Certificate: View Certificate
Published Paper PDF: View PDF
Naveen Iyer
Independent Researcher
Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
Localized curricula—those designed around learners’ immediate linguistic, cultural, ecological and economic realities—have emerged as a critical strategy for improving educational access and quality in tribal regions. Yet, empirical, classroom-level evidence about how such curricula are conceived, transacted, and received by tribal children and communities remains sparse. This case study investigates the design, implementation, and outcomes of a localized curriculum in a government-supported tribal residential school (ashram shala) in eastern India. Data were generated through prolonged classroom observation, semi-structured interviews with teachers, curriculum developers, parents and students, analysis of lesson plans and learner artefacts, and two iterative focus groups with community elders. The study employs a critical ethnographic lens complemented by participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques to centre community voice and problematize power asymmetries between state frameworks and indigenous knowledge systems. Findings show that contextualized content, mother-tongue mediated instruction, and place-based pedagogies improved learner engagement, conceptual understanding in environmental studies and mathematics, and attendance consistency. However, tensions persisted between state assessment regimes and community-valued competencies, teacher preparedness for culturally responsive pedagogy, and material constraints that limited experiential activities. The research contributes a nuanced model—the “Four Anchors Framework” (language, livelihood, landscape, lineage)—for guiding curriculum localization in tribal settings and offers actionable recommendations for policy, teacher education, and school-community partnerships. The paper concludes that localization is not a one-time adaptation but a negotiated, iterative process requiring structural support, dialogic accountability, and continuous co-creation with tribal stakeholders.
Keywords
Localized curriculum; tribal education; indigenous knowledge; culturally responsive pedagogy; mother tongue instruction; place-based learning; case study; critical ethnography; participatory approaches; Four Anchors Framework
References
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332331416/figure/fig2/AS:746195374833664@1554918249538/Flow-chart-indicating-a-multi-step-framework-based-on-indigenous-knowledge-IK.png
- https://osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs.dir/1504/files/2021/05/CRLD-Dimensions.png
- Barnhardt, R., & Kawagley, A. O. (2005). Indigenous knowledge systems and Alaska Native ways of knowing. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 36(1), 8–23.
- Battiste, M. (2013). Decolonizing education: Nourishing the learning spirit. Purich/UBC Press.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
- Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters.
- García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.
- Government of India. (1996). The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA). New Delhi: Ministry of Law and Justice.
- Government of India. (2006). The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA). New Delhi: Ministry of Law and Justice.
- Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491.
- Mahapatra, S. (2012). Multilingual education for tribal children in Odisha: Contexts, issues and initiatives. Language and Language Teaching, 1(2), 30–36.
- Moll, L. C., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & González, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132–141.
- National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). (2005). National Curriculum Framework 2005. New Delhi: NCERT.
- Scott, J. C. (1998). Seeing like a state: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed. Yale University Press.
- Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples (2nd ed.). Zed Books.
- Sobel, D. (2004). Place-based education: Connecting classrooms and communities. The Orion Society.
