Integrating indigenous knowledge practices as context and concepts for the learning of curriculum science: A methodological exploration

Abstract

Teachers and learners bring tacit as well as explicit knowledge into learning contexts. In the science classroom, learners' tacit knowledge can involve sustainability practices that have been passed down for many generations and have enabled people to survive in their particular environment and derive benefit from it. This study examines an example of such a practice that was observed in a rural community. The study sought to establish whether such a sustainability practice could be incorporated into the formal science teacher training classroom with a view to expanding the teaching and learning of science curriculum concepts. The study was carried out through observation of rural participants as they conducted certain sustainability practices as well as through interviews with the participants. Student teachers preparing for lesson planning and teaching presentations (as part of their peer-teaching activities) engaged with these sustainability practices in a six-phase process. Socio-cultural approaches guided the analysis. The study showed that, through a carefully considered methodological approach, it was possible to use those practices with which learners were familiar in their daily lives-that is, their habitual indigenous knowledge practices (IKPs)-to unpack and explain related scientific concepts from the school science curriculum in the classroom (habitual practices of classroom science) (Bourdieu, 1998). The study illustrated how knowledge of science can be developed from context to concept. The study was only conducted with student teachers in a peer-teaching context, but it would be interesting to investigate how such an approach could be used by student teachers during their teaching practice as well as by teachers who teach at the secondary school level.

Integration of Indigenous Knowledge into Adult Learning Material Development and the Facilitation Methodology

“…is, in turn, makes adult learners frustrated to practice their prior know-how and establish new IK in their learning. In the body of literature, it has been known that the process of learning material design requires integrating learners' prior knowledge that they bring from home and using aspects of this knowledge as the starting point for enabling learners to understand the technical concepts described in curriculumbased textbooks [51]. erefore, the design and arrangement of indigenous-based learning should include the development, implementation, and reflection of adult learners' experiences through developing context-specific learning materials, styles, and principles [10].…”

“…As scholars argued, IK-based adult learning can help learners recognize their intimate connection with nature in the foreground of values from their environment or beyond [10] because education can also act as a change agent in society. erefore, the learning materials must be shaped in a manner to constantly question the knowledge that learners bring experiential knowledge in the form of specific practices which may contribute to learning to be more interactive [51]. More specifically, a review of studies conducted by Karalis and Vorvilas [50] about AE learning material design showed that a good self-instructional material has some peculiar features which make it prominent.…”

The Integration of Sustainable Development Goals in the Secondary Science Curriculum of Cordillera Administrative Region

“…Another country that supports sustainable development education is South Africa. It incorporates indigenous knowledge, practices, and sustainability principles into its science curriculum (Mandikonza, 2019).…”

Chapter 12: Advancing Assessment Thinking in Education for Sustainable Development with a Focus on SignificantLearning Processes

“…It features one or more of the following values: enhancing an individual's life; enabling the individual to contribute to the communities in his or her life, that is, familial, community, national and global; and preparing the individual for the world of work. Change resulting from significant learning experiences must thus have relevance and importance for the learner's life (Mandikonza 2019). This makes Fink's Taxonomy relevant for creating assessment frameworks in ESD education and change projects for sustainable development.…”