Culture Studies in Science Education: Students' Indigenous Cultures versus the Culture of Science

A local workshop held in Darwin on 10 March 1999 brought together a number of teachers and educators, many of whom had experiences in teaching Australian Indigenous students ranging from primary through to tertiary level. Much of the discussion focused on relating the theories from the papers to the practices of teaching Indigenous students, and in extending personal understandings in the field. As a conclusion, it was decided to prepare a declaration which reflects the understandings shared by the Darwin participants.

The Darwin Declaration: Beyond borders and towards interculturalism

How appropriate is the border metaphor for intercultural education? Could it be replaced with a space metaphor? It was considered that the border metaphor reflects the rationalist and atomist nature of Western science where knowledge is classified into discrete subjects. This metaphor has been used in the past and is still used to separate Indigenous knowledge (as marginal) from the field of Western science (as central).

By using the terminology of border and border crossing, we are perpetuating the compartmentalisation of science teaching and inhibiting holistic approaches. thus supporting tokenism in the incorporation of Indigenous perspectives. It lends itself to tokenistic incorporations of indigenous sciences into science education and into representations of what science and knowledge are. Incorporation of cultural studies into science curriculum should be more than an inoculation. It should be a starting point which shapes the overall framework, practice and philosophy of science education. It reinforces critique and inquiry in science and supports the creative aspects of enquiry. Science teaching must make explicit the social construction of knowledge with particular references to its political, social, historical and economic correlates. This will enrich the practices of science and science education and avert tokenism in the incorporation of indigenous perceptions.

Discussion at the meeting considered Australian Indigenous philosophies of education which go beyond the transmission metaphor. By considering initial questions such as, 'What is knowledge and where does it come from?', we may be able to use epistemology to address the commensurabilty of divergent knowledge systems. Negotiation of knowledges and interactions develop/construct new knowledge spaces without diminishing the stakeholders' philosophies and positions. The outcome allows a shift in the metaphor from consideration of borders to one of spaces.

The critique of the border metaphor necessitates that intercultural conceptions of contexts, practices, strategies, methodologies replace the cross-cultural discourse that embeds 'borderishness'. Thinking in intercultural terms then establishes the validity of the perspectives of each student without marginalising students or becoming stereotypical.

Return to April 1999