Roles of Community and Land in STEM Education for Native American Youth

Roles of Community and Land in STEM Education for Native American Youth PDF Author: Melinda A. Howard
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780355235401
Category : Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 270

Get Book Here

Book Description
In response to growing national interests to promote participation of Native Americans in STEM fields, the focus of this dissertation is to explore culturally effective means of science education for Native American youth. Provided in the context of a three-year summer STEM project conducted with tribal youth, Back to the Earth, themes of community and land-based science education are examined as ways of providing meaningful and authentic learning opportunities for Native youth. Specifically, this thesis reports how integrating community (natural and human) with place-specific and land-based learning opportunities into modern science education can be accomplished through honoring communal narratives and fostering community capitals that work to achieve tribal visions of stewardship and sustainability. The concepts of land and community are examined through two studies. First, I use anti-oppressive inquiry to analyze my role as a curriculum designer, educator, and researcher during the first year of the Back to the Earth camp. Student inclusion of Bigfoot into a STEM activity provoked my recognition and appreciation of Indigenous knowledge systems, the role of communal narrative in Indigenous education, and the importance of displacing cognitive imperialism. Second, an exploration of youth science attitudes and aspirations resulting from activities with tribal Natural Resources scientists provides evidence that youth gain science-related social and cultural capital from these encounters. With many youth desiring to protect the land for the benefit of the community, some through careers with Natural Resources, these findings reinforce tribal educational goals of encouraging scholarship, membership, stewardship, and guardianship of its youth. These studies add to the body of knowledge related to Indigenous science education by providing alternatives to the cognitive imperialism of mainstream Western education. Indigenous knowledge systems can be privileged in science education by honoring the role of natural and human communities in a land-centered approach. Including such approaches in science education could result in opportunities that increase Native American participation in STEM.

Roles of Community and Land in STEM Education for Native American Youth

Roles of Community and Land in STEM Education for Native American Youth PDF Author: Melinda A. Howard
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780355235401
Category : Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 270

Get Book Here

Book Description
In response to growing national interests to promote participation of Native Americans in STEM fields, the focus of this dissertation is to explore culturally effective means of science education for Native American youth. Provided in the context of a three-year summer STEM project conducted with tribal youth, Back to the Earth, themes of community and land-based science education are examined as ways of providing meaningful and authentic learning opportunities for Native youth. Specifically, this thesis reports how integrating community (natural and human) with place-specific and land-based learning opportunities into modern science education can be accomplished through honoring communal narratives and fostering community capitals that work to achieve tribal visions of stewardship and sustainability. The concepts of land and community are examined through two studies. First, I use anti-oppressive inquiry to analyze my role as a curriculum designer, educator, and researcher during the first year of the Back to the Earth camp. Student inclusion of Bigfoot into a STEM activity provoked my recognition and appreciation of Indigenous knowledge systems, the role of communal narrative in Indigenous education, and the importance of displacing cognitive imperialism. Second, an exploration of youth science attitudes and aspirations resulting from activities with tribal Natural Resources scientists provides evidence that youth gain science-related social and cultural capital from these encounters. With many youth desiring to protect the land for the benefit of the community, some through careers with Natural Resources, these findings reinforce tribal educational goals of encouraging scholarship, membership, stewardship, and guardianship of its youth. These studies add to the body of knowledge related to Indigenous science education by providing alternatives to the cognitive imperialism of mainstream Western education. Indigenous knowledge systems can be privileged in science education by honoring the role of natural and human communities in a land-centered approach. Including such approaches in science education could result in opportunities that increase Native American participation in STEM.

Science and Native American Communities

Science and Native American Communities PDF Author: Keith James
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9780803225954
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Get Book Here

Book Description
Education among American Indians has lagged behind that of almost all other groups in both the United States and Canada, and it generally has not offered what Indian communities need. It is this disturbing state of affairs?along with the intractable realities, unexamined assumptions, and cultural conflicts and misunderstandings behind it?that Science and Native American Communities confronts. Representing an unprecedented gathering of Native American professionals working in the sciences and advanced technology, the book combines theory and practice, firsthand experience and strategic thinking, in a provocative exploration of the uneasy meeting ground between science and Native American communities. ø In highly personal, deeply informed, and frequently moving essays, the authors wrestle with a legacy of mistrust and violence. They ask: Is a common ground between science and Native America possible? The problems and prospects that emerge from such a meeting, and that these essays address, include the impact of science and technology on Native lands and environment; economic and technological opportunities and challenges for reservation communities; and the differences and similarities between Native and scientific thought and practice. The authors not only showcase different reactions to the consequences of science, but also energetically propose strategies for renegotiating Native communities' relationships with science, seizing control of their destinies, and moving forward in the twenty-first century.

Contested Domains of Science and Science Leaerning in Contemporary Native American Communities

Contested Domains of Science and Science Leaerning in Contemporary Native American Communities PDF Author: Nancy Brossard Parent
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 492

Get Book Here

Book Description
This dissertation provides a critical analysis of three informal science education partnerships that resulted from a 2003-2006 National Science Foundation grant titled, "Archaeology Pathways for Native Learners" (ESI-0307858), hosted by the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. This dissertation is designed to contribute to understandings of learning processes that occur within and at the intersection of diverse worldviews and knowledge systems, by drawing upon experiences derived from three disparate contexts: 1) The Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona; 2) The A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center on the Zuni Reservation in Zuni, New Mexico; and 3) Science learning camps at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center for Native youth of southern New England. While informal science education is increasingly moving toward decolonizing and cross-cutting institutional boundaries of learning through critical thinking and real-world applications, the construction of "science" (even within diverse contexts) continues to be framed within a homogenous, predominantly Euro-American perspective. This study analyzes the language of Western science employed in these partnerships, with particular attention to the use of Western/Native binaries that shape perceptions of Native peoples and communities, real or imagined. Connections are drawn to broader nation-state interests in education, science, and the global economy. The role of educational evaluation in these case studies is also critically analyzed, by questioning the ways in which it is constructed, conducted, and evaluated for the purposes of informing future projects and subsequent funding. This study unpacks problems of the dominant language of "expert" knowledge embedded in Western science discourse, and highlights the possibilities of indigenous knowledge systems that can inform Western science frameworks of education and evaluation. Ultimately, this study suggests that research methodologies and epistemologies that acknowledge and integrate indigenous ways of knowing can advance and broaden Western constructions of science, the academy, and educational research and praxis on a national and global scale.

Advancing Health Equity for Native American Youth

Advancing Health Equity for Native American Youth PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309376130
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 75

Get Book Here

Book Description
More than 2 million Americans below age 24 self-identify as being of American Indian or Alaska Native descent. Many of the serious behavioral, emotional, and physical health concerns facing young people today are especially prevalent with Native youth (e.g., depression, violence, and substance abuse). Adolescent Native Americans have death rates two to five times the rate of whites in the same age group because of higher levels of suicide and a variety of risky behaviors (e.g., drug and alcohol use, inconsistent school attendance). Violence, including intentional injuries, homicide, and suicide, accounts for three-quarters of deaths for Native American youth ages 12 to 20. Suicide is the second leading cause of deathâ€"and 2.5 times the national rateâ€"for Native youth ages 15 to 24. Arrayed against these health problems are vital cultural strengths on which Native Americans can draw. At a workshop held in 2012, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, presenters described many of these strengths, including community traditions and beliefs, social support networks, close-knit families, and individual resilience. In May 2014, the Academies held a follow-up workshop titled Advancing Health Equity for Native American Youth. Participants discussed issues related to (1) the visibility of racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care as a national problem, (2) the development of programs and strategies by and for Native and Indigenous communities to reduce disparities and build resilience, and (3) the emergence of supporting Native expertise and leadership. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Contested Domains of Science and Science Learning in Contemporary Native American Communities: Three Case Studies from a National Science Foundation Grant Titled, "archaeology Pathways for Native Learners".

Contested Domains of Science and Science Learning in Contemporary Native American Communities: Three Case Studies from a National Science Foundation Grant Titled, Author: Nancy Brossard Parent
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
This dissertation provides a critical analysis of three informal science education partnerships that resulted from a 2003-2006 National Science Foundation grant titled, "Archaeology Pathways for Native Learners" (ESI-0307858), hosted by the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. This dissertation is designed to contribute to understandings of learning processes that occur within and at the intersection of diverse worldviews and knowledge systems, by drawing upon experiences derived from three disparate contexts: 1) The Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona; 2) The A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center on the Zuni Reservation in Zuni, New Mexico; and 3) Science learning camps at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center for Native youth of southern New England. While informal science education is increasingly moving toward decolonizing and cross-cutting institutional boundaries of learning through critical thinking and real-world applications, the construction of "science" (even within diverse contexts) continues to be framed within a homogenous, predominantly Euro-American perspective. This study analyzes the language of Western science employed in these partnerships, with particular attention to the use of Western/Native binaries that shape perceptions of Native peoples and communities, real or imagined. Connections are drawn to broader nation-state interests in education, science, and the global economy. The role of educational evaluation in these case studies is also critically analyzed, by questioning the ways in which it is constructed, conducted, and evaluated for the purposes of informing future projects and subsequent funding. This study unpacks problems of the dominant language of "expert" knowledge embedded in Western science discourse, and highlights the possibilities of indigenous knowledge systems that can inform Western science frameworks of education and evaluation. Ultimately, this study suggests that research methodologies and epistemologies that acknowledge and integrate indigenous ways of knowing can advance and broaden Western constructions of science, the academy, and educational research and praxis on a national and global scale.

The Role of Place and Play in Young Children’s Language and Literacy

The Role of Place and Play in Young Children’s Language and Literacy PDF Author: Shelley Stagg Peterson
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487529244
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 358

Get Book Here

Book Description
Dominant assumptions about place tend to be defined in relation to urban communities. To assume a singular construction of urban places misrepresents the experiences, perspectives, and identities of urban children, making their identities become invisible to researchers, educators, and curriculum developers. Sharing a wide range of perspectives, Role of Place and Play in Young Children’s Language and Literacy sheds light on language and literacy learning in play-based early childhood settings where place plays an important role in teaching and learning. Drawing on geographic contexts, including northern rural and Indigenous communities, and giving voice to educational leaders in Indigenous professional learning contexts, as well as speech-language pathologists, this book joins forces with literacy and early childhood education researchers to create an interdisciplinary collage of theory, research, and practice. Bringing play and place together, a concept Shelley Stagg Peterson and Nicola Friedrich call playce-based learning, this book provides new and compelling ways to think about equity and educational opportunity in the language and literacy development of young children, and offers spaces for them to construct their own identities in positive ways.

American Indian Education

American Indian Education PDF Author: Jon Reyhner
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806180404
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 381

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this comprehensive history of American Indian education in the United States from colonial times to the present, historians and educators Jon Reyhner and Jeanne Eder explore the broad spectrum of Native experiences in missionary, government, and tribal boarding and day schools. This up-to-date survey is the first one-volume source for those interested in educational reform policies and missionary and government efforts to Christianize and “civilize” American Indian children. Drawing on firsthand accounts from teachers and students, American Indian Education considers and analyzes shifting educational policies and philosophies, paying special attention to the passage of the Native American Languages Act and current efforts to revitalize Native American cultures.

Research in Education

Research in Education PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 1216

Get Book Here

Book Description


Resources in Education

Resources in Education PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 748

Get Book Here

Book Description


Otto E. Miller, Plaintiff-Respondent, Against Fred W. Smythe, Defendant-Appellant

Otto E. Miller, Plaintiff-Respondent, Against Fred W. Smythe, Defendant-Appellant PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 2124

Get Book Here

Book Description