Reviving Indigenous Knowledge to Transform Multicultural Educational Practices

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Sunday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Toward a Decolonial Vision of Educational Research

Abstract

This essay explores the revitalization of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and their transformative potential to reimagine multicultural education practice from the ground up. Conceptually/theoretically, from Indigenous epistemology, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and decolonial theory, it theorizes curriculum, policy, and practice. The essay contends that mobilizing around Indigenous Knowledge Systems brings into being relational, land-informed, and community-centered learning in the sense that it eliminates Eurocentric constructions and makes possible genuine educational sovereignty. By bringing together diverse sources from the academy, the study begins justice-oriented educational reform and provides openings for systemic reform. The study hopes to inform teachers and policymakers as they reconstitute multicultural education toward an Indigenous orientation.

Author

• Cheng Chang, Binghamton University - SUNY