Natural Science Education, Indigenous Knowledge, and Sustainable Development in Rural and Urban Schools in Kenya

Natural Science Education, Indigenous Knowledge, and Sustainable Development in Rural and Urban Schools in Kenya
Author: Darren M. O’Hern
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2014-05-05
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9462095426

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Through a multi-sited qualitative study of three Kenyan secondary schools in rural Taita Hills and urban Nairobi, the volume explores the ways the dichotomy between “Western” and “indigenous” knowledge operates in Kenyan education. In particular, it examines views on natural sciences expressed by the students, teachers, the state’s curricula documents, and schools’ exam-oriented pedagogical approaches. O’Hern and Nozaki question state and local education policies and practices as they relate to natural science subjects such as agriculture, biology, and geography and their dismissal of indigenous knowledge about environment, nature, and sustainable development. They suggest the need to develop critical postcolonial curriculum policies and practices of science education to overcome knowledge-oriented binaries, emphasize sustainable development, and address the problems of inequality, the center and periphery divide, and social, cultural, and environmental injustices in Kenya and, by implication, elsewhere. “In an era of environmental crisis and devastation, education that supports sustainability and survival of our planet is needed. Within a broader sociopolitical context of post-colonialism and globalization, this volume points out possibilities and challenges to achieve such an education. The authors propose a critical, postcolonial approach that acknowledges the contextual and situational production of all knowledge, and that de-dichotomizes indigenous from ‘Western’ scientific knowledge.” Eric (Rico) Gutstein, Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Chicago (USA)

Indigenous and Western Knowledges in Science Education

Indigenous and Western Knowledges in Science Education
Author: Darren O'Hern
Publisher:
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2010
Genre: Science
ISBN:

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In Kenya, indigenous knowledges related to the natural sciences are not considered in the formal science education of secondary students. Despite the prevalence of studies that examine indigenous knowledges in Kenyan school and community contexts, the perspectives of students and teachers concerning indigenous natural science knowledges and their function in the formal educational arena are remarkably absent from discussions of indigenous knowledges. How do Kenyan students and teachers view indigenous natural science knowledges and their role in formal educational formats and contexts? In this dissertation, I draw on ethnographic data collected in rural and urban public secondary schools in Kenya to explore the dichotomization of indigenous and Western science knowledges agriculture, biology, and geography classrooms. The dichotomization of these knowledges is well established in Kenya due to historical factors, state control of curricula and evaluation, and the politicization of indigenous knowledges and people. However, the research carried out for this dissertation in rural and urban secondary schools in Kenya also shows that this dichotomy is present in student and teacher voices as well. In order to move beyond the binary representations of these knowledges, I suggest the use of curricular and critical perspectives to (re)envision a more contextualized and relevant natural science education for all Kenyans.

African Science Education

African Science Education
Author: Jamaine Abidogun
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 343
Release: 2018-03-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1351668994

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Based on interrogation and review of historical and current cultural and indigenous knowledge combined with extensive curriculum and classroom analysis, this book identifies how indigenous science gender roles may be utilized to provide a more gender balanced and indigenous centered learning experience. The book argues for the integration of African indigenous science into the secondary school curriculum as a way to strengthen students’ science comprehension by affirming their society’s science contributions, making clear connections between Indigenous and Western science, and also as a way to promote female representation in the sciences. This book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners of science education, African education, and indigenous knowledge.

Rethinking Education for Sustainable Development in a Local Community Context

Rethinking Education for Sustainable Development in a Local Community Context
Author: Fumiko Noguchi
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2022-08-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9811694648

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This book bridges the gap between Education for Sustainable Development and community development and examines the contributions of critical environmental education as a theoretical framework to the policy, research, and practice of Education for Sustainable Development. The book investigates what Education for Sustainable Development really means when it happens from the perspectives of a marginalized individual at the very bottom of society in a local community, where there is no such ‘educational’ institution, no policy or no curriculum to support the effort, but there is the necessity of learning and empowerment for changing the situation. In particular, drawing on the experience of the indigenous Ainu fisherman, it critically examines the theoretical foundation of Education for Sustainable Development, critical environmental education, investigating methodologically and epistemologically the relevance and efficacy of critical environmental education to socially critical approaches to Education for Sustainable Development in a community development context. And this investigation leads to develop a praxis framework for socially critical Education for Sustainable Development in a community development context so that both fields would be mutually supportive to strengthen the practices.

Issues in Teaching and Learning of Education for Sustainability

Issues in Teaching and Learning of Education for Sustainability
Author: Chew-Hung Chang
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2019-09-25
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0429833695

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In a fast-changing, globalising world, the teaching and implementation of a curriculum for Education for Sustainability (EfS) has been a challenge for many teachers. Issues in Teaching and Learning of Education for Sustainability highlights the issues and challenges educators and academics face in implementing EfS and gives examples of what an EfS curriculum may look like and how some institutions translate the theory into practice. Organised into three parts, the volume looks at: the who (EfS for whom), the what (EfS curriculum) and the how (translating from theory to practice). The concluding chapter provides ideas and directions on where the world can proceed regarding sustainability education and how it can help in the teaching and learning of sustainability. Considering social issues such as poverty, education, health, culture and the use of natural resources, this book proposes a different path towards Education for Sustainability. Providing concrete data on the realisation of sustainable development, Issues in Teaching and Learning of Education for Sustainability will be of interest to geographers, geography educators and professionals concerned with Education for Sustainability.

Positioning Diversity in Kenyan Schools

Positioning Diversity in Kenyan Schools
Author: Malve von Möllendorff
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2022-06-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1928502342

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Education is considered key for societies to achieve greater social cohesion and equality. Yet, schools, as the main providers of formal education, have increasingly come into question concerning their role in manifesting and perpetuating social categorisations, inequalities and discrimination instead of decreasing existing fragmentations and challenging power relations and hierarchies. As a diverse society, Kenya is faced with power struggles and rivalries between different groups - for instance, along ethnic lines, often constructed deep in colonial history. This affects teaching and learning in school and the result is that Kenya is faced with vast disparities in terms of educational access and success - rendering some social groups marginalised and others favoured. Positioning Diversity at Kenyan Schools explores the ways in which teachers in Kenyan primary and secondary schools experience and deal with social categorisations and diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender, wealth, culture, religion, etc. in their professional practice and in the current education system. Using critical pedagogy and diversity theory as a lens for positioning diversity in Kenyan schools, the questions that this book sets out to answer are: In what ways do the teachers' and schools' practices lead to transformation in terms of more social equality and less discrimination? In what ways do the practices manifest existing group categorisations, hierarchies and discrimination? How can schools and teaching practices in postcolonial Kenya become more inclusive and foster social cohesion and equality?

The Routledge Handbook of Nationalism in East and Southeast Asia

The Routledge Handbook of Nationalism in East and Southeast Asia
Author: Lu Zhouxiang
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 641
Release: 2023-07-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000911683

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This handbook presents a comprehensive survey of the formation and transformation of nationalism in 15 East and Southeast Asian countries. Written by a team of international scholars from different backgrounds and disciplines, this volume offers new perspectives on studying Asian history, society, culture, and politics, and provides readers with a unique lens through which to better contextualise and understand the relationships between countries within East and Southeast Asia, and between Asia and the world. It highlights the latest developments in the field and contributes to our knowledge and understanding of nationalism and nation building. Comprehensive and clearly written, this book examines a diverse set of topics that include theoretical considerations on nationalism and internationalism; the formation of nationalism and national identity in the colonial and postcolonial eras; the relationships between traditional culture, religion, ethnicity, education, gender, technology, sport, and nationalism; the influence of popular culture on nationalism; and politics, policy, and national identity. It illustrates how nationalism helped to draw the borders between the nations of East and Southeast Asia, and how it is re-emerging in the twenty-first century to shape the region and the world into the future. The Routledge Handbook of Nationalism in East and Southeast Asia is essential reading for those interested in and studying Asian history, Social and Cultural history, and modern history.

Traditional Knowledge in Policy and Practice

Traditional Knowledge in Policy and Practice
Author: Suneetha M. Subramanian
Publisher: UN
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2010
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

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Traditional knowledge (TK) has contributed immensely to shaping development and human well-being. Its influence spans a variety of sectors, including agriculture, health, education and governance. However, in today's world, TK and its practitioners are increasingly underrpresented or under-utilized. Further, while the applicability of TK to human and environmental welfare is well-recognized, collated information on how TK contributes to different sectors is not easily accessible. --

Indigenous Knowledge and Learning in Asia/Pacific and Africa

Indigenous Knowledge and Learning in Asia/Pacific and Africa
Author: D. Kapoor
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2010-09-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0230111815

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This collection makes a unique contribution towards the amplification of indigenous knowledge and learning by adopting an inter/trans-disciplinary approach to the subject that considers a variety of spaces of engagement around knowledge in Asia and Africa.

Indigenous Methodologies, Research and Practices for Sustainable Development

Indigenous Methodologies, Research and Practices for Sustainable Development
Author: Marcellus F. Mbah
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 446
Release: 2022-10-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3031123263

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This book states that whilst academic research has long been grounded on the idea of western or scientific epistemologies, this often does not capture the uniqueness of Indigenous contexts, and particularly as it relates to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs were announced in 2015, accompanied by 17 goals and 169 targets. These goals are the means through which Agenda 2030 for sustainable development is to be pursued and realised over the next 15 years, and the contributions of Indigenous peoples are essential to achieving these goals. Indigenous peoples can be found in practically every region of the world, living on ancestral homelands in major cities, rainforests, mountain regions, desert plains, the arctic, and small Pacific Islands. Their languages, knowledges, and values are rooted in the landscapes and natural resources within their territories. However, many Indigenous peoples are now minorities within their homelands and globally, and there is a dearth of research based on Indigenous epistemologies and methodologies. Furthermore, academic research on Indigenous peoples is typically based on western lenses. Thus, the paucity of Indigenous methodologies within mainstream research discourses present challenges for implementing practical research designs and interpretations that can address epistemological distinctiveness within Indigenous communities. There is therefore the need to articulate, as well as bring to the nexus of research aimed at fostering sustainable development, a decolonising perspective in research design and practice. This is what this book wants to achieve. The contributions critically reflect on Indigenous approaches to research design and implementation, towards achieving the sustainable development goals, as well as the associated challenges and opportunities. The contributions also advanced knowledge, theory, and practice of Indigenous methodologies for sustainable development.