Elaborating Indigenous Knowledge in the Science Curriculum for the Cultural Sustainability

Abstract

Abstract Indigenous knowledge has been contrasted and compared with scientific knowledge as traditional versus modern. This becomes the main problem for the native learners who feel separated from their environment. They face the challenge of existing in a couple of worlds indigenous and non-indigenous. The research presents the theoretical viewpoints of science education and indigenous knowledge to provide a new perspective on science learning. Data are gathered through the original document analysis of indigenous communities of Javanese people and science syllabi. The results of the study propose four steps to integrate indigenous knowledge in the science curricula: fragmented, connected, sequenced, and integrated. This study indicates that indigenous knowledge incorporated in the science curricula includes attitude, knowledge, and skill aspects. It establishes a significant connection between what pupils encounter in the school and their lives beyond the school for the cultural sustainability. Elaborating indigenous knowledge in the science classroom is potential for building meaningful learning and connecting the gap of science education pathways that a student obtains in schools and community.