(2014). Exploring Methodologies for Researching Indigenous Knowledge of Plant Healing for Integration into Classroom Science: Insights Related to the Data Collection Phase. Online Submission, African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education v18 n2 p164-175. This article forms part of a major study being conducted in Zimbabwe to explore the possibilities of integrating indigenous knowledge of plant healing (Ikoph) into western-oriented classroom science. The article reports on an aspect of research methodology. This study explored appropriate strategies for gaining access to indigenous knowledge holders, and for generating indigenous knowledge data from these knowledge holders. It is a descriptive study rooted in an African indigenous research methodology. Data were generated through field-noted observations and audio-recorded conversations with 12 participants during the phases of attaining access and of data generation. The findings demonstrated that the participants hold a solid spiritual worldview alongside that of western science and Christianity. Ikoph occupies these participants' metaphysical knowledge zone, although when asked they initially display western science and Christian worldviews related to plant healing. The use of the… [PDF]
(2015). Young Indigenous Students' Engagement with Growing Pattern Tasks: A Semiotic Perspective. Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) (38th, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, 2015). The aim of this study was to determine the role of semiotics in assisting young Indigenous students to engage with and identify the general structure of growing patterns. The theoretical perspective of semiotics underpinned the study. Data are drawn from two Year 3 students, including analysis of pretest questions and two conjecture-driven lessons. Results indicate that particular semiotic signs (iconic signs) contribute to how young Indigenous students attend to, and identify the structure of growing patterns…. [PDF]
(2013). The African Educational Evolution: From Traditional Training to Formal Education. Higher Education Studies, v3 n4 p50-59. This paper attempts to critically examine the approaches that were employed by Africans in their knowledge, skills and attitudes acquisition before, after and during colonialisation of the continent. The paper looks at three distinctive epochs from which the perfect understanding of how learning in Africa transformed could be concluded. It is notable that there was a period before Africa got colonised, which was followed by the period during colonisation, before the independence of the continent. The position that is strongly advanced through this paper is that even before colonialism the African societies offered training to their members, which was characterized by the provision of survival skills to individuals who were supposed to selflessly serve their societies. Members of African societies learnt through their interaction with their physical and spiritual milieus, as evidenced by their design of tools which they used mostly in their agro activities and in fighting for… [PDF]
(2013). Students Understanding of Everyday English and Kimberley Kriol in Mathematics Classroom. Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) (36th, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2013). Forty-seven Aboriginal students in the Kimberley were interviewed in English and Kimberley Kriol to investigate their understanding of "everyday" words used within mathematics classrooms. The results showed that some of the Kindergarten and pre-primary students had difficulty with both the Kriol and English words, indicating they need to learn concepts associated with these words. The research also showed that many of the Year 3 students understood most of the Kriol words, but still needed to learn some of the commonly used English words and phrases…. [PDF]
(2013). Enhanced Teacher Training Program. Australian Association for Research in Education, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) (Adelaide, Australia, 2013). In order to develop Teacher quality The NSW Department of Education and Training and the New South Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group developed the Enhanced Teacher Training Program (ETTP) the purpose of the ETTP was to enhance selected non-Aboriginal teachers knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal history and cultures, and to develop their cross-cultural communication skills. With more informed cross cultural understandings it was expected that the participants would develop appropriate classroom management and pedagogical strategies for working in schools with high Aboriginal student populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of the seven non-Aboriginal preservice teachers undertaking the year-long program. A qualitative research methodology was applied to this study to investigate the prospective teachers' cross cultural experiences, the methods utilised to gather the data included focus groups, participatory observation, semi-structured… [PDF]
(2013). The Cafeteria as Contact Zone: Developing a Multicultural Perspective through Multilingual and Multimodal Literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, v56 n4 p301-310 Dec 2012-Jan. This article describes the inaugural year of a cross-cultural after-school program that used a problem-solving, project-based pedagogy to promote meaningful interactions between immigrant middle school students and their urban, low-income peers. The program relied on the students' local knowledge as they worked together to create social maps of their school and a multilingual video against gossip. These collaborations used local literacies to promote a multicultural perspective. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, 2 resources, and 1 online resource.)… [Direct]
(2013). Indigenous Studies and the Politics of Language. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, v10 n1 Article 3. Language use changes over time. In Indigenous contexts, language alters to suit the shifting nature of cultural expression as this might fit with Indigenous peoples' preference or as a consequence of changes to outdated and colonial modes of expression. For students studying in the discipline of Indigenous Studies, learning to use appropriate terminology in written and oral expression can be a source of anxiety. In this paper, we consider how providing insight into the political nature of language can help students to be mindful and to understand that systems of naming have a political impact on those being named and those doing the naming. This paper reflects the views and experiences of teaching staff at the Indigenous Studies Unit (ISU) in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Wollongong. It comes from our teaching experience, and from discussions with staff and students over the past few years that have conveyed to us a continuing anxiety about language use. (Contains 7… [PDF]
(2014). Supporting Australian Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Nursing Students Using Mentoring Circles: An Action Research Study. Higher Education Research and Development, v33 n6 p1136-1149. Attempts to recruit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students into nursing degrees have made minimal impact on the number of registered nurses working in Australia's healthcare sector. Yet increasing the number of Indigenous nurses remains one of the most important objectives in strategies to close the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Poor retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in a Bachelor of Nursing Science degree offered in far north Queensland, Australia, indicates the need for a different approach to support and retain Indigenous students. This action research study used a decolonizing methodology and was conducted at a satellite university campus in a remote Torres Strait Island community. Researchers trialled the use of a mentoring circle to support and retain nursing students and interviewed mentors and mentees about their experiences. Grounded theory methods were used to analyse the data. Findings indicated a growth in… [Direct]
(2014). Indigenous Employment and Enterprise Agreements in Australian Universities. Australian Universities' Review, v56 n2 p14-19. Considering the benefits that enterprise agreements (EAs) can bring to Indigenous employees, this paper considers the question of whether respectful cultural policies that are aligned with reconciliation and included in EAs can be achieved to Close the Gap on reducing Indigenous disadvantage. A document analysis of EAs at eight Australian universities was conducted to conceptualise and compare information about Indigenous staff needs and remuneration. A number of specific sections relating to Indigenous employment and leave arrangements were identified…. [PDF]
(2014). The Work-Study Experience of Indigenous Undergraduates in Taiwan. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, v11 n1 p25-34. Due to the large number of universities in Taiwan and the increased availability of scholarships for disadvantaged students, the number of college students from indigenous families has been on the rise in recent years. However, many indigenous students still find it necessary to work part-time. In this study, indigenous students were interviewed to determine how they choose part-time jobs and the influence such work has on their grades, health, and careers. Based on the results, suggestions are provided for improving the work-study experience of indigenous students…. [Direct]
(2014). Between the Remnants of Colonialism and the Insurgence of Self-Narrative in Constructing Participatory Social Maps: Towards a Land Education Methodology. Environmental Education Research, v20 n1 p102-114. This article summarizes a social mapping project conducted by the Environmental Education, Communication and Arts Research Group from the Federal University of Mato Grosso. The primary goals of the project were to map the vulnerable social groups of Mato Grosso, and identify the social and environmental conflicts that put them in situations of risk. The conflicts and dilemmas these groups experience are typically caused by land and water disputes. In turn, the disputes can be traced to the continuance of colonialist forms of political, economic and ecological relations implicit in the prevailing model of development in the region. Supported by the reinvention and application of a new methodology for environmental education, namely the social map, the work illustrates the significance of group identities, self-narratives and interpretive frames, and discusses how social mapping might be used in land education to enable the construction of participatory forms of public policy…. [Direct]
(2014). Perception of Disability from the Perspectives of Ethiopian Immigrant Parents. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, The George Washington University. This study explored the perceptions of disability from the perspectives of Ethiopian immigrant parents who have children with disabilities. The study was guided by the research question: How do Ethiopian immigrant parents from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, who have children between the ages of 7-17 identified with disabilities and enrolled in public schools, perceive disability? This study was approached through the lens of social constructivist theory. Eight Ethiopian immigrants from the Washington, D.C. area (District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia) were participants of this qualitative study. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview protocol. Each participant was interviewed separately utilizing an in-depth, one-on-one interview method. To analyze data, Braun and Clark's (2006) six-step thematic qualitative data analysis was used. The following six major themes emerged: individuals with disabilities are better embraced in the United States than in… [Direct]
(2012). Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and the Changing Tertiary Education Landscape in Australia. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, v40 n1 p24-28 Jan-Feb. In this article, the author provides information about the Australian education landscape and discusses three articles that focus on innovative laboratory teaching programs. Each of the articles presents a novel laboratory teaching mechanism that has evolved to successfully address a perceived weakness or problem in the laboratory program. It should be noted that each problem is slightly different, as is each solution. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)… [Direct]
(2015). Language, Culture and Access to Mathematics: A Case of One Remote Aboriginal Community. Intercultural Education, v26 n4 p313-325. For many students, coming to learn mathematics is as much about the pedagogical relay through which concepts are conveyed as it is about the mathematics per se. This relay comprises social, cultural and linguistic norms as well as the mathematical discourse. In this study, I outline the practices of one remote school and how the teaching practices scaffold Indigenous learners whose home language is different from the language of instruction (Standard Australian English) as they come to learn mathematics. Through various strategies, teachers have created positive learning environments that celebrate the home languages of the students while supporting the transition into Standard Australian English and the discourse of mathematics…. [Direct]
(2013). Tensions in the Third Space: Locating Relevancy in Preservice Science Teacher Preparation. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, v11 n1 p237-265 Feb. In this paper, we build on growing conversations centered around indigenous knowledge and its parity with various ways of knowing nature including traditional ecological knowledge, indigenous ways of living in nature, a Japanese way of knowing "seigo-shizen," and Eurocentric sciences. We situate our discussion in Philippine postcolonial realities, where categorical boundaries are blurred, and any attempt to create culturally relevant preservice science teacher preparation will create confusions and tensions between/among/within above-mentioned discourses. The Philippines is a highly colonized country–physically, for more than 300 hundred years, and mentally, after our colonizers have long gone. The marks of colonization are still present in our consciousness, in our current local knowledge, and in our ways of living with nature. In the attempt to create a "third space" for culturally relevant science teacher preparation, tensions are highlighted and categorical… [Direct]