Emmanuel Acquah: Western Knowledge vs Indigenous Knowledge in the Era of Immigration
Western normative ways of knowing are often regarded as superior in their ways of accumulating data and making predictions. However, decades-long education of immigrant children (hereafter referred to as culturally and linguistically diverse students), in OECD countries has shown that Western ways of teaching and learning, often uncritically, has failed to transform the lives of culturally and linguistically diverse students and provide equitable educational outcomes. Drawing on the theory of culturally and linguistically responsive teaching, this talk argues that indigenous knowledge, which values and advocates for using culturally and linguistically diverse students’ own knowledge systems as a resource in teaching and learning, may offer a radical alternative for fostering the educational success of these students and provide equal opportunity.