Decolonizing Indigenous Education: An Amazigh/Berber Ethnographic Journey – eBook

Reviews

“How do indigenous peoples raise their children within their unique cultures given the tensions experienced daily in a growing climate of globalization? Taieb’s response to this profoundly important question sits at the core of indigenous cultures throughout the world. By drawing on an autoethnographic approach concentrating on the Amazigh/Berber of Algeria, he is able to produce insights that pierce the complexities of the strength and weaknesses of cultural recognition and recovery and the part that education can play in reestablishing hope and giving courage.” – Wally Penetito, Professor of Maori Education, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

“The necessity for an indigenous scholarship by indigenous scholars is huge. Taieb’s thought-provoking Amazigh/Berber autoethnography is a powerful reclaiming of language, culture, and identity. His emotional narrative episodes and reflexivity provide insightful glimpses of Kabyle life and landscapes and understanding of Berber culture. His voice and resilience challenge mainstream research and schooling. This inspiring, innovative text, a significant contribution to indigenous, decolonizing pedagogies and methodologies, calls for relational, critical voice-centered methodologies in human investigation.” – Mary H. Maguire, Professor of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University, Canada

“Taieb’s study of the Berber/Kabyle culture of his ancestors discloses new ground in its exploration of indigenous knowledge. This is a celebration of an earliest and fascinating people whose traditions have survived several colonial regimes. Strangely, the culture continues to be both creative and vibrant in the face of continuing repression. Taieb’s work triggers new questions and provides startling insights into the indigenous experience on a global level. This extraordinary work, audacious in conception and rich in detail, uses a new approach to research. Working from deep within his family, personal, and community knowledge, along with a variety of scholarly perspectives, Taieb succeeds in bringing into focus the artistic, environmental, emotional, spiritual and political scopes of the people of the Atlas mountains.” – Ann Beer, former Associate Professor, McGill University, Canada