“Indigenous peoples must determine their own destinies”
Everyone can learn from the wider teaching of Indigenous Knowledges, writes Jackie Greatorex
Tell us a bit about yourself, your background, and your research interests…
I’m Jackie Greatorex. Most of my career has been as an education, psychology or social researcher.
My research interests encompass all forms of education, particularly the application of psychology and social research within education systems and settings. Currently a key interest is Indigenous Knowledges in education.
What is your current research about?
My colleague Jo Ireland and myself have analysed academic literature and national curricula from each of several countries (regions). This was very much a desk exercise, closely analysing documents. We collated the information to describe how the sampled countries included Indigenous Knowledges in national curricula. By national curriculum we mean what a government mandates or suggests as content to be taught.
Features of these national curricula included Indigenous perspectives, such as Indigenous Knowledges that are part of school subjects (e.g. “traditional Māori musical arts”); Indigenous teaching, such as elders teaching alongside other types of teachers; and Indigenous languages – that is, teaching them or using them as a medium of instruction.
The ways of including Indigenous Knowledges were somewhat different in each country or region, partly because there are different Indigenous Peoples and Knowledges in different countries and regions. For instance, in some countries or regions there was more emphasis on teaching the positives and negatives of the histories of Indigenous and settler peoples.
Our research illustrates that Indigenous Knowledges can be included in curricula in a variety of ways. We presented this research at the British Educational Research Association (BERA) and World Educational Research Association (WERA) conference, September 2024. The title of our presentation was “Indigenous Knowledges in school curricula: a literature review and document analysis.”
Also, it is vital that Indigenous peoples lead on decisions about including Indigenous Knowledges in the curriculum (and other aspects of education) or that they are included as collaborators if others are doing so.
Why does this matter so much?
Western and Global North perspectives have sometimes suppressed other forms of knowledge and culture, and it is important that this power imbalance is disrupted. Valuable knowledge is held by Indigenous peoples and in Indigenous Knowledges and culture. Indigenous Knowledges include information about how to live in an ecologically friendly way, how to live with the land, and how to live a balanced life.
Everyone can learn from considering a wider breadth of knowledge. Considering the wider breadth of knowledge is likely to help us understand the world better and solve problems together.
Where do you see research or implemented initiatives in this area going in the future – and where do you think the greatest opportunities are, and the greatest risks/challenges?
My prediction is that Indigenous Knowledges will increasingly be included in the curricula of various countries or regions. The greatest risks are that we undervalue Indigenous Cultures and Knowledges, that they disappear before we embrace them, and that globalisation will homogenise Knowledges rather than create a rich and varied tapestry of Knowledges. Indigenous peoples need the right and power to determine their own destinies.
Jackie Greatorex is a Principal Research Officer at Cambridge University Press and Assessment