Indigenous
Science
Network
Bulletin
August 2007
(Volume 10, Number 4)
ISSN 1449-2091
Editor: Michael
Michie
Tiwi
designs by Jennifer Coombs
Munupi Arts & Crafts
Association,
Pirlangimpi, Melville Island, NT
|
Indigenous |
August 2007 Tiwi
designs by Jennifer Coombs |
The re-emergence of values in science education, edited
by Deborah Corrigan, Justin Dillon & Richard Gunstone
Issues
relating to values have always had a place in the school science curriculum.
Sometimes this has been only in terms of the inclusion of topics such as 'the
nature of science' and/or 'scientific method' and/or particular intentions for
laboratory work that relate to 'scientific method.' Sometimes it has been much
broader, for example in curricula with STS emphases. Of importance to aspects of
this proposal is that different countries/cultures have had different traditions
in terms of the place of values in the school [science] curriculum. One obvious
very broad difference of this form is the central place in [science] education
thinking in many European countries of bildung, and the complete absence of this construct from most
[science] curriculum thinking in English speaking contexts. There are numbers of
such country/cultural differences.
In the 1990s many countries moved
towards various conceptualizations of Outcomes Based Education - OBE (sometimes
so labelled and sometimes not). It was usual (but not universal) for OBE focused
science curricula to have constrained views of the values that should be
implicit and explicit in curriculum; that is views concerned only with 'the
nature of science' and 'scientific method' (both usually seen as quite
unproblematic).
Currently there are a number of education systems that are changing again, and
choosing to move away from Outcomes Based Education (for example, South Africa
and several Australian states). One of the most interesting features of many of
these movements is the re-embracing of a wider view of the science curriculum,
including a reconsideration of the nature and place of the values associated
with science in the purposes for and approaches to science education. (flier)
Published by Sense Publishers. You can go to their website for a free preview (www.sensepublishers.com).
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS: The Australian Formal
Reconciliation Process, by
Andrew Gunstone
In 1991, the Hawke Government aimed to reconcile
Indigenous and non-Indigenous people by implementing a ten-year reconciliation
process. Its three broad goals concerned the education of the wider community;
Indigenous socio-economic disadvantage; and a document of reconciliation. The
following decade of reconciliation saw some significant achievements. Hundreds
of community reconciliation groups were established. Hundreds of thousands of
people participated in the Reconciliation Walks in 2000. The wider Australian
community developed a greater awareness of Indigenous issues.
But neither the aim nor its three goals were
successfully achieved. Further, several political goals of Indigenous people
were not adequately addressed, including sovereignty; self-determination, a
treaty and land rights.
Unfinished Business is the first book to
explore the 1991–2000 reconciliation process. It analyses the process’s
successes and failures and the factors that affected it, making a substantial
contribution to our understanding of reconciliation in Australia. (flier)
The book is published by Australian Scholarly Publishing in Melbourne and costs $39.95. (MM has an order form, e-mail for a copy)
Recent papers
Chigeza, Philemon. (2007). Indigenous students in school science. Teaching
Science, 53(2), 10-15.
Abstract: This paper acknowledges that indigenous students' everyday ways of
understanding and school science ways of understanding are often very different.
Examples of research conducted in different countries across the world are used
to suggest smoother ways for indigenous students to cross the border from
everyday ways of knowing, to school science ways of learning. The theory of
constructivism and context-based approaches to science learning are used to
inform these approaches to smoother border crossings.
Van Eijck, Michiel, & Roth, Wolff-Michael. (2007).
Keeping the Local Local: Recalibrating the Status of
Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
(TEK) in Education. Science Education (online).
ABSTRACT: The debate on
the status of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in science curricula is
currently centered on a juxtaposition of two incompatible frameworks:
multiculturalism and universalism. The aim of this paper is to establish a
framework that overcomes this opposition between multiculturalism and
universalism in science education, so that they become but one-sided expressions
of an integrated unit. To be able to do so, we abandon the concept of “truth.”
Instead, we adopt a contemporary epistemology that (a) entails both the cultural
and material aspects of human, intersubjective reality; (b) concerns the
usefulness of knowledge; and (c) highlights the dynamic, heterogeneous, and
plural nature of products of human being and understanding. Drawing on
narratives of scientists and aboriginal people explaining a comparable natural
phenomenon (a salmon run), we show that both TEK and scientific knowledge,
though simultaneously available, are incommensurable and irreducible to each
other, as are the different processes of knowledge construction/evolution
inherent to the constituting artifacts. Drawing on social studies of science, we
point out that the transcendent nature of scientific knowledge implies absence
of local heterogeneity, dynamic, and plurality making it useless in local
contexts other than itself. We discuss the educational implications of this
recalibration.
Australasian Science Education Research Association conference 2007
ASERA 38 was recently held in Fremantle, WA. As usual there were a number of papers which might be of interest to members of the network. I have included a link to the authors and a copy of each abstract.
Alberto Cupane & Peter
Charles Taylor (Curtin University): An African enquiry about sustainability in education
Abstract: In this paper, we propose
a reconceptualised science education for Mozambique, based on (1) a cultural
model of teaching/learning, (2) critical scientific literacy (CSL), and (3) the
inclusion of spirituality, as a way to achieve sustainability in the
teaching/learning process and in Mozambican society. Our claims are framed by
theories of Postcolonialism and Non/dualism and a view of education as a
cultural process. Our standpoint is that in the science classroom educators
should expand the concept of science in order to help students analyse their
identities; hence the need to include local culture. This 'expanded science' is
CSL. CSL is the teaching of science in which World Modern Science (WMS) is not
the final aim but part of the process of an emancipating culture in schools.
This emergent standpoint was built up through an auto/ethnographic research
approach which emphasises crystallization as way of `validating' knowledge
claims.
Shaheed Hartley (Cape Peninsula
University of Technology, South Africa). Assessing the needs of science educators at rural secondary
schools in the Western Cape Province, South Africa
Abstract: Over the past number of
years there has been increasing pressure to focus on the development of South
Africa's rural communities and improving their quality of life. In the light of
educational transformation in the country many tertiary institutions are obliged
to review their various science and mathematics education outreach interventions
in schools. To ensure that the support provided to schools is still relevant, a
systemic evaluation of science educator needs is central to this process. This
paper describes a pilot investigation to a wider study to assess the needs of 45
secondary schools in the provision of quality science and mathematics education
in the Western Cape. The objectives of this investigation are two-fold: (1) to
determine the science, mathematics and technology (SMT) needs identified by
teachers of the selected secondary; and (2) to develop a SMT needs profile for
each of the participating secondary school.
Bal
Chandra Luitel & Peter
Charles Taylor (Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia). Research
with multiple epistemic metaphors: Searching for alternatives in science
education research
Abstract: This presentation
discusses an ongoing doctoral research that subscribes to a number of epistemic
metaphors including research as writing, inquiry, reconceptualising self,
interpreting, deconstructing, making, envisioning, being, and integrating self
and other. Deconstructing the conventional notion that research in science and
mathematics education should be detached from the context, use only
propositional logic, privilege one type of epistemology over many others, and
use a dualistic approach to representing reality(s), this presentation aims at
demonstrating how alternative logics such as dialectical, non1dual and
diachronic can contribute to conceptualising research as professional
development in the era of complexity. We also endeavour to present Bal Chandra's
different genres-story, poems and ethnodrama-so as to demonstrate the fusion of
different epistemic metaphors and logics, and thereby discuss some of the
quality criteria to maintain rigour in this type of research.
Hongming
Ma (Monash University, Victoria) The image of Science and the concept of
Nature
Abstract: This paper reports
one aspect of the findings into an examination of Chinese secondary school
science teachers' understanding of the nature of science. A qualitative method
(a semi-structured interview) was used to explore teachers' views in order to
better understand the influence of Chinese culture on understandings of science.
The interview protocol consisted of three main topics: views of Nature; the role
of culture in the development of science; and, science teaching practice.
Teachers' understandings of the nature of science were then developed through
analyses of their responses to questions in relation to the above three topics.
This paper presents one part of the findings - from their views of Nature,
teachers' understanding of the nature of science is analysed from three
perspectives: that of science; the strategies and approaches to doing science;
and, the status of scientific knowledge.
Alison Sammel (Griffith
University Gold Coast, Queensland) Re/search in Canada: Integrating Indigenous
Ways of Knowing in Western science education
Abstract: This paper presents a research project aimed at
fostering collaboration among a diverse group of Canadian First Nations and
non-First Nations educators and Elders. The purpose was to envision, discuss,
and clarify a philosophy and framework for First Nations science teaching and
learning in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. The committee did not intend to
solely generate science content, but to share Southern Saskatchewan First
Nations perspectives, including an interpretation of a Medicine Wheel, so
teachers could more deeply engage with existing materials and develop the
knowledge base and confidence to generate resources that included First Nations
perspectives appropriate to the teaching and learning of science and the needs
of all Saskatchewan students. The conversations that emerged from those meetings
formed the basis of an 80-page document that is currently used to support the
Provincial science curricula. This paper will describe this unique undertaking
and discuss implications for Australia.
Kenneth
Tobin (The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York)
Producing solidarity and high science achievement in diverse social contexts.
Anaru
Wood (Massey University, New Zealand) & Brian Lewthwaite: Māori
Science Education in Aoteoroa-New Zealand: He pūtea whakarawe: Aspirations
and Realities
Abstract: This paper reports on the
first phase of a multiphase science education development project in
predominantly Māori Kura (school communities) in the central region of the
North Island of Aoteoroa-New Zealand. The development project in its entirety
employs an action research methodology and by so doing endeavours to support the
improvement of science education delivery in accordance with school community
aspirations. The project focuses on (1) establishing the current situation in
Year One to Year Eight science education in the communities; (2) identifying
developmental aspirations for stakeholders within the communities and potential
contributors and constraints to these aspirations; (3) implementing mechanisms
for achieving identified aspirations; and finally, (4) evaluating the
effectiveness of such mechanisms. This paper focuses on the initial phase of the
development project; evaluating through the lenses of Kaupapa Māori Theory
and Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model the current situation in Year One to
Year Eight science education and identifying the developmental aspirations and
perceived constraints and contributors for achieving these science education
aspirations within these communities. Finally, we outline some priorities to
consider for further education development based on the outcomes of the
preliminary discussions.
East-Asia Association for Science Education: 2nd Preparatory Meeting and the Founding Assembly of EASE
Seoul, Korea, 31 October 2007. http://ease-net.org/
2007 International Conference on Science Education for the Next Society
"Foreseeing the Future". Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. 1-3 November 2007. http://sens.snu.ac.kr/icsens
The program includes invited lectures, oral, poster presentations and workshops across the topics as follows:Discourse and Cultural Practice Conference
University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW. 29 November - 1 December 2007. http://www.education.uts.edu.au/research2/conferences/conferences.html
The aim of the conference is to explore discourses and cultural practices from a range of perspectives.
We are interested in theoretical and applied research on discourses and cultural practices eg discourse and subjectivity, theories of discourse, practices as ‘the new discourse’; descriptive studies of discourse and cultural practices in specific contexts eg work, play, popular culture, organizations, media; and applications to professional and pedagogical contexts. The third day of the conference (Saturday) will have a particular focus on discourse and cultural practices in relation to language and literacy education.
5th International Conference on Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
"Science, mathematics and technology education beyond cultural boundaries". Udon Thani Rajabhat University, Udon Thani, Thailand. 16-19 January 2008. Jointly organised with the Key Centre for School Science and Mathematics, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia. http://www.smec.curtin.edu.au/conf/index.cfm
This conference will provide another intellectually challenging and
culturally enriching experience for science, mathematics and technology
teachers, teacher educators, researchers, and administrators at the primary,
secondary and higher education levels from around the world.
The conference will include keynote addresses and papers. Participants will be
invited to submit their presentations for consideration for inclusion in the
conference proceedings. A social and sightseeing program will be organised in
conjunction with the conference.
Conference of Asian Science Education
"Science education from an Asian perspective". Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 20-23 February 2008. http://case2008.nknu.edu.tw
We are happy to take this opportunity to welcome all of you to the Conference of Asian Science Education 2008. Our conference theme is "Science Education from an Asian Perspective" and believes that it will draw professional researchers from diverse science fields within education, both locally and internationally. The major goal of CASE is to promote the latest research and trends in science education as well as be informed concerning innovative teaching strategies all around Asian regions. The conference strands will provide researchers and practitioners a platform by which they can share what they have found that works in science education in Asia, and the significant relevance with international colleagues and communities.
We invite you to join us and share your insights and critically examine issues pertaining to science education. To our foreign participants, we also encourage you to take this opportunity to explore Taiwan and experience the beauty and wonder of our island called Formosa, the Beautiful Island.
(Readers of this Bulletin may find some familiar names when they browse the conference website. MM)
Australian Association for Environmental Education
"Environmental education up the Track: Hot topics for our community", Darwin NT, 1-4 July 2008. Themes for presentations and discussions will include:
Check for updates: www.aaee.org.au
Australasian Science Education Research Association: 39th annual conference
Rydges Hotel, Southbank, Brisbane Qld. 2-5 July 2008. The ASERA link will be activated later in 2007.
This is mostly a summary of upcoming conferences. More details may have been given above or in previous bulletins as shown. A web-based contact is usually included. Inclusion of conferences in this list is not to be read as an endorsement of the conference.
2007
September 2007
3-7 September: World Congress of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES), Living Together, Education and Intercultural Dialogue in Sarajevo. For more information, visit www.wcces2007.ba. (April07)
October 2007
31 October: East-Asia Association for Science Education: 2nd Preparatory Meeting and the Founding Assembly of EASE. Seoul, Korea, . http://ease-net.org/ (Aug07)
November 2007
1-3 November: 2007 International Conference on Science Education for the Next Society. "Foreseeing the Future". Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. http://sens.snu.ac.kr/icsens (Aug07)
13-16 November: Second International Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (CoSMEd) 2007, Penang, Malaysia. (http://www.recsam.edu.my/cosmed/) (April07)
15-19 November: IIId International Conference of The Social Capital Foundation, in Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. http://www.socialcapital-foundation.org/conferences/synopsis.htm. (Oct06)
29 November - 1 December: Discourse and Cultural Practice Conference, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW. http://www.education.uts.edu.au/research2/conferences/conferences.html (Aug07)
2008
January 2008
16-19 January: 5th International Conference on Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. "Science, mathematics and technology education beyond cultural boundaries". Udon Thani Rajabhat University, Udon Thani, Thailand. http://www.smec.curtin.edu.au/conf/index.cfm (Aug07)
February 2008
20-23 February: Conference of Asian Science Education. "Science education from an Asian perspective". Kaohsiung, Taiwan. http://case2008.nknu.edu.tw (Aug07)
March 2008
29 March - 3 April: National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) annual meeting, Baltimore, (http://narst.org)
July 2008
1-4 July: Australian Association for Environmental Education, "Environmental education up the Track: Hot topics for our community", Darwin NT. www.aaee.org.au (Aug07)
2-5 July: Australasian Science Education Research Association, Brisbane Qld (Aug07)
6-11 July: Australian Science Teachers Association, CONASTA57, Brisbane Qld
Date not set
World Indigenous People's Conference on Education (WIPCE 2008), Victoria, Australia
2009
July 2009
ASERA, Deakin University. Dates and venue to be decided.
2010
July 2010
ASERA, University of Newcastle. Dates and venue to be decided.
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Last updated: 1 August 2007 |