Table 1 Summary of the Findings

Despite the government’s recognition of Guaraní at the policy level, Spanish is preferred among parents and teachers because of the perceived instrumental value of Spanish.

Despite policy change that supports Guaraní, the change seems superficial. In essence, truly bilingual education has not yet been implemented at the operational level as Spanish continues as the dominant language of instruction.

Parents and teachers suggested the use/teaching of Spanish at home and school in part because they believe that the use of Guaraní could be detrimental to Spanish acquisition. Policy makers and intellectuals emphasized the urgent necessity of bilingual teacher training.

The majority of participants (i.e., parents, teachers, intellectuals, and policy makers) expressed negative views towards pure Guaraní and suggested the use of Jopará. Yet, the term Jopará seemed to be interpreted differently among policy makers and intellectuals.