Reagan, Timothy. (2005). Non-Western Educational Traditions: Indigenous Approaches to Educational Thought and Practice. (3rd Edition) Reviewed by Maria R. Van der Vossen, College of Notre Dame of Maryland

Reagan, Timothy. (2005). Non-Western Educational Traditions: Indigenous Approaches to Educational Thought and Practice. (3rd Edition) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Pp. 320         ISBN 0-8058-4857-6 Reviewed by Maria R. Van der Vossen College of Notre Dame of Maryland February 23, 2007 In Non-Western Educational Traditions: Indigenous Approaches to Educational Thought and Practice (3rd edition), Timothy Reagan presents educational practices from different parts of the world. Traditionally, American scholars and educators have viewed the history of education from a Western standpoint, from the early history of the Greeks and Romans through to European and American schools of today. Occasionally, scholars have delved into the mysteries of education in the non-Western worlds. However, most previous examinations of non-Western educational thought and practice has been viewed from a Western vantage point resulting in scholarship which “reifies the object of study- making it, in essence, part of “the Other” and hence alien.” (p. 2). Other cultures are judged by Western educational values and standards. In this work, Reagan attempts to move past the ethnocentrism common in the field of education. He believes that “it is neither idealistic nor unrealistic to suggest that we can learn much from non-Western educational traditions” (p. 19). This work assumes that there may be valuable insights achieved by looking at educational practices from different parts of the world. Reagan feels that “there is much in every society that is worthwhile and valuable, and we need to learn to do a better job of learning from one another” (p. 254). Each culture and society is valuable in its own right. Knowledge and insights gained from other cultures might address Reagan’s overarching question “Have we lost something important and valuable in Western education” (p. 247)? Regan initiates this discussion with a focus on his theoretical beliefs. He then continues with a concentration on seven individual cultures: Indigenous Africans, Aztecs, Native Americans, Chinese, Hindus and Buddhists, Rom and Muslims. For each culture, Reagan examines the history of the culture, the history of the culture as viewed by the members of that culture, and the culture today. These three viewpoints are used to examine the educational practices of each culture in each changing world rather than in static circumstances. In the third chapter, “A Wise Child is Talked to in Proverbs”, Reagan discusses the cultures of indigenous Africa where “modern human beings first evolved… and then spread to the rest of the world” (p. 57). The chapter shows learning in Africa to be wrapped up in play and entertainment. Folktales, proverbs and riddles are included in this educational entertainment. The chapter includes an in-depth discussion of the oral tradition of proverbs. Proverbs “provide succinct, easily remembered summaries of important ideas and experiences that are part of the shared cultural knowledge of the community” (p. 64). The fourth chapter, Training “Face and Heart”, begins with a discussion of the Mayan culture but quickly moves on to its main focus, the Aztecs. The Aztec society contained an example of early formal schooling. In fact, “at a time when in virtually every European society schooling of any sort was limited to a small elite, in the Aztec world mandatory universal schooling for both boys and girls, regardless of social class, was an established fact” (p. 107). In these schools, students were prepared for their future lives, as a warrior, a priest, a house wife, tradesman etc. They also studied “history, religion, ritual, proper behavior, and music, singing, and dancing (p. 105). “Finding the True Meaning of Life”, the fifth chapter, is a survey of the shared history and educational practices of indigenous education in North America prior to colonization. Reagan notes that although Indian belief systems vary from tribe to tribe, there is a common, core unity which focuses on the harmony between the mind, spirit and body and the harmony with the Supreme Creator and the spirit world. Education was focused on achieving these harmonies. Children learned these things, and learned the skills and knowledge necessary for adulthood by observing and imitation the adults of the community. Confucius and the Chinese traditions of education are the main focus of Chapter 6, Developing the Chun-tzu. Reagan begins his discussion in the year 551 B.C with Confucius and the concept of Li. Li refers to propriety, moderation, and “the way character is manifested” (p. 139). Education seeks to develop character and li in students, mainly upper-class males. The educational system taught students to be restrained, obedient and polite. It was meant to ensure stability in the country. This same system was as a tool in selecting government officials as far back as the Han period in 206 B.C. Chapter 7, “An Intelligent Man Attends on a Wise Person”, splits its time between Hinduism and Buddhism. The title of the chapter refers to the relationship between student and teacher in the Buddhist tradition. One interesting section of the chapter explains the contributions that Vedic mathematics has made to modern mathematical thought, for example the concept of zero. The Rom, more commonly known as gypsies, are detailed in Chapter 8. “Familiar Strangers”. Unlike most other cultures, the Rom tend “to adopt the dominant religion of whatever society they are in” (p.204). Rom children traditionally learn all skills by observation and participation in the community. They are viewed as miniature adults who have rights and responsibilities just like other members of the community. In order to preserve cultural unity and minimize outside influences, children are often removed from public schools after the age of ten or eleven (p. 209). As part of this defense against the outside world, they are quite concerned with learning the language and mannerisms appropriate for every situation. According to Silverman, “An important and frequent Gypsy performance is ‘passing’ as a non-Gypsy. Gypsies deliberately conceal their ethnicity to avoid confrontations…” (p. 205). In order to succeed at this practice, the Rom must be experts in all aspects of discourse: vocabulary, speech patterns and grammar, idioms, pronunciation, facial expressions, hand gestures and posture, space requirements, social norms etc. The final culture, Islam, was profiled in Chapter 9, “No Gift is Better than Education”. This chapter was not included in previous editions of the text as Reagan felt that Islam was part of the same Western tradition as Christianity and Judaism. Despite this, he included Islam in the latest edition simply because many people do not view Islam in this light, but rather see the culture as an “other”. Another preconception that Reagan deals with right from the outset is the belief that all of Islamic society is one unified society. In reality, “Islam constitutes a faith community of some 1.3 billion human beings, spread throughout not only some fifty-five nations that are predominately Muslim, but also throughout the West. Such a community must inevitably be highly diverse, and so indeed it is” (p. 220). Despite this diversity, some generalizations can be made. In the Islamic tradition, education is intertwined with religion and with the Qur’an. Education should prepare students for life and for the Hereafter. After examining all of these disparate traditions, Reagan identified seven themes that could each be found in several of the examined cultures (p. 250): formal schooling is not synonymous with education, all adult members of a community share responsibility for the education of the young of the community, one purpose of education is to create citizens of the society vocational education based upon the needs and talents of the individual family bears the largest amount of power and responsibility in a child’s education the ability to use language creatively and effectively is an important purpose of education; and the principal goal of education seems to be the development of a good person The educational system in the United States could learn much from these examples. The above findings explain that the sample cultures had a well-defined purpose, or purposes to their educational systems and responsibility for achieving this purpose did not rest in the hands of a small group of teachers. The United States would do well to define the purpose of its educational system and to share the responsibility for achieving these aims with families and the community. Although it is refreshing to read a text focused on the value of the educational practices of other cultures, there are weaknesses in the approach used here. Reagan attempts to discuss cultures representing many different areas of the world. As a result, disparate cultures are grouped together in each chapter. i.e. all of Africa in one chapter, all Native Americans in another chapter. Reagan searches for the beliefs and practices held in common by each group while noting that there is much variation. The result is a very general overview of the different cultures, a starting point, and by no means an exhaustive discussion of any single culture. Therefore the work is very useful as an introduction to the topic, as a way of opening eyes to the value of the educational practices in other cultures. It would be appropriate for teachers, prospective teachers or graduate students in the field of education as a course textbook or supplemental reading. Anyone interested in the educational thoughts and practices of any one culture will have to do further reading and study. About the Reviewer Maria R. Van der Vossen is a Ph.D. student at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. Her research interests focus on educational leadership and culture in education.