This paper reports on an international experience designed, within a sociocultural frame, for teacher education students to examine theoretical knowledge and make visible local knowledge on diversity issues, and the interrelatedness and complexity of language, literacy and culture and its impact on educational practices. It examines the context of…

This yearlong ethnographic study of principals' leadership in Papua New Guinea high schools describes influences of imposing a bureaucratic school organization on principals' decision making in a communal society. Communal values of kinship relationships, "wantok" system, and "big men" leadership challenged principals'…

This paper was conceived with a view to contributing research insights on the recognition and utilization of indigenous conceptions of giftedness in educational programs for the Sub-Saharan Africa region. In a cultural setting where high ability research is scarce, focus on indigenous conceptions of giftedness provides necessary baseline data for…

After many efforts to lift the achievement of its high numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse students, a district in Massachusetts realized that the missing link was parent involvement. In this article, the author describes a program the district created to improve relationships between teachers and families and the enormous difference…

A workshop was held in Vegan, Philippines 16-22 December 2001 on innovative approaches in the teaching of World Heritage. These approaches titled Vigan Heritage Education Art (HEart) highlight particular heritage sites in Southeast Asia and uses indigenous artistic concepts and techniques as a basis for teaching. Through creative arts, teachers…

Traditional Inupiat society was, and is, about knowing the right time to be in the right place, with the right tools to take advantage of a temporary abundance of resources. Sharing the necessary knowledge about the natural world with the next generation was critical. The example of learning to hunt is used to demonstrate features of traditional…

During a kayaking expedition in 1983, the author was sucked into an underwater tunnel in Mexico's Rio Urique. He miraculously emerged unharmed, but this near-death experience awakened in him a primal awareness that had been coddled to sleep by his so-called civilized perceptions. He gained intuitive insights from this awakening that enabled him to…

Although rich in theoretical constructs, American Indian Studies is not considered a discipline because it lacks a core assumption or paradigm. The concept of peoplehood could be that core assumption because its elements--language, sacred history, religion, and land--make up a complete system that accounts for particular behaviors of people…

Describes how a college teacher used Navajo traditional knowledge to rethink the teaching of college biology. Suggests that teachers intimidated by the intricate Dine Philosophy of Education may integrate Navajo knowledge into their courses through focused research guided by Navajo consultants. Includes five examples of redesigned curricula for…

Ph.D. program at California Institute of Integral Studies trains Native Americans and other indigenous peoples to deepen their traditional knowledge and strengthen its environmental impact. A parallel program helps Euro-Americans discover their own indigenous values. Both programs focus on integrating Earth-based knowledge with Western science.…

Among indigenous peoples, Western models of development through acculturation and resource exploitation have been replaced by community-based development emphasizing cultural continuity, holistic indigenous knowledge, community control, and respect for the environment. Includes descriptions of indigenous-Western research partnerships, development…

Addresses problems associated with the appropriation of indigenous knowledge and the marginalization of indigenous intellectual accomplishments by the academic and scientific community. An example is the misuse of indigenous medicinal plant knowledge and the lack of equal status given to this knowledge at nonindigenous institutions. Offers…

A Russian woman describes how living in remote Kamchatka helped her develop an aboriginal perspective. Chopping wood, hauling water, gathering food, alternately homeschooling her children and sending them to an ecological school, and interacting with local aboriginal people taught her the importance of conserving natural resources and living in…

In response to significant changes in the Indigenous information landscape, the State Library of New South Wales and Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney, hosted a Colloquium, "Libraries and Indigenous Knowledge," in December 2004. The two-day Colloquium brought together professionals, practitioners and…

In this paper, I address the role of educational service provision as a mode of post-colonial assimilation and encapsulation in Native Alaska (USA). I argue that these services have historically served State interests above local interests, implemented with little regard for indigenous values or priorities. The role of education provision in one…