(2000). The Use and Abuse of Education for Culture; Lesson from Nietzsche. International Journal of Social Education, v14 n2 p46-61 Fall-Win 1999-2000. States that Friedrich Nietzsche identifies three ways the past is used. Using examples from ethnic, cultural, and political projects, considers the three abuses of education for culture: (1) the need for monumental history; (2) antiquarian uses of education for culture; and (3) critical uses of education for culture. (CMK)…
(2000). Rural Kid, Rural Adult, Rural Teacher: Diary of an Intern. Education in Rural Australia, v10 n2 p63-66. A teacher intern in New South Wales (Australia) describes her experiences as a student in a small rural school, how early experience with distance education and independent learning was beneficial at university, teaching practicums in two rural schools, and her internship in a rural Aboriginal school. (SV)…
(2007). Philippines: Summary Report. Mapping out Disadvantaged Groups in Education. Asia-South Pacific Education Watch. Asian-South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education The Civil Society Network for Education Reforms (E-Net Philippines), a network of organizations pushing for Education for All, believes that years of underinvestment and neglect of the public education system have caused the country's dismal education performance. This critique provided a framework for engaging with DepEd and the Legislature, specifically in lobbying for increased investments for education targeting the marginalized, excluded and vulnerable groups. But it did not apply to principals, teachers and civil society organizations already implementing and innovating education programmes on the ground. There was also a need to formulate an approach toward local government (LGU) officials responsible for the needs of those who are missing out on education. ENet Philippines realized the importance of generating updated data at the "barangay" (village) and municipal (town) levels and scrutinizing the reasons many children and youth are not in school. The need for… [PDF]
(2007). Making Assessment Practices Valid for Indigenous American Students. Journal of American Indian Education, v46 n3 p132-147. Educational assessment, as it is typically conducted in U.S. schools, does not successfully capture or build on potentially important content knowledge and understanding of Indigenous students. In fact, current policies (such as the No Child Left Behind Act, 2002) are interfering with the implementation of many of the things we know about making assessments appropriate for Native students. This paper draws from the authors' extensive experience working with Indigenous teachers and communities to discuss how their well-developed ways of knowing, learning, and problem solving can be understood and utilized in the analyses of student processes and products. The paper explores some of the cultural perspectives and culture-related strengths exhibited by Indigenous learners and shows how awareness of them can lead to a reduction in bias and inequity in assessment. It also explores the issues in the context of some of the historical and sociocultural factors that have affected the schooling… [Direct]
(1996). Mother Tongue Literacy and Language Renewal: The Case of Navajo. This paper discusses the contribution of school-based mother-tongue literacy to the maintenance and renewal of endangered languages, with Navajo as the case in point. Although Navajo claims the most speakers among U.S. indigenous languages, the absolute number and relative proportion of Navajo speakers have declined drastically in the last 30 years. Language usage varies across the Navajo Reservation, depending on individual community histories and contact with English. English dominates the print environment, although other forces reinforce the primacy of oral Navajo. Historically, the single most harmful factor for language maintenance was forced English-only schooling. Following a shift in federal policies, the Rough Rock Demonstration School in Arizona was founded in 1966 as the first tribally controlled school, one that reinforced Navajo language and culture in the classroom. After years of fluctuating funds and services, Rough Rock's bilingual program has been reinvigorated by… [PDF]
(1989). Literacy, Health and Community Development in the Philippines. Final Evaluation. The final evaluation of a literacy and health education development project of the Summer Institute of Linguistics and the Translators Association of the Philippines (TAP) is presented. The project targeted seven cultural communities totaling 200,000 on the island of Mindanao, for whom literacy rates ranged from 1-5%. The health component trained local health workers to provide basic health care in the villages. Issues arising during the project include the ability of the literacy program to become self-sustaining, the need to address the relationship between literacy and development, and the role of TAP in community development. The program model was found well suited to the cultural setting and scope of program activity. The health practitioner program bridged a substantial technological gap with limited resources. Recommendations for program improvement include further efforts to make the literacy projects self-sustaining, extension of literacy skills to meet local development… [PDF]
(2002). Spiritual Knowing and Transformative Learning. NALL Working Paper. The roles of spirituality and spiritual learning in transformative learning are discussed. The discussion was initiated from an anti-colonial perspective on engaging spiritually in the political project of transformative learning, and it is grounded in issues of African education and in the principle of teaching critically so that education serves the spiritual development of learners and their communities. Transformative learning is seen as education that is able to resist oppression and domination by strengthening the individual self and collectives to deal with continued reproduction of colonial and re-colonial relations in academic institutions. It is argued that transformative learning must also assist learners in dealing with the pervasive effects of academic institutions' imperial structures on the processes of knowledge production and validation; understanding of indigenousness; and pursuit of agency, resistance, and politics for educational change. The following were among… [PDF]
(2001). The Relationship between Academic and Practical Intelligence: A Case Study of the Tacit Knowledge of Native American Yup'ik People in Alaska. A growing body of empirical data suggests that there may be a true psychological distinction between academic and practical intelligence. If there is, then conventional ability tests used alone may reveal substantially less than we want to know about people's competence in everyday practical situations. Evidence to this effect is reviewed from mainstream U.S. culture and from Brazil, Morocco, Kenya, and Russia. A study of 261 Yup'ik Eskimo children in grades 9-12 assessed the importance of academic and practical intelligence in rural and urban Alaskan communities. Academic intelligence was measured with conventional measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence. Practical intelligence was measured with a homemade test of tacit knowledge relevant to the environment in which most Yup'ik people live. The test measured tacit knowledge in five content areas: herbs, fishing and fish preparation, survival, folklore, and hunting. Adults and peers rated the children in terms of being a… [PDF]
(2001). Factors Affecting the Acquisition and Use of the Standard Dialect by Aboriginal Youth. This paper examines factors impacting the acquisition and use of the standard dialect by Australia's Aboriginal youth. It explains that acquisition of a second dialect has implications for the learner's cognitive-affective and sociocultural life and argues that preservation of an "insider" perspective (related to identity) is a key reason for maintaining the first dialect, even when stigmatized in the wider community and inferior to the standard dialect for accessing goods and services in the larger world. The paper suggests that second dialect acquisition may differ from second language acquisition, because the two dialects are in competition in the same life space in a way that first and second languages may not be. The paper considers three areas from which the insider perspective is derived: historical factors associated with Aboriginal English and Australian English; sociolinguistic factors associated with Aboriginal English and Australian English (identity,… [PDF]
(1997). A Cross-cultural Study of Rural Australian Aboriginal Children's Understandings of Night and Day. Research in Science Education, v27 n1 p101-16. Reports on a pilot study which sought to find out what 4- to 8-year-old rural Australian Aboriginal children think about night and day. Findings indicate more variations in thinking than were found in earlier research. Raises questions about the framing of cross-cultural research and the realization of indigenous data. Contains 40 references. (Author/JRH)…
(1995). Turbulence among a Native People: Social Work Practice with Hawaiians. Social Work, v40 n4 p465-71 Jul. Discusses the culturally-based social problems experienced by Hawaiians. Culturally appropriate prescriptions for empowerment are derived from an analysis of historical and current social problems. Describes current movements to reestablish native sovereignty and an indigenous community-based economy. (JPS)…
(1992). Promising Initiatives: Drawing the Line. World Watch, v5 n6 p7-9 Nov-Dec. Canada and Brazil have set a precedent for aboriginal lands rights cases in recent decisions to set aside homelands for indigenous peoples. Discusses these decisions, land claims settlements, ramifications, and outstanding issues in need of resolve. (MCO)…
(1992). Critical Thinking and the Quincentenary. Momentum, v23 n3 p69-70 Sep. Discusses the application of critical thinking skills to teaching about the Columbus quincentenary. Suggests having students explore multiple perspectives on the event and examine coverage in textbooks and other books. Urges teachers to assess critically their own teaching practices and whether they foster racial justice. (WYN)…
(1998). Canadian Ethnohistory: A Source for Social Studies?. Canadian Social Studies, v32 n3 p80-82 Spr. Presents an overview of ethnohistory, a relatively new area of historical investigation that draws on anthropology, geography, and linguistics, as well as history, to document the pasts of predominantly indigenous peoples. Encourages social studies teachers to take notice of a major body of work being produced by Canadian ethnohistorians. (DSK)…
(1998). Authenticity and Unification in Quechua Language Planning. Language, Culture and Curriculum, v11 n3 p390-410. Examines the potentially problematic tension between the goals of authenticity and unification in Quechua-language planning. One case study examines the orthographic debate that arose in Peru, and the second case study concerns two indigenous communities in Saraguro in the Southern Ecuadorian highlands where Spanish predominates but two Quichua varieties co-exist. (Author/VWL)…