(2020). Vean Tradition as a Local Wisdom of Customary People and Its Relevance to Maritime History Learning. Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), v14 n4 p590-598 Nov. Vean is a tool used to catch fish in traditional way in Ohoi Disuk, Kei Island, in Southeast Maluku. This study aims to examine vean tradition as a local wisdom of customary people that has been inherited from generation to generation. This research uses qualitative method applying descriptive analytical approach. The number of respondents is 10 people. The results show that the construction of vean resembles the human body, which implies that humans must move their limbs to work in order to meet the life needs. In addition, vean (sero) can also build relationship between the sea and humans as keepers and connoisseurs of nature. Vean has three main motivations, namely economic aspect to create quality of life, social aspect to develop a sense of justice without expecting anything in return, and ecological aspect for the conservation of ecosystems and marine life. On the other hand, vean has very meaningful values to maintain kinship and brotherhood in building social relations,… [PDF]
(2022). Cap-and-Gown Collaboration in Community Development: Implications for Counselling. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education, v7 n1 p148-164. This research explored the power of dominant partnerships in promoting community development. Two local communities sited in a coastal West African town, recorded notable transformation as a result of their members' long-standing interaction with a famous close by higher education institution. With a sample of three hundred and seventy-two community members, the initial survey explored the physical influence of the university, on the lives of the studied communities. Purposive and convenient sampling techniques were used in the initial case to reach the respondents but the ensuing qualitative inquiry engaged four additional purposively selected participants to generate more data through structured interviews on education, transportation and health, as key emerging physical indicators, from the quantitative aspect. The SPSS, descriptive statistics and percentages facilitated the quantitative data analysis, but thematic analysis was used to make meaning from the gathered qualitative… [PDF]
(2022). The Lived Experiences of Indigenous Youth during the Transition to Emergency Remote Learning: A Qualitative Study. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Wilmington. This qualitative study was conducted to learn about the lived experiences of Indigenous youth during the transition to emergency remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight students at two schools in the Western part of Robeson County, North Carolina, told their stories. Tribal Critical Race Theory was used in this study as a lens to analyze the stories told by these Indigenous students and five themes emerged from the data collected from their stories: students had significant issues with the internet, remote learning was challenging, the support of teachers was vital, students wanted to return to school, and school is better now that students are back in class face to face. Findings showed the lack of access to high-speed internet often impeded students' ability to connect with their teachers consistently. Students found remote learning was much more challenging than being in the classroom face to face and returning to school was important to them. Once students returned to… [Direct]
(2022). Representations of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Rural Ways of Being in Picture Books for Children. Journal of Language and Literacy Education, v18 n1 Spr. This critical content analysis examines representations of rural life in a sample of 52 picture books by Indigenous and non-Indigenous authors and illustrators. While the United States and Canadian governments use quantitative measures to designate rurality, in this study rurality is conceptualized more broadly as an interaction between geographical, cultural, and social characteristics. Three sets of findings about the representation of rural people in Indigenous and non-Indigenous picture books are offered: the representation of human-to-human relationships, the relationships between people and the natural world, and the problems and challenges faced by rural people in the books. While there is increasing attention within children's literature scholarship about the importance of culturally relevant picture books and representations of diversity, less is understood about representations of rurality in children's literature and still less is known about textual representations that… [PDF]
(2020). Generational Bridges: Supporting Literacy Development with Elder Storytelling and Video Performance. LEARNing Landscapes, v13 n1 p219-235 Spr. This paper describes our implementation of digital storytelling within a First Nations community elementary school in eastern Canada. Our aim with this project was to support community engagement in the school, while promoting literacy development, by inviting Elders to share their stories, both traditional and modern lived experiences, with children in a grade 4/5 split class. Positioned as a participatory action research project, anchored in Indigenous methodologies, the project was developed through meetings with community members to build on the strengths of the community. Reflections from students illustrate that working with Elders gave deeper meaning to the stories they heard and performed, and fostered greater engagement in literacy development…. [PDF]
(2020). Theorising Machine Learning as an Alternative Pathway for Higher Education in Africa. International Journal of Education and Practice, v8 n2 p268-277. Machine learning technology is currently a new frontier for higher education globally, and the African higher education system needs to change in tandem with this technological trend in order to combat challenges faced by the system. These challenges include lack of institutional research to discover new knowledge, unfavorable methods of instruction, especially the language conflict, access to education for marginalized and isolated communities, high dropout rates, depleted infrastructure and unavailability of resources, overpopulated classrooms, and a biased grading system. This paper discusses alternative machine learning solutions to these challenges faced by the African higher education system, in order to ensure that students develop the skills needed to thrive in this digital era. Findings reveal three key technological solutions that can provide alternative solutions to these challenges, and they include customized/personalized learning, predictive analytics and digital… [PDF]
(2021). Gathering Pandanus Leaves: Colonization, Internationalization and the Pacific. Journal of International Students, v11 spec iss 1 p15-31. It has long been established that education is both a colonial and imperial tool that enables colonizing nations to establish themselves in foreign territories. This paper explores New Zealand's historical and contemporary role in the Pacific and how the country has leveraged higher education to both strengthen and continue its ongoing colonial and imperial projects. Utilizing current understandings of critical internationalization this paper will examine the lengths that New Zealand has gone to in order to protect its international standing as a gateway to the Pacific…. [PDF]
(2017). Teaching Indigenous Geography in a Neo-Colonial World. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, v41 n2 p182-197. Australian universities are increasingly embedding Indigenous content and perspectives within curriculum to promote Indigenous cultural competency. We present teaching challenges in an Indigenous geography course designed to present an engaged, intercultural learning experience. We critically reflect on student evaluations, informal discussions and observations to complement scholarly debates. Course design and delivery was seen as stimulating and illuminating in terms of course content. While diversity of student cohorts, backgrounds and learning styles remain challenging, the romanticism of some students can override critical engagement with the geographical context of the course material and their positionality. There remains a tendency in both student constructions and the geographical literature to create an Indigenous/non-Indigenous binary that not only essentializes both, but can be culturally unsafe for Indigenous students. Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students may… [Direct]
(2018). Community Resonance: Indigenous Epistemology and the Learning Community Program at the University of Hawai'i, West O'ahu. Learning Communities: Research & Practice, v6 n1 Article 7. The paper examines the transformative potential unveiled by the integration of indigenous epistemology into an experimental learning community program in Hawai'i. Through contextual analysis of the author's direct participation in classroom interactions, cultural and service learning activities, the final project, and the culminating event, the paper unravels the twofold process. On the one hand, indigenous epistemology in action integrated classroom, placed-based service learning, and cultural activities into a holistic learning experience. On the other hand, it also connected diverse communities in an interdependent relationship through the resonance of its foundational concepts: shared responsibility (kuleana) to the "homeland that feeds" ('aina) and its ecosystems. Interdependence of diverse communities and learning activities formed through such resonance provides an opportunity for transformation…. [PDF]
(2023). Trapdoor Transfer: A Qualitative Study of Differences in Transfer between URM/BIPOC and White Students of the California Community College System. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, California State University, Sacramento. The purpose of this research is to acknowledge what California Community Colleges are/are not doing in regards to poor transfer outcomes to bolster bachelor's degree attainment, especially for underrepresented minorities (URM) and Black indigenous people of color (BIPOC) students. The California Community College system entices students with low cost tuition and open access. As a result, 54% of California's postsecondary population are enrolled in one of California's 116 community colleges (Public Policy Institute [PPIC], 2019). The system has many barriers that hinder transfer outcomes equating to only 28% of students transferring to 4-year colleges/universities in 6 years (PPIC, 2019). Compounding these statistics, by 2025 41% of all jobs will require a bachelor's degree in California. Simultaneously, only 35% of the state's population will meet this requirement creating an excess of 2 million people short of educational credentials to obtain a job (PPIC, 2019). This study draws… [Direct]
(2024). Thematic Analysis of Music-Making in US Residential Schools: Navigating Colonial Archives and Honouring Indigenous Perspectives. History of Education, v53 n1 p174-188. Extracurricular activities such as sports and music offer a means to glimpse the complexity of students' experiences in federally-run boarding schools for Native children in the United States. Studies of music in residential schools typically include a mix of quantitative and qualitative sources, including "unexpected archives" such as land records, census counts, tribal archives, cultural objects and community stories. The analytical strategy of thematic analysis – an established academic tradition that is consistent with Indigenous methodologies – offers a rich and effective way to evaluate sources. The wide analytical scope can align with Indigenous research tenets including self-determination, supporting the collective good and fostering respectful relationships. Decolonisation can function as a guidepost, supporting methods of analysis that centre the students and bolster the wellness of Indigenous communities. An Indigenous episteme does not oblige a division reason… [Direct]
(2024). Capability Reconceptualized: Towards a Landscape of Practice Approach in Graduate Employability. International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, v25 n4 p603-617. To understand graduate employability, this paper uses a landscape of practice (LofP) lens, and methods including narrative frames, observations, and interviews to interpret capability development and identity construction of learners in a work-based learning masters program. It argues that learners enhance employability, capabilities, and knowledge through mutual engagement in practices of their communities of practice (CofP). Furthermore, it showcases that this process is enacted through learners' membership and negotiating boundaries of their community as they move from one community to another within their LofP. It then re-examines the definition of capability and argues that capability should be understood as a social construct through which individuals participate in the practices of their CofP and express knowledgeability of community norms and practices. It concludes that individuals build capabilities through a process involving problem solving, negotiation and learning,… [PDF]
(2024). Getting Started with the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings. Region 11 Comprehensive Center Authentic learning experiences, including curriculum, are essential for healthy development. For South Dakota students, these experiences include opportunities to foster their connections with local communities, cultures, nature, and lands. This infographic provides teachers with guidance on how to build their understandings and skills, and with resources necessary to use the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings and Standards (OSEUS) to teach content in their classrooms. [This infographic was developed with the South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations, Office of Indian Education.]… [PDF]
(2024). Teaching Dena'ina Language through Dena'ina Culturally Based Reading Practices. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Dena'ina language is a well-documented Northern Dene Alaska Native language in south-central Alaska. The Dena'ina language is on the brink of going to sleep. The Dena'ina community strongly desires for the Dena'ina language to once again thrive in the community. Language-use within the community is a contributing factor to the health of the community. As Dena'ina tribes work towards bringing back the Dena'ina language, the community grapples with the role of reading and writing, both potentially harmful and aiding community language work. A Classroom-Based Action Research qualitative study was conducted to determine if reading instruction in the Dena'ina language can be culturally based and if the culturally based teaching method produces student growth. A Dene language instructor talking circle evaluated the cultural basis and considerations of the proposed teaching approach based on a sample demonstration. The Dena'ina cultural approach was defined as tying together an… [Direct]
(2017). Disciplinary Literacy in Engineering. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, v61 n1 p7-14 Jul-Aug. People who practice engineering can make a difference through designing products, procedures, and systems that improve people's quality of life. Literacy, including the interpretation, evaluation, critique, and production of texts and representations, is important throughout the engineering design process. In this commentary, the authors outline texts and interpretive frameworks that are common to each stage of the engineering design process as it is defined by the Next Generation Science Standards. The authors describe how disciplinary literacy can also account for students' home languages and local bodies of knowledge, in addition to these engineering design standards. Finally, they conclude with a vision of disciplinary literacy as a tool to promote equity by rigorously supporting diverse students through the process of critiquing designs in society and creating ethical and equitable designs…. [Direct]