Page 185 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

162 G.E. Glasson

of sustainable farmers, many environmental problems can be identified and the
sustainable practices, passed down through generations, can be included in the cur-
riculum to provide a valuable context for learning sustainability science. These
indigenous ideas should be explicitly identified and addressed in the curriculum as
important funds of knowledge (i.e., Gonzalez et al. 2005) that are essential for the
sustainability of both the environment and culture of African countries. Other
examples of ecojustice educational efforts that value indigenous knowledge can be
found in various sub-Saharan African countries. For example, Dlodlo (1999) devel-
oped a vocabulary for physical science concepts in the indigenous Nguni language,
spoken in South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. In Kenya, Thompson (2003)
identified and categorized the traditional knowledge of snakes in the indigenous
Keiyo language and, more recently, Mueller and Bentley (2009) documented an
environmental science curriculum in Ghana that was focused on intergenerational
knowledge of natural systems.
Although western science that is taught in primary and secondary schools can
make valuable contributions to the ecological knowledge and economic develop-
ment of a community, the validation of indigenous knowledge has been marginal-
ized through the imposition of western science curriculum that is based on a deficit
model of learning. This Eurocentric model in African education is often decontex-
tualized from the local culture and rewards success on standardized tests that assess
students’ understanding of western science concepts. Presently, western science is
very influential in the school science curriculum but is largely irrelevant to most
Malawian villagers (Glasson et al. 2006). Opportunities exist for science educators
to collaborate with people from indigenous cultures to develop culturally relevant
curriculum that promotes ecojustice and sustainability.
As culture and worldviews are critical to establishing community identity, it is
also important to create a third space when developing ecojustice curriculum to
consider indigenous worldviews and lifestyles when connecting with western sci-
ence. Third space dialogue that promotes reconnection to the local community and
place is essential for revitalizing the commons. In the case of the Mobile Malawi
Curriculum, the mobile phone technology enhanced the exchange of ideas to create
a “cybercommons” (Bowers 2007b) in which information and questions were
exchanged freely between a sustainable farmer, the primary school teacher, and
children. In this case, mobile phone technology was used to connect intergenera-
tional knowledge with primary school education for the purpose of restoring the
cultural and environmental commons. The free exchange of questions and ideas
presented an alternative to didactic instruction that promotes consumerism or com-
pliance with western agricultural curriculum. Although Bowers (2007b) cautions
against misuse of communication technology for corporate profits, employing
mobile phones that is prevalent in the African culture may be important for future
curriculum development that promotes intergenerational learning and revitalization
of the cultural and environmental commons. Future work that promotes the revital-
ization of the commons within a third space context should also be inclusive of the
indigenous knowledge of elders that may be embedded in vernacular languages of
citizens in the community.