Goals & Questions

During the convening, thought and action leaders will discuss Indigenous Consciousness Methodologies as a leading-edge approach to gathering and analysing local data about local knowledge systems, honouring India’s 75+ post-colonial years and its rich, diverse cultural history, which spans thousands of years. Invited participants will include educationists, practitioners, researchers, historians and policy professionals.

The Convening has these primary goals

Foster dialogue among international and interdisciplinary scholars, education practitioners and policymakers about Indigenous Consciousness and epistemologies in research.

Produce high-quality scholarly research on the framework for focusing on local communities’ culture and understanding local education systems.

Produce the foundation for research seminars for students at both Anant National University and Penn’s Graduate School of Education in the development of the ICER.

Guiding questions for the paper submissions

• What philosophical assumptions and interpretive frameworks are useful, and necessary for embracing Indigenous Consciousness and challenging the colonial roots of education research?
• Which research approaches and methodologies effectively counter the epistemic dominance of Western frameworks and honour Indigenous ways of knowing? How can these approaches address the politics of representation and resist the perpetuation of colonial power?
• What data collection and analysis methods prioritise Indigenous knowledge, cultural systems, and relational ethics, and how can they be employed to better understand local educational knowledge systems and funds of knowledge?
• What are the key challenges in designing and conducting research through an Indigenous consciousness lens, particularly in navigating the legacies of colonisation in academic practices and institutions?
• What are some case studies, exemplars, or models that demonstrate the respectful application of Indigenous consciousness methodologies in educational research?

Organisers

After the outstanding success of The Future of Learning, jointly organised by Anant National University and the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE), the two universities are collaborating again to put together The Indigenous Consciousness Education Research Methodology Convening.

Anant National University, India’s first DesignX university, is dedicated to training students to devise solutions for global problems. The X in Design X is the symbol drawn from mathematics, representing enhancement. This new learning approach multiplies traditional design pedagogy with liberal arts disciplines, emerging technologies and knowledge drawn from hands-on community experiences to help understand our world better and to devise impactful solutions.

Our multidisciplinary undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in design, architecture, climate action and visual arts harness knowledge from various disciplines and traditional practices to integrate it with cutting-edge technology to address diverse challenges. We train our designers to become solutionaries — revolutionary thinkers with a solution-oriented mindset.

Anant National University has been awarded the prestigious ‘5-Star Rating’ in the category of Architecture and a ‘4-Star Rating’ in the University category in Gujarat State Institutional Rating Framework (GSIRF) 2023-24. This recognition reinforces our commitment to creating a world-class institution of great eminence and excellence.

One of the premier US Ivy League institutions, Penn GSE, has a 100-year legacy of producing education leaders through innovative ideas, passionate people and a commitment to making a difference. Through rigorous research and innovative programmes, it develops new knowledge and prepares transformational teachers and leaders in pursuit of educational opportunities. Penn GSE also partners with schools, universities and communities to expand educational access – especially for those underserved by society.

Submission Guidelines

To submit your proposal, please fill out this form, and for any queries, please write to CEPD_2024@upenn.edu.

1. A 500-word extended abstract (1 page) identifying:

• The purpose of the study and guiding questions
• Sources of data, prior work, and research methods
• Expected contribution to knowledge creation and the significance to Indigenous Consciousness research practices
• One (additional) page write-up on how you would propose to advance at least one of the guiding questions

2. A 200-word biographical statement or bio-link

The full paper submissions must be:

• No less than 1500 words and no more than 5000 words in length and must adhere to the APA 7th edition referencing style Font size of 12 in Times New Roman and double-spaced
• High-quality submissions would be considered for publication.

Note: If the submitter (or team) does not want their submissions published, this preference must be indicated on the submission’s title page.

All the papers will go through a peer review process by an expert committee of scholars and practitioners. The convenors and this committee will select 12 submitting scholars to attend the convening to offer brief presentations. Panels of scholars and practitioners will review the papers in advance and respond to them during the convening.

Individual and team submissions are welcome. If selected, one team representative will be invited to present on behalf of the team. We invite submitting scholars who have not been selected to attend the convening.

Note: There is no guarantee of funding to support scholars who are not selected. Attendance at the convening is by invitation only.

Important Dates

Registration Fee

Publication and Dissemination

To extend the impact of the convening, we will:

• Publish recorded presentations on the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India (UPIASI) YouTube channel and the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) / UPIASI website, ensuring global access to discussions on Indigenous Consciousness research methodologies.
• Publish selected high-quality research papers on the UPIASI website, creating an open-access repository that advances the dialogue on Indigenous epistemologies and decolonising education research.
• Publish a compendium of selected papers in a book edited by the convenors.
• Support and encourage publication of selected papers in India in Transition, a semi-autonomous publication of CASI.

As an Associated Faculty member of the Penn South Asia Center, Dr. Leland McGee will have access to presenting the papers and presentations through the center’s resources and network.

References

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