An exploration of indigenous knowledge related to physics concepts held by senior citizens in Chókwé, Mozambique

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dc.contributor.author Baquete, Aguiar Muambalane
dc.contributor.author Grayson, Diane J.
dc.contributor.author Mutimucuio, Vasco
dc.date.accessioned 2017-03-01T11:03:37Z
dc.date.issued 2016-01
dc.description.abstract Indigenous knowledge is at risk of being lost in many parts of the world. It is important to find ways to preserve it for both cultural and practical reasons, since it is often well-suited to addressing local needs using available resources. If indigenous knowledge can be incorporated into school science curricula, it can also provide familiar contexts within which to learn scientific concepts, as well as helping the younger generation to recognise its value. The purpose of this study was to identify indigenous knowledge that could be related to physics concepts, with a view to integrating it into school curricula. Twenty-nine senior citizens from Chókwé, a rural village in Mozambique, volunteered to participate in two sets of in-depth interviews. The first set of interviews was individual and unstructured in order to explore which aspects of indigenous knowledge might be related to physics concepts. The second set was semi-structured and conducted in small groups in order to probe participants’ understanding and application of the identified physics concepts. The results showed that participants had indigenous knowledge that was useful to them in their daily lives and that were applications of thermal physics, static electricity and mechanics concepts. In some cases participants’ explanations were aligned to physics explanations, in some cases they were similar to students’ alternative conceptions identified in the literature, and in other cases they referred to supernatural phenomena. en_ZA
dc.description.department Physics en_ZA
dc.description.embargo 2018-07-30
dc.description.librarian hb2017 en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorship Swidish International Development Agency, SIDA, [Programme 7: Developing Research Capacity in Education. en_ZA
dc.description.uri http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsed20 en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation Baquete, AM, Grayson, D & Mutimucuio, IV 2016, 'An exploration of indigenous knowledge related to physics concepts held by senior citizens in Chókwé, Mozambique', International Journal of Science Education, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 1-16. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 0950-0693 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1464-5289 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1080/09500693.2015.1115137
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/59220
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher Routledge en_ZA
dc.rights © Taylor and Francis. This is an electronic version of an article published in International Journal of Science Education, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 1-16, 2016. doi : 10.1080/09500693.2015.1115137. International Journal of Science Education is available online at : http://www.tandfonline.comloi/tsed20. en_ZA
dc.subject Indigenous knowledge en_ZA
dc.subject Physics concepts en_ZA
dc.subject School science curricula en_ZA
dc.subject Chókwé, Mozambique en_ZA
dc.title An exploration of indigenous knowledge related to physics concepts held by senior citizens in Chókwé, Mozambique en_ZA
dc.type Postprint Article en_ZA


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