Abstract:

In Mexico, poverty and vulnerability have different faces; one of which is in education in rural territories, where more than 534 789 children and youth live in isolated communities with less than 100 people; communities with high marginalization, conditions that challenge the access to essential services, including education (López, 2019; Hernández, 2020). As a consequence of the context, public and regular schools do not reach all territories because of their isolation and geographic conditions. As a response, since 1971, the CONAFE (Consejo Nacional de Fomento Educativo), a public institution, attends small, rural, and isolated communities, providing schools for children and youth living in rural territories with less than 2 500 people (López, 2019). The CONAFE schools have a multiage system to cover diverse students in the same classroom. CONAFE recruits LEC (Líderes educativos comunitarios) to be in each school, not only as teachers but as cleaning people, administrators, and principals. Many LECs do not need teacher credentials, they only need to cover a few requirements and training and many of them live in the community they are teaching.

In 2020 CONAFE called for youths to enroll in the program under the umbrella of the “Héroes de Acero” slogan (DOF, 2019). The program had an agreement with some Schools for teachers, Normales (specialized schools for teacher training) , to boost enrollment of students in their last year, taking practices as teachers in CONAFE schools, practices that were not possible until this year. This study analyzes the experiences of one teacher that as a "normalista" (student teachers), participated in the program still being a student.

The research uses an intrinsic case study through three different techniques. First, the study carried out a semi-structured interview with Subject A, a preschool teacher part of the program in 2020; second, a content analysis of the Héroes de Acero training program, and, finally, a document analysis of the official statements. The results will be analyzed through data triangulation using the qualitative software MAXQDA. Some of the findings pointed out the practitioner experience are related to inclusion, curricular adequacy, and student agency. Some challenges were the supervision and continuum of the program from the experience of this professor. On the other hand, different findings point out the educational paradigms reflected on the Héroes de Acero training program and in the official statements about the program. The study reflects and shares strategic points that will allow the LECs and teachers in preparation to increase their pedagogical abilities for serving in rural territories

Keywords:

Education, rural, teacher.