Non-Western Educational Traditions : Indigenous Approaches to Educational Thought and Practice

by Reagan; Timothy G.

• ISBN13: 9780805848571
• ISBN10: 0805848576
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-08-12
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This text provides a brief yet comprehensive overview of a number of non-Western approaches to educational thought and practice. Its premise is that understanding the ways that other people educate their children--as well as what counts for them as "education"--may help us think more clearly about some of our own assumptions and values, and to become more open to alternative viewpoints about important educational matters. The value of this informative, mind-opening text for preservice and in-service teacher education courses is enhanced by "Questions for Discussion and Reflection" and "Recommended Further Readings" included in each chapter. New in the Third Edition: *Chapter 2, "Conceptualizing Culture:" 'I, We, and The Other,' is new to this edition. It is a response to feedback about the problems inherent in our general discourse about "culture," and in addition provides an example of a culture that is near to us but nevertheless alien-the culture of the Deaf-World. *Chapter 9-which deals with Islam and traditional Muslim education-has been substantially revised. *The subtitle of the Third Edition has been changed to Indigenous Approaches to Educational Thought and Practice, reflecting not so much a change in the emphases found in the book, but rather, a recognition of the growing scholarly interest in indigenous peoples, their languages, cultures, and histories. *Various points throughout the text have been expanded and clarified, and chapters have been updated as needed.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
An Introduction to the Study of Non-Western and Indigenous Educational Traditions: A Philosophical Starting Point	1	(28)
The Challenge of Ethnocentrism	4	(4)
The Role of Constructivist Epistemology in the Study of Indigenous Educational Traditions	8	(2)
The Concept of ``Tradition'' and Its Limits	10	(1)
The Western--Non-Western Dichotomy	11	(1)
Learning from Oral Traditions	11	(3)
E.T., the Lost Continent of Atlantis, and Cannibalism: Some Reflections on Credibility and ``Otherness''	14	(2)
Commonality and Diversity in Indigenous Traditions	16	(1)
Positionality and Non-Western Educational Traditions	17	(2)
Conclusions	19	(1)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion	19	(1)
Recommended Further Readings	20	(1)
Notes	21	(8)
Conceptualizing Culture: ``I, We, and the Other''	29	(26)
Understanding Culture: The Role of Anthropology	30	(3)
The Misrepresentation of Culture	33	(3)
Issues of Culture, Power, and Dominance	36	(1)
What Is ``Western'' Culture?	36	(1)
The Culture of the DEAF-WORLD	37	(8)
Concluding Thoughts	45	(1)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion	46	(1)
Recommended Further Readings	47	(1)
Notes	48	(7)
``A Wise Child Is Talked to in Proverbs'': Indigenous African Educational Thought and Practice	55	(36)
The History of Africa: A Brief Overview	56	(4)
The Goals of Indigenous African Education	60	(3)
The Oral Tradition in Indigenous African Education	63	(7)
Indigenous African Education as Moral Education	70	(1)
The Process of Initiation	71	(2)
Vocational Aspects of Indigenous African Education	73	(5)
Afrocentrism and the Romanticization of Africa	78	(2)
Concluding Thoughts	80	(1)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion	81	(1)
Recommended Further Readings	82	(1)
Notes	82	(9)
Training ``Face and Heart'': The Mesoamerican Educational Experience	91	(26)
Educational Thought and Practice in Classic Mayan Society	93	(2)
The Aztec Case	95	(1)
The Aztec World	96	(5)
The Aztec Conception of the ``Educated Person''	101	(3)
The Educational Functions of the Family in Aztec Society	104	(1)
Formal Schooling in Aztec Society	104	(3)
Conclusions	107	(1)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion	107	(1)
Recommended Further Readings	108	(1)
Notes	109	(8)
``Finding the True Meaning of Life'': Indigenous Education in North America	117	(18)
The Core Belief System of Indigenous Americans	119	(3)
Indigenous American Educational Beliefs and Practices	122	(4)
Toward a Philosophy of Native American Education	126	(2)
Conclusions	128	(1)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion	129	(1)
Recommended Further Readings	130	(1)
Notes	131	(4)
Developing the Chun-tzu: Confucius and the Chinese Educational Heritage	135	(28)
The Role of Confucian Thought in Traditional Chinese Education	138	(4)
Traditional Chinese Educational Practice	142	(3)
The Imperial Examination System	145	(3)
Science, Technology, and Discovery in the Chinese Tradition	148	(2)
Conclusions	150	(3)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion	153	(2)
Recommended Further Readings	155	(1)
Notes	155	(8)
``An Intelligent Man Attends on a Wise Person'': Traditional Hindu and Buddhist Educational Thought and Practice	163	(30)
The Origins of Hinduism	163	(2)
The Vedic Tradition	165	(3)
Hindu Beliefs and Practices	168	(2)
Hindu Educational Thought	170	(2)
Traditional Hindu Educational Practice	172	(2)
The Case of Vedic Mathematics	174	(1)
Hinduism: Tying It Together	175	(1)
The Buddhist Tradition	176	(1)
An Overview of Buddhism	177	(4)
Historical Buddhist Educational Thought and Practice	181	(2)
Higher Education in Ancient India	183	(1)
Conclusions	184	(1)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion	184	(1)
Recommended Further Readings	185	(1)
Notes	186	(7)
``Familiar Strangers'': The Case of the Rom	193	(24)
A Word About Labels	194	(1)
The Origins of the Rom	195	(1)
The Challenge of Studying the Rom	196	(1)
Cultural and Social Values and Norms	197	(9)
The Fears and Realities of Persecution: ``Even Paranoids Have Enemies''	206	(1)
Childrearing and Education	207	(2)
Conclusions	209	(1)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion	210	(1)
Recommended Further Readings	211	(1)
Notes	211	(6)
``No Gift Is Better Than Education'': The Islamic Educational Enterprise	217	(30)
Islam: An Overview	219	(11)
Islamic Philosophy of Education	230	(3)
Traditional Islamic Educational Practice	233	(3)
Conclusions	236	(1)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion	237	(1)
Recommended Further Readings	238	(1)
Notes	239	(8)
Themes and Lessons in the Study of Non-Western Educational Traditions: Toward a Beginning	247	(10)
Some Common Themes in Indigenous Educational Traditions	247	(4)
The Epistemology and Epistemological Challenge of Indigenous Knowledges	251	(1)
Areas for Future Research	252	(2)
Conclusions	254	(1)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion	254	(1)
Recommended Further Readings	255	(1)
Notes	255	(2)
Bibliography	257	(34)
Author Index	291	(4)
Subject Index	295