The education of indigenous students

This article presents an overview of Indigenous education from a global perspective, emphasizing the importance of Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing in improving the educational status of Indigenous children and youth across the globe. This is in contrast to Western educational practices, which have tended to misunderstand, underutilize, and, in many cases, exclude Indigenous knowledge from national systems of education. As a result, education has worked to assimilate and acculturate Indigenous people around the world. Although there has been increased movement toward Indigenous self-determination, resulting in increased participation and Indigenous control of education, a number of challenges remain. One of the most salient challenges is the need to recognize and utilize educational practices based on Indigenous knowledge. For many Indigenous people, Indigenous knowledge is viewed as critical to the preservation of Indigenous languages and cultures, as well as improvement of the educational status of Indigenous children and youth around the globe.