Created in 1552 as a gift for Spain's king, the Badianus Manuscript is a repository of Aztec traditional medicinal knowledge and contains the earliest surviving illustrations of New World plants. At the College of Santa Cruz (Mexico City) for Aztec nobility, an Aztec healer who became the college physician compiled plant descriptions and medicinal…

The international literature suggests the use of indigenous knowledge (IK) and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) contexts in science education to provide motivation and self-esteem for indigenous students is widespread. However, the danger of alienating culture (as knowledge) from the language in which the worldview is embedded seems to have…

The need to enhance the relevance and quality of pre- and in-service teacher education in India has long been recognised in official commentaries. Despite the structural innovation of District Institutes of Education and Training to enhance systemic responsiveness to local contexts, training messages mediated through DIETs are largely not having…

We assessed the importance of academic and practical intelligence in rural and relatively urban Yup'ik Alaskan communities with respect to Yup'ik-valued traits rated by adults or peers in the adolescents' communities. A total of 261 adolescents participated in the study; of these adolescents, 145 were females and 116 were males, and they were from…

Indigenous communities remain concerned about research into their lives, their control over and participation in the research process and the public dissemination of knowledge. The relationship between researcher and participant and the product of this relationship has been traditionally cast as a dualism with one side being the less powerful,…

The importance of innovation in higher education is recognised in South African educational discourse. The South African White Paper on Science and Technology, issued in September 1996 and entitled, "Preparing for the 21st Century", states that, "the White Paper is built upon the twin concepts of "innovation" and a…

This article focuses on the need for universities as teaching and research organisations, to recognise and act upon a more culturally inclusive interpretation of "sustainable development" and "sustainability". It argues for the valuing of indigenous worldviews as a means of achieving a more holistic and interdisciplinary way of thinking about the…

The chapters in this book reflect the work of science and mathematics educators who have worked for many years at the international level. As members of the International Consortium for Research in Science and Mathematics Education, their work provides readers with issues, models, practices, and research results that have applicability and…

In spite of the changes that 100 years of Americanization have produced, the American Samoa people overwhelmingly identify themselves with their culture. They are proud to be Samoan; they are committed to the "fa'a-Samoa" or the Samoan way of life. The desire to balance American ways with the unique values that make up the Samoan sense…

Drawing on Vygotsky's (1997a) concept of "fossilized behavior", this study examines the cultural fault lines between the imagined community (Anderson, 1991) of early childhood education and some Australian Indigenous families. Through creating a social space within which Indigenous families could examine dominant and taken-for-granted…

The aim of this study was to investigate perspectives and practices of Xhosa-speaking African traditional healers, known as "amagqirha", in managing psychosis. Four traditional healers, 3 male and one female, were chosen to take part in the study through their association with psychosis patients undergoing treatment at a South African…

In 1991, the Australian Parliament implemented a formal 10-year process of reconciliation. The aim of the process was to reconcile Indigenous and non-Indigenous people by the end of 2000. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) was established to promote the process. The process had three broad goals: improving education, addressing…

In Zimbabwe the need to incorporate indigenous knowledge in science education to reflect local cultural settings cannot be overemphasized. Current policies on science are situated in Western cultural definitions, thus marginalizing indigenous knowledge, which is misconceived as irrational and illogical. This study used qualitative research…

Intellectual property enables individuals to gain financially from sharing unique and useful knowledge. Compensating indigenous people for sharing their knowledge and resources might both validate and be an equitable reward for indigenous knowledge of biological resources, and might promote the conservation of those resources. This book contains…

The Alaska Federation of Natives, in cooperation with the University of Alaska, received funding to implement the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI). Over a 5-year period (1995-2000), AKRSI initiatives are systematically documenting the indigenous knowledge systems of Alaska Native people and developing educational policies and practices…