STS

STS
Module 3
SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY NATION-BUILDING
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM INDIGENOUS SCIENCE
Indigenous knowledge is embedded in the daily life Indigenous science is part of the indigenous knowledge
experiences of young children as they grow up. system practiced by different groups of people and early
civilizations (Gribbin, 2001; Mkapa, 2004; Sibisi, 2004).
 They live and grow in a society where the members of
the community prominently practice indigenous It includes complex arrays of knowledge, expertise, practices,
knowledge. and representations that guide human societies in their
enumerable interactions with the natural milieu:
 Their parents and other older folks served as their first
teachers and their methods of teaching are very effective  agriculture,
in transmitting cultural knowledge in their minds.
 medicine,
The lessons they learned are intimately interwoven with their
culture and the environment.  naming
 These lessons comprised of good values and life stories  and explaining natural phenomena,
of people on their daily life struggles.
 and strategies for coping with changing environments
Their views about nature and their reflections on their (Pawilen, 2005).
experiences in daily life are evident in their stories, poems, and
songs. Ogawa (1995) claimed that it is collectively lived in and
experienced by the people of a given culture.
Some examples of indigenous knowledge that are taught
and practiced by the indigenous people are: According to Cajete (2004), indigenous science includes
everything, from metaphysics to philosophy and various
 predicting weather conditions and seasons using practical technologies practiced by indigenous peoples both
knowledge in observing animals' behavior and celestial past and present. Iaccarino (2003) elaborated this idea by
bodies: explaining that science is a part of culture, and how science
is done largely depends on the cultural practices of the
 using herbal medicine; people.
 preserving foods;
Indigenous beliefs also develop desirable values that are
 classifying plants and animals into families and groups relevant or consistent to scientific attitudes as identified
based on cultural properties; by Johnston (2000), namely:
 preserving and selecting good seeds for planting: using (1) motivating attitudes;
indigenous technology in daily lives;
(2) cooperating attitudes;
 building local irrigation systems;
(3) practical attitudes; and
 classifying different types of soil for planting based on
cultural (4) reflective attitudes.
 properties; producing wines and juices from tropical These cultural beliefs therefore can be good foundation for
fruits; and developing positive values toward learning and doing science
and in bringing science in a personal level.
 keeping the custom of growing plants and vegetables in
the yard, Pawilen (2005) explained that indigenous science knowledge
has developed diverse structures and contents through the
interplay between the society and the environment.
According to Kuhn (1962), developmental stages of most

sciences are characterized by continual competition between a
number of distinct views of nature, each partially derived from,
and all roughly compatible with the dictates of scientific
observation and method.
Sibisi (2004) also pointed out that indigenous science provides

the basics of astronomy, pharmacology, food technology, or
metallurgy, which were derived from traditional knowledge and
practices.
NAME 1
Pawilen (2006) developed a simple framework for
understanding indigenous science.
 Accordingly, indigenous science is composed of

traditional knowledge that uses science process skills
and guided by community values and culture.
TOPIC
1. Indigenous science uses science process skills such as
observing, comparing, classifying, measuring, problem solving, SUBTOPIC
inferring communicating, and predicting.
2. Indigenous science is guided by culture and community SUBSUBSUB

values such as the following: List 1
List 2
 The land is a source of life. List 3
 It is a precious gift from the creator.

VIDEO
 The Earth is revered as "Mother Earth."
 It is the origin of their identity as people. SUBTOPIC 2
 All living and nonliving things are interconnected and

interdependent with each other. SUBSUBSUB
 Human beings are stewards or trustee of the land and

other natural resources. T PARAMETERS DESCRIPTION
 hey have a responsibility to preserve it.
 Nature is a friend to human beings-it needs respect

and proper care.
3. Indigenous science is composed of traditional knowledge

practiced and valued by people and communities such as
ethno-biology, ethno-medicine, indigenous farming methods,
and folk astronomy.
Indigenous science is important in the development of

science and technology in the Philippines. Like the ancient
civilizations, indigenous science gave birth to the
development of science and technology as a field and as a
discipline. Indigenous science helped the people in
understanding the natural environment and in coping with
everyday life. UNESCO's Declaration on Science and the
Use of Scientific Knowledge (1999) recognized indigenous
science as a historical and valuable contribution to science
and technology.
NAME 2
NAME 3

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INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM INDIGENOUS SCIENCE

According to Kuhn (1962), developmental stages of most

Sibisi (2004) also pointed out that indigenous science provides

 Accordingly, indigenous science is composed of

2. Indigenous science is guided by culture and community SUBSUBSUB

 It is a precious gift from the creator.

 It is the origin of their identity as people. SUBTOPIC 2

 All living and nonliving things are interconnected and

 Human beings are stewards or trustee of the land and

 hey have a responsibility to preserve it.

 Nature is a friend to human beings-it needs respect

3. Indigenous science is composed of traditional knowledge

Indigenous science is important in the development of

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