Resumen de Bilingual Curriculum Construction and Empowerment in Colombia

Anne-Marie de Mejía, Harvey Tejada

• This paper is based on a recent research study set up to trace the development of a bilingual curriculum in a monolingual private school in Cali, Colombia, with particular reference to two aspects: the creation of a curricular proposal in accord with the philosophy and expectations of the school community, and the process of participant empowerment generated throughout the research project. The methodological perspective adopted was microethnography, involving the analysis of interactive sessions, participant observation, research diaries, and reflective questionnaires. The results indicate that an Alternate Day proposal, based on flexible curricular guidelines was the most appropriate alternative for the particular context of implementation. Furthermore, the process of participant empowerment was positively evaluated.