Decolonising non-violence: What indigenous wisdom traditions contribute to non-violence teacher education

Bacquet Quiroga, G. (2023) Decolonising non-violence: What indigenous wisdom traditions contribute to non-violence teacher education. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 15(2), pp. 69-86. (doi: 10.14324/IJDEGL.15.2.01)

Abstract

Knowledge systems and social philosophies from Indigenous communities in the Global South have long promoted non-violence through a sense of shared humanity and community building, and as such are valid counter-hegemonic alternatives to the existing colonial, Eurocentric model of knowledge production in use. This article details the contributions made by two specific Indigenous wisdom traditions – ubuntu and Buen Vivir – to a non-violence education teacher training programme in Chile framed within decolonial epistemologies. Using participatory workshops as a method, this study sought to offer Chilean trainee teachers a set of tools to explore issues of discrimination and exclusion and to deal with tensions arising from these issues informed by non-violent approaches. Participants read and reflected on how these wisdom traditions could contribute to their own teaching practice and later planned and facilitated a session with their peers to help them develop awareness on the principles of ubuntu and Buen Vivir. Results show paradigm shifts in three areas: individual versus collective action; their perception of human interconnectedness and of our interconnectedness with the environment; and how these perspectives could inform their teaching practice to foster greater inclusiveness.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bacquet Quiroga, Gaston Esteban
• Authors: Bacquet Quiroga, G.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences
• Journal Name: International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning
• Publisher: UCL Press
• ISSN: 1756-5278
• ISSN (Online): 1756-5278
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © 2023, Gaston Bacquet Quiroga
• First Published: First published in International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning 15(2): 69–86
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence