Abstract
Traditional stories are told to many Aboriginal children about night and day throughout Australia. Do these stories influence their scientific thinking? Are there other cultural practices which may influence children's undertandings in science? This paper details a pilot study which sought to find out what four-to-eight year old rural Australian Aboriginal children from central New South Wales think about night and day (N=15). The research design was consistent with previous mainstream cross-cultural studies (Thijs & Van Den Berg, 1995), but more culturally inclusive in its implementation. The findings raise serious questions about the framing of cross-cultural research and the realisation of indigenous data.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baxter, J. (1989). Children's understanding of familiar astronomical events.International Journal of Science Education, 11 (Special Issue), 502–513.
Christie, M. (1991). Aboriginal science for the ecologically sustainable future.Australian Science Teachers Journal, 37, 26–31.
Curriculum Corporation. (1994).Science: A curriculum profile for Australian schools. Canberra: Australian Government Printing Service.
Davis, S., Harris, J., & Traynor, S. (1980). Community based programs for Aboriginal schools.The Australian Science Teachers Journal, 7, 2–10.
Fleer, M. (1988). A study of micro-computers in selected Aboriginal schools in Western Australia. Unpublished MED thesis, Centre for Behaviour Studies, University of New England, Australia.
Fleer, M. (1990). Scaffolding conceptual change in early childhood.Research in Science Education, 20, 114–123.
Fleer, M. (1991). Research into early childhood science education.Unicorn, 17 (4), 209–215.
Fleer, M. (1993). Science education in child care.Science Education, 77 (6), 561–573.
Fleer, M. (1994). An investigation into children's understandings of their internal body.Research in Early Childhood Education, 1, 64–75.
Fleer, M., & Beasley, W. (1991). A study of conceptual development in early childhood.Research in Science Education, 21, 104–112.
Fleer, M., & Hardy, T. (1993). How can we find out what 3 and 4 year olds think?: New approaches to eliciting very young children's understandings in science.Research in Science Education, 23, 68–76.
Ganambnarr, M. (1982). Thinking about writing an Aboriginal science curriculum.The Aboriginal Child at School, 10 (5), 38–43.
George, J. M. (1992). Science teachers as innovators using indigenous resources.International Journal for Science Education, 14 (1), 95–109.
Hamilton, A. (1981).Nature and nurture: Aboriginal child rearing in north-central Arnhem Land. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.
Harris, S. (1980).Culture and learning: Tradition and education in Northwest Arnhem Land. Darwin: Professional Services Branch, Northern Territory Department of Education.
Harris, S. (1988). Culture boundaries, culture maintenance-in-charge, and two-way Aboriginal Schools.Curriculum Perspectives, 8 (2), 76–83.
Harris, S., (1990).Two-way Aboriginal schooling: Education and cultural survival. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
Hastie, R. M., & Treagust, D. F. (1985). Helping Aboriginal students to understand science and mathematics concepts.The Aboriginal Child at School, 13 (4), 8–15.
Heath, L. R., & Jones, R. (1988). Aboriginal conceptions of the working of nature.Australian Science in the Making. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jones, K., Kershaw, L., & Sparrow, L. (1995).Aboriginal children learning mathematics. Perth: Mathematics, Science and Technology Centre, Edith Cowan.
Jones, B. L. Lynch, P. P., & Reesink, C. (1987). Children's conceptions of the Earth, Sun and Moon.International Journal of Science Education, 9 (1), 43–53.
Kearins, J. (1985). Cross-cultural misunderstandings in education. In J. B. Pride (Ed.),Cross-cultural encounters: Communication and miscommunication (pp. 65–80). Melbourne, Victoria: River Seine Publications.
Klein, C. A. (1982). Children's concepts of the Sun, a cross cultural study.Science Education, 65 (1), 95–107.
Leeds National Curriculum Science Support Project (LEEDS). (1992). Resources for supporting pupils' learing at Key Stage 3, Files 1 to 3. Leeds, UK: University of Leeds.
Lightman, A. P., Miller, J. D., & Leadbetter, J. B. (1987, July). Conternporary cosmological beliefs. Paper presented to the second international seminar on misconceptions and educations and educational strategies in science and mathematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Lynch, P. P. (1996). Students' alternative frameworks: Linguistic and cultural interpretations based on a study of a western-tribal continuum.International Journal of Science Education, 18 (3), 321–332.
Mali, G. B., & Howe, A. (1979). Development of earth and gravity concepts among Nepali children.Science Education, 63 (5), 685–691.
Malin, M. (1990). Why is life so hard for Aboriginal students in urban classroom?The Aboriginal Child at School, 18 (10), 9–30.
National Aboriginal Education Council. (1985).Philosophy aims and policy guidelines for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education. Canberra: Australian Government Printing Service.
Nussbaum, J. (1985). The Earth as a cosmic body. In R. Driver, E. Guesne, & A. Tiberghien, (Eds.),Children's ideas in science (Chapter 9) (pp. 170–192). Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Partington, G., & McCudden, V. (1992).Ethnicity and Education. Sydney, NSW: Social Science Press.
Richie, S. M. (1987). Improving the learning environment for Aboriginal studients in science classrooms.Research in Science Education, 17, 23–30.
Richie, S. M., & Butler J. E. (1990, July). Some affective outcomes from an “Aboriginal science” curriculum intervention. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Australasian Science Education Research Association, Perth, WA.
Sadler, P. M. (1987 July).Misconceptions in astronomy. Paper presented to the second international seminar on Misconceptions and Educational Strategies in Science and Mathematics. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Sneider, C., & Pulos, S. (1983). Children's cosmographics: Understanding the earth's sape and gravity.Science Education, 63 (5), 205–22.
Targon, D. (1987, July).A study of conceptual change in the content domain of the lunar phases. Paper presented at the second international seminar on Misconceptions and Educational Strategies in Science and Mathematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Thijs, G., & Van Den Berg, E. (1995). Cultural factors in the origin and remediation of alternative conceptions in physics.Science and Education, 4 (4), 1–32.
Triandis, H. C. (1974). Major issues in cross-cultural research. In J. L. Dawson (Ed.),Readings in cross-cultural psychology (pp. 26–38), Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Watson, H., & Chambers, D. W. (1989).Singing the land, signing the land. Victoria: Deakin University Press.
Woolgar, S. (1988).Science the very idea. London: Ellis Horwood.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fleer, M. A cross-cultural study of rural Australian Aboriginal children's undertanding of night and day. Research in Science Education 27, 101–116 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02463035
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02463035