An Exploration of Culture and the Conceptions of Science in Elementary Indigenous Classrooms

This research explored how science is perceived by teachers, examined factors that may influence perceptions, and how perceptions may inform teaching practice, with the possibility of teachers embedding or drawing on their indigenous knowledge (IK). The study is qualitative and was conducted in the context of elementary Dayak teachers in Indonesia. During the nine months of fieldwork at two elementary schools with 6 teachers and 38 students as the participants, the data was gathered through three stages: (1) unstructured interviews, (2) classroom observation followed by video-stimulated recall interviews and (3) lesson-study modification.

Analysis suggested that: (1) teachers’ views about science were constructed within the prevailing Dayak culture and impact the development of scientific literacy (SL), (2) teachers’ conceptual understanding was influenced by the process of cross-linguistic transfer between science terms and ordinary language, (3) the curriculum demand and teachers’ perceptions about science might have marginalised and impacted teachers’ teaching confidence, leading to a high dependence on textbook presentation, (4) teachers used IK for contextual learning strategies, (5) teaching practice seemed to be influenced by teachers’ perception on indigenous pedagogy and the lack of access to science-related resources.

The contribution of this study has been to confirm the challenges and opportunities of teaching science in the context of indigenous schools and discussed for the first time the role of IK literacy, particularly in preparing science content in ways that are more relevant to students. In addition, this project revealed a new understanding of the way IK carved teachers’ perceptions and provided a pedagogical framework that is likely to promote learning.

Providing teachers’ voices, this study offered insights into the design of professional development programs as well as calling practitioners and policy-makers to consider cultural barriers in indigenous science classrooms.