Revitalizing Indigenous Knowledge Practices through Education: Implementation of Wolayta Indigenous Knowledge in Grade Seven

Abstract

Indigenous Knowledge, rooted in generations of experience and cultural heritage, holds immense potential to enrich teaching methodologies by emphasizing community-centered, ecological, and experiential learning. The purpose of the article is to examine the process of classroom implementation of Wolayta indigenous knowledge practices in grade seven. The data were collected from 6 schools, viz., Aratu Sake, Tora-offore, Dimtu, Shinka, Wamura, and Kindo-Gocho, located in three districts, namely, Damot Woyde, Diguna Fango and Kindo Didaye. Data were collected in 2021 and 2022 from the above-mentioned districts and schools. Classroom observation checklist was developed and classroom observations were conducted in each of the selected schools twice. The main purpose of the interview was to find out what kinds of efforts were being made to revitalize the indigenous knowledge in grade 7. The findings show that both teachers and students are not that aware of the importance of the indigenous knowledge of the Wolayta language classroom because of poor self-esteem and lack of teachers’ background knowledge. The findings further underscore the need for Wolayta language teachers to master knowledge and pedagogical tools that help raise the relevance of the indigenous knowledge systems to students and community, and the need for policy reform and institutional support to ensure and foster culturally responsive pedagogy and sustainable learning practices into modern pedagogy.

Keywords:- Wolayta, indigenous knowledge, revitalization, classroom, grade seven