Critical, decolonial and intercultural environmental education: A school experience in the Nasa Indigenous community in Colombia

Abstract

Stopping the Anthropocene geological event requires cultural changes that include diverse ways of understanding the environment. However, educational systems exclude the ontologies and epistemologies of non-hegemonic communities. This qualitative case study research explores the contributions of indigenous NASA education in Colombia to address environmental challenges. A science teacher participated as a research subject and as a researcher of his teaching experience in the NASA community. The data production techniques used were semi-structured interviews, photovoice, and territorial narratives for critical discourse analysis. The results confirm that NASA educational processes and teacher practices are decolonial, critical, and intercultural. The practices are decolonial because they incorporate the NASA epistemology and worldview to educate about nature. In addition, they are critical because they question the power mechanisms of the standardised educational system. Likewise, the practice’s base is the intercultural dialogue, because it considers the NASA epistemology and the epistemologies of science for the formation of future generations. In conclusion, the study provides evidence of the cultural changes in the NASA Indigenous community to cope with environmental impacts. Furthermore, hegemonic communities do not often incorporate non-hegemonic epistemologies in science teacher education and decision-making regarding environmental challenges.