Perspectives of Pre-services Teachers on Indigenous Knowledge Practices and Their Integration into the Teaching and Learning of Science

Abstract

Available research suggests the need to integrate indigenous practices into classroom pedagogy to facilitate learners’ understanding of scientific concepts within the context of the local environment. To this end, it is thought having a good knowledge of what learners think about these practices and whether they could be infused into teaching and learning is worth considering. This becomes even more plausible given the pedagogical principle of teaching from the ‘known’ to the ‘unknown’. An assessment of pre-service teachers’ perspectives could help ascertain what they already know or must know about indigenous knowledge and its integration into lessons. Using the quantitative descriptive cross-sectional research design, this study assessed pre-service teachers’ perspectives on indigenous practices and their infusion into science lessons using a population of 492 third-year pre-service teachers in a College of Education affiliated with the University of Cape Coast. The accessible population comprised 312 third-year pre-service teachers offering primary education. A closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect data, which was analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings showed that the pre-service teachers generally viewed indigenous knowledge as emerging from activities related to everyday life settings. They also agreed that the objective of integrating indigenous knowledge into science lessons is to foster teaching from the ‘known’ to the ‘unknown’, to help learners relate school knowledge to everyday experiences, and hence promote a sense of self-belief and self-reliance in solving local problems. In conclusion, the pre-service teachers welcomed the appropriateness of integrating lessons with indigenous practices, which showed how predisposed they were to adopt the practice. It was recommended that, for teachers to effectively integrate indigenous practices, they first assess learners’ perspectives on the practices and their relevance to the classroom so that what they already know can be built on.