In the pursuit of promoting transitional justice education for reconciliation in post-colonial societies, it is important not to ignore the issues of historical justice and educational justice for indigenous peoples. In recent years, many countries have actively incorporated Indigenous knowledge, perspectives and historical narratives into the promotion of transitional justice education. Not only increasing emphases have placed on “justice-sensitive pedagogy for social justice” as a vital theme in curriculum change and in teacher education (Cochran-Smith, 2010; Davis, 2017; Parkinson & Jones, 2018); but also increasing efforts have given to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in education (OECD, 2023; UNESCO, 2017). Since education is a human right and the foundation for more equitable, inclusive and cohesive societies (Vitello & Mithaug, 1998), it is imperative to provide education that acknowledges the value of diversity and respect for human dignity to enable all learners (with different gender, ethnicity, indigenous status, etc.) to thrive, to understand their realities, and to work for a more just society (UNESCO, 2017).

In Taiwan, since the lifting of the martial law in 1987 there have been various transitional justice initiatives and mechanisms advocated by the civic society which have accumulated many remarkable democratic achievements. Over the past decades, Taiwan government has also developed a powerful policy and legal framework to protect and support Indigenous rights and development, culminating in the establishment of the Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee, however, Indigenous peoples are still the most disadvantaged, marginalized, and vulnerable group in the country, and in education, Indigenous peoples continue to have significantly lower academic achievements and outcomes compared to their Han Chinese peers (Nesterova, 2023). In view of the fact that although the newly reformed National Curriculum Guidelines has included the diverse historical and cultural perspectives of indigenous peoples, the content and supporting mechanisms are not quite relevant, and the goal of promoting transitional justice for Indigenous peoples has not been fully understood and implemented. According to Couch et al. (2023), in Taiwan, although there have been some regulations and policies to deal with the learning disadvantages of Indigenous students and the loss of Indigenous culture and language, the education provided in schools has always been limited to Han Chinese culture, and the institutional structure has not changed to respond to the learning needs of Indigenous students.

It is necessary to rethink education for Indigenous peoples from the perspectives of cultural diversity and cognitive justice (Makoelle, 2014). Schools must recognize the coexistence of different forms of knowledge and cognitive forms, and need to incorporate indigenous knowledge systems into school curricula and take into account the cognitive justice of students from different cultural background (Muchenje, 2017). In this way, students can interact with familiar concepts in different cultural contexts to generate meaningful learning. As researchers point out, equitable and inclusive education provides better learning opportunities, processes and results for all learners that can promote psychological and social adjustment, not only improve their academic achievement, but also foster their socio-emotional growth, self-esteem and peer acceptance which may consequently enhance trust for social cohesion to be built (Mezzanotte, 2022; Nishina, et al., 2019).

Therefore, this study aims to explore feasible approaches and practicable inclusive education for all that can be historically, culturally, and cognitively sensitive to the perspectives and aspirations of Indigenous peoples. Based on this, the main research purposes of this study include:

(1)  to understand the perspectives of Indigenous education leaders regarding the issues of historical justice and educational justice for Indigenous peoples

to explore the aspirations of Indigenous education promoters and practitioners for the construction of justice-sensitive curriculum and pedagogy for Inclusive Indigenous Education

Based on the research purposes, this study was designed to conducted focus group interviews and individual in-depth interviews with Indigenous educators, leaders and academics. The total number of participants will be around 20 Indigenous education leaders, promoters and practitioners from different parts of Taiwan. (Up to now two focus group interviews has been conducted already; 5 Indigenous leaders/academics with extensive experience in Indigenous rights, affairs, and education and 3 experienced high school teachers were interviewed.) The questions during the first phase of the study aimed to answer include: Based on your experience or academic research expertise in positions related to Indigenous peoples’ transitional justice, what are your views on the promotion of transitional justice education? What do you think is the gap in understanding/misunderstanding and expectation among various sectors in Taiwan regarding transitional justice education for Indigenous peoples? What are your personal interpretations and expectations for transitional justice education (such as history, reconciliation, etc.) related to Indigenous peoples? How do you think justice-sensitive education for Indigenous peoples should/can be constructed? What implementation methods do you think should/can be adopted to promote justice-sensitive education related to Indigenous peoples in Taiwan? What topics/Indigenous knowledge systems should be included? What are the possible practical challenges and dilemmas in the construction and implementation of justice-sensitive inclusive Indigenous education? How should we respond to challenges and overcome difficulties? What are your expectations and suggestions for incorporating justice-sensitive inclusive education related to Indigenous peoples’ knowledge systems into school education? Each interview lasted from one hour to two hours and a half. The interviews were conducted in Chinese and the interviews were audio-recorded with written consent of the participants. Each interview was transcribed verbatim in English. Grounded theory approach was used in data analysis of this study. While deductive coding and theme development were used, the data analysis was largely inductive with themes emerging from the data. After each interview was transcribed and analyzed, the preliminary analysis will send to the participants for member check and the responses collected for amendment.

Preliminary findings: Indigenous education leaders and scholars pointed out although the newly reformed Curriculum Guidelines highlights the need to include Indigenous historical perspectives, the narratives in the textbooks are like a rehash of old dishes but just simply lay out the information still. Therefore, promoting justice-sensitive education for Indigenous peoples must be linked to thinking on issues related to educational justice for Indigenous peoples. It is important to actively construct a more just knowledge system of Indigenous peoples by reflecting on how the images and historical views of Indigenous peoples have been constructed and how to keep the intellectual sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous scholars and teachers suggested that the research results of Indigenous knowledge construction projects and funded educational resources cannot only be targeted at Indigenous students and implemented in schools in Indigenous communities. They must be further transformed and integrated into school curricula to allow all students, both indigenous and non-indigenous students can learn the knowledge and viewpoints of Indigenous peoples, and both indigenous and non-indigenous students can also learn with the cognitive approaches they are good at. Only then can we truly achieve the so-called Indigenous education for ALL. They all point out that it is important to develop inclusive education aimed at incorporating Indigenous cultural content and perspectives in Taiwan that can be beneficial for mutual understanding and better relations between indigenous and non-indigenous teachers and students, best serve the needs of Indigenous students as well as non-Indigenous students. It is hoped that an increased sense of participation and an innovative, culturally sensitive pedagogical practices would happen in various regions, local indigenous communities, which can be reproduced in schools across Taiwan. Further, the restoration of pride and self-worth of indigenes can be a model for other minority ethnic groups, in Taiwan and in other countries.

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