Smith, David E. K.
(2023)
Ecosystems of Teaching and Learning: An Ethnography of Iñupiaq Song and Dance.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
There is a jarring dissonance between Alaskan educational policy and Alaska Native ways of teaching and learning, a divide especially visible in how cultures interact with nature. As policymakers reconcile the colonial history of education in Alaska, they should look to how education has always happened among Alaska Native people. One foundational Native educational practice is song and dance. This dissertation is an ethnography of Iñupiaq Alaska Native song and dance, drawing from decolonial participatory action research and extensive interviews of Iñupiaq Elders, educators, and youth. These groups are what Lave and Wenger (1991) describe as communities of practice: groups that learn situated within a shared interest. Exploring how teaching and learning happen in Indigenous arts-based communities of practice, I (1) reconceptualize Wenger’s (2002) community of practice to allow for Iñupiaq understandings of animals and the land as integral interlocutors in the learning process, creating what I term an ecosystem of practice; (2) outline what is taught and learned including cultural heritage, practical skills, and values; and (3) investigate how the arts can be used as a culturally responsive pedagogical model for addressing pressing social issues. I find that Alaska Native song and dance functions as a holistic pedagogical strategy that simultaneously teaches and intergenerationally transmits critical cultural knowledge while fostering a sustainable ecosystem through engaging with all teachers and learners, the human and other-than-human. As an expansion into the growing field of arts-based culturally responsive pedagogy, this research has important implications for educational policy across cultures and borders, through better understanding the transmission of Indigenous knowledge and elucidating the relationship between education, humanity, and nature.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
22 May 2023 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
4 April 2023 |
| Approval Date: |
22 May 2023 |
| Submission Date: |
11 April 2023 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
175 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Administrative and Policy Studies |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Ethnography, Alaska Native Dance, Comparative Education, Indigenous Education, Community of Practice, Ethnomusicology |
| Date Deposited: |
22 May 2023 12:53 |
| Last Modified: |
22 May 2023 12:53 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/44522 |
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