10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

The debate on the integration of indigenous knowledge (IK) in science education is often framed as a monocultural dialogue where indigenous people are presented as if they were a homogenous group with universal knowledge called IK. This article interrogates this view and demonstrates how teachers can tap into the repertoire of IKs in a multicultural class to teach Natural Sciences. A qualitative case study guided by the interpretive paradigm and the sociocultural theory was conducted at a university in South Africa, to explore how to support B.Ed. Natural Sciences teachers to integrate learners’ diverse IKs on alcoholic fermentation in science education. Two expert community members (ECM) from South Africa and Namibia, were invited to demonstrate how to make the African traditional beverages of umqombothi and oshikundu respectively, to a culturally diverse group of B.Ed. Natural Sciences in-service teachers. Working in groups of four, the teachers observed, recorded and analysed the processes to identify the scientific concepts embedded in them that they could use to teach Natural Sciences. Data was collected through observations and the teachers’ reflective journals. This study revealed that, contrary to the commonly held view that cultural diversity is a hindrance to the integration of IK in science education, it actually creates a rich learning environment where learners can conceptualize scientific phenomena through different cultural lenses found in their communities. It also showed that, if supported and given back the agency to explore ways of integrating IK in science lessons, teachers can generate novel and innovative ways of integrating IK in science lessons.