Village elders' and secondary school students' explanations of natural phenomena in Papua New Guinea

Article

Pauka, Soikava, Treagust, David F. and Waldrip, Bruce. 2005. "Village elders' and secondary school students' explanations of natural phenomena in Papua New Guinea." International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. 3 (2), pp. 213-238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-004-6529-2
Article Title

Village elders' and secondary school students' explanations of natural phenomena in Papua New Guinea

ERA Journal ID20614
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsPauka, Soikava (Author), Treagust, David F. (Author) and Waldrip, Bruce (Author)
Journal TitleInternational Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
Journal Citation3 (2), pp. 213-238
Number of Pages30
Year2005
Place of PublicationDordrecht, Netherlands
ISSN1571-0068
1573-1774
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-004-6529-2
Web Address (URL)http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s10763-004-6529-2
Abstract

This research investigated the sources of explanations and understanding of natural
phenomena in terms of the students' cultural and school science experiences. The first
phase involved interviews with eight village elders that probed their explanations and
understanding of natural phenomena. The second phase involved the design,
development and administration of two questionnaires on natural phenomena to 179
students in a rural boarding high school in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Most village
elders gave explanations of many of the phenomena in terms of spirits, spells, magic;
religion; and personal experiences. Most school-aged students choose scientific
explanations of natural phenomena in terms of what they had learned in school or from
personal experiences. However, many choose explanations of the same phenomena
about spirits, spells and magic that came from the village, family or home. The study
revealed that students' ideas about natural phenomena are strongly governed and
controlled by their school science knowledge in the school setting. It is likely that their
own traditional knowledge cannot be identified in a school setting but that
questionnaires in the students' local language be given to students in their villages (as
opposed to school). In addition, so as not to diminish the value of this traditional
knowledge, science education programs are needed that are able to consider and
harmonise traditional knowledge with school science

Keywordsscientific explanations, traditional knowledge, learning science, schooling, Papua New Guinea
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020390113. Science, technology and engineering curriculum and pedagogy
440107. Social and cultural anthropology
Public Notes

Springer 2005 : Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Byline AffiliationsCurriculum Reform Implementation Project, Papua New Guinea
Curtin University of Technology
Faculty of Education
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