Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Towards culturally relevant classroom science: a theoretical framework focusing on traditional plant healing

  • Published:
Cultural Studies of Science Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A theoretical framework is an important component of a research study. It grounds the study and guides the methodological design. It also forms a reference point for the interpretation of the research findings. This paper conceptually examines the process of constructing a multi-focal theoretical lens for guiding studies that aim to accommodate local culture in science classrooms. A multi-focal approach is adopted because the integration of indigenous knowledge and modern classroom science is complex. The central argument in this paper is that a multi-focal lens accommodates the multifaceted nature of integrating indigenous knowledge and western oriented classroom science. The objective of the paper, therefore, is to construct a theoretical framework that can be used to guide and inform the integration of indigenous knowledge and western science at classroom science level. The traditional plant healing form of indigenous knowledge is used as a case study. The paper is important for raising the complexities, tensions and dilemmas inherent in the design and implementation of indigenous knowledge-science integrated curricula. An understanding of the issues raised will pave the way towards achieving culturally relevant classroom science.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
€32.70 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Finland)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agrawal, A. (1993). Indigenous and scientific knowledge: Some critical comments. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 3.

  • Aikenhead, G. S. (1996). Science education: Border–crossing into the sub–culture of science. Studies in Science Education, 27, 1–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aikenhead, G. S. (1997). Towards a first nations cross-cultural science and technology curriculum. Science Education, 81, 217–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aikenhead, G. S. (2000). Renegotiating the culture of school science. Retrieved June 27 2012 from http://www.usask.ca/education/people/aikenhead/renegotiating.htm.

  • Aikenhead, G. S. (2001). Students’ ease in crossing cultural borders into school science. Science Education, 85, 180–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aikenhead, G. S. (2006).Towards decolonizing the Pan-Canadian science framework. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 6(4), 387–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aikenhead, G. S., & Ogawa, M. (2007). Indigenous knowledge and science revisited. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 2, 539–620.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnhardt, R., & Kawagley, A. O. (2005). Indigenous knowledge systems and Alaska Native ways of knowing. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 36, 8–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battiste, M. (2002). Indigenous medicine and pedagogy in First Nations Education: A literature review with recommendations. Indian and Northern Affairs: Ottawa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brayboy, B. M. J., & Castagano, A. E. (2008). How Native sciences inform “informal science learning”? Cultural Studies of Science Education, 3, 731–750.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castagano, A. E., & Brayboy, M. J. B. (2008). Culturally responsive schooling for indigenous youth: A review of literature. Review of Educational Research, 78(4), 941–993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cobern, W. W. (2000). Everyday thoughts about nature. Boston: Kluwer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cobern, W., & Loving, C. (2001). Defining “science” in a multicultural world: Implications for science education. Science Education, 85(1), 50–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, V. B. (1995). When Science is “another world”: Relationships between worlds of family, friends, school and science. Science Education, 79(3), 313–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, K. S. (2003). “Change is hard’’: What science teachers are telling us about reform and teacher learning of innovative practices. Science Education, 87, 3–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glasson, E. G., Mhango, N., Phiri, A., & Lanier, M. (2010). Sustainability science education in Africa: Negotiating indigenous ways of living with nature in the third space. International Journal of Science Education, 32(1), 125–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godin, B., & Gingras, Y. (2000). What is scientific and technological culture and how is it measured? A multidimensional model. Public Understanding of Science, 9, 43–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grandy, R. E., & Duschl, R. A. (2008). Consensus: Expanding the scientific method and school science. In R. E. Grandy & R. A. Duschl (Eds.), Teaching scientific inquiry: Recommendations for research and implementation (pp. 304–325). Rotherdam: Sense.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guilmet, G. M. (1984). American Indian and Alaska Native Education for high Technology: A Research Strategy for Creating Culturally Based Physical Science and Mathematics Education. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. March 15, 1984.

  • Guo, C.-J. (2007). Issues in science learning: An international perspective. In S. K. Abell & N. G. Lederman (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (pp. 227–256). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  • Harding, S. (1998). Is science multicultural?: Postcolonialisms, feminisms, and epistemologies. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

  • Hawkins, J., & Pea, R. D. (1987). Tools for Bridging the Cultures of Everyday and Scientific Thinking. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 24(4), 291–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewson, M. G., Javu, T. J., & Holtman, B. H. (2009). The indigenous knowledge of African traditional health practitioners and the South African Science curriculum. African Journal of research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(1), 5–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewson, M. G., & Ogunniyi, M. B. (2011). Argumentation- teaching as a method to introduce indigenous knowledge systems into science classrooms: opportunities and challenges. Cultural studies of Science Education, 6, 679–692. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss2/art34/.

  • Jegede, O. (1996). In support of culturally and individually responsive science. Science Education, 80, 101–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jegede, O. J., & Aikenhead, G. S. (1999). Transcending cultural borders: Implications for science teaching. Research in Science and Technology Education, 17(1), 45–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawagley, A. O. (1995). A Yupiaq world view—a pathway to ecology and spirit. In Prospect Heights. IL: Waveland Press.

  • Keane, M. (2008). Science education and worldview. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 3, 587–621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kidd, W., & Czerniawski, G. (2010). Successful teaching 14–19: Theory, practice and reflection. London: Sage.

  • Klos, M. L. (2006). Using cultural identity to improve learning. The Educational Forum, 70, 363–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Labaree, R. (2011). The purpose of this guide is to provide advice on how to develop and organize a research paper in the social science http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide.

  • Lawton, D. (1978). Theory and practice of curriculum studies. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

  • Lederman, N. G. (1992). Students and teachers conceptions of the nature of science: A review of literature. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29, 331–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H., Yen, C.-F., & Aikenhead, G. S. (2011). Indigenous Elementary Students “Science Instruction in Taiwan: Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science”. Research in Science Education, On line first.

  • Loubser, J. A. (2005). Unpacking the expression “indigenous Knowledge systems”. Indilinga-African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, 4(1), 74–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Louter, B. (1993). We have never been modern. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyons, T. (2006). The puzzle of falling enrolments in physics and chemistry courses: Putting some pieces together. Research in Science Education, 36, 285–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mack, E., Augare, H., Cloud-Jones, L. D., Davı′d, D., & Gaddie, H. Q. (2012). Effective practices for creating transformative informal science education programs grounded in Native ways of knowing [online first]. Cultural Studies of Science Education.

  • Makhurane, P. (2000). Science and technology in Zimbabwe in the Millennium. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 12(3), 62–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merriam, S. B., & Simpson, E. L. (2000). A guide to research for educators and trainers of adults (2nd ed.). Malabar, FL: Krieger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, X., & Crawford, B. (2011). Teaching science a cultural way of knowing: Merging authentic inquiry, nature of science, and multicultural studies. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 2, 525–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millar, R. (2004). The role of practical work in the teaching and learning of science. Paper prepared for the Meeting: High School Science Laboratories: Role and Vision, 3-4 June 2004. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC.

  • Nakashima, D. J. (2000). What relationship between scientific and traditional systems of knowledge? In E. Shizha (2007). Analysis of problems encountered in incorporating indigenous knowledge in science teaching by primary school teachers in Zimbabwe. Alberta Journal of Education Research, 53(3), 302–319.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ngara, C. (2007). African ways of knowing and pedagogy revisited. Journal of Contemporary issues In Education,2(2), 7–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyawaranda, V. (1998). Doing a qualitative research Study. Bullet of Teacher Education, 2(1), 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nziramasanga, C. T. (2012). The 1999 Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training (CIET) report: Implementation enigmas or revelations. Paper presented at the Symposium on the Presidential CIET University of Zimbabwe.

  • Odora-Hoppers, C., A. (2002). Indigenous knowledge and the integration of knowledge systems: Towards a conceptual and methodological framework. In C. A. Odora Hoppers (Ed.), Indigenous knowledge and the integration of knowledge systems: Towards a philosophy of articulation (p. 2–22), South Africa, New Africa Books.

  • Ogawa, M. (1995). Science education in a multiscience perspective. Science Education, 79(5), 583–593.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogunniyi, M. B. (1988). Adapting western science to traditional African culture. International journal of science education, 10(1), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogunniyi, M. B. (2004). The challenge of preparing and equipping science teachers in higher education to integrate scientific and indigenous knowledge systems for their learners. South African Journal of Higher Education, 18(3), 289–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogunniyi, M. B. (2007). Teachers’ stances and practical arguments regarding a science Indigenous knowledge curriculum: Part 1. International Journal of Science Education, 29(10), 1189–1207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogunniyi, M. B. (2011). The context of training teachers to implement a socially relevant science education in Africa. African Journal of Research in MST Education, 15(3), 98–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Otulaja, F., Cameron, A., & Masinga, A. (2011). Rethinking argumentation-teaching strategies and indigenous knowledge in South African science classrooms. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 6, 693–703.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sefa Dei, G. J. (2010). Teaching Africa: Towards a Transgressive Pedagogy. London: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Seth, S. (2009). Putting knowledge in its place: science, colonialism, and the postcolonial. Postcolonial Studies, 12(4), 373–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shizha, E. (2006). Legitimizing indigenous knowledge in Zimbabwe: A theoretical analysis of postcolonial school knowledge and its colonial legacy. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 1(1), 20–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shizha, E. (2007). Analysis of problems encountered in incorporating indigenous knowledge in science teaching by primary school teachers in Zimbabwe. Alberta Journal of Education Research, 53(3), 302–319.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shizha, E. (2010). The interface of neoliberal globilization, science education and indigenous knowledge in Africa. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in Social Sciences, 2(1), 27–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, L. (2004). Anticolonial strategies for recovery and maintenance of Indigenous knowledge. American Indian Quarterly, 28, 373–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sithole, J. (2007). The challenges faced by African libraries and information centers in documenting and preserving indigenous knowledge. IFLA Journal, 33(2), 117–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. L. (1999). Decolonising methodologies: Research and indigenous people. London and New York: Zed books and University of Ontago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snively, R. (2009). Money from the sea: A cross-cultural indigenous science problem solving activity. Green Teacher, 86, 33–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snively, R., & Corsiglia, J. (2001). Discovering indigenous science: Implications for science education. Science Education, 85, 6–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vhurumuku, E., Holtman, L., Milkalsen, O., & Kolsto, S. D. (2008). The rationale for science education, curriculum change and reform in sub-Saharan Africa: The case of Zimbabwe. In L. Holtman, C. Julie, O. Mikalsen, D. Mutetwa & M. Ogunniyi (Eds.), Sub-Saharian Africa: African minds (pp 225–247). South Africa.

  • Vhurumuku, E., & Mokeleche, M. (2009). The nature of science and indigenous knowledge systems in South Africa, 2000–2007: A critical review of the research in science education. African Journal of Research in Mathematics Science and Technology Education, 1, 96–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygosky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes.

  • Warren, D. M., & Rajasekaran, B. (1993). Indigenous knowledge: Putting local knowledge to good use. In M. Cole, V. John-steiner, S. Scriber & , E. Souberman (Eds and trans.). International Agricultural development, 13(4), (pp. 8–10). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marang Centre for Mathematics and Science Education, Division of Science and Technology Education, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, South Africa

    Vongai Mpofu, Femi S. Otulaja & Emmanuel Mushayikwa

Authors
  1. Vongai Mpofu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Femi S. Otulaja
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Emmanuel Mushayikwa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vongai Mpofu.

Additional information

Lead Editor: E. Nhalevilo

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mpofu, V., Otulaja, F.S. & Mushayikwa, E. Towards culturally relevant classroom science: a theoretical framework focusing on traditional plant healing. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 9, 221–242 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-013-9508-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-013-9508-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation