Funds of knowledge in Muslim culture in the southern border provinces of Thailand for culturally responsive physics education

• Published in: Cultural studies of science education Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 791 - 807
• Main Authors: Anantanukulwong, Roseleena, Chiangga, Surasak, Pongsophon, Pongprapan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.09.2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Achievement Gains; Conflict; Cultural Capital; Culturally Relevant Education; Education; Ethnography; Folk Culture; Foreign Countries; Funds; Indigenous Knowledge; Insurgency; Islamic culture; Learning; Multicultural education; Museums; Muslims; Original Paper; Physics; Psychological stress; Qualitative analysis; Science Education; Science Instruction; Scientific Concepts; Sociology of Education; Students; Violence; Thailand; Culturally responsive teaching; Muslim culture; South border of Thailand; Funds of knowledge
• ISSN: 1871-1502; 1871-1510
• DOI: 10.1007/s11422-023-10170-7

The southernmost Thailand insurgency has increased violence since the early 2000s. It is a cause of learning loss and psychological stress among students, primarily Muslims. Having been exposed to unrest for a long time, students lack confidence and lose interest in learning many subjects, including physics. Culturally responsive teaching can provide a solution by searching for and using funds of knowledge embodied in physics concepts to facilitate meaningful learning and to build pride in their cultural identity. The present study aims to search for funds of knowledge that embody physics concepts to exemplify culturally responsive physics education. The study employs ethnography in which provincial culturalists and a curator of a local museum were interviewed in-depth, and the researcher immersed in and conducted observations of the creation of Bulan kites with local experts for an extended period of time. Meanings in the qualitative data were discerned using narrative analysis. The results indicate three assertions, as follows: (1) There are cultural artifacts in the southernmost provinces of Thailand that have the potential to be used in physics education. (2) The outsiders’ appreciation of cultural artifacts causes the local community and students to begin to value their own funds of knowledge. (3) Unrest has caused misunderstandings among non-Muslim Thais, which can be resolved using cultural artifacts and the stories behind them.