Community-based Education for Indigenous Cultures

Abstract

The recent tendency of governments to view their educational policies in terms of the market-place, with an implied preference for homogeneity and centralisation, has created further obstacles to the education of minority students generally, and indigenous students in particular. The paper presents and develops the notion of community-based education as a means of combating this tendency. Some examples of indigenous community-based education are examined, and there is a discussion both of its distinctive features and underlying principles, and its potential impact on the education of indigenous students.