Embedding Aboriginal Perspectives and Knowledge in the Biology Curriculum: The Little Porky

Rioux, Joël; Ewing, Bronwyn; Cooper, Thomas J.

doi:10.1017/jie.2017.12

Cited by 11 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The ongoing intergenerational trauma of racism continues to disadvantage First Australians, and this is particularly noticeable when considering the dominant methods of communicating and performing science in Australia. These are all considered to be flow-on impacts attributable to ecological imperialism and colonisation in general [ 39 ]. The legacy of colonisation and ecological imperialism activities occurring over a century ago continue to have ongoing consequences and impacts on many continents and islands, including Australia, which still appear to be more pronounced for First Nations peoples.…”

Section: The Western Concept Of Ecological Imperialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling up the global reef restoration activity: Avoiding ecological imperialism and ongoing colonialism

Gibbs

Newlands

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

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The health and condition of the world’s reefs are in steep decline. This has triggered the development of fledgling micro-scale coral reef restoration projects along many reef coastlines. However, it is increasingly recognised that the scale and productivity of micro-scale coral gardening projects will be insufficient to meet the growing global threats to reefs. More recently, efforts to develop and implement restoration techniques for application at regional scales have been pursued by research organisations. Coral reefs are mostly located in the unindustrialised world. Yet, most of the funding, and scientific and engineering method development for larger-scale methods will likely be sourced and created in the industrialised world. Therefore, the development of the emerging at-scale global reef restoration sector will inevitably involve the transfer of methods, approaches, finances, labour and skills from the industrialised world to the unindustrialised world. This opens the door to the industrialised world negatively impacting the unindustrialised world and, in some cases, First Nations peoples. In Western scientific parlance, ecological imperialism occurs when people from industrialised nations seek to recreate environments and ecosystems in unindustrialised nations that are familiar and comfortable to them. How a coral reef ’should’ look depends on one’s background and perspective. While predominately Western scientific approaches provide guidance on the ecological principles for reef restoration, these methods might not be applicable in every scenario in unindustrialised nations. Imposing such views on Indigenous coastal communities without the local technical and leadership resources to scale-up restoration of their reefs can lead to unwanted consequences. The objective of this paper is to introduce this real and emerging risk into the broader reef restoration discussion.

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Section: The Western Concept Of Ecological Imperialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling up the global reef restoration activity: Avoiding ecological imperialism and ongoing colonialism

Gibbs

Newlands

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

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“…Schooling provides a general disposition ("cultured habitus") towards STEM learning, for example, which may not resonate with individuals in the community. The gaps between children's local rural knowledge (Avery and Kassam, 2011) and school science can be bridged through place-conscious pedagogies which serve to legitimize local STEM-knowledges (Rioux et al, 2018;Rigney et al, 2020). If the concept of STEM learning offered by the school is not embraced by the community, students are likely to lack encouragement to take up or continue STEM study.…”

Section: Ways Of Knowing Being and Valuing Of Stem Knowledges And Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering Young People’s Dislocation From STEM Education: Looking Beyond the Narrow Focus of Teaching and Learning Practice Within School

et al. 2021

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Rural, regional and remote (RRR) communities and industries in Australia cannot currently produce or attract the workforce needed to survive, making skills and qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) increasingly important. Yet student engagement in STEM education in RRR schools remains low, with limited numbers of young people either moving into further STEM education post-secondary, or accessing readily available STEM-related jobs in RRR areas. Currently many rural children and young people are not exposed to, nor recognize the diverse ways in which STEM knowledge is required and used in their world. We propose that if young people are to increasingly engage with STEM and continue onto STEM-related careers, they must be able to see connections between their “school” learning of STEM and the STEM knowledge that is enacted in rural work and life. We also suggest that for this to change, there should be increased visibility of “place-based” knowledges, including Aboriginal STEM knowledges, in RRR communities to promote enhanced student engagement with STEM. In this paper we explore these ideas by drawing on Foucault and Bourdieu understandings to develop a methodological framework – the Place-based STEM- alignment Framework for the purposes of exposing alternate STEM knowledges. We argue that the nuanced and critical methodological approach applied in the development of the Place-based STEM-alignment Framework, is necessary in order to generate this analytical tool and provide data that will allow us the scope to “reset” current understandings of STEM knowledges. The framework design provides us with the methodological vehicle to identify possible reasons for the invisibility of STEM knowledge and practices in the local fabric of RRR communities and to examine enablers and/or barriers to engagement in STEM learning. The framework must be a practical tool for use in the field, one that can be used in RRR communities to engage, children and young people, in STEM, in a way that is meaningful and that aligns with their everyday experience of RRR life. Finally, the framework has to work to enable alternative perspectives to be exposed that will advance methodological considerations of STEM.

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“…The idea of a complex domain defined in a practical way is followed as who we are, where we have been, where we are going and who we want to become (G. Aikenhead, personal communication, June 2015). This research, initially with the little Porky (T. aculeatus), and the collection of local Aboriginal Koora stories, was conducted within the domain of culture (Rioux et al, 2017). The work with the Koora knowledge traditions and Elders preceded the delivery of the Eurocentric Linnaean knowledge tradition and exemplified a social-cultural learning theory.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paradigm informs the reader that this AR has a broad scheme in science education research. The little Porky (T. aculeatus) articulation of its skeleton and collection of animal stories (Rioux et al, 2017) exemplify a social-cultural theory in action and combines Aboriginal applications of the ideas and non-Aboriginal ideas on classificatory systems.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The overlay 'Montessori teacher' was also attached to this essential question that was taken up by this Montessori study's Action Research (AR). Firstly, the zoology intervention included an initial Short-beaked echidna study [Tachyglossus aculeatus aculeatus, Shaw, 1792, order Monotremata, monotreme (Echidna, n.d.)] which is a local icon known in Koora (pseudonym) as The little Porky, Bolinga or Budburra (Rioux et al, 2017). The articulation of the Porky's skeleton uncovered the concept Vertebrata, for the adolescent student participants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Montessori method, Aboriginal students and Linnaean zoology taxonomy teaching: three-staged lesson

Rioux

Ewing

Cooper

2019

AJIE

Self Cite

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This research article addresses an important issue related to how teachers can support Aboriginal secondary school students' learning of science. Drawn from a larger project that investigated the study of vertebrates using Queensland Indigenous knowledges and Montessori Linnaean materials to engage Indigenous secondary school students, this article focuses on the three-staged lessons from that study. Using an Action Research approach and working with participants from one secondary high school in regional Queensland with a high Indigenous population, there were several important findings. First, the materials and the three-staged lessons generated interest in learning Eurocentric science knowledge. Second, repetition, freedom and unhurried inclusion of foreign science knowledges strengthened students' Aboriginal personal identity as well as identities as science learners. Third, privileging of local Aboriginal knowledge and animal language gave rise to meaningful and contextualised Linnaean lessons and culturally responsive practices.

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Embedding Aboriginal Perspectives and Knowledge in the Biology Curriculum: The Little Porky

Cited by 11 publications

References 27 publications

Scaling up the global reef restoration activity: Avoiding ecological imperialism and ongoing colonialism

Scaling up the global reef restoration activity: Avoiding ecological imperialism and ongoing colonialism

Considering Young People’s Dislocation From STEM Education: Looking Beyond the Narrow Focus of Teaching and Learning Practice Within School

The Montessori method, Aboriginal students and Linnaean zoology taxonomy teaching: three-staged lesson

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