Master's in Indigenous Studies Alumni

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Master's in Indigenous Studies Alumni

Category Archives: Education

Mind the Gap Greenland: Is there a gap between educational goals of the government and the aspirations of young People in Narsaq?

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Author

Fridfinnsdottir, Elin Thora
Abstract
Mind the gap is a thesis based on fieldwork conducted in Narsaq, Greenland in July 2013 and compares the rationale behind the government’s high priority to increase educational standards of the population with the reluctance of young people in Narsaq to answer that call. Young people in Narsaq, like the population of rest of Greenland are going through a period of great changes, both environmentally and politically. This thesis examines how these changes will affect the young people in Narsaq and their educational prospects and aspirations. The findings of this study are in line with a mixture of Alan Barnard’s general hypothesis on foraging mode of thought and Merete Watt Boolsen’s social inheritance theory. Some of the findings can be explained by applying Barnard’s hypothesis on foraging mode of thought as there is still a strong sense of the traditional life style of Inuit hunter and gatherers among Greenlanders even if they now live in towns. And Merete Wall Boolsen’s theory of social inheritance helps explain how hard it is to go against your culture when it comes to education, as the parents of many young people in Narsaq lack higher education and there are few positive role models in the area who do.
Thesis in Munin

Educating the majority: How are the Norwegianization process and the Alta conflict presented in lower secondary School textbook?

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Author

Tryndyuk, Iryna
Abstract
This thesis is devoted to the issue of education about the Sami in Norway. The aim of the study is to analyze how important events from Sami history are presented in Norwegian Social Studies textbooks. The study is based on an analysis of textbooks currently used in lower secondary schools following the National Curriculum. Textbook analysis is the main research method for the thesis. The cases analyzed are the Norwegianization process of the Sami population and the Alta conflict. In comparison to research on other indigenous peoples, Sami history and culture seem well represented, though much of this research is published in Norwegian. This thesis is written in English and, consequently, may be used by not only a Norwegian-speaking audience. It uncovers the nature of information given at lower secondary school about two of the most important events in Sami history. It may be an important contribution to the development of future curricula plans, as well as testing the relevance of the textbooks offered for the pupils.
Thesis in Munin

The role of affirmative action in higher education for indigenous People: The case of Yakutsk (Russia) and Tromsø (Norway

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Author

Nikanorova, Liudmila
Abstract
This thesis is dedicated to the issue of affirmative action in higher education for indigenous people. It includes two case studies that cover the research topic in two areas Yakutsk in Far-East Russia (The North-Eastern Federal University) and Tromsø (The Arctic University of Norway) in Northern Norway. The motivation for the study and for the choice of the cases comes from my personal experience. I personally was declined admission in favor of an indigenous representative in one case, and also I was granted a scholarship on the quota-program in another case. Indigenous people in Norway and in Russia are granted by special scholarships and quota programs for admission to the Universities, where a number of seats are preserved for them. This study examines the intentions, regulations, scope and the results of these mechanisms. It also discusses definition of indigenous people, the role of affirmative action for the state, the meaning of higher education for indigenous people, and, in general, the need for affirmative action in higher education for indigenous people. The main finding of this thesis is the mismatch of the intents and implementations of affirmative action. Affirmative action was aimed to equalize opportunities of indigenous people to majority people, which justify regulations of affirmative action that may seem to be discriminatory at the first glance. However, practices of affirmative action in higher education in case of Norway and Russia are not large scale and did not bring as notable results as I would have expect from the intents of it.
Thesis in Munin

Indigenous Wellbeing in University Spaces: Experiences of Indigenous Students at the Australian National University

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Author

Powell, Maeve Shirley

Abstract
This thesis aims to address the issue of Indigenous Australian conceptions of wellbeing in the context of university education. It will examine the role of an Indigenous student support unit in providing a space in which Indigenous wellbeing is enacted, supported and strengthened. The findings are based on discussions with six Indigenous students who were enrolled at the Australian National University and used the Tjabal Indigenous Higher Education Centre and one staff member. In this research I discuss how Indigenous students conceptualise and articulate wellbeing in a local university context. I also address institutional arrangements of university spaces in accounting for the differences in Indigenous student wellbeing. Lastly I examine how spaces for Indigenous wellbeing at the university are produced. I argue that students’ conception and articulation of wellbeing is based in a sense of belonging. Students experience challenges to wellbeing in university spaces as they enter racialised spaces. Wellbeing has also been challenged by culturally unsafe practices in some courses. The Tjabal Centre represents a space for Indigenous wellbeing which has been produced through spatial practice, the use of signs and symbols, and through planning. It is a space where Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies can be enacted in the everyday. Students have extended space for wellbeing on campus through the use of tactics and everyday acts of resistance.
Thesis Munin

Educational Status of Santhal Community. A Case Study of a School Dropout in Santhal Children of Eastern Nepal.

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Author

Chamalagain, Sitaram

Abstract
The government of Nepal has taken initiatives to increase the enrollment of the students and keep them in school by making tuition fee free up to secondary level, offering various scholarship schemes for girls, marginalized and indigenous children; however, the dropout rate of children in Nepal is still high and, in the case of Santhal children, it is even higher. In this context, the current study seeks to critically explore the reasons for the high dropout rate among Santhal students. This study is the result of a qualitative field research conducted in Gauradaha and Korobari Village Development Committees in Nepal in May and June 2014. This study includes the voices of teachers, parents, dropouts and educationists, which are supplemented by the researcher`s observation notes, government and school data. Drawing on the theories of dropout and social capital, this study aims at finding out how the lack of social capital in school, family and community affects the educational attainment of Santhal children. This information can be used to develop programs designed to increase social capital in schools, families, and communities, which can contribute to a decrease in the dropout behavior. The findings show that students who are unable to develop social capital in the forms of school social capital, family social capital, or community social capital, or a combination of these three forms, have a more difficult time completing school. Using qualitative methods along with the numerical data in the form of tables, the stories of students, teachers, parents and educationist have shown that the lack of or the lower social capital which is persistent in the Santhal community has contributed to the dropout behavior of Santhal children. Key words: Santhal, education, school dropout, social capital, Adibasi/Janajati
Thesis in Munin

Education and HIV/AIDS: A case study of educational practices of the indigenous Fantes, in the Cape Coast Municipality of Ghana

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Author: Mel Gyamira Asiedu

Abstract:
This study addresses how Ghanaian educational systems educate the people of Cape Coast about the causes and prevention of the HIV/AIDS epidemic HIV/AIDS has been identified as one of the main challenges facing the educational sector in Ghana that deals with children from pre-school, basic, secondary and tertiary institution. Everyone in these categories, all children and students are at risk. Traditionally, puberty rites were used as a societal demand for adolescents to know their sexual life. The Ghana government has not included HIV/AIDS in the curriculum as a holistic subject where students can be tested about their knowledge. The government is double-minded recognizing traditional ideas and modern ideas. That is because there are many rites of passage embedded in Ghanaian cultural systems which make it difficult for the government to adopt one form of rite to be taught in schools. This creates a difficult situation The study reveals that the Fante puberty rites could be adopted on the Alert School Model to help prevent HIV/AIDS. It was realized that teachers in Cape Coast municipality are doing their best to teach HIV/AIDS education in schools despite the challenges they faced from the Ghana Education Service. The role of Fanti home based educational practices strongly influenced by traditional beliefs and practices will be compared and contrasted to modern public school based education and teaching young people about HIV/AIDS prevention. The method that was used in data collection at Cape Coast was interviews, observation and conversation which covered a sample of twenty one informants. Seven of the informants interview where used in the study. I supported primary data with secondary data from the Ghana HIV Sentinel Surveillance report, the impact evaluation of the alert school model and the HIV Alert School Model The findings in the study were analyzed qualitatively. A detailed description of puberty rites and the alert school model were discussed. Based on the findings in the study at Cape Coast, suggested recommendation and conclusion were drawn.

Thesis in Munin