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Cited by 67African cultural and philosophical studiesIndigenous and Place-Based EducationScience Education and Pedagogy

South African science teachers' strategies for integrating indigenous and Western knowledges in their classes: Practical lessons in decolonisation

Open access
Seehawer, Maren·2018·Educational Research for Social Change
DOI 10.17159/2221-4070/2018/v7i0a7
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Abstract

Framed within the broader discourse on decolonising African education, this article aims to contribute to the project of integrating indigenous and Western knowledges in southern African education. Following a participatory action research (PAR) cycle, a team of five South African science teachers and one German researcher explored whether and how indigenous knowledges (IK) could be integrated into the teachers' regular classes. The article focuses on the first two phases of the PAR cycle and discusses how challenges impeding knowledge integration were solved and how science lessons that integrated aspects of Western and indigenous knowledges were planned. While the South African science curriculum explicitly invites knowledge integration, it hardly contains any IK and there are no generally available teaching materials. Moreover, some of the participating teachers did not have IK. Yet, integration was possible, for example, through using the learners' communities as resources, a strategy that worked well in both primary and secondary grades. The article suggests that the very practice-oriented research process was also a process of intellectual empowerment and decolonisation. Calling on the agency of teachers, parents, community elders, traditional healers, and academics, the article argues for a bottom-up approach to knowledge integration and to decolonising education.

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  • The reviewed studies show that teachers organised field trips and visits to local sites and communities for students to witness how some activities are carried out, deepening students' understanding of Indigenous knowledge and cognitive levels of engagement.

    “The findings of the reviewed studies further show that teachers organised field trips and visits to local sites and communities for students to witness how some activities are been carried out, deepening students’ understanding of Indigenous knowledge and cognitive levels of engagement during the teaching and learning process”

    From A Systematic Review of Pedagogical Practices for Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Science Teaching (2024) · cites this paper as Seehawer, 2018

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The reviewed studies show that dialogical argumentation promotes active and thoughtful engagement of students with IKS and school science, leveraging understanding of both knowledge systems to learn from each other and create new knowledge.

    “The findings of the reviewed studies further show that the use of a dialogical argumentation approach promotes active and thoughtful engagement of students with IKS and school science, leveraging their understanding of both knowledge systems to learn from each other and create new knowledge”

    From A Systematic Review of Pedagogical Practices for Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Science Teaching (2024) · cites this paper as Seehawer, 2018

    In “Challenge 2: Lack of (Access to) Indigenous Knowledges” (page unavailable), Seehawer reports that Grade 6 learners discussed the advantages and disadvantages of indigenous and Western sun-protection practices, describing this as a possible start of critical engagement. The copy does not establish that a dialogical argumentation approach produced this engagement or that students learned from each other and created new knowledge. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The approach includes assigning tasks that require students to carry out project work, group discussions or report writing, or investigate specific Indigenous knowledge or practices with their families and communities by collaborating with holders of Indigenous knowledge including community elders, herbalists and traditional healers.

    “This approach includes assigning tasks that require students to carry out project work, group discussions or report writing, or investigate specific Indigenous knowledge or practices with their families and communities by collaborating with holders of Indigenous knowledge including community elders, herbalists and traditional healers”

    From A Systematic Review of Pedagogical Practices for Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Science Teaching (2024) · cites this paper as Seehawer, 2018

    Split into 2 atoms — 1 confirmed, 1 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 23

  1. Abdi, A. A. (2006). Culture of education, social development, and globalization: Historical and current analyses of Africa. In A. A. Abdi, K. P. Puplampu, & G. J. S. Dei (Eds.), African education and globalization: Critical perspectives (pp. 13-30). Lanham, USA: Lexington.
  2. Breidlid, A. (2013). Education, indigenous knowledges, and development in the Global South: Contesting knowledges for a sustainable future. New York, USA: Routledge.
  3. Chilisa, B. (2012). Indigenous research methodologies. Los Angeles, USA: SAGE.
  4. Dei, G. J. S., & Asgharzadeh, A. (2006). Indigenous knowledge and globalization: An African perspective. In A. A. P. Abdi, P. Korbla, & G. J. S. Dei (Eds.), African education and globalization: Critical perspectives (pp. 53-78). Oxford, UK: Lexington.
  5. Dei, G. J. S., & Simmons, M. (2009). The indigenous as a site of decolonizing knowledge for conventional development and the link with education: The African case. In J. Langdon (Ed.), Indigenous knowledges, development and education (pp. 15-36). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense.
  6. Fanon, F. (2004). The wretched of the earth. New York, USA: Grove Press. (Original work published 1961)
  7. Fanon, F. (2008). Black skin, white masks. London, UK: Pluto Press. (Original work published 1952)
  8. Keane, M. (2006). Understanding science curriculum and research in rural KwaZulu-Natal (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
  9. Keane, M., & Malcolm, C. (2003). Relevant science: But relevant to what? Science Teachers Association of Victoria, Australia, Labtalk, 47(2), 36-38.
  10. Khupe, C. (2014). Indigenous knowledge and school science: Possibilities for integration (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
  11. Kovach, M. (2009). Indigenous methodologies: Characteristics, conversations, and contexts. Toronto, Canada: Toronto University Press.
  12. Msimanga, A., & Shizha, E. (2014). Indigenous knowledge and science education in South Africa. What messages from the curriculum? In E. Shizha (Ed.), Remapping Africa in the global space: Propositions for change (pp. 137-150). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense.
  13. Ngara, C. (2012). African ways of knowing: Rethinking pedagogy in Africa. In H. K. Wright & A. A. Abdi (Eds.), The dialectics of African education and Western discourses: Counter-hegemonic perspectives (pp. 129-147). New York, USA: Peter Lang.
  14. Ngcoza, K. M. (2018, January). Decolonizing science education curriculum in higher education institutions: Reclaiming cultural heritage as a source of knowledge. Paper presented at 26th Conference of the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, University of Botswana, Gaborone.
  15. Nhalevilo, E., & Ogunniyi, M. B. (2014). Reflections on the science and indigenous knowledge systems project: Voices of the participants. South African Journal of Higher Education, 28(1), 221-235.
  16. Nkopodi, N., & Mosimege, M. (2009). Incorporating the indigenous game of morabaraba in the learning of mathematics. South African Journal of Education, 29, 377-392.
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  18. Odora Hoppers, C. A. (2002). Indigenous knowledge and the integration of knowledge systems. In C. A. Odora Hoppers (Ed.), Indigenous knowledge and the integration of knowledge systems: Towards a philosophy of articulation (pp. 2-22). Cape Town, South Africa: New Africa.
  19. Odora Hoppers, C. A., Moja, T., & Mda, T. (1999). Making this our last passive moment: The way forward. In M. W. Makgoba (Ed.), African Renaissance: The new struggle (pp. 233-239). Cape Town, South Africa: Mafube.
  20. Schabort, F. A. (2011). Can science education be empowering to girls in rural South Africa? Contextualizing science education through action research (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway.
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Cited by

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Authors
Seehawer, M.
Affiliations
OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University (NO)
Corresponding author
Seehawer, Maren
Venue
Educational Research for Social Change
Publisher
Academy of Science of South Africa
Published
2018-06-01
Volume
7
Issue
spe
Pages
91-110
ISSN
2221-4070 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.17159/2221-4070/2018/v7i0a7
OpenAlex
W2885940877
Cited by
67
References
15
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3
FWCI
13.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • Educational Research for Social Change (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › African cultural and philosophical studies
  • Social Sciences › Education › Indigenous and Place-Based Education
  • Social Sciences › Education › Science Education and Pedagogy
Keywords
indigenous knowledge, Western knowledge, knowledge integration, decolonizing education, science education, science teachers, course program, participatory action research, bottom-up approach, traditional healers, community elders, South Africa

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