A cultural tapestry
Yarning (ˈjɑːnɪŋ): a conversational process where stories are told to pass on cultural knowledge
Education has long relied on established teaching practices aimed at fostering intellectual openness and adaptability in professional settings (Bozkurt & Stracke, 2023). However, a deeper exploration reveals a richer, more nuanced understanding of learning, especially through the lens of indigenous cultural practices (Dreamson, 2018).
Then why are we so limited by our perspectives when it comes engaging through equity?
In mid-2023, I explored teaching opportunities in marginalised and vulnerable communities. While excited, I felt apprehensive due to my limited understanding and the perceived reputation of these areas for extensive violence and crime. In retrospect, following my last year working in these areas, I recognise that my judgment was clouded by a single narrative, as Adichie (2009) so poignantly describes.
Examining our own indigenous culture, highlights the complexity of identity, which has had to evolve significantly despite the impacts of colonisation and ongoing perpetuation of epistemological violence (Bodkin-Andrews et al., 2016). As Merriam & Baumgartner (2020) further convey, indigenous perspectives are deeply woven with knowledge, traditions, and narratives that promote learning and identity.
So, with the imposition of Western learning systems have we further marginalised indigenous educational practices, by eroding cultural identity and knowledge transfer?
This sheer powerlessness seems to have robbed indigenous communities by undermining their unique worldviews and ecological wisdom, while also threatening cultural continuity, and the preservation of identity and belonging (Perso, 2012). Recognising and embracing diverse indigenous perspectives paves the way for essential changes in our educational approaches, making them more comprehensive and culturally aware by fostering emotional and intellectual connections.
Our change starts today through the art of storytelling, which we shall weave into the cultural tapestry, embodying the essence of reframing, and enriching the future narrative.
Bodkin-Andrews, G., Bodkin, A. F., Andrews, U. G., & Evans, U. R. (2016). Aboriginal identity, world views, research and the story of the Burra’gorang. In Mia Mia Aboriginal Community Development: Fostering cultural security. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107741768.003Links to an external site.
Bozkurt, A., & Stracke, C. M. (2023). The Shift Toward Openness in Education and the Implications for Learning Ecosystems and Ecologies. In Distributed Learning Ecosystems : Concepts, Resources, and Repositories. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-38703-7_3Links to an external site.
Dreamson, N. (2018). Culturally inclusive global citizenship education: metaphysical and non-western approaches* . Multicultural Education Review, 10(2), 75–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/2005615X.2018.1460896Links to an external site.
Merriam, S. B., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2020). Learning and knowing: Eastern and Indigenous perspectives Learning in adulthood : A comprehensive guide (pp. 268–282). New Jersey, USA. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
Ngozi Adichie, C. (2009). The danger of a single story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In YouTube. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_storyLinks to an external site.
Perso, T. (2012). Cultural Responsiveness and School Education: With particular focus on Australia’s First Peoples; A Review & Synthesis of the Literature. Menzies School of Health Research.
