Locating the global: culture, language and science education for indigenous students

Globalization and Science Education: The Implications for Indigenous Knowledge Systems

“…If the focus was shifted towards what makes an effective indigenous language learner and teacher of science, the primary issues indigenous learners face would be illuminated by preventing language loss and protecting indigenous information. The use of indigenous languages as a means of science instruction is essential to develop the culture and language (McKinley, 2005). By creating a place in science curricula and classrooms for indigenous knowledge, this will add to scientific knowledge and methods by learning from indigenous people.…”

“…However, this study did not examine the questions they asked the students from a linguistic viewpoint, which has demonstrated helping to eliminate misconceptions in the testing (Clerk & Rutherford, 2000). McKinley (2005) argued that one of the main ways in which indigenous knowledge systems will survive and thrive is through the establishment of programs taught through indigenous languages so that a dialectal relationship between language and science knowledge is established that continues to act as the wellspring. However, the critical issue is not only what happens in the science classrooms but also what happens in the teacher education institutes.…”

Neo-colonialism in Our Schools: Representations of Indigenous Perspectives in Ontario Science Curricula

“…In contrast, multiculturalists (i.e., pluralists) challenge the notion of universalism and suggest that science is socially constructed and thus can exist in different forms in different cultures (Lewis & Aikenhead, 2001;Snively & Corsiglia, 2001). The debate between universalists and multiculturalists in science education is part of a wider critique of science based on Kuhn's (1970) arguments about the structure of scientific revolutions, accompanied by the emergence of poststructuralist and postmodernist philosophies (McKinley, 2005). Through a multiculturalist lens, scholars such as Cajete (1993), Snively and Corsiglia (2001), and Aikenhead and Michell (2011) underlined the legitimacy of IK and Indigenous ways of knowing nature (IWKN) as types of science that are different from conventional WMS.…”

“…As seen in Table 3, 13% of the analyzed Aboriginal content was described as concepts students need to learn. IK have been recognized internationally as valuable knowledge systems to study how the environment has changed over time as well as to promote environmental stewardship (Aikenhead & Michell, 2011;Kimmerer, 2002;McKinley, 2005;Tsuji & Ho, 2002). Through the lens of the universalist view of science, the knowledges and practices of Aboriginal peoples are incommensurable to number-and formula-based science (i.e., factual science), such as the chemistry of physics (Siegel, 2001).…”

International Education Studies, Vol.2, No.1, February 2009

“…In a time of globalization in terms of technology and increased worldwide travel where populations migrate, indigenous knowledge is often dismissed as irrelevant and the Internet makes location an intangible concept. However, increasing local achievement in science and science education is advocated by a number of researchers in order to provide opportunities for people globally (McKinley, 2005). This issue of making local knowledge part of the global brings with it the challenges of politics, history, language, economics and ethics.…”