Toward a First Nations cross-cultural science and technology curriculum

Abstract

This article explores First Nations (Native American) science education from a cultural perspective. Science is recognized as a subculture of Western culture. Scientific and Aboriginal ideas about nature are contrasted. Learning science is viewed as culture acquisition that requires First Nations students to cross a cultural border from their everyday world into the subculture of science. The pathway toward the cross‐cultural education explored in the article is: (1) founded on empirical studies in educational anthropology; (2) directed by the goals of First Nations people themselves; (3) illuminated by a reconceptualization of science teaching as cultural transmission; (4) guided by a cross‐cultural STS science and technology curriculum; and (5) grounded in various types of content knowledge (common sense, technology, and science) for the purpose of practical action such as economic development, environmental responsibility, and cultural survival. Cross‐cultural instruction requires teachers to identify cultural border crossings for students and to facilitate those border crossings by playing the role of tour guide, travel agent, or culture broker, while sustaining the validity of students' own culturally constructed ways of knowing. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 81:217–238, 1997.

The Border Crossings of a Multicultural Science Education Enthusiast

“…By the conclusion of her student teaching, Jill had experienced a hazardous border crossing (described in Aikenhead, 1997). She did not easily move between her culture and the culture of her students.…”

“…Yet Jill was unable to relinquish her own beliefs about instruction and ultimately planned and enacted the instruction she advocated. As Jill's student teaching experience progressed, it became clear that Jill's culture and the instructional culture of the school were so dissimilar that the crossing would be virtually impossible (described in Aikenhead, 1997).…”

“…Jill was able to cross into the culture of the school and participate in school events, yet she was aware of the significant differences between herself and the school culture. Ultimately, Jill's crossing into the school culture was hazardous (described in Aikenhead, 1997).…”

“…Two articles indirectly suggest the importance of beliefs in regard to teaching in culturally diverse settings. Aikenhead (1997) argued for a cross‐cultural science curriculum that permits students to move between various cultures and subcultures (e.g., the culture of the nation, the subcultures of science and school science). He acknowledged that the existing borders between cultures and subcultures need to be understood by teachers and that teachers must engage in different roles in order to facilitate the border crossings of students.…”

“…She did not want to provide marginal experiences to her students, and these were borders she should not have crossed. Aikenhead (1997) in his examination of student border crossings suggested that teachers should take on different roles in order to help their students cross various cultural borders. In regard to this aspect, it is unclear if all cultural borders should be crossed by science teachers.…”