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The Role of Elders and Their Cultural Knowledges in Schools

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Elders’ Cultural Knowledges and the Question of Black/ African Indigeneity in Education

Part of the book series: Critical Studies of Education ((CSOE,volume 16))

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Abstract

Among the many pathways for decolonizing colonial education is the incorporation of Elders’ cultural knowledges into schools. Indigenous Elders are holders and teachers of Indigenous knowledges and teachings about Land, culture, identity, language and community history, spirituality and the relationality of all living and non-living things including the universe. As knowledge custodians and storytellers, Elders pass knowledge from generation to generation through their teachings and carry the history and spiritual values of the community, bridging past, present, and future. Elders’ cultural knowledges are seen as having a critical role to play in schools in closing the educational gap and making education and schooling more relevant to Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other racialized students in their validation of Indigenous cultures within the school through an educational process that connects the learner with his/her culture, lived experience and environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    George J. Sefa Dei & Wambui Karanja

  2. University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Grace Erger

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  1. George J. Sefa Dei
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  2. Wambui Karanja
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Correspondence to George J. Sefa Dei .

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Dei, G.J.S., Karanja, W., Erger, G. (2022). The Role of Elders and Their Cultural Knowledges in Schools. In: Elders’ Cultural Knowledges and the Question of Black/ African Indigeneity in Education. Critical Studies of Education, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84201-7_6

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