The aim of this article is to analyze the nature of the historical and contemporary social contexts within which applied linguistics in Africa emerged, and is currently practiced. The article examines the challenges "local" applied Linguistics in Africa is confronted with as it tries to amplify applied linguistic programs emanating from…

The Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) was established in 1994 to develop pedagogical practices that incorporate the indigenous knowledge systems of Alaska Native peoples into formal educational programs. The statewide project is organized around five initiatives, each of which is implemented in one Native cultural region at a time on a…

The 20th National Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (SPERA) and Western Australia District High School Administrators' Association (WADHSAA) joint conference proceedings, based on the theme "Working Together, Staying Vital," was held in Fremantle, Perth, Western Australia, in June 2004. The proceedings contain 13…

This paper is based on research conducted with indigenous students at a university in the Northern Territory. It examines crosscultural theories of education which explain the problems of teaching and learning in indigenous contexts in terms of the cultural mismatch between the home and school environment. These theories position the teacher as…

The topic of how reflexivity ought to be utilized in the global aspect of research is yet to be fully theorized in educational research. Through the use of rigorous reflexivity, this paper examines a "halfie" researcher's negotiation of insider and outsider identities within his transnational home/field site of Nepal. By examining how…

The history of education, as taught in the United States and in the West generally, has focused primarily on how Western educational tradition emerged. This book provides a brief overview of several non-Western approaches to educational thought and practice. An understanding of how other peoples have educated their children, as well as what…

The purpose of the conference and this book is to begin to establish the parameters of a new period of interaction between indigenous and non-Native peoples of North America through their experiences in university and academic practices and settings. The book exposes academic communities to indigenous learning and indigenous knowledge with the…

This report discusses the need for a research agenda to understand how rural public schools can work with their communities to improve student performance while building the community. It focuses on the potential strengths of school-community relationships. Described herein are four community engagement models a school can adopt: (1) School as…

This book documents goals, challenges, and prospects in contemporary efforts to develop alphabetic literacies in traditionally unwritten languages, using case study examples of indigenous language development in the Americas. An introduction and conclusion by Nancy H. Hornberger, "Indigenous Literacies in the Americas" and "Language…

This book presents an ethnohistorical examination of American Indian thinking and philosophy and strives to explain the complexity of the American Indian mind in its traditional cultural and natural environment and in contrast to the American mainstream linear world. It is argued that Indian thinking is visual; circular; concerned with the…

The roles of spirituality and spiritual learning in transformative learning are discussed. The discussion was initiated from an anti-colonial perspective on engaging spiritually in the political project of transformative learning, and it is grounded in issues of African education and in the principle of teaching critically so that education serves…

This book is based on an 11-day international gathering of Indigenous Elders and educators in 1998. The readings are organized within four areas of Indigenous education and culture: worldview, curriculum change, governance and policies, and spiritual reflections. The entries are: "Circular Vision: Through Native Eyes" (Marie…

A Canadian teacher-educator's research into what has meaning for Bush Cree students became a reciprocal learning-teaching relationship. What emerged is a reverence for the ordinary, and the researcher's realization that in Cree society, the medium and the message are one, just as education and culture are one. Contains photographs used in the…

This chapter describes nine of this volume's themes and offers summary recommendations stemming from those themes.

Rural areas in both developed and developing countries are being increasingly marginalized through structural changes. Furthermore, the disinvestment in state-provided supports and services means that rural people are left to their own devices to cope with these changes. Numerous authors argue that the most effective way of dealing with these…