Proceedings of The 5th International Conference on Advanced Research in Education
Year: 2022
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/5th.educationconf.2022.08.10
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A Bi-Epistemic Community Project: Accounting for Socio-Political Realities
Lorenzo Cherubini
ABSTRACT:
This presentation will describe the inter-disciplinary and bi-epistemic social science research project that included Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members, leaders, educators, and researchers. In partnership with a Native Friendship Centre in Ontario, Canada, the research project honours an Indigenous knowledge framework. It should be noted that Native Friendship Centres provide various culturally appropriate and respectful services and programs for predominantly urban-based Indigenous youth and community members and supports this research to develop Indigenous peoples’ identities as producers of narratives. The paper, therefore, provides the necessary context of the culturally appropriate interviews grounded in Indigenous epistemologies. Moreover, the presentation will discuss how the outcomes of the culturally appropriate interviews complement the broader socio-political realities as they relate to education. Specifically, how Indigenous students’ epistemologies have historically been unrepresented in public education thereby negatively impacting upon their sense of engagement, and how educators themselves can better relate to Indigenous students’ learning needs and preferences.
keywords: Indigenous students, inter-disciplinary research.