Maren Kristin Seehawer- PhD
- Associate Professor at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society
Maren Kristin Seehawer
- PhD
- Associate Professor at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society
About
10
Publications
4,731
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Citations
Introduction
My research interest includes quality education; sustainable “development” (or rather, the survival of our shared planet) and research methodology. Throughout my work, I seek to apply critical, decolonial lenses. I focus on indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing and the integration of these perspectives and knowledges into school education. https://researching-education.com/
Current institution
Additional affiliations
September 2013 - January 2020
Position
- PhD Student
Description
- Teaching in the Master programme on Multicultural and International Education (MIE): Introduction to Multicultural and International Education, Philosophy of Science and Research Methods, Human Rights, Languages and Education,
Education
September 2013 - September 2021
October 2009 - September 2010
October 2002 - January 2009
Publications
Publications (10)
Education provision in post-colonial states is often a contested space. Expressions of policy via curriculum go beyond content and skills to address issues at political and ideological levels. Curriculum policy statements may aspire to disengage a colonial past such as South Africa’s infamous, tiered apartheid education which deliberately limited p...
The article contributes to the ongoing scholarly exploration of Ubuntu as an
indigenous Southern African research paradigm. Building on an understanding of
Ubuntu as humanness that embraces the interconnectedness not only of humans, but
of all creation, the article emphasises that how we research is inseparable from what
is researched. Being hum...
In this chapter, we argue that instrumentalising indigenous methodologies for the Sustainable Development Agenda is strictly spoken impossible. We discuss the nature of indigenous ways of knowing and the encompassing worldview of Ubuntu which rests on the understanding of the interconnectedness of all life; that seeks harmony with nature and the we...
Building on an understanding of transformation that derives from the Southern African paradigm of Ubuntu, we share four South African science teachers’ experiences with transformative learning through participatory action research (PAR). We first provide insights into the transformative learning process that involved a gradual shift from focusing o...
In our paper we contrast the idea(l) of an educaKon that aims at community and planetary wellbeing with the current educaKonal reality in South Africa. Drawing on our iniKaKves to integrate local indigenous knowledges (including use of home language) with the Western curriculum we address the quesKon how to approach educaKonal transformaKon despite...
The article aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on quality education with regard to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4. The authors suggest that heterogeneity and plurality of epistemologies in Sub-Saharan African classrooms are not drawbacks, but important resources with regard to both student learning and sustainable development. The major...
Framed within the broader discourse on decolonising African education, this article aims to contribute to the project of integrating indigenous and Western knowledges in southern African education. Following a participatory action research (PAR) cycle, a team of five South African science teachers and one German researcher explored whether and how...
In all parts of the world, researchers are addressing the colonial legacy of research. This article aims to contribute to the decolonisation of research in a sub-Saharan African context by exploring Ubuntu as an indigenous Southern African research paradigm. Drawing on lessons learnt from participatory action research with South African science tea...
It is common for indigenous knowledge (IK) researchers in South Africa to conduct studies within conventional Western paradigms, especially in the field of IK–science curriculum integration. The scientific paradigm usually takes precedence and research publishing follows the rules of the academy. There is an inherent paradox in this practice. An en...
Questions
Question (1)
Goal: As we become increasingly aware of the prevailing coloniality of much academic knowledge production and as many researchers are attempting to decolonise our methodologies and theoretical frameworks, one question usually still remains unaddressed: How do we write up (or present otherwise) our research in a decolonised manner?
Pursuing and obtaining a Masters Degree or, even more so, a PhD is an initiation rite into a community whose centre lies in the global North and whose practices are governed by "Western" ways of producing and presenting knowledge. Most often, also (attempted) decolonial research projects end up as conventional theses, following template-like rigid structures that are tailored to present one specific form of knowledge; that kind of academic knowledge that currently dominates academia.
This project asks: What would a decolonised thesis look like? The question does not imply that a decolonised thesis SHOULD per definition look entirely different. Rather, it invites reflections on format, templates and structures, on the use of theory, "findings" and "contributions". How could the outcomes of research be written up or presented in line with the epistemological assumptions that govern the research, rather than submitting to so-called international rules that are dictated by "Western" academic conventions?
We invite everyone to contribute with ideas, reflections, questions and suggestions!
