The decolonisation of the curriculum project NWU Self-Directed Learning Series Volume 2 The affordances of indigenous knowledge for self-directed learning Josef de Beer Edited by: The decolonisation of the curriculum project The affordances of indigenous knowledge forself-directed learning NWU Self-Directed Learning Series Volume 2 Published by AOSIS (Pty) Ltd, 15 Oxford Street, Durbanville 7550, Cape Town, South Africa Postnet Suite #110, Private Bag X19, Durbanville 7551, South Africa Tel: +27 21 975 2602 Fax: +27 21 975 4635 Email: info@aosis.co.za Website: https://www.aosis.co.za Copyright © Josef de Beer (ed.). Licensee: AOSIS (Pty) Ltd The moral right of the authors has been asserted. Cover image: Image provided by and used with permission from Dr Anton Binneman (SKA SA/NRF SARAO). Image of Oupa Jan Pietersen. All rights reserved. No unauthorised duplication allowed. Published in 2019 Impression: 1 ISBN: 978-1-928523-16-1 (print) ISBN: 978-1-928523-17-8 (ebook) ISBN: 978-1-928523-18-5 (pdf) DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2019.BK133 How to cite this work: De Beer, J. (ed.), 2019, ‘The decolonisation of the curriculum project: The affordances of indigenous knowledge for self-directed learning’, in NWU Self-directed Learning Series Volume 2, pp. i–406, AOSIS, Cape Town. NWU Self-Directed Learning Series ISSN: 2707-1537 Series Editor: Elsa Mentz Printed and bound in South Africa. Listed in OAPEN (http://www.oapen.org), DOAB (http://www.doabooks.org/) and indexed by Google Scholar. Some rights reserved. This is an open access publication. Except where otherwise noted, this work is distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), a copy of which is available at https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/. 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The decolonisation of the curriculum project The affordances of indigenous knowledge for self-directed learning NWU Self-Directed Learning Series Volume 2 EDITOR Josef de Beer Social Sciences, Humanities, Education & Business Management domain editorial board at AOSIS Commissioning Editor: Scholarly Books Andries van Aarde, Post-Retirement Professor, Dean’s Office, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Board Members Jan Botha, Professor, Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Joan Hambidge, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Professor, School of Languages and Literatures, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa Sakari Häkkinen, Dean, The Diocese of Kuopio, Finland Glenna Jackson, Associate Editor, Professor Chair, Department of Religion and Philosophy, Otterbein University, Westerville, OH, United States of America Gregory C. Jenkins, Dean-elect, St George’s College, Jerusalem, Israel Reina-Marie Loader, Director and Filmmaker, CinémaHumain, Vienna, Austria Babita Marthur-Helm, Senior Lecturer, Organisational Transformation & Development; Managing Diversity Gender Empowerment, University of Stellenbosch Business School, Stellenbosch, South Africa Christopher Mbazira , Professor of Law & Coordinator of the Public Interest Law Clinic, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda Piet Naudé, Professor, Ethics related to politics, economics and business, University of Stellenbosch Business School, Stellenbosch, South Africa; Director, University of Stellenbosch Business School, Stellenbosch, South Africa Charles Neill , Professor Department of Business Administration, The British University in Egypt, El Sherouk, Cairo Governorate, Egypt Cornelia Pop, Full professor, Department of Business, Faculty of Business, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Michael Schratz, Professor, Institute of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Dean, School of Education, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria Johann Tempelhoff, Extraordinary Professor, South African Water History Archival Repository (SAWHAR), Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa Anthony Turton, Professor, Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa; Director, TouchStone Resources, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa Willie L. van der Merwe, Professor & Chair, Philosophy of Religion, Apologetics and Encyclopaedia of Theology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa; Professor Extraordinary, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Christi van der Westhuizen, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Joke van Saane, Professor, Amsterdam Center for the Study of Lived Religion, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Paul van Tongeren, Professor, Department Philosophy, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands Robert G. Varady, Deputy Director and Research Professor, Environmental Policy, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of America Anné H. Verhoef, Associate Editor, Professor, Faculty of Arts: School of Philosophy, North- West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa Xiao Yun Zheng, Professor & Assistant President, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences (YASS); and Director, International Center for Ecological Culture Studies (ICECS-YASS), Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Kunming City, China Peer review declaration The publisher (AOSIS) endorses the South African ‘National Scholarly Book Publishers Forum Best Practice for Peer Review of Scholarly Books’. The manuscript was subjected to a rigorous two-step peer review prior to publication, with the identities of the reviewers not revealed to the author(s). The reviewers were independent of the publisher and/or authors in question. The reviewers commented positively on the scholarly merits of the manuscript and recommended that the manuscript should be published. Where the reviewers recommended revision and/or improvements to the manuscript, the authors responded adequately to such recommendations. Research Justification This book is the result of a longitudinal research project (2016—2018) funded by the National Research Foundation and the Fuchs Foundation, and it disseminates original research. The project researched the affordances of indigenous knowledge in the school Science, Technology and Mathematics curricula. Short learning programmes (SLPs) were offered to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teachers, during which they engaged in creative and inquiry-based teaching and learning strategies. Research shows that strategies such as problem-based and cooperative learning have the potential to enhance self-directed learning. This design-based research was conducted in several provinces in South Africa (North-West Province, the Northern Cape, Limpopo province, and Gauteng). Based on the data obtained after each intervention, design principles were formulated for redesigning of SLPs. The qualitative research focussed on teachers’ lived experiences of the epistemological border- crossing between Natural Science and indigenous knowledge, their views on the nature of science and indigenous knowledge, and the reformed teaching and learning that took place after the intervention in teachers’ classrooms. Most of the chapters in the book report empirical data, with the exception of three chapters (Ch. 2, Ch. 10 and Ch. 11), that can be categorised as systematic reviews. The book is devoted to scholarship in the field of STEM education and teacher professional development, with a specific focus on research into the enhancement of self-directed learning. The target audience are scholars working in the fields of indigenous knowledge systems, STEM education, teacher professional development and self-directed learning. This book makes a unique contribution in terms of, firstly, its extensive use of third-generation Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a research lens and, secondly, in drawing on research from the fields of neuroscience, science education philosophy, self-directed learning and indigenous knowledge systems, in arguing for such border-crossing. Chapter 1 shows how this research contributes to the development of fourth- generation CHAT, which, owing to the complexity of the object (which Engeström refers to as ‘runaway objects’), requires a focus on numerous activity systems. The book also explores the conundrum of research ethics during participatory action research with holders of indigenous knowledge. In accordance with the requirements of the Department of Higher Education and Training, this book contains more than 50% original content, and no part of the work has been plagiarised. Ethical clearance for the project was provided by the North-West University’s Faculty of Education Research Ethics Committee. Josef de Beer, Research Unit Self-Directed Learning Faculty of Education, North- West University Potchefstroom, South Africa vii Contents Abbreviations, Figures and Tables Appearing in the Text and Notes xix List of Abbreviations xix List of Figures xx List of Tables xxiii Notes on Contributors xxv Acknowledgements xxxv The cover photograph xxxv Thanking our sponsors xxxv Foreword xxxvii Chapter 1: Glocalisation: The role of indigenous knowledge in the global village 1 Josef de Beer Introduction 1 The design-based research: Looking back; looking forward 9 Addressing a complex problem 9 Authentic contexts and glocalisation 10 Collaboration with practitioners 14 The effectiveness of the short learning programmes: Successes and challenges 15 Change laboratories and fourth-generation Cultural-Historical Activity Theory 16 Involving all stakeholders 16 Change laboratories and expansive learning 17 Fourth-generation Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and ‘runaway objects’ 19 Conclusion 21 Summary 22 Contents viii Chapter 2: Different voices on decolonising of the curriculum 25 Lesley Le Grange Introduction 25 What is decolonisation? 28 Curriculum and its decolonisation 31 Different voices on decolonisation 37 Conclusion 44 Some parting thoughts – Rethinking curriculum through improvisation 44 Summary 47 Acknowledgements 47 Chapter 3: The use of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory in researching the affordances of indigenous knowledge for self-directed learning 49 Elsa Mentz & Josef de Beer Introduction: Can the phoenix rise from the ashes? 50 The context of this research: Scaffolding teachers’ learning and professional development to enhance self-directed learning 51 Self-directed learning as part of the professional development of teachers 53 Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as a research lens 56 Background to the Limpopo and Northern Cape interventions 62 The Limpopo intervention (Cycle 1 in this design-based research) 63 The Northern Cape intervention (Cycle 2 in this design-based research) 64 Research methods 65 Findings 67 The Limpopo short learning programme (Cycle 1) 67 Disappointing portfolios 67 Research sub-themes that emerged from the portfolios and interviews with Limpopo teachers 68 Design principles that were distilled from the data 69 Contents ix The Northern Cape short learning programme (Cycle 2) 71 An emphasis on project-based learning and classroom action research 71 Portfolios provided evidence of reflective practice, and there were good examples of effective incorporation of indigenous knowledge into science themes 72 Inquiry learning (problem-based learning) was more evident in the Northern Cape portfolios 74 The portfolios and interviews provided evidence of self-directed learning and classroom innovation 75 Using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as a lens when juxtaposing two activity systems 75 Theme 1: Local context should be taken into consideration during the short learning programmes to best serve the ‘object’ in the activity system 76 Theme 2: A greater emphasis on problem-based and project-based learning is needed during the short learning programme in order to facilitate a shift from transmission-mode teaching towards inquiry approaches 77 Theme 3: The development of the reflective skills of teachers should be prioritised during the short learning programmes 78 Theme 4: Teacher engagement in classroom action research provides affordances that should be emphasised during in-service teacher education 79 Theme 5: Careful consideration should be given in short learning programmes for enhancing self-directed learning 80 But ... still back to the drawing board 81 Discussion on the versatility of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as a lens and the importance of the ‘rules’, ‘division of labour’ and ‘tools’ nodes 82 Conclusion 84 Summary 85 Acknowledgements 86 Contents x Chapter 4: The affordances of indigenous knowledge in decolonising the curriculum, within a self-directed learning framework 87 Josef de Beer & Elsa Mentz Introduction: Our take on the decolonisation of the curriculum debate 88 What is self-directed learning? 90 What is indigenous knowledge, and why is it important in a self-directed learning context? 93 Methods 94 The holders of indigenous knowledge as self-directed learners 94 Self-directed learning and authentic problem-solving: Ethnobotanical Knowledge Index 95 The Ethnobotanical Knowledge Index of participants in the Agter-Hantam 97 Ethnobotanical Knowledge Index values in the Kamiesberg, Namaqualand 102 Ethnobotanical Knowledge Index values in Vhavenda 103 Subsistence livestock farmers in the Vhembe district in Limpopo and in the Eastern Cape province as self-directed learners: Combating ticks 104 Diagnosing own learning needs: The need to find sustainable solutions to the problem of ticks 104 Identifying human and material resources for learning 105 Choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies 106 Evaluating learning outcomes 106 Lessons from indigenous knowledge holders for formal science education 107 Learning in a contextualised informal environment 109 Learning in the formal science classroom 110 Contradiction of control 112 Lessons for formal school education 114 Summary 116 Contents xi Chapter 5: Arguing for the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the STEM curriculum: Possibilities and challenges 117 Josef de Beer & Ben-Erik van Wyk Introduction 117 The affordances of indigenous knowledge in the science classroom: Justification from an embodied, situated and distributed cognition perspective 121 Addressing the ‘missing link’ in STEM education: The affective domain 123 Objections to teaching indigenous knowledge and controversial conceptual change 126 Should the metaphysical component of indigenous knowledge necessarily be seen as ‘pseudoscience’? 128 Impinda ( Adenia gummifera ) and magic 130 Witvergeet ( Asclepias crispa ) and rooivergeet ( Galium tomentosum ) 130 Dawidjiewortel ( Cissampelos capensis ) 131 The resurrection bush, Myrothamnus flabellifolius 132 The poison bulb, Boophone disticha 133 The use of Aristaloe aristata to protect against lightning 133 The power of metaphor: Dicoma schinzii , the Kalahari koorsbossie 134 A rationality index for ‘magic’ plants? 136 Implications for pre- and in-service teacher education 137 Conclusions and recommendations 140 Summary 142 Acknowledgements 142 Chapter 6: Engaging pedagogies to facilitate the border- crossing between the Natural Sciences and indigenous knowledge: Implications for science teacher education 143 Neal Petersen, Aubrey Golightly & Washington T. Dudu Introduction and problem statement 144 Conceptual–theoretical framework 147 Contents xii Contextualised teaching: Teaching for the affective domain 147 Tenets of the nature of science and indigenous knowledge 148 Engaging pedagogies 152 Problem-based learning 153 Cooperative learning 156 Cultural-Historical Activity Theory 158 Empirical investigation: The short learning programme, research methodology and ethics 161 Ethics 164 Analysis of views-on-the-nature-of-indigenous-knowledge instrument data 165 Findings and discussion 167 Findings with regard to cooperative learning 167 Findings with regard to problem-based learning 170 Findings with regard to the nature of indigenous knowledge and the nature of science 171 Findings with regard to the nature of indigenous knowledge 173 Challenges in using engaging pedagogies and indigenous knowledge in science education 175 Findings through the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory lens 176 Recommendations 178 Summary 179 Acknowledgements 180 Chapter 7: The affordances of indigenous knowledge in Mathematics Education 181 Marthie van der Walt, Erika Potgieter & Divan Jagals Introduction 182 Problem statement 183 Research question 184 Theoretical framework 184 Conceptual framework 185 Contents xiii Metacognition as reflective methodology 185 Metacognitive knowledge of cognition 186 Self-regulation (or regulation of cognition) 187 Pedagogical content knowledge 189 Pedagogies of play in Mathematics 190 Contextualising Mathematics 191 Mathematising Mathematics 192 Indigenous knowledge systems 192 Ethnomathematics 194 A short learning programme in ethnomathematics as intervention 194 Games 195 The game of Morabaraba and 2D geometrical figures 195 The game of Ncuva and case-based teaching 197 Music and boomwhackers 199 Puppetry 202 Empirical design of the study 204 Sampling 206 Data collection instruments 206 Open-ended questionnaires 207 Focus group interview 207 Evidence-based portfolios 207 Content analysis 207 Triangulation 209 Presentation of the findings 209 Teachers and teaching: Teachers are of the opinion that their pedagogical content knowledge and metacognitive skills improved 210 Learners and learning: Teachers reported on enhanced learning in the classroom and the realisation of affective outcomes 214 Systemic factors such as the school environment, parents and language may impede the transfer of indigenous knowledge and skills 217 Conclusion 219 Summary 220 Acknowledgements 222 Contents xiv Chapter 8: Engaging in indigenous technology: Conceptualisation and contextualisation in problem-based environments 223 Marietjie Havenga Introduction 223 Theoretical overview 226 Technology education and problem-based environments 226 Conceptualisation of technology in indigenous environments 228 Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as a philosophical lens to contextualise indigenous technology 232 Cultural-Historical Activity Theory at an instructional level: The teaching and learning of indigenous technology 235 Contextualisation of indigenous technology in problem-based indigenous environments 239 Applying indigenous technology in a short learning programme for teachers 241 Conclusion and recommendations 247 Summary 248 Acknowledgements 248 Chapter 9: The use of puppetry as pedagogy to teach indigenous knowledge 249 Lounell White, Susan Bester & Tswakae Sebotsa Introduction 249 The tenets of the nature of science and indigenous knowledge, and the affordances of puppetry as relevant pedagogy in Natural Sciences 251 Cultural artefacts and the affordances of puppetry as relevant pedagogy in Social Sciences 255 Teaching methodology 257 Storytelling 257 Puppetry as a teaching methodology 259 Self-directed learning 260 Contents xv Research questions and research methodology 262 A qualitative research design 262 Research lens: Third-generation Cultural-Historical Activity Theory 264 Activity system 1 266 Activity system 2 267 Findings and discussion 267 Many student teachers were of the opinion that puppetry and storytelling is an inappropriate pedagogy for high school learners 268 Student teachers were of the opinion that puppetry and storytelling is a time-intensive pedagogy 271 Some student teachers highlighted puppetry and storytelling as creative pedagogies, addressing the affective domain 272 Student teachers demonstrated the affordances of puppetry for the enhancement of self-directed learning 273 Conclusion 274 Summary 275 Chapter 10: The affordances of technology for teaching indigenous knowledge 277 Jako Olivier, Christo van der Westhuizen, Dorothy Laubscher & Roxanne Bailey Introduction 278 Theoretical framework 278 Self-directed learning 278 Technology in learning and teaching 280 Indigenous knowledge systems 283 Technology, indigenous knowledge and self-directed learning grounded in the policy documents 285 The South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement 286 The Professional Development Framework for Digital Learning 288 Contents xvi Technologies that support the affordances of indigenous knowledge: Indications from current literature 290 Defining appropriate technologies and indigenous technologies for indigenous knowledge 291 Appropriate technologies 291 Characteristics of appropriate technologies for indigenous knowledge 292 Indigenous technologies 293 Examples of technologies 293 Critical literature review 295 Indigenous knowledge 296 Appropriate technology or indigenous technology 308 Addressing the characteristics of appropriate technologies for indigenous knowledge 308 Context 308 Example of technology 309 Education and teaching 309 The potential of Geographical Information Systems, Google Earth and Maps to integrate indigenous knowledge, self-directed learning and technology in the curriculum 311 Recommended technological interventions for indigenous knowledge in teaching practice 314 Conclusion 316 Summary 317 Chapter 11: Indigenous knowledge research ethics 319 Melissa Speight Vaughn & Marry Mdakane Introduction 319 Background context 323 Theoretical framework 324 Postcolonial indigenous research 325 Methods 327 The policies 328 San Code of Research Ethics 329 Tenets of San indigenous knowledge research ethics 330 North-West University Research Ethics Policy 332 Contents xvii Discussion 337 Alignment 338 Recommendations 340 The house 340 The door 341 The window 341 An example from ethnobotany 342 Conclusion 344 Summary 346 References 347 Index 399 xix Abbreviations, Figures and Tables Appearing in the Text and Notes List of Abbreviations ABT American Biology Teacher CAPS Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement CAR Classroom Action Research CDE Centre for Development and Enterprise CHAT Cultural-Historical Activity Theory CL Cooperative Learning CoP Community of Practice CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrialised Research DBE Department of Basic Education DBR Design-based Research DEET Diethyltoluamide DoE Department of Education EASA Education Association of South Africa EKI Ethnobotanical Knowledge Index ESDC Embodied, Situated and Distributed Cognition FET Further Education and Training GIS Geographical Information Systems ICT Information and Communication Technology IK Indigenous Knowledge IKS Indigenous Knowledge Systems IP Intellectual Property IT Indigenous Technology LP Learning Progression MKT Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching NDP National Development Plan NOIK Nature of Indigenous Knowledge NOS Nature of Science