Globalization and Science Education: The Implications for Indigenous Knowledge Systems - Research Paper Example

Introduction Globalization is a process, which increases interaction between processes and people at every level of living-the cultural, political and the economic. This translates to removal of trade barriers, the transfer of democratic processes, and a greater interaction of cultures from around the world. According to Teune, (2000), politics plays a big role in globalization and its related processes because governments the world over are dominated by the ‘democratic trend’. Friedman in his book has argued that the world is a globalized place and is what he called ‘flat’. He claimed that several forces such as technology, which enable connectivity and collaboration, are creating a level playing field of global competitiveness (Friedman, 2007). Ghemawat on the other hand in response to Friedman argues that globalization does not bind people, countries, and markets closer than ever. He makes use of data, which reveals a world that is just a fraction as integrated as the one we thought we knew. In fact, more than 90 percent of all phone calls, Web traffic, and investment are local. What’s more, even this small level of globalization could still slip away (Ghemawat, 2007). It is in this context that the following paper will analyse the current status of science and the proposed lop-sided nature of science related education research and orientation in the context of globalization, given the predominant tendency of the global world to superimpose the western way of life upon the rest of the world. A research paper written by Cassie Quigley (2009), entitled ‘Globalization and Science Education: The Implications for Indigenous Knowledge Systems’ seeks to highlight first and foremost the absence of ubiquity and global uniformity of presence where much of modern science-education based research is concerned, and second deal with methods that could be ideal in the correction of this imbalance. There are those that state that globalization indeed is inevitable as long corporates play a role in the election of the ones that make policy decisions. The paper itself is based on the positivist paradigm, on a theoretical framework that focuses on theory derivative based on a literature review. The process and levels of integration that have been achieved over the century are more or less irreversible now  given that fact that technology is advancing, movement across borders is becoming easier by the day and there is in fact no real effort to oppose it. All that is visible are efforts to deal with the negative repercussions of the globalization trail even in the wake of the worst recession since 1930s.   The following discussion, will, in the context of this research seek to analyse the findings that the author arrives at, the methods taken to arrive at the findings, identify links, strengths and weaknesses, along with juxtapose the theory proposed vis-à-vis the reality of the theoretical world as it currently stands. Title, Abstract, and introduction The title, abstract and the introduction to the paper are aimed at the singular purpose of explaining the five approaches that would characterize the depth of the paper. The basic theme to the paper is introduced and an overall perspective presented for reference. The idea is simple. Current trends in the literature of science and education, the author states make use of the “one size fit all” approach, with a disregard for indigenous knowledge and cultural orientations. In this context, she states, the paper would look at five basic issues: a) describing post-colonialism b) defining the terms indigenous knowledge, traditional ecological knowledge c) western modern science and the effects of globalization d) examining the research on learning; and e) Connecting place-based education to curricular implications for indigenous knowledge systems. Methodology used: Literature review The research is a clear amalgamation of the existing views that are present on the topic. The author makes use of the information available to draw her inferences, which means that she has chosen to prove her hypothesis based on the literature available on the issue. This is relevant as well as justified, given the very premise of the paper is a research based argumentative essay that seeks to put point across based on the present literature on education and science. One could in this context analyse features characterizing quantitative study, a methodology of the literature review is a subtext. The first major aspect of the methodology is the application of the quantitative method of analysis that would seek to substantiate the analysis put forward by the literature review and the case study analysis (Abeyasekera and Lawson-McDowall, 2000). The method by nature is useful in the measurement of demographic. The point of usage here is due to the fact that the method is used in terms of large samples (up to full census) with a lot of stress on a high rate of response. The nature of the study is inferential which means also that it has chosen to make use of the descriptive quantitative approach to gain a deeper understanding of the research objectives. The approach would help in the examination of the current problems that exist in the model of a globalised method of science based educational research and the methods that could be used for its correction. The method would help in ensuring that the research retains its empirical nature. According to Matveev (2002), the quantitative research employs numerical an quantitative indicators to ascertain the relative size of a particular communication phenomenon. The quantitative method is appropriate here given the fact that the quantitative method of research is guided by a functional or positivist paradigm. According to Morgan & Smircich (1980) this has its basis in the assumption that social reality has an objective ontological structure and that individuals are responding agents to this objective environment. Smith (1988) further reports that the quantitative method of research is one that is made up of counting and measuring events and performing the statistical analysis of a body of numerical data. According to Cassell and Symon (1994) the basic functioning assumption behind the positivist paradigm is that there is an objective truth existing in the world that can be measured and explained scientifically. The main concerns of the quantitative paradigm are that measurement is reliable, valid, and generalizable in its clear prediction of cause and effect. This would therefore be effective in the instance of our case given the fact that the basic issue is the measurement of behavioral trends in the most scientific manner possible. The method is highly deductive and particularistic. This in turn implies that the research would be based on the formulation of a research hypothesis. Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, (1992) explain that the method is then followed by verification backed by data that has been empirically obtained. According to Ting-Toomey, (1984) the scientific hypotheses are value-free; the researcher's own values, biases, and subjective preferences have no place in the quantitative approach. Researchers can view the communication process as concrete and tangible and can analyze it without contacting actual people involved in communication. The quantitative method of inquiry would therefore mean that this researcher aims at investigating the relationship of influence between various factors such as demographic, intrinsic, and extrinsic on the degree of job satisfaction among Omani doctors and nurses. This would therefore mean that at the end of the research, the results would have high levels of reliability because according to a study by Balsley (1970), the data gathered due to controlled observations, laboratory experiments, mass surveys, or other form of research manipulations is usually more empirically correct. The positivist and the post positivist approach are firmly based in the historical sciences. In this form of epistemological perception, scholars and theorists believe that knowledge is based only in actual experiences (Ashley D, Orenstein DM, 2005). This school of thought can be traced back through history to the Greek society and has evolved through the ages (Cohen, 2007). There are some basic assumptions that are made under this school of philosophical tradition. The main principle that the school believes and endorses is that there exists unanimity in the scientific methodology, where there can be achieved a unification of logic which is present in all sciences, natural as well as social. The most important role that the positivist theorists aim to achieve is to explain or develop a general understanding of the conditions for the existence of any incident and event (Amory F 1999). It looks at the realization and establishment of laws which can then be used to achieve the desirable ends (Giddens, 1974). The main assumption that is made under this form is that the laws and the findings which are established are then testable. This school of though follows that the investigation or study conducted can only be established through empirical evidences (Mises R, 1957). Another important characteristic of the teachings of this school is that it makes a clear distinction between the opinions of the researcher with the philosophy on which the research that has to be conducted (Le Gouis, 1997). This looks into the axiological assumptions that are made during the conduction of the research. This is helpful in ensuring that the research is conducted in a completely non biased environment and the results which are achieved are neutral. Thus, the positivist ontology or the nature of reality is fixed and stable and they believe that knowledge can be gained through scientific and experimental research. The other assumption that is also made in this form of study is that it all statements that have been made are held true for all times and all situations (Pickering M, 1993). This is the basic structural format of the positivist and the post positivist school of thought which is used by a number of researchers as their philosophical basis while conducting their research. Thus, the basic assumption of this school is that knowledge is quantifiable and universal. It believes that knowledge is measurable and scientific, but fails to take into account the fact that with time, society changes and evolves and what may hold true at a certain point in time may not be the reality with the changing evolution of society. The other problem that is faced by this philosophy is that it completely separates the researcher from the research that is conducted which is impossible t achieve as any research which is conducted by an individual is bound to reflect the belief and value system of the individual. Findings of the research: One of the primary reasons she ascribes defining the problems that are associated with globalization in the context of science education is that there is a superimposition of the global on the local, not just in terms of culture but in terms of learning-tools used and the ultimate learning that is imparted given the view that the western is anyways more progressive, the examples given are those of the French on the Cambodian, which makes this point look valid. The second argument she presents is to do with the fact that globalization is in any case a greater assimilation of the colonial into the global. This would then mean that there would be an automatic stress of the western influence on the ways of curriculum development itself, given especially the fact that most local populations see education as important for preparing their children both locally and globally. In the second argument she places forward the role that science education could potentially play in the removal of this bias and lead to the formation of a more assimilated method of thought. Here the argument put forward is that the very nature of empirical knowledge is such that it is gained with the process of a cautious surveillance of complete ecosystem, which means that it would extend over time and space, allowing the flourishing of intercultural sharing. In arriving at the standard definitions of the terms Indigenous knowledge (IK) and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), the author, which is based in essence on the overhauling and all encompassing definitions that these two use for arriving a definition of science itself, which is radically opposed to the western medicinal way of thinking. This is diametrically opposite to the concept of science in the western parlance given the fact that science for IK and TEK is attached to the entire concept of human endeavor, including culture. For Quigley, IK is defined as “The concept of indigenous knowledge (IK) refers to acquisition of and practices that are developed by groups with long histories of intimate relationships with their natural environment”, while TEK is defined as “science that is highly localized and socialized”. In the fourth point she tries to draw a largely unlikely link between WMS and the concept of indigenous science. She brings to light multiple sources that argue the roots of western educational science in African literature. This provides a direct challenge to the overall mechanism of modern science education given its predominant roots in the Eurocentric mechanism. Here she brings into play the twin concepts of inclusivity and exclusivity in light of the advances of modern science, technology, education and the fact that these are rooted in the movement of wealth. The US, by virtue of the fact that it has the wealth of the world would mean that the availability of science based education and the ability to foray into research that is related to the issue that a lot greater than the countries of Africa, where if research is to be believed, knowledge and science actually emanate from. The fifth point of the research is the most interesting in light of the fact that there are at present three basic views where the use of anthropology and modern science education are concerned. These include the worldviews, collateral learning and border crossing. Here she states that many of the science curricula developed by Western scientists was simply transplanted from one culture to another, often for little regard to resources or place. Typically, it had been assumed that ‘primitive’ cultures had no science, yet there had been little research in these cultures to confirm that assumption. To continue to progress, science education, both in its practice and research, needs to adopt an anthropological point of view. Research limitations: The biggest limitation is the trend in quantitative research to look for bigger patterns in small patterns the generalization issue is one that would need to be correctly contested and addressed. Moreover, there would automatically be the issue of ensuring that the research is able to find implications and importance in further researches. The idea would be to ensure that there is a correct generalization available along with subscribing to the essentially quantitative view that random events be predictable. The other big problem is that there is a tendency to eulogize the indigenous culture with a thorough disregard for the growth of the research and education model in the west thereby disregarding the work that has been done. This would also mean that there is an overwhelming tendency within the paper to be largely one-dimensional. The preachy tone of the article again does not sit well with the overall tone of scientific empirical study. Reference: Ashley, D., Orenstein, D. M., (2005). ‘Sociological theory: Classical statements (6th ed.)’. Boston, MA, USA: Pearson Education. pp. 202–203. H. Teune (2000), “Modernization, Development, Democracy, and Conflict” in J. Ciprut (ed). Fears and Foes: Security and Insecurity in an Evolving Global Political Economy. New York: Praeger. Ghemawat, P. (2007) “Why the world isn’t flat”, Foreign Policy, March-April, 159, pp. 54-60 Friedman, T. Et al. (2007): Letters in Response to Ghemawat”, Foreign Policy, May-June, 160, pp. 4-6. 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LeGouis, C 1997: Positivism and Imagination: Scientism and Its Limits in Emile Hennequin, Bucknell University Press. London: 1997. Pickering, M 1993, Auguste Comte: An Intellectual Biography, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, England; 1993 Amory, F., (1999)."Euclides da Cunha and Brazilian Positivism", Luso-Brazilian Review. Vol. 36, No. 1 (Summer, 1999), pp. 87–94. Quigley, C., (2009). ‘Globalization and Science Education: The Implications for Indigenous Knowledge Systems’. International Education Studies, 2(9). Pp76-88 Read More