OrdoƱez Hidalgo, 2025).
Using Assessment to Support Equity
Collaboration also extended to how learning was measured. In 2007, Peru adopted a new assessment policy that allowed children in Indigenous schools to be assessed in both their home language and Spanish as a second language. With support from UNICEF, bilingual reading assessments were introduced in six Indigenous languages, covering around 90 percent of Indigenous children in primary school (UNICEF, 2021).
These assessments helped inform teacher training, curriculum design, and the development of learning materials. They also sent a strong message: Indigenous language and culture are central to education, not secondary. At the same time, the results highlighted the need for long-term commitment, as learning gains take time to become consistent.
Despite these advances, IBE has faced serious setbacks. Political instability, frequent changes in education leadership, and reduced funding weakened implementation. Some policies threatened to remove schools from the IBE system or allow educators to teach Indigenous children without speaking their language.
Indigenous organizations and civil society mobilized to protect IBE, successfully stopping several regressive measures. Their actions showed that collaboration and local action must be sustainedānot only to create reform, but to defend it (Hidalgo Collazos & OrdoƱez Hidalgo, 2025).
The experience of IBE in Peru shows that children learn best when education systems work together and respect childrenās language, culture, and identity. When families, communities, schools, governments, and global partners align their efforts, education becomes more equitable and more responsive to childrenās full needs.
At Whole Child Advisors, this lesson guides our work. We support collaboration across systems to help ensure education strengthens not only academic learning but also childrenās sense of belonging, identity, and well-being. Peruās experience reminds us that improving outcomes for Indigenous children and all children depends on collective action and shared responsibility.
References
Hidalgo Collazos, L., & OrdoƱez Hidalgo, Ć. (2025, March 1). The challenge of ensuring the right to education for Indigenous Peoples: Intercultural Bilingual Education in Peru. Debates IndĆgenas.
https://debatesindigenas.org/en/2025/03/01/the-challenge-of-ensuring-the-right-to-education-for-indigenous-peoples-intercultural-bilingual-education-in-peru/UNICEF. (2021, October 27). Assessing childrenās reading in Indigenous languages: Peru education case study. UNICEF.https://www.unicef.org/documents/assessing-childrens-reading-indigenous-languages-peru
