Indigenous Education Research Articles

Brooke Larson, The Lettered Indian: Race, Nation, and Indigenous Education in Twentieth-Century Bolivia Duke University Press, 2024, pp. xiv + 480

Brooke Larson, The Lettered Indian: Race, Nation, and Indigenous Education in Twentieth-Century Bolivia Duke University Press, 2024, pp. xiv + 480

Kartini, Online Media, and the Politics of the Jokowi Era: A Critical Discourse Analysis

ABSTRACT The indigenous education activist and feminist of the late Dutch colonial era, R.A. Kartini, has remained an enduring public icon for more than a century. While celebrated as a national hero in Indonesia, like many iconic women of the Global South, Kartini’s symbolic force has been readily appropriated for political ends. As a ‘floating signifier’, her image absorbs fluctuating meanings and ideologies, making the analysis of her representation at a given point in time a valuable approach to political analysis. This article focuses on Kartini’s portrayal in the second term of the Jokowi presidency in mainstream Indonesian online media discourse. Recognising the dialectical relationship between the online news media and dominant political discourse, we use critical discourse analysis to identify and examine the mainstream ideologies embedded in the news media’s representations of Kartini. Our analysis provides a snapshot of dominant Indonesian political discourse, revealing a set of intersecting ideologies: conservative feminism, neoliberalism, softened Islamic piety, and perfunctory nationalism.

Book Review: Assessing the Evidence in Indigenous Education Research: Implications for Policy and Practice

Book Review: Assessing the Evidence in Indigenous Education Research: Implications for Policy and Practice

“Why Don’t We Try Something New?”: How Indigenous Educators Supported One Another in Leaning Toward in Community-Based Inquiry

What would the impact be on Indigenous practitioners’ viewpoints if they had access to resources pertinent to Indigenous education and make the information they learn from these resources relevant to their community? How can a teacher push through problematic rhetoric and obstacles when committing to Indigenous youth’s education? This article presents these questions, showing how a group of Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho educators dialogued about education and teaching. When these educators dedicated time to discuss Indigenous education resources, they were able to lean toward in community-based inquiry and dream about curriculum that centered Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho beliefs.

Metamorphoses of the University and the Pathways of Indigenous Students in Quebec: Issues of Accessibility to Studies and Academic Persistence from a Perspective of the Decolonization of Education — A Secondary Publication

In connection with the historical context of social segregation and the assimilative aim of formal education imposed on them, the Indigenous Peoples of Québec have long been excluded from higher education. Today, even if their graduation rates are increasing, a persistent gap with the non-Indigenous population is maintained. The data in this article are drawn from 23 interviews with students and university graduates of the First Nations of Québec, as part of a thesis in educational sciences. Our paper analyzes how these students manage to combine the contributions of Indigenous education with those of Western education by developing paths that are part of the decolonization movement of education. Their relationship to Indigenous identity and cultures clearly influences their educational background and is analyzed taking into account power relations with the dominant culture. Our paper emphasizes more particularly the relationship to studies, the adaptation to the student profession, and the balance between studies, work, and family among Indigenous students, in a context of transition from university to multiversity which contributed to the increase of Indigenous university attendance.

Indigenous voices: reimagining Indigenous education through a discourse of excellence

AbstractThe persistent deficit positioning of Indigenous students has meant that the combined terms ‘Indigenous education’ and ‘excellence in education’ have been kept separate in mainstream discourse. Excellence in education is an under-theorised concept that must consider intercultural and diverse perspectives. Consequently, this paper aims to understand excellence in education through Indigenous peoples’ perspectives regarding how excellence in Indigenous education is (or could be) enacted in schools. This paper reports on findings from a pilot study with Indigenous community members, principals, teachers, and support staff. The research aimed to address the question: How do Indigenous education practitioners define excellence in Indigenous education? This qualitative study used appreciative inquiry, which allowed for an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon and multiple contextual and localised examples from everyday community members, educational practitioners, and leaders. The data show that employing a language underpinned by strengths can change the conversation, expectations, and aspirations in Indigenous education, as framing through excellence may shift the ideology of policy and, thus, the interpretation of enactment in Indigenous education.

Embodied and Enactive Creativity: Moving Beyond the Mind–Body Dichotomy in School Education

ABSTRACTThis study explores the ways in which embodied creativity is conceived and implemented in french schools through the study of a corpus of professional articles published since the 1960s in a journal dedicated to physical education. The analysis focuses on pedagogical experiments to foster bodily creativity carried out in primary schools, as part of a wide‐ranging educational reform during the 1970s. Those practices mark a radical break with the grammar of schooling whose worldwide spread is linked to the colonial expansion of western Europe. They revealed many similarities with indigenous pedagogies through the willingness to go beyond the mind–body dichotomy, to value a sensitive and intuitive body, to anchor knowledge in lived experience and to move from a top‐down relationship between teacher and pupil to a more horizontal one. The 1980s marked a return to more traditional methods, but these pedagogical experiments nurtured a conception of embodied and enactive creativity that sought to go beyond a western vision of the body, of action and of the relationship with the world in school education. The convergences with non‐western pedagogies underline the interest of these approaches to explore and foster embodied and enactive creativity.

Indigenous Education System and Environmental Conservation Initiatives for Sustainable Development: Experiences from Nyamwezi in Uyui District, Tanzania

For centuries, African communities in their localities have co-existed with their natural environment in a harmonious manner leading to sustainability of both, the humans and the natural resources base. This co-existence is enabled by what is referred to as the indigenous environmental knowledge system. Indigenous knowledge has always been transferred from one generation to the next through norms, stories and cultural practices. This paper explores Indigenous Education systems and their implications to the conservation practices of the environment in Uyui district in Tabora region. The paper dwells on both primary and secondary data to provide insights on how Indigenous Education Systems embedded with traditional, initiation and local religious affiliation, have been used since time immemorial as one of the indirect initiatives of preserving, protecting and managing natural catchment forests. Random, Snowball and purposive sampling techniques were used to get a total of 120 respondents for this study. The study revealed that local communities in Uyui district have their system of knowledge affiliated with traditions, rituals and taboos which have been used to protect environmental and natural resources since the pre-colonial era up to the post-colonial epoch in Tanzania. The majority of respondents argue that the indigenous knowledge system was practical in protecting the natural resources in the local areas as it was embedded in the taboos, traditional rituals and religious beliefs. Failure or abandonment of the indigenous traditions has led to mismanagement of forest resources and other natural resources. The paper recommends both local and central government incorporate Indigenous knowledge and experiences in their endeavors of protecting and preserving the Environment in Uyui district in Tabora region for sake of sustainable development in Tanzania.

Indigenous Pedagogy for Developing Essential Life-Skills of Children in Masaka District, Uganda

Contemporary education practice is widely seen as practices that blend conventional approaches with either new innovations or culturally tested practices. In a situation where being cultural or modern has its own drawbacks, towing the middle position becomes an inevitable choice. The paper presents findings from an exploratory sequential study that examined the influence of Indigenous Pedagogy (IP) on developing children's life skills in Masaka District, Uganda. It was anchored on Lewin's (1922) change theory; likened to Manion and Cohen's (1975) reinvention theory and adopted as a restoration theory. Snow bowling, purposive and stratified random sampling were used to select 44 participants. Twenty (20) key informants including 6 parents, 2 elders, 6 religious, 2 District Education Officers; 2 Ministry officials and 2 local council leaders were interviewed. Twenty-four (24) other respondents participated in three-eight-member Focus Group Discussions (FDGs). The findings portray replicable practices of skilling based on deep-rooted beliefs set on standards that are supported by aspirations in harmony with nature. The study found that methods used by Masaka parents combined theory and practice daily; in lessons that happen where knowledge was situated, mainly through apprenticeship, attachment, heart-to-heart and one-to-one encounters. They also embraced global citizenry based on firm principles of what Africans value. The study concluded that indigenous methods were still useful in grooming children with life skills of productive work, character, positive attitudes, mental acuity and social orientation. It recommends that teacher education institutions require academic programmes blending contemporary with indigenous methods anchored on core African values to prepare pro-cultural-modern teachers. To link the valuable past to the inevitable contemporary ways of knowing, the application of hybrid pedagogy becomes imperative

Contributions of the Linguistic Documentation to the Strengthening of the Ikpeng Language at School

In this paper, we present the activities and products developed during the Ikpeng language documentation project that contributed to the strengthening of the teaching of mother language of this indigenous society at the school, a space in which the use and teaching of the Portuguese language predominates. The Ikpeng linguistic documentation process was set within the Projeto de Documentação de Línguas Indígenas (PRODOCLIN), promoted by Museu do Índio/FUNAI, in partnership with UNESCO, during the period from 2009 to 2012. Among the main contributions of the documentation project are a sociolinguistic diagnosis, the creation of a lexical database, the elaboration of a descriptive grammar of the Ikpeng language, the publication of a monolingual book of traditional narratives and training courses in linguistics for indigenous teachers. The products resulting from the documentation were developed based on the demands of the school context of the Ikpeng society, to preserve and value the language and ancestral memories of this indigenous society. The Ikpeng language is spoken by the homonymous people, who live in the Parque Indígena do Xingu – MT.

Theoretical Foundations of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Connections to Saskatchewan Curriculum and Indigenous Education

This paper will examine the attributes of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) as well as its theoretical foundations. Gay’s (2018) work describes the eight attributes of CRT as validating, comprehensive and inclusive, multidimensional, empowering, transformative, emancipatory, humanistic, normative, and ethical. After unpacking each attribute, I will present and discuss four dimensions of Gay’s (2018) theoretical foundations of CRT which include culturally diverse curriculum, teacher caring, home and school connection, and academic achievement. Further, I will write about how CRT and the epistemologies of Indigenous education can lead to healthy and transformative spaces for Indigenous students in Saskatchewan public schools. For the purposes of this paper, I define healthy and transformative spaces as spaces where students have their needs met in the four dimensions of spirit, mental, physical, and emotional health. Keywords: Indigenous education; culturally responsive teaching; students; education; healthy and transformative spaces

Codesign in Indigenous education policy and practice—A systematic literature review

AbstractCodesign is an increasingly common term in Indigenous education policy settings. However, it is unclear exactly what it means and how it is enacted. This systematic review examined 15 papers relevant to codesign in the context of Indigenous education, clearly distinguishing between codesign as a process and a method. These papers provide a snapshot of the various ways codesign is conceptualised, enacted as a process and evaluated in Indigenous education settings. In this paper, we respond to these three areas of codesign to inform a more nuanced framework to help policymakers and practitioners in the future.

Curriculum, democracy and pedagogies for justice: a collective futures dialogue

This collaborative paper by members of the Pedagogies for Social Justice Research Group responds to the question of how curriculum and pedagogy can be with and for democracy. Our introduction takes Alice Rigney’s and Dewey’s insights on education and democracy as our point of departure for learning together. As a collective, we have gathered together multiple ways of perceiving and enacting a curriculum for democracy in a context of de-democratisation. We approach tensions, intersections, limits and possibilities of curriculum and democracy from the frames of ‘woven’ curriculum and critical Indigenous pedagogies; racially, religiously and culturally responsive pedagogies; dialogic and relational approaches; agentic, embodied, activist and rights-based pedagogies; and everyday praxis.Kalkadoon scholar Mikayla King’s opening paper on the woven curriculum provides both a point of departure and a grounding site for weaving together our collaborative insights into curriculum, democracy and pedagogies for justice. Garrett and Windle draw attention to how affective and embodied pedagogies can challenge mind/body binaries and activate rights-based modes of being and learning. Memon observes how religion shapes the lifeworlds of learners and proposes a move towards learning from religion. Wrench, Carter, Paige and O’Keeffe advocate for the embedding of eco-justice principles, sociologically informed curriculum, and culturally responsive and story-sharing pedagogies. Lovell and Schulz claim racial literacy as an essential component of a pluralistic democracy that honours First Nations’ sovereignty. Soong suggests that ‘everyday pedagogy’ might enable educators to relate with pre-service teachers as critical and empathetic humanists beyond the role of neoliberalised technicians. Colton and McDonald highlight possibilities within the curriculum for learners to act with the pluralities of the world. McDonald and Schulz argue that gender equity is a necessary foundation for a peaceful, democratic world. We conclude with Hattam’s reiteration of how schooling as a key site for social formation re-produces the nation. He urges us to defy the monologue of authoritarian governing and ‘live together through dialogue’.

The Sisyphean continuum: countering the racial-colonial challenges of Indigenous education

ABSTRACT Using the symbolism of what we consider to be a ‘Sisyphean continuum’, in this paper the Anglosphere countries of Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and Australia are grouped to strategically reveal the shared challenges Indigenous peoples encounter in racial-colonial education systems. Fittingly, parallels are drawn between the punitive loop the mythical figure Sisyphus was doomed to. For Indigenous peoples bound up in dominant educational spaces, the barrage of racial-colonial institutional tools and mechanisms, enduring racism and cultural assimilation, the absence of collective achievement, the lack of Indigenous representation (e.g. personnel or knowledge), in parallel with sustained inter-generational advocacy, aptly mirrors the exhaustive punitive loop of Sisyphus. Guided by theoretical bridges synergising Indigenous and Western qualitative research techniques, three commonly repeated challenges (1. Deficit thinking; 2. Institutions; 3. Curriculum) are the focus of this paper. These themes are drawn from a broader study that sought the wisdom of sixteen Indigenous experts from across the Anglosphere. Our paper’s findings recentre the cycling educational challenges Indigenous peoples encounter and draw attention to the urgent need to turn towards and embrace marginalised voices and knowledge paradigms.

Kiwētotētan: ininiw kiskinomākēwin a framework for decolonial education

Pre-contact Indigenous Nations were vibrant with their own legal, government, and education systems. Indigenous education was community-led and grounded in the spiritual, emotional, physical and mental development of the child. Teachings were tied to the land following the natural cycles, and language was passed down through ceremony and time on the land. Following the creation of the Canadian state, Indigenous education systems were eroded, leaving detrimental impacts on communities and youth that are ongoing today. In recent decades, many communities have taken the initiative to restore community-led Indigenous education systems. The work presented here, Ininiw kiskinomākēwin, was collectively built with both Ininiwak and Anishinabe Elders and educators from Northern Manitoba and can be adapted to fit other First Nations groups across Canada. Ininiw kiskinomākēwin conveys the pre-contact methods for ensuring children and youth grow and become healthy, contributing members of society, and includes teachings involving family, community, language, land, and spirit. The implementation of this work is ongoing; critical components related to building a local teacher workforce, engaging Elders, supporting parents and having access to the land will shape how we choose to educate current and future generations.

A participatory learning management model of indigenous knowledge for creative economy of Karen in Thai-Myanmar Border

ABSTRACT The Karen is the largest hill tribe in Thailand, living in densely forested areas on the Thai-Myanmar border for centuries. This study aims to develop a participatory learning management model of indigenous knowledge for creative economy. The qualitative research purposively selected participants based on a village complex of four Karen major subgroups including Pga K’nyau (White Karen), Pwo (Red Karen), Pa-O (Black Karen), and Kayah (Long Neck Karen). This participatory action research applied three techniques including Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Appreciation Influence Control (AIC), and Future Search Conference (FSC) to provide opportunities for participants to take part in this study. The findings found that a participatory learning management model of indigenous knowledge for creative economy requires knowledge integration and holistic learning processes. The knowledge integration and holistic learning processes must be sustainable in several areas including: being environmentally friendly, building pride, adding values, as well as maintaining identity. This paper offers policy implications on indigenous education.

Involvement of Schools, Parents, and Indigenous Communities in Addressing the Dropout of Indigenous Education

Involvement of Schools, Parents, and Indigenous Communities in Addressing the Dropout of Indigenous Education

Stunting and Underweight among Adolescent Girls of Indigenous Communities in Telangana, India: A Cross-Sectional Study.

India's indigenous groups remain vulnerable to malnutrition, despite economic progress, reflecting the reliance on traditional agriculture and the problems of poverty and inadequate education and sanitation. This mixed-methods study analyzed the incidence, causes and determinants of chronic malnutrition, measured through stunting, thinness and underweight among adolescent indigenous girls in Telangana. Using 2017 data on 695 girls aged 11-18 years from 2542 households, the analysis showed that 13% had normal nutritional status, while 87% were stunted, underweight or thin. Early adolescents (11-14 years) had higher underweight prevalence (24.4%), while late adolescents (15-18 years) showed greater stunting (30%). Regressions identified key influencing factors. Higher education levels of heads of households and the girls themselves alongside household toilet access significantly improved nutritional status and reduced stunting and underweight. The sociocultural emphasis on starchy staple-based diets and early marriage also impacted outcomes. Tackling this crisis requires mainstreaming nutrition across development agendas via comprehensive policies, education, communication and community participation. Further research can guide context-specific solutions. But, evidence-based investments in indigenous education, livelihoods, sanitation and women's empowerment are the first steps. Nutrition-sensitive development is indispensable for indigenous groups to fully participate in and benefit from India's progress.

We Are All Treaty People

Within the Saskatchewan curriculum, one goal of K-12 education is ensuring that students come out of classrooms knowing that they, like all Canadians, are treaty people. This focus is touched on in select curriculum guides and within the Treaty Education Outcomes and Indicators document that has been in use by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education since 2013. While measures such as these have made the province seem to be ahead of other Canadian provinces in terms of Indigenous education, more needs to be done to ensure that this content is implemented into subject matter throughout the curriculum. The focus of this paper is on implementation methods and examples in high school Arts and STEM classrooms, as research from select organizations and from other Canadian education ministries reveals that Indigenous content can be implemented into the curricular outcomes present within these subjects. The culmination of this research looks into how the implementation of Indigenous content can aid in both the teaching of Canadian Reconciliation and in furthering the use of anti-oppressive education of which Indigenous education is a part.

Making Knowledge in the Local Settings: Vernacular Education and Cantonese Elementary Textbooks

A growing number of Protestant missionaries engaged in vernacular education in the late nineteenth century. To meet the demands of the new era, Christian church education faced challenges not only in its curriculum design but also in the way it presented new knowledge. Previous studies have focused on church education at the tertiary level while overlooking the elementary level. This article discusses vernacular church education and vernacular textbooks at the elementary level in the late Qing, with specific reference to Youxue baoshen yaoyan 幼學保身要言 (The Human Body for Children). It argues that the demand for spreading new knowledge urged Protestant missionaries to compile vernacular textbooks and present Western knowledge in the local settings. Vernacular church education should be regarded as the precursor of indigenous education proposed by the late Qing Court. The local dialect, Cantonese in this case, bridged the linguistic gap between new terms and children’s cognition and became an effective means of presenting new knowledge. Vernacular textbooks had an unparalleled significance in the cultural sphere of dialect writing, since the language of textbooks could drastically influence the writing and reading habits of the young generation and further influence people’s attitudes towards dialects and dialect literature.