This case study explores a relatively new and stimulating method of incorporating / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

The role and value of indigenous knowledge systems in enhancing and contextualizing education has long been recognized (UNESCO, 1978). Against this background a lot of research focusing on the documentation and study of the world’s indigenous knowledge systems, including those of Southern African countries was done. However, within the Southern African context much of this research did not translate into practical curriculum processes leaving educational processes de-contextualized (O’Donoghue, 2002; Mokuku, 2004; Shava, 2005). The linkages between the school, the home and the wider community remained weak (Taylor & Mulhall, 2001). The net effect of the limited integration of indigenous knowledge systems into mainstream environmental education processes has been that indigenous learners (such as those within the Sebakwe rural community) continued to get exposed to two different world views, the western scientific world view and the everyday life world views. The integration of indigenous knowledge systems into mainstream education such as the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme (SEEP) is one way of contextualizing education and improving its relevance to learners’ socio-cultural backgrounds. This research was conceptualized against such a context and seeks to explore the opportunities and challenges for the integration of indigenous knowledge systems into the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme. The ultimate purpose of this research is to contextualize SEEP both in its epistemology, and pedagogy. The research was designed and conducted within a qualitative interpretive case study methodology. The methodology involved a three-phased data collection method namely document analysis, focus group interviews and an inquiry-based workshop. The data was then analyzed and interpreted in relation to a set of theoretical perspectives. This research concluded that there is a possibility of integrating indigenous knowledge systems into the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme. Based on the findings the research came up with a list of recommendations to guide the process of working with indigenous knowledge within the Sebakwe Environmental Education programme.

This study reports research on how student teachers in Science at Mutare Teachers' College in Zimbabwe worked with indigenous knowledge practices in relation to science concepts in the secondary school syllabus. The study was conducted among first-year science students and involved them in developing science learning activities for a peer-teaching process that was part of their course. The research was undertaken during a review ofthe college syllabus and as a study to inform the Secondary Teacher Training Environmental Education Programme (ST²EEP). The research design involved the researcher in participant observations and interviews with rural people to document indigenous knowledge practices and to develop materials for the students to work with in the lessons design part of the study. The student teachers used the documented practices to generate learning activities and lesson plans to teach the science concepts they had identified. A peer review session and focus group interviews followed the lesson presentations. Findings from the research point to the rural community being a repository of diverse indigenous knowledge practices. Student teachers showed that they had prior knowledge of both indigenous knowledge practices and science concepts when they come to class. Student teachers were able to relate indigenous knowledge practices and science concepts in ways that have the potential to enhance the learning of science in rural school contexts that lack laboratories and science equipment. The scope of the study does not allow for anything beyond tentative conclusions that point to the need for further work to be undertaken with student teachers and for the research to be extended to teaching and learning interactions in schools. Recommendations are also made for further resource-based work to be undertaken within the forthcoming St²eep implementation phase in 2007.

This study is a meta-analysis of the transformation of the curriculum for basic education in South Africa. The integration of indigenous knowledge systems (IKSs) in the curriculum is one of the reconciliatory practices adopted in an effort to deal with the rights of indigenous people globally. The study analysed cases relating to IKSs and the curriculum in Canada for a case reference in juxtaposition with South Africa, in particular. Examples of cases drawn from elsewhere in the world have also been included briefly to justify the researcher’s claims for the urgent integration of IKSs into the curriculum, which complies with the human rights course of the rights of indigenous people. Cognitive imperialism – in the form of residential schools and their assimilation policies, which functioned in the context of an informal apartheid system as was the case in South Africa with Bantu education – has been an obstacle to transformation of the curriculum in the education system in Canada. However, the Canadian government of the day has been held to account for recognising the knowledge of the indigenous people (IP) of Canada. In South Africa, the curriculum continues to be characterised by the “mute” tendencies of perpetuating a colonial-type of curriculum, which is still being European in nature and is largely excluding African interests and cultural practices. The affirmation of the United Nations Organisation’s (UNO 2007) advocacy for recognising the rights of indigenous people by means of various international forums motivated a number of scholars globally to shift their attention to a research agenda on IP issues such as their IKSs in relation to education systems that should be transforming their curricular programmes. This study forms part of that indigenous research agenda by proposing that IKSs be integrated into the curriculum for basic education in South Africa, in response to the UNO’s declaration on crucial guidance to developing societies for transforming their education systems to include relevant curricula related to IP. The aim of this study is to explore ways in which the curriculum for basic education in South Africa can be transformed by, among other things, changing the paradigm of knowledge production through emerging concepts in developmental education and using, on the way to recovery, experiences of assimilation in the education system of South Africa, with reference to experiences from Canada, in particular, and elsewhere. An in-depth literature study relating to IKS perspectives of integration in the curriculum, and its implication for transformation in the basic education curriculum in South Africa, was done. The qualitative research approach was used and a cultural phenomenological design was used. Data were collected through a desk research, including pre-meta-analysis (PMA), meta-analysis (MA), in-depth desk research (IDR), and case studies (CSs). The collected data were investigated by means of a pre-meta-analysis, which demonstrated how the transdisciplinary approach can be used to immerse IKS in such a way that it may enable indigenous people to define their own perspectives instead of relying solely on Western research concepts of anthropology and history theorists, which have relegated IKSs to something “exotic”. The synthesis of data in this study “opened a window” to the researcher, which also assisted the researcher to understand the concept of “coming to knowing”1 as an antithesis of the language of conquest that is used in the hidden agenda of assimilation in a curriculum that continues to marginalise the representation of IKSs. The transformation of the curriculum in the education system of South Africa is a political initiative driven by government, by virtue of the establishment of the South African Chairs Initiative (SAChI) which has been entrusted with the task of developing education in the country in the different disciplines. One of the driving concepts of this particular chair, the South African Chair Initiative in Development Education (SAChI-DE), is the methodology of immersion that is based on the notion of “transformation by enlargement” (TbE). Using this methodology, the emergence of new concepts in transformative education is propagated, which, according to the findings of this study, may reverse the negative situation in which the indigenous worldviews is erased for indigenous learners (IL) throughout the world. The findings were used to invoke the attention of the Department of Basic Education (DBE), for them to consider validating the newly emerging concepts of the SAChI-DE, which can make a meaningful contribution to the guidelines for a suggested, Afriko-continuum curriculum for basic education at the foundation level. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / Ph. D. (Education)

M.Ed. (Science Education) / South Africa is one of the global hotspots of both biological and ethnic diversity. Southern Africa is rich in angiosperm species, and the angiosperm species count is considered to be 21,817. The traditional medicinal systems of different cultural groups and their herbal, animal and mineral materia medica have ancient origins which may date back to Palaeolithic times. Indigenous knowledge (lK) and cultural practices in many areas of the country provide learners with a good "entry" into the scientific world. A true constructivist teacher will realise the importance of building new knowledge on learners' existing knowledge. This will show the learners how relevant science is to our daily lives. It might also open future career opportunities, and develop learners' entrepreneurial skills. This fact is acknowledged by the new curriculum (the National Curriculum Statement), and Life Sciences teachers are expected to infuse their teaching with indigenous knowledge. When these new policies were created, policy makers focused on the what of desired educational change, and unfortunately neglected the how (Rogan & Aldous, 2009). Teachers often have limited understanding of the curriculum changes. The textbooks used in class give little or even no proper information about indigenous knowledge. Whereas some textbooks still provide information on IK in the form of examples, hardly any attention is given to teaching strategies and practical work that can be done in the classroom. My study highlights the problem that many teachers simply ignore IK, due to their lack of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in this regard, and the lack of guidance and support from the Department of Education. As many teachers were trained in the "old method" of teaching and not in the pedagogy prescribed by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), many of them do not have specific knowledge about the indigenous knowledge that they need to impart to learners. Those who are fortunate enough to have sufficient knowledge of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), often lack the pedagogy. Once again, we need to go back in history to understand why teachers find it so difficult to teach IK. In the apartheid era it was a taboo to mention traditional medicine in the classroom. Our traditional medicine was often replaced by Western medicine. Black South Africans were robbed of their identity. Under the Suppression of Witchcraft Act, indigenous belief systems were undermined and in most cases referred to as pagan (heathen) belief systems. As a result, indigenous belief systems were viewed as something that derails society. This study focuses on a number of issues related to the incorporation of indigenous knowledge in the classroom. One of the main concerns is teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Two additional factors also make the introduction of indigenous knowledge difficult in the classroom: (a) the multicultural South African society (whose IK should be entertained?), and (b) the nature of science, and many teachers' perception that the introduction of IK would constitute pseudo-science. The question arises whether it is possible to introduce indigenous knowledge in a scientific way in the Life Sciences classroom. Is an IK focus compliant with the syntactical nature of Life Sciences, namely an emphasis on inquiry-based approaches? A second question arises: Are South African teachers able to teach IK in such a context? As mentioned above, many Life Sciences teachers find it difficult to follow heuristic approaches where learners engage with discovery learning making observations, formulating hypotheses, developing experimental designs, collecting and interpreting data, and making conclusions. Now, in addition to this challenge, teachers need to follow such a pedagogy to investigate indigenous knowledge claims. It is just so much easier for teachers to rely on "chalk and talk" approaches, as a study of Petersen (2010) reveals...

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In some contemporary discourses, a new dimension of knowledge is increasingly being recognised. Sustainable development is no longer the exclusive domain of western science and technology. There is a growing interest in the role that indigenous people and their communities can play in sustainable development. The integration of indigenous knowledge (IK) into formal school curricula, especially environmental education (EE), is seen as a key approach to making education relevant to rural students. This will also promote the intellectual diversity required to manage the scope, complexity and uncertainty of local and global environmental issues. This study is guided by constructivist approaches and postcolonial perspectives that recognise the differences between IK and western sciences but at the same time concerned with ways in which the two can work together. In particular, this study uses a qualitative case study of selected schools in the Northern part of Namibia to investigate how IK can be used to support EE in rural schools. The National (Namibian) Curriculum for Basic Education and the Life Science curriculum documents have been analysed, focusing specifically on how IK is coupled with EE at school level. The review of the curriculum documents revealed that IK is not only ignored and underutilised in schools, but also systematically undermined as a potential source of knowledge for development. The curriculum continues to reinforce western values at the expense of IK. To gain more insight into existing EE practices in schools and the role that local knowledge can play in school syllabi, six teachers, two advisory teachers and two traditional leaders were carefully selected and interviewed. The basis for this was to possibly challenge and address the needs that learners and their environment have. The participants in this study embraced the inclusion of IK in EE. However, the processes of combining IK with science may be constrained by challenges related to: teachers‟ attitudes, the design of the curriculum, and the way learner-centered education is conceptualised and practiced in schools. The study suggests that, to incorporate IK into EE effectively may require a shift away from the current strong subject-based, content-focused and examination driven EE curriculum. A cross-cultural Science Technology and Society (STS) curricula that includes a broad range of disciplines and provides a context within which all knowledge systems can be equitably compared and contribute to our understanding of the environment is proposed as an alternative curricula framework.

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The constructivist world view is advocated in the Namibian National Curriculum for Basic Education (NNCBE, 2010) since it encourages teachers to use different knowledge sources. This perspective embraces a multicultural approach to science teaching and learning. Indigenous knowledge (IK) and western science (WS) are some of the knowledge sources that are advocated. Yet, it has been noted that some science textbooks used in school science curricula do not consider IK. It is often diminished and considered of lesser value. The sole use of WS in teaching and learning is often distant from IK sources which can be used as prior knowledge. In this study, I therefore endeavoured to minimize this gap in the science curriculum. Essentially, the study focused on investigating trainee teachers’ engagement with prior everyday knowledge and experiences of natural phenomena in teaching physical science concepts. The rationale behind the study emerged while I was supervising twelve trainee teachers on school based studies (SBS) in the Caprivi Region. Observations revealed that learners frequently asked trainee teachers to relate their IK to WS to contextualize what they were learning. However, most trainee teachers seemed to experience challenges. This pedagogical gap and challenge was investigated using the instruments below. An analysis was done on the Namibian National Curriculum for Basic Education (NNCBE, 2010), extracts of research papers and a chapters on pressure in physical science textbooks. A worksheet was used to orientate trainee teachers with suggestions on how IK could be fused with WS to contextualize teaching and learning. Thereafter, this was followed by the simultaneous use of brainstorming and audio-visual techniques. Base line instruments paved the way for the main data generating techniques; namely, microteaching, audio-visual techniques, critical partners’ observation and focus group interview. There was triangulation of data collection instruments which enhanced validation followed by tabulation and data collation to develop themes. Analysis entailed checking theme repetition, indigenous categories and key words in context techniques. Themes enabled the construction of analytical statements which were discussed with reference to the relevant literature, theory and subsequently aligned to the research questions. Findings from this study include the suggestions that IK can be incorporated into teaching and learning of science concepts through the use of models or practical activities, science language used in the community and some cultural artifacts. The relevance of incorporating such type of knowledge is to contextualize science teaching and learning. The study therefore concluded that the incorporation of IK into teaching and learning of science concepts; (a) broadens the curriculum as it addresses conceptual progression and cohesion; (b) contextualizes concepts taught; (c) empowers teachers to use a practical curriculum and (d) it also creates space for misconceptions that come with IK to be identified and corrected. The study thus recommends that cultural artifacts and the social science jargon used in the community of the trainee teachers can be used to incorporate IK with WS as these types of knowledge are not mutually exclusive but in fact complement one another.

The integration of modern science and indigenous knowledge systems in the science education curriculum for South African schools represents social justice for the majority of South Africans as they determine the knowledge necessary for themselves and for future generations in the new South Africa. An exploratory research reveals tension and a dichotomous relationship between modern science and IKS, caused by false hierarchies that are influenced by factors such as colonialism, capitalism and modernisation to the exclusion of the core values held by indigenous people in their relationship with nature. The thesis demonstrates that the integration requires an epistemology that puts humanity first and a framework that accommodates both ways of knowing. This should allow for the best in the two systems of knowing to serve humanity in a dialogical manner. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)