Emancipatory Maker Practices in the Global South

• In Event: Intersecting Making and STEAM Practices With Social and Emotional Talk

Abstract

Maker education has been extensively documented in developed countries, and research points to benefits for learning and to pitfalls in efforts to democratize those benefits. There are, however, opportunities to investigate those factors in developing countries. In this paper, we examine maker practices in communities in two countries of the Global South. For data collection, we partnered with local maker educators who also work in grassroots organizations that offer programs focused on skill development. Our evidence points to emancipatory practices that parallel well-documented strategies found in literature both in the learning sciences and science and technology studies. This paper contributes to broadening the understanding of the importance of maker activities that bring local cultures front and center.

Authors

• Renato Russo, Teachers College, Columbia University
  Presenting Author

• Leah Rosenbaum, Teachers College, Columbia University
  Presenting Author

• Paulo Blikstein, Teachers College, Columbia University
  Presenting Author

• Yipu Zheng, Teachers College, Columbia University
  Presenting Author

• Anisa Bora, Teachers College, Columbia University
  Presenting Author

• Yue Liu, Teachers College, Columbia University
  Presenting Author

• Ridhi Aggarwal, Swatantra Talimq
  Presenting Author

• Brenda Nyakoa
  Presenting Author