Indigenous education refers to educational provision, knowledge transmission, and learning processes that are grounded in Indigenous peoples’ languages, cultures, epistemologies, histories, and community priorities, while also engaging with formal education systems [1][2][3][4]. It includes both community-led and state-supported educational arrangements that aim to ensure equitable access, meaningful participation, and culturally sustaining learning for Indigenous learners [1][2]. Indigenous education is characterized by recognition of Indigenous knowledge systems, respect for cultural identity, inclusion of Indigenous languages, and pedagogical approaches shaped by relationships to land, community, and intergenerational knowledge [2][3][4]. In policy and research contexts, the term denotes a rights-based and culturally responsive educational domain, distinct from mainstream education models that do not systematically integrate Indigenous perspectives, governance, and self-determination [1][2][3][4].
- indigenous education
- indigenous knowledge systems
- culturally responsive education
- indigenous language education
References
- United Nations. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; UN General Assembly: New York, 2007. Available online: https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html.
- UNESCO. Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education; UNESCO: Paris, 2021. Available online: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379707.
- OECD. Education at a Glance 2023; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD): Paris, France, 2023. [CrossRef]
- Teresa McCarty; Tiffany Lee; Critical Culturally Sustaining/Revitalizing Pedagogy and Indigenous Education Sovereignty. Harv. Educ. Rev. 2014, 84, 101-124, 10.17763/haer.84.1.q83746nl5pj34216.