'Community sensemaking': community-based participatory research to develop Indigenous adolescents' ethnic identity by integrating Rukai TEK of water within a STEAM curriculum

This study aims to empower an Indigenous Rukai community in Pingtung, Taiwan, through the community development of an elementary school science curriculum using the community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach. The project sought to strengthen the continuity of culture and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) by enabling local Indigenous knowledge holders to lead educational change, serving as a method of ‘community sensemaking.’ With the community’s guidance, the research team developed a year-long place-based and culture-based science-technology-engineering-arts-mathematics (STEAM) curriculum centered on Rukai TEK of water to promote the ethnic identity of Indigenous adolescents and to understand its development. The research team identified three stages of the development of ethnic identity: initial, moratorium, and achieved stages. The nature of ethnic identity can be described in terms of its “internal construction” and “external manifestation,” and consists of six dimensions. Findings confirmed that eight upper-grade elementary students demonstrated varying degrees of ethnic identity development through their participation in the curriculum. Six students (S1, S2, S3, S5, S6, and S7) notably deepened their commitment and attachment to their cultural identity, often expressing a stronger sense of belonging and a willingness to contribute to their community. The other two students (S4 and S8) gradually began to explore and construct their ethnic identity during the course of the intervention. Collectively, the curriculum progressed by eliciting the external exploration and ethnic behaviors as well as the internal commitment and attachment, evaluation, and ingroup attitudes before culminating in the deeper understanding of values and beliefs of the Rukai community. This study hopes to develop, through the curriculum outlined here, a method for students to cultivate a deep understanding of Rukai culture and identity. This understanding plays a vital role in the future continuity of the language, culture, and ecological knowledge of their hometown and ethnic group, and in realizing the vision of sustainable nature and culture.