TEACHING INDIGENOUS

PEOPLE
Prepared by: NIEL M. NISPEROS
Subject
:
DPE 101

Deprivation of access to
quality education is a major
factor contributing to social
marginalization, poverty and
dispossession of indigenous
people.

Who Are Indigenous People?

Indigenous communities, peoples and nations

are those which, having a historical continuity with
pre-invasion
and
pre-colonial
societies
that
developed on their territories, consider themselves
distinct from other sectors of societies now
prevailing in those territories, or parts of them.

They form at present non-dominant

sectors of society and are determined to preserve,
develop and transmit to future generations their
ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as
the basis of their continued existence as peoples,
in accordance with their own cultural patterns,
social institutions and legal systems.

Indigenous Knowledge
and Formal Education
As Systems
of isLearning
Indigenous
knowledge,
the local
knowledge that is unique to a culture or society.
(folk knowledge, peoples knowledge,
traditional wisdom or traditional science)
Formal Education, was based on abstract

knowledge systems - scientific knowledge

that evolved in the western industrialised world.
western oriented educational perspective,
wherein western scientific knowledge is the
core in the curriculum development

Indigenous Knowledge and Formal

Education As Systems of Learning

Consequences:
As as result, education was
confined to classrooms and
children separated from their
culture and environment.

Indigenous Knowledge and Formal

Education As Systems of Learning

Explaining The Change:

The experience of colonialism is often
seen as the beginning of the decline in
importance of indigenous knowledge.

Contemporary
factors
like
mass/popular culture and diminish of
elders also contributes to the decline
of indigenous knowledge.

Quality Education for Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Education,specifically focuses on
teaching indigenous knowledge, models,
methods, and content within formal or non-formal
educational systems. The growing recognition and
use of indigenous education methods can be a
response to the erosion and loss of indigenous
knowledge through the processes of colonialism,
globalization, and modernity.

Quality Education for

CulturalIndigenous
Context of Indigenous
Learning:
Peoples

The learning styles that children use in their indigenous

schooling are the same ones that occur in their

community context. These indigenous learning styles
often
include:
observation,
imitation,
use
of
narrative/storytelling,collaboration, andcooperation
It should promote indigenous perspectives, innovations
and practices in an environment that replicates
traditional way of learning.
Learning should differ from Western learning styles,
which tend to include methods such as explicit
instruction andtesting and quizzing.
Creating an educational environment for indigenous
children that is consistent with upbringing, rather than
an education that follows a traditionally Western format.

Quality Education for Indigenous Peoples

Classroom Structure:
A classroom that reflects the organization of indigenous

communities, that eliminates the distinction between

the community and classroom and makes it easier for
the students to relate to the material.
Effective classrooms modeled off of the social structure
of indigenous communities are typically focused on
group or cooperative learning that provide an inclusive
environment.
A key factor for successful indigenous education
practices
is
the
student-teacher
relationship.
Classrooms are socially constructed in a way that the
teacher shares the control of the classroom with the
students.

Quality Education for Indigenous

Peoples:
Other Considerations:
Education programs for indigenous
people take into account that
knowledge the special needs of
these communities.
Gender
issues as a common
impediment for both boys and girls.

Human rights education be

included in schools.

Benefits of Indigenous Education

The inclusion of these methods into schools often

enhances educational effectiveness by providing an

education that adheres to an indigenous persons own
inherent perspectives, experiences, language, and
customs, thereby making it easier for children to
transition into the realm of adulthood.
For non-indigenous students and teachers, such an
education often has the effect of raising awareness of
individual and collective traditions surrounding indigenous
communities and peoples, thereby promoting greater
respect for and appreciation of various cultural realities.
Students of all backgrounds can benefit from being
exposed to Indigenous education, as it can contribute to
reducing racism in the classroom and increase the sense
of community in a diverse group of students.