Formal Education in Calinatá: Learning and the Role of the Western School in a Guajiro Community

This paper attempts to show how attitudes toward formal education in a Guajiro community have been shaped by the people's perception of Venezuelan national culture and their self-defined role in culture change. This has particular bearing on the manner in which Guajiro parents evaluate their children's attendance at the local school, which is perceived as able to accomplish only limited objectives within the framework of Guajiro social requirements and cultural values. Moreover, when the school, despite its recognized but limited importance, is viewed as threatening to traditional patterns, Guajiro parents are apt to discourage and even prohibit their children's school attendance.