(2002). Local Spirit, Global Knowledge: A Japanese Approach to Knowledge Development in International Cooperation. Compare, v32 n3 p339-48 Oct. Examines the contribution Japan can make to major debates about development and aid. Discusses Japan's history of development and aid receipt. Argues that it is important to understand the crucial role played by Japanese cultural values. Emphasizes that the Japanese tradition of understanding knowledge is different from other aid providing countries. (CAJ)…
(1999). Culturally Responsive Technology Use: Developing an On-line Community of Learners. British Journal of Educational Technology, v30 n3 p231-43 Jul. Traces the development of an online unit for Indigenous Australian learners, and accounts for cultural issues that impacted on the design of learning tasks and the associated avenues for communication provided to learners. In this context, culturally responsive design was ensured by the adoption of Lave's (1991) community of practice model. (AEF)…
(2002). Against Professional Development. Educational Philosophy and Theory, v34 n3 p289-299 Aug. All professional workers need to be "developed." Moreover, there should be no end to this process–the true professional knows that learning is for life. The author wants to explore how these two propositions have come to be true for academics and other professional workers at the beginning of the new millennium, and with what effects. In doing so, she seeks to provoke debate about "professional development" as a discursively organised domain whose practices are neither innocent nor neutral. In declaring this to be a paper "against" professional development, she is signalling her ambivalence about the truth claims made within this discursive domain as much as her interest in how such claims have gained the status of Truth. Her rationale arises out of her concerns about the sort of knowledge that is coming to count as worthwhile for all professionals, including academics, and the current proliferation of mechanisms for disseminating this knowledge, for… [Direct]
(2004). Vernacular Education in Papua New Guinea: Is It Really Effective?. Convergence, v37 n2 p107-121. This paper is based on an observational study concerning the effectiveness of elementary education. It was conducted in a rural area near Alotau, the provincial capital of the Milne Bay Province, with a special focus on the Maiwala Elementary School. In this paper, the author first briefly describes what elementary education is and how it has been implemented in the Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. Then she clarifies the aims of elementary education. She also provides a brief history of the Maiwala Elementary School, and discusses the effectiveness of elementary education. Finally, she concludes this paper recommending some important points for the expansion of elementary education. (Contains 10 notes.)… [Direct]
(2005). Education for Sustainable Development and the Question of Balance: Lessons from the Pacific. Current Issues in Comparative Education, v7 n2 p114-129 Apr. In this paper, we discuss the challenges for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) with respect to achieving an appropriate balance between the three pillars of sustainable development–economy, society and the environment. In order to do this, we focus on specific concerns confronting a number of developing countries in the Pacific where unsustainable activities provide lessons for the implementation of ESD. ESD requires commitment from governments, commercial operators including transnational corporations, and local communities to facilitate positive changes through development of sustainable practices. In addition, we examine links between ESD and Environmental Education (EE) and advocate that they have the potential to work together to bring about the desired changes necessary to create a sustainable future…. [PDF]
(2004). Understanding Place-Value: A Case Study of the Base Ten Game. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, v9 n4 p45-46. In this article, the author reports findings from a project designed to explore approaches for improving students' mathematical learning outcomes in relation to the base ten number system. The project explored the role of a commonly used teaching activity, referred to in the project as the "base ten game," in developing children's understanding of the number system. The game involves students using a place value board and concrete materials to develop an understanding of the structure of the number system and to learn to operate on numbers using this structure. This project revealed the necessity of explicitly developing links between the concrete materials, the learning activities, and the structure of the number system to support the development of relational understanding of place-value. (Contains 3 figures.)… [Direct]
(1994). "Kakadu National Park as a Case Study in Workplace Literacy." Adult Literacy Report for National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia and Centre for Studies in Language in Education. This paper is a report on a workplace adult literacy project at Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia. The project deals with the use and function of written text in the work of park rangers and assesses the literacy needs of park rangers and trainees. The project focuses on the uses and functions of written text in the workplace, the perceptions of park staff about written text and how the use of written text influences the work of a park ranger. The emphasis of this project is on the literacy requirements of the workplace, not on the literacy of individuals or groups of individuals working there or hoping to work there. Discussion of different groups becomes relevant, however, where needs and perceptions differ. This report focuses on what types of written text are used and are necessary in managing the park, how those texts interconnect and what types of difficulties these texts are likely to have for park rangers. (Contains 16 references.) (CK)… [PDF]
(1997). Quest of Visual Literacy: Deconstructing Visual Images of Indigenous People. This paper introduces five concepts that guide teachers' and students' critical inquiry in the understanding of media and visual representation. In a step-by-step process, the paper illustrates how these five concepts can become a tool with which to critique and examine film images of indigenous people. The Sani are indigenous people of the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa. The culture, language and social life of the Sani has been represented in the film, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (1984). Through the humorous images in the film, the writer-director makes jokes about the absurdities and discontinuities of African life. In films, through the manipulation of camera angles and other techniques, the viewer is given a sense of realism. Such ploys of visual representations of people demand a careful analysis to discover: (1) what is at issue; (2) how the issue/event is defined; (3) who is involved; (4) what the arguments are; and (5) what is taken for granted, including… [PDF]
(1996). Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language among the Western Apache. This book of essays draws on a cultural geography project in which an ethnographer and Apache consultants mapped the area around Cibecue, on the Fort Apache Reservation (Arizona). The essays focus on different Apache individuals and examine the ways that Apache constructions of place reach deeply into other cultural spheres. Many Apache place names evoke vivid images of places, and since these names were given by the ancestors as they explored and settled the land, they provide a path by which local people may reconstruct, imagine, and draw meaning from the past. A name that no longer matches a place's appearance provides evidence of environmental change over time and further material for local historical interpretation. Clan names are based on these descriptive names. Other place names allude to historical events that illuminate causes and consequences of wrongful social conduct. These names are linked to traditional stories used to instruct young people and admonish those who…
(1968). Federal Programs Which May Support the Training of Neighborhood Residents for Jobs in Neighborhood Health Centers. The following programs are included: (1) Manpower Development and Training Act, (2) New Careers, (3) Vocational and Technical Education, (4) Work Incentive (WIN), (5) Neighborhood Youth Corps, (6) Demonstration Projects, and (7) Veterans Administration Training Assistance. Information about each program includes nature and purpose, national and local contacts, and activity to date in relation to the training of neighborhood residents for jobs in neighborhood health centers. (JK)… [PDF]
(2001). Prevention Principles for American Indian Communities. American Indians experience many problems related to alcohol misuse. However, there are prevention approaches that work to reduce risk of alcohol misuse among American Indians. With regard to the way prevention workers carry out their work in American Indian communities, programs must emerge from the community, prevention workers must demonstrate a commitment to the community, and non-community members need to develop cultural sensitivity. Developing cultural sensitivity involves first becoming aware of one's own cultural values and learning about differences relative to other cultures, and then spending time in a community. When negotiating program access with American Indian communities, it is important to demonstrate how the community will benefit from the program. Regarding prevention approaches that are most appropriate in American Indian communities, several principles emerge: using American Indians as staff whenever possible, and incorporating cultural concepts within the… [PDF]
(1983). Market Characteristics and Hispanic Earnings: A Comparison of Natives and Immigrants. Social Problems, v31 n1 p59-72 Oct. Highlights the complex relationship between earnings, nativity, and national origin among Hispanic men. States that human capital characteristics, notably education, work experience, and English language proficiency, significantly influence annual log earnings for all groups, but the patterns of effects depend on nativity and national origin. (Author/CMG)…
(1997). Portrait of Noeli: A Defender from La Guajira. Native Americas, v14 n3 p40-43 Fall. Profiles Noeli Pocaterra, a Venezuelan Wayuu woman, and her roles as community leader, activist in the struggle for indigenous rights, newly elected president of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples, and University of Zulia faculty member. Discusses community work, international networking, her views on cultural and language maintenance, and her support of and involvement with indigenous college students. (SV)…
(2003). Can Money Undo the Past? A Canadian Example. Comparative Education, v39 n3 p331-43 Aug. In Canada, more than 9,000 lawsuits have been filed by American Indians and Inuits seeking reparations for the mistreatment Indigenous children suffered in residential schools operated by four religious groups and financed by the Canadian government. Although most suits allege "cultural damage" caused by schooling practices, little of the money spent and awarded in litigation will go toward maintaining or revitalizing plaintiffs' cultures. (Contains 22 references.) (Author/SV)…
(1995). The Influence of Colonial Ideology on Schoolbooks in the Belgian Congo. Paedagogica Historica, v31 n2 p355-405 Jun. An analysis of 50 textbooks used in the elementary schools of the former Belgian Congo reveals an overt attempt to propagate colonial ideology. Fundamental themes included the legitimacy of the colonization, denigration of the indigenous culture, and establishment of colonial authority. Three books, however, resisted this indoctrination and one openly criticized the colonial regime. (MJP)…