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Papers by Eun-Ji Amy Kim

Once communities’ stories are taken up by researchers and shared within the ivory tower of academ... more Once communities’ stories are taken up by researchers and shared within the ivory tower of academia, the stories circulate within the ivory tower. It is often the case that these archived stories from communities are used by researchers, without asking permission from the communities where the stories originate. In this article, we aim to critically review and reflect on underlying theories and practices in conventional Eurocentric academia that allows for a ‘one direction’ mode of storytelling dissemination, allowing researchers to take the ‘version’ of community knowledge and/or stories without seeking the original approval from the communities themselves. We suggest ‘thoughtful’ questions for both settler and Indigenous researchers to consider in hopes of promoting ‘travelling back to original sources’ in their scholarly work.

DECOLONIZING MENTAL HEALTH: Embracing Indigenous Multi-Dimensional Balance

This chapter seeks to grapple with what it means to "rise from the colonial container" as non-Ind... more This chapter seeks to grapple with what it means to "rise from the colonial container" as non-Indigenous individuals exploring the process of what it means to 'become an ally' (Bishop, 2015) to Indigenous peoples, in pursuit of collective and individual wellbeing. Specifically, we use narratives to explore our understandings of Indigenous ways of knowing, working with/in Cree and Oji-Cree communities in northern western Ontario, Canada as children and youth, because these experiences shaped our own de-colonizing processes. In addition to our own stories of education, identity and learning with/from Indigenous peoples and practices; we propose to use dialogue to connect our stories in relation to how our own identities are constructed by th colonial container. This examination takes place as a way to critically and collectively reflect on the process of becoming an ally to Indigenous peoples. We acknolwedge that this is frigtening work and that we don't know if what we are grappling with, or our approach, is the "perfect" one. As a way to theoretically ground our conversations, we draw on Jean Luc-Nancy's work on "Being Singular Plural" or "becoming oneself fully only by being in community with others" and the three modes of solidarity: relational, transitive and creative. For us, this means that to truly allow for mental, spiritual and physical health (well-being), we must have a new understanding of what it means to be in harmony with the self, others and non-sentient beings- a challenge to colonial ideologies.

You are invited to submit a chapter proposal for consideration in an upcoming peer-reviewed colle... more You are invited to submit a chapter proposal for consideration in an upcoming peer-reviewed collection that explores the ways in the field of STEAM education and its relation to diverse peoples' relation with 'Land' Following the recommendation from the Accords on Indigenous Education (ACDE, 2010) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC, 2015), there has been a movement in Canadian teacher education institutions and K-12 education systems to develop land-based courses that include Indigenous ways of coming to know. Meanwhile, Dwayne Donald (2009), a Papaschase Cree scholar used the term colonial frontier logics to explain the "epistemological assumptions and presuppositions, derived from the colonial project of dividing the world according to racial and cultural categorizations which serve to naturalize assumed divides and thus contribute to their social and institutional perpetuation" (p. 20). We particularly would like to focus on the question of: 'In what ways could we do real work in moving beyond the colonial frontier logics in STEAM education? Also, how the conceptualization/relationship with 'Land' could enhance the settler Indigenous relations in the STEAM curriculum space? We seek chapters for exploring these questions through multiple ways of coming to know including an arts-based approach and through story-telling. Storytelling and visual literacies bridge the existing gap between science and the humanities and provides the opportunity for students to transcend their personal understandings in considering the existence of multiple points of view, and to generate more effective means of communication between dominant and marginalized cultures. Developing a sense of one's place as interdependent and interconnected to local and global realities, ensures that students form an understanding of the potential consequences of misinformed decision-making at both levels. Storytelling and visual literacies provide opportunities to engage with Western science and traditional knowledges in a manner that encourages the development of a transcultural, holistic perspective of the global reality essential to generating dialogues and mutual respect across cultures, necessary to guiding successful global reconstruction and sustainable practices. Changing the stories, we tell as well as how we understand literacy within educational spaces, can contribute to the development of a collective global sustainable reality that is founded upon the recognition and understanding of the hybridity which characterizes the shared human experience.

What is traditional ecological knowledge? In many disciplines, including science education, anthr... more What is traditional ecological knowledge? In many disciplines, including science education, anthropology, and resource management, it has been conflated with Indigenous knowledges, which has contributed to misunderstandings. This article explores the history of traditional ecological knowledge and examines its contemporary conceptualizations in science education. We argue that traditional ecological knowledge and Indigenous knowledges are distinct, emphasizing that traditional ecological knowledge is a form of cultural and intellectual appropriation that modifies Indigenous knowledges to better fit a conventional Western modern science framework. Our article explores how contemporary understandings of traditional ecological knowledge have shaped the development of science education curricula.

RÉSUMÉ

En quoi consistent les connaissances écologiques traditionnelles? Dans de nombreuses disciplines, y compris l'enseignement des sciences, l'anthropologie et la gestion des ressources, elles sont plus ou moins devenues synonymes de savoirs autochtones, ce qui a contribué à créer certains malentendus. Cet article explore l'histoire des connaissances écologiques traditionnelles et analyse les conceptualisations qu'on en fait aujourd'hui en enseignement des sciences. Nous soulignons que les connaissances écologiques traditionnelles et les savoirs autochtones sont distincts, et nous insistons sur le fait que les connaissances écologiques traditionnelles sont une forme d'appropriation culturelle et intellectuelle qui modifie les savoirs autochtones de sorte qu'ils s'adaptent mieux au cadre scientifique occidental moderne. L'article analyse comment certaines lectures contemporaines des connaissances écologiques traditionnelles continuent d'influencer le développement des curriculums en enseignement des sciences.

The experiences and challenges that teacher-educators go through tend to be private and go unnoti... more The experiences and challenges that teacher-educators go through tend to be private and go unnoticed (Berry & Loughran, 2005). Through self-study, teacher-educators can reflect on their practices and learn from each other's practices. As a novice teacher-educator who was teaching an inquiry-based teaching science methods class with a collaborative teaching team, I explore my experience of being a teacher-educator through arts-based self-study. In this paper, I discuss how the process of artful inquiry informed my own research and teaching practices. Based on the idea of a/r/tography, I link my artistic, research, and teaching practices together to explore what it means to be becoming pedagogical (Gouzouasis, Irwin, Miles, & Gordon, 2013).

Motivated by the striking under-representation of Indigenous students in the field of science and... more Motivated by the striking under-representation of Indigenous students in the field of science and technology, the Ontario Ministry of Education has attempted to integrate Aboriginal perspectives into their official curricula in hopes of making a more culturally relevant curriculum for Indigenous students. Using hermeneutic content analysis (HCA), a mixed-method framework for analyzing content, this study examined how and to what extent Aboriginal content is represented in Ontario's official science curriculum documents. Given that very little has been published in this specific area, this research sheds light on the current state of the representation of Aboriginal cultures in contemporary Canadian science curriculum.

Though science education has been prominent in the Canadian educational system, researchers incre... more Though science education has been prominent in the Canadian educational system,
researchers increasingly recognize the scientific and educational value of integrating traditional
ecological knowledge (TEK) into their curriculum. Despite national strategies to integrate TEK,
Canada has yet to initiate a comprehensive study of its prevalence and representation within the
curriculum. This study is the first to explore the current status of TEK in provincial Grade 7 and
8 science curricula and to make recommendations for further research. The results from a mixed
methods content analysis of the official curricula reveal a high variation in the prevalence and
representations of TEK.

Articles by Eun-Ji Amy Kim

With the intention of disrupting and re-imagining traditional conference spaces, this article is ... more With the intention of disrupting and re-imagining traditional conference spaces, this article is a poetic compilation developed from a curriculum studies conference symposium that took place on a school bus.
During the School Bus Symposium, in situ poetry writing and reading, song and storytelling occurred in response to open ended prompts and facilitation of creative activities. After the symposium, a call was issued to invite participants to submit any poetry or stories produced during, or inspired by the session. Consisting of 18 submissions including poetry, story, photography and creative essays, infused by curriculum theory and poetic inquiry, this collection offers an inclusive, reflective, reflexive, participatory, and experiential rendering where participants are living and journeying poetically. Emphasizing creative engagement with personal memories and the surrounding environment from the moving school bus, the authors collectively aimed to promote art education through imaginative approaches to curriculum studies, poetic inquiry and academic conferences.

Peer-Reviewed Articles by Eun-Ji Amy Kim

With the publication of the Accord on Indigenous Education (Associations of Canadian Deans in Edu... more With the publication of the Accord on Indigenous Education (Associations of Canadian Deans in Education [ACDE], 2010) as well as the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC, 2015), many Canadian higher education institutions are showing their commitment to include Indigenous ways of coming to know in their programs. The current discourse around Indigenous knowledges in program and course development uses several keywords, including " land-based " and " interdisciplinary. " This discourse is becoming more prevalent in Canadian higher education, especially in teacher education, where TRC recommendations specifically speak to teacher-training and capacity-building (TRC, 2015, 62 ii, 63 ii, iv). Through cogenerative dialogue and metalogue (Roth & Tobin, 2004), we reflect on our own settler/ visitor and learning/ teaching experiences in a land-based, interdisciplinary field course. We reflect on the diversity of different learning paths based on multiple identities, which are central to these processes. We share our experiences and stories here in hopes of offering insights for future initiatives in developing land-based and interdisciplinary courses for educators and researchers alike.

The purpose of this article is to differentially engage in the work of thinking with Indigenous t... more The purpose of this article is to differentially engage in the work of thinking with Indigenous theorists and theories with decolonizing science education research methodologies in mind. As a rejoinder to Tracey McMahon, Emily Griese, and DenYelle Baete Kenyon's Cultivating Native American scientists: An application of an Indigenous model to an undergraduate research experience, we extend the notion of educationally centering Indigenous processes, pedagogies, and protocols by considering methodology a site in which (neo-)colonial logics often linger. We suggest that (re)designing methodology with Indigenous theorists and theories is an important act of resistance, refusal, and resignification; we demonstrate this significance through braiding together narratives of our engagement in this task and provide insights as to what is produced or producible.

Books by Eun-Ji Amy Kim

Identity Landscapes: Contemplating Place and the Construction of Self, 2020

The chapter seeks to grapple with a non-English/-French Canadian’s identity in relation to Aborig... more The chapter seeks to grapple with a non-English/-French Canadian’s identity in relation to Aboriginal-Canadian relations through ‘storied journeying’ (Styres, 2017). I am a 1st generation immigrant settler to Turtle Island (North America) from Korea. My academic work has involved bridging diverse ways of knowing nature in research and teaching, particularly in a way that honours local Aboriginal peoples’ knowledge and practices. I am currently working with Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) people in Kahnawake in curriculum development for the community. I consider being an ally to be a process of becoming, rather than a set identity, and I situate myself as an individual who is in the process of becoming an ally (Bishop, 2015). Meanwhile, many Indigenous scholars and Elders that I have encountered have talked about the importance of understanding one’s relationships with their ancestral land - especially if one wishes to better understand and work with Indigenous peoples. These lessons from Elders resonate with the purpose of the call for papers for this book, “[to] explore how relationship with place inform identity development” (CFP, p. 1). Therefore, in this proposed chapter, I seek to grapple with my own identity and position (non-Aboriginal; non-English/-French origin settler; newcomer; member of a diaspora; in the process of becoming an ally to Indigenous peoples) in relation to Turtle Island (the place I currently inhabit) and Korea (the place where my ancestors are from). In particular, I plan to focus on my relationships with Creation stories of some of the different places I have lived and worked (Kahnawake; Canada; Korea). Dr. Dwayne Donald, a Papaschase Cree scholar, mentions that Creation stories “serve as narrative templates that guide citizens to narrate their stories and those of their nation in particular ways. Most citizens live in the logic of that template” (para. 6). Particularly, given that ‘Creation stories of Canada’ includes Aboriginal peoples and French-British settlers (e.g., stories of the fur trade and treaty making), the lessons from my storied journeying will help others, particularly new comers or first/second generation immigrants to start their own ‘storied’ journey in exploring their own process of becoming an ally and better understand their ‘selves’ in relation to Turtle Island. My storied journeying involves visiting my ancestor mountain/land in Korea (Kang-jin, Korea) and extended family currently inhabiting the land as well as participating in a book club exploring the creation story (John Mohawk) with community members in Kahnawake. Guided by the stories shared in these places, I explore my own relation with these places through narrative inquiry and how these stories influence my process of becoming an ally to Kanien’kehá:ka people in particular. In so doing, I distinguish, space, place and Land in relation to my positions

DECOLONIZING MENTAL HEALTH: Embracing Indigenous Multi-Dimensional Balance

RÉSUMÉ

Identity Landscapes: Contemplating Place and the Construction of Self, 2020