Integrating Ubunifu, informal science, and community innovations in science classrooms in East Africa

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between informal science and indigenous innovations in local communities in which students matured. The discussion considers methods for bridging the gap that exists between parents’ understanding of informal science (Ubunifu) and what students learn in secondary schools in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. In an effort to reconcile the difference between students’ lived experiences and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) taught in classrooms, this study presents an experiential iSPACES instructional model as an example of curriculum integration in science classrooms. The culmination is presentation of lessons learned from history, including Africa’s unique contributions to science, theory, and indigenous innovations, in the hope that these lessons can spur the development of new instructional practices, standards, curriculum materials, professional and community development, and dialogue among nations.