Unsettling the urban–rural dichotomy for Indigenous education and education for reconciliation

ABSTRACT

The urban/rural dichotomy used in framing Indigenous educational issues is becoming increasingly untenable and deserving of scrutiny. Indigenous urban education follows initiatives derived from rural areas with the assumption that rural Indigenous education programs are pure or authentic. Without a critical examination of power relations, the flow of people and knowledge in the Indigenous curriculum development process may lead to continued disrespect, appropriation, and tokenization of Indigenous knowledges. This article challenges the conventional conceptualizations surrounding the rural/urban Indigenous educational divide. In so doing, the authors explore two cases: The Saskatchewan (Canada) Ministry of Education’s official K-12 science curriculum attempts to integrate Indigenous perspectives, as do Taiwan’s Indigenous experimental schools. The finding suggests moving beyond pan-urban/rural paradigms that are stemming from settler colonialism. Acknowledging the important role partnerships play for Indigenous education policy and program development, the authors put forth Crit-Trans Partnership Framework to analyze these two cases.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ We acknowledge that there are diverse and competing stances around the term “reconciliation”. We decided to utilize the term here for the paper as the term continues to appear and drive many education policy changes globally and it reflects the current realities of Indigenous-settler relations reflected in national policies and discourses in the locations of the studies of the paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eun-Ji Amy Kim

Eun-Ji Amy Kim (she/her) is a lecturer at School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University. She is a former high school teacher and an education consultant for diverse Indigenous communities across Canada. Her current research focuses on critical-transdisciplinary partnerships for Indigenous education and truth-telling education.

Eric W. Layman

Eric W. Layman (he/him) is a PhD candidate with Indiana University-Bloomington pursuing a dual major in Education Policy Studies and Qualitative Inquiry Methodology. He is a Fulbright-Hays Scholar and his dissertation research explores Indigenous education reform in Taiwan