Educational Performance in Ecuador’s Chota Valley: The Specter of Institutional Racism

Kevin E. Lucas

This contribution examines the inadequate and abnormal performance of the Escuela “Hernando Táquez,” a public primary school located in Ecuador’s predominantly black Chota Valley. The eight white teachers who work at this school conduct themselves in a manner that is so unprofessional that their motives are called into question – are these (white) teachers truly dedicated to providing their (black) students with an adequate education? The teachers’ unmotivated and inadequate performance, their failure to include cultural education in the school curricula, the racist misinformation found in the textbooks used at the school, and the suspicion that the national education ministry intentionally sends the worst teachers to black communities all suggest that the school's performance may be poor by design.

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