In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Indigenous Science Education and STEM-related Education

  • Introduction

Education Indigenous Science Education and STEM-related Education
by
Ananda Marin, Nikki Barry, Renee White Eyes, Kathy DeerInWater, Megan Bang, Forrest Hunter Bruce
  • LAST MODIFIED: 07 January 2025
  • DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0324

Introduction

Education broadly conceived includes the when, where, why, and how of teaching, learning, and maturation. From this perspective education takes shape and evolves across many contexts, including familial and kin relations; informal settings such as community-based organizations, museums, and libraries; and school settings from early childhood to post-secondary. Science, like education, is concerned with the how and why of things. Indigenous science education is grounded in the philosophical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual traditions and practices of Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). IKS is holistic, relational, and informed by experience in and with the natural world. Although IKS are tribally specific, there are commonalities and shared practices across communities. Indigenous knowledge systems ground much of Indigenous science education. While some principles of IKS and Indigenous science education that we discuss will apply to Indigenous peoples globally, there are also important differences to hold across geopolitical contexts. Rather than collapsing the vast heterogeneity of global indigeneity into a single category, we found it important to limit our scope. Furthermore, it may be inappropriate for the authors—Indigenous people from nations who largely reside within the borders of what is currently considered the United States and Canada—to reach beyond this scope. At the same time, we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge that there is important research within the field of comparative Indigenous education that speaks to connections between the local and the global. In addition, Indigenous peoples globally have traded, collaborated, and exchanged knowledge since time immemorial, and they continue to do so. IKS has taught us, the authors, to view reading and writing as activities that carry with them responsibilities for being in a relation with knowledge. Thus, this article is structured to provide relevant studies, reports, and resources on Indigenous science education and STEM-related education contextualized within what is currently known as the United States and Canada. And in this context, the authors use both Native and Indigenous interchangeably throughout this bibliography. The article is organized around four main sections: (1) Paradigms for Indigenous Science Education, (2) Indigenous Science Education across the Life-Span, (3) Curriculum and Assessments within Indigenous Science Education, and (4) Professional Organizations, Key Reports, and Books.

Paradigms for Indigenous Science Education

The resources presented in this section address four paradigms that are interconnected with Indigenous science education. These include (1) Indigenous Ways of Knowing (IWOK) and Indigenous Science Education, (2) Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous Science Education, (3) Outdoor, Place-Based, and Environmental Science Education, and (4) Land-Based and Water-Based Education. These paradigms mutually inform one another but also carry important distinctions or emphases. For example, Indigenous ways of knowing ground much of the work in place-based approaches to Indigenous science education and land-based education. Early scholarship in Indigenous science education focused on Indigenous ways of knowing, including differences in epistemological orientations between Native science and Western science. Much of this work highlighted how TEK is informed by and informs IWOK. However, TEK has been more focused on the “what” of IKS and IWOK has been more focused on the “how.” More specifically, IKS and IWOK are terms that describe the epistemological, ontological, axiological, pedagogical, and cosmological dimension of Indigenous lifeways broadly conceived. TEK zooms in on ecological knowledge situated in IKS and IWOK, with a particular focus on lifeways that have been passed down through generations. Both of these paradigms have been drawn upon to design outdoor, place-based science education for Indigenous students and to research the benefits of such approaches for Indigenous students’ science knowledge, science achievement, and pathways to science careers. More recently, Indigenous scholars have taken a sociopolitical turn with regard to place-based education and outlined a new paradigm—land-based education. Some scholarship has approached these paradigms in efforts to improve educational experiences for Native learners. This scholarship often focuses on both making visible important distinctions and convergences between IKS and Western knowledge systems and working to improve learning and supporting learners’ navigation in and across knowledge systems.

back to top

Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.

How to Subscribe

Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.

Article

Up

Down