Integrating Indigenous Science with Formal Science Curriculum using the Two-Eyed Seeing Framework- Ethnographic Case of Zanskar Valley

Abstract

With massive, rapid, fast-paced development and globalization, the indigenous wisdom of Himalayan communities is at risk of erosion. Tribal Indigenous communities in India hold valuable Indigenous knowledge for sustainable development. Education can be used as a vital means to preserve, document, and disseminate a rich repository of Indigenous Knowledge. Formal education can restore this lost indigenous knowledge with the proper policy support, teacher training, and curriculum. Indigenous knowledge is formed by indigenous science, which adheres to the culture and perspective of indigenous society. Indigenous science as a context for science education promotes nature conservation value and sustainability awareness. Context in science education bridges abstract concepts with everyday life experiences. This paper explores the integration of Indigenous Science into formal science curricula at the middle stage, emphasizing its relevance in addressing demanding environmental challenges and preserving and disseminating invaluable cultural knowledge. Focusing on Zanskar Valley (a region inhabited predominantly by the indigenous “Boto or Bot” tribe) in Ladakh, India, a region rich in indigenous knowledge and wisdom but on the verge of losing it due to increasing accessibility due to better connectivity to the outer world, the study employs an ethnographic approach to document indigenous science, analyzes it thematically, and proposes its contextual incorporation into the middle-school NCERT science curriculum. The paper applies a truth-based epistemological framework (correspondence, pragmatic, and coherence theories) to identify and legitimize local practices suitable for science education under a Two-Eyed Seeing approach. The study involves documenting indigenous knowledge through in-depth ethnographic interviews and participatory observation, thematically analyzing the obtained data according to the themes of the existing NCERT science curriculum, and demonstrating integration strategies using Fogarty's four-step model. This paper further shows how schools can link formal science with living traditions by mapping indigenous knowledge from these tribes to NCERT themes, promoting cultural resilience, sustainability, and epistemic justice—fundamental principles of the National Education Policy 2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).