Ininiwi-Kiskānītamowin: A Framework for Long-Term Science Education

• Published in: Canadian journal of science, mathematics and technology education mathematics and technology education, 2009-01, Vol.9 (3), p.173-190
• Main Authors: Sutherland, Dawn, Henning, Denise
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Best practice; Consultants; Culture; Education; Engineering/Technology Education; Experiential learning; Indigenous knowledge; Indigenous peoples; Language; Learning; Mathematics Education; Research projects; Science Education; Science programs; Science Teachers
• ISSN: 1492-6156; 1942-4051
• DOI: 10.1080/14926150903118359

This article first describes an integration of the theoretical models currently found in the literature that discusses the implementation of science programs in Indigenous contexts. The article then reports on the findings from a two-day conference discussing best practice for incorporating Indigenous knowledge in science education, which involved 50 science teachers, consultants, and administrators from urban, rural, and First Nations communities in Manitoba. Participants read “ Ininiwi-Kiskānītamowin ,” a proposed framework for a lifelong strategy on science and math education; presented information about their individual science programs; and participated in an action research project that identified the components that were common across all programs. The four common components were Elders, language, culture, and experiential learning, which we then incorporated more explicitly into the Ininiwi-kiskānītamowin framework. The investigation also implicated a modification of the Ininiwi-kiskānītamowin framework—to assist Indigenous communities as they developed science programming that acknowledged Elders, culture, language, and experiential learning as essential to instilling a sense of place.