Knowledge and concepts SPANISH AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDENT COMPULSORY SECONDARY EDUCATION ON AMERICAN political independence

This work is the result of research I + D + i (EDU2009-09425) on the construction of the identity of the Spanish and Latin American students of secondary school. We analyze the knowledge of the processes of political independence of the American countries. The exhibition includes schools in the autonomous communities of Catalonia, Murcia, Aragon and Madrid. It has used the technique of the questionnaire, structured in two parts, one based on historical knowledge and another on sociological, where besides a sociogram, aspects related to the perception and evaluation of otherness and multiculturalism. The results indicate that the Spanish secondary school students have a clear ignorance of the geography and history of Latin America. In this study derive educational implications for improving the current situation of the processes of learning and teaching of the history of the process of independence and nation-state building in Latin America, in order to promote values that encourage acceptance of otherness and cultural diversity in the context of intercultural education and reject racist prejudices, stereotypes and xenophobic attitudes.