John Siraj-Blatchford

Honorary Professor

University of Swansea

http://network.earthday.net/profile/JohnSB

Indigenous Knowledge, Entrepreneurial Thinking, and the Recycling of Waste: Three Perspectives on Education for Sustainable Development In Early Childhood

Environmental

Social Economic

What is an entrepreneur?

Stereotypes

“Used car Salesman”

“Spiv”

Minority World

What is an entrepreneur?

Jane is a street-side lunch lady in Nairobi. She is a micro-entrepreneur, and small business owner.

http://www.poptech.org/blog/index.php?s=entrepreneurship

Majority World

What is indigenous Knowledge?

Indigenous knowledge refers to detailed and complex systems of knowledge that Indigenous peoples have gathered and developed of their natural environment,

including plant and animal ecology, climate, and other local conditions and resource management.

http://www.globalautonomy.ca/global1/glossary_pop.jsp?id=CO.0056

What is indigenous Knowledge?

Windmills were developed to grind grain and irrigating land in the Near East. The Crusaders brought the designs back to Europe in the 12th century.

http://www.greenimprints.net/windmill.html

7th century Windmill Design (Afghanistan)

Hall, D. (1991) Mechanical Engineering in the Mediaeval Near East, Scientific American

What is Recyling?

“Every ton of plastic bottles recycled saves ~3.8 barrels of oil” http://vertvogue.blogspot.com/2009/02/introduction-united-states.html Minority

World

What is Recyling?

A recycled oil barrel and an old axle used to transport water in South Sudan

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ngari/3318693947/

Majority World

Scientific literacy in the Early Years

Progress?

Which is ...the best?

..the most ‘appropriate’?

Knocked 200 minutes off the time it took to transport 100 people from London to New York (Cost: £20 Million+)

Knocked 14 hours off the time it took to transport a day’s supply of clean water to a village (Cost: £40)

Education for Sustainability in the Early Years: ‘Cultural Issues’

Sustainable development requires

an ethos of compassion, respect for difference, equality and fairness.

…in 1900

Scientific literacy in the Early Years

Progress?

Minority World Science and Tecnology

Majority World Science and Technology

 Wealth with White skin: ‘being happy’ – ‘being good’ – ‘having good

employment prospects’ – ‘being clever’

 Relative poverty with Black skin: ‘being sad’ – ‘being bad’ – ‘having poor

employment prospects’ – ‘being less clever’

Research shows that children associate…

Research Report: http://www.327matters.org/Paper.htm

Scientific literacy in the Early Years

Edward Said (1994) has refered to this as the 'impressive circularity' of British self identification:

"...we are dominant because we have the power (industrial, technological, military, moral), and they don't, because of which they are not dominant; they are inferior, we are superior. . . and so on and on. One sees this tautology holding with a particular tenacity in British views of Ireland and the Irish as early as the sixteenth century…it gradually extends its sway to include practically the whole world beyond British shores" (p127).

The part played by the children’s ‘common sense’ evaluation of technology…

 Which is the ‘best’ house?

 Which is most economic?

 Which is most sustainable?

 Which is the most appropriate building?

Appropriate Technology Education in the Early Years

Which is …the best?

..the most ‘appropriate’?

e.g. ‘Houses’

Scientific literacy in the Early Years

Appropriate Consumption in the Early Years

Which is …the best?

..the most ‘appropriate’?

e.g. ‘Toys’

Siraj-Blatchford, J. (1996) Learning Technology, Science and Social Justice, Education Now Handbook (PDF Chapter 3 )

Siraj-Blatchford J. & MacLeod-Brudenell, I. (1999) Supporting Science, Design and Technology in the Early Years, Open University Press

Siraj-Blatchford J. & I.(2004) A Guide to Developing the ICT Curriculum for Early Childhood Education, Trentham Books in association with Early Education

Siraj-Blatchford, J. (2008)

'The implications of early understandings of inequality, science and technology for the development of sustainable societies' Samuelsson, I and Kaga, Y (Eds), The contribution of early childhood education to a sustainable society. Paris: UNESCO.

Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Siraj-Blatchford, J. (2009) Improving children's attainment through a better quality of family-based support for early learning. London: C4EO.

john@327matters.org

http://www.327matters.org http://www.327matters.org/sustainability/index.html