We now stand at an interesting intersection in the perennial debate about the merits of homework, write Marzano and Pickering. Arguments against homework are becoming louder and more popular; at the same time, research is providing growing evidence that homework can be useful when employed effectively. After reviewing three recent books that have…

One of the most important questions I ask as both a cultural anthropologist and a university teacher is: How do people come to know what they think they know? In this article, I adopt a narrative approach to processes of learning and discovery in two very different locales, an indigenous society in the South Pacific, and a senior seminar on…

Discusses the agricultural practices of indigenous peoples in countries such as Peru, Papua New Guinea, and Thailand. (Contains 35 references.) (MDH)

Traditional Indigenous Knowledge (IK) systems must be recovered and promoted by academics, indigenous knowledge holders, and political leaders by dismantling colonialism and state government control. While Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) has received attention due to its focus on management of natural resources and conservation, non-native…

How is the university connected to the pressing social and environmental problems that confront citizens in its region? What sorts of communities will students build in this changing cultural and environmental landscape as a result of their experiences in education? In this article I explore how an ethnobotany seminar uses critical pedagogy of…

The growing field of positive psychology is encouraging advances in the scientific research of developmental strengths and virtues like forgiveness. However, multicultural and indigenous psychology perspectives can raise valuable questions about positive psychology and the relationship between cultural particularity and virtues like forgiveness.…

Many non-Western and non-English-speaking scholars express the need for supporting a methodological approach that foregrounds the voices of nationals and locals (or indigenous peoples). Supporting this stance, Western scholars will reach out in democratic and liberatory ways that effect research collaboration, helping to foster social justice and…

Utilising Nakata's (2007) description of the "cultural interface", two Indigenous researchers and one non-Indigenous researcher examine their development of Indigenous research in and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities conducted from within an institution of higher education. The authors reflect on their experiences in…

Current renewed interest in the epistemological, socio-cultural, and educational aspects of indigenous knowledge systems (IKSs) has also had some impact on research and practice in the area of mathematics education. Located in the intersection of culture, mathematics, and classroom learning, this position article proposes that the socio-cultural…

In this article, the author talks about the decline of fluent Alaskan Haida speakers. She features her mother's story as an example of why the Haida language is "on the brink." English language fluency as a tool for Indigenous survival is common to Native peoples, as is the desire to see languages flourish again. Alaskan Haidas…

In British Columbia, Canada, the practice of archaeology has been strongly influenced by issues of First Nations rights and the ways government and industry have chosen to address them. In turn, this situation has affected academic (i.e., research-based) and consulting (i.e., cultural resource management) archaeology, which have had to respond to…

This paper concerns my own reflections on ethnographic research with Indigenous students studying at university. I began the research by using the methodology of interpretive ethnography to discover what constitutes success for Indigenous students studying at university. But after some unflattering critiques of my initial interpretation of the…

After nearly two centuries of denial within Western education institutions, the indigenous knowledge systems of Alaska's Natives are being recaptured through the work of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative. These knowledge systems, coupled with the best of Western science, form the foundation for a new type of education--one that is place-based,…

The Navajo calendar is a means of educating people to thrive in their surroundings, realize their individual potentials, and perpetuate their society. Describes in Navajo and English: the Navajo calendar, ceremonies and activities appropriate to each month, the moccasin game and string game (played in winter), and the significance of the number…