General description of research

More a way of life, than a lifestyle (Khazanov, 1994), nomadism encompasses distinct value systems, philosophies and identities.  Even where groups have become virtually sedentarised, certain values remain in place: the concept of nomadism persists subsequent to its apparent demise (Levinson & Sparkes, 2004).  This research focuses on communities which, traditionally, have followed nomadic patterns for cultural or economic reasons, and considers what happens to individuals from those communities when they adopt more sedentary lifestyles. The research explores relationships between education, culture and identity, and similarities and differences across these groups, highlighting emic perspectives and ‘lived experience’ (Dillon et al, 2008).

 The literature on nomadic education is “sparse, disparate and inaccessible” (Kratli, 2000), with little comparative work across groups. Nomadic people are among the most marginalized groups (Dyer & Choksi 1998; Dyer, 2001; Hayes & Acton, 2007), and educational provision is often perceived by group members as a catalyst towards sedentarisation. In particular, school curricula centred on literacy practices are viewed as a threat to cultural identity (Levinson, 2007). As a consequence, attempts to engage nomadic groups in school-based learning tend to be viewed with suspicion (Child, 1998; Street, 2001; Bloch, 2003; Vitebsky, 2005). There have been few attempts to investigate the interface between learning at home and at school.

Focusing on the interface between education, culture and identity, this research explores the ways in which different groups (Romani Gypsies in the UK, nomadic and sedentarised pastoralists in Mongolia, Aboriginal groups and show-people in Australia, and Sámi reindeer herders in Northern Finland) seek to maintain cultural identities across changing environments. It considers relationships between (majoritarian) mainstream education value systems and nomadic (minoritarian) cultures, reflecting on the ways in which different nomadic groups are responding to threats to traditional lifestyles posed by pressures to conform to mainstream patterns and globalization. The research aims to make a comparative study of:

• The ways minority / marginalized groups adapt to the demands made by mainstream society while maintaining a distinct cultural identity.
• The wider meanings of nomadism.
• The impact of formal / mainstream education on cultural identity and nomadism.
• Alternative [minoritarian] education systems and what they offer mainstream education.

References Bloch, A. (2003). Red Ties and Residential Schools: Indigenous Siberians in a Post-Soviet State, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Child, B. J. (1998). Boarding School Seasons. American Indian Families 1900-1940, Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press. Dillon, P., Bayliss, P., Stolpe, I. & Bayliss, L. (2008). What constitutes ‘context’ in sociocultural research. How the Mongolian experience challenges theory, Transtext(e)sTranscultures, 4, 18-31. Available at: http://www.transtexts.net/ Dyer, C. (2001). Nomads and Education for All: education for development or domestication? Comparative Education, 37, 315-27 Dyer, C. & Choksi, A. (1998). Education is like wearing glasses: Nomad’s views of literacy and Empowerment, International Journal of Educational Development, 18, 405-413. Hayes, M. & Acton, T. (Eds.) (2007). Travellers, Gypsies, Roma: The Demonisation of Difference, Newcastle, Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Khazanov, A.M. (1994). Nomads and the Outside World, Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press [Second Edition]. Kratli, S.(2004). Education Provision to Nomadic Pastoralists: a review of literature (for the World Bank), Sussex, IDS. Levinson, M.P. (2007). Literacy in Gypsy Communities: Cultural Capital manifested as negative assets, American Educational Research Journal, 44, 1-35. Levinson, M.P. & Sparkes, A.C. (2004). Gypsy identity and orientations to space, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 33, 704-34. Street, B.V. (ed.) (2001). Literacy and development: Ethnographic Perspectives. London: Routledge. Vitebsky, P. (2005). Reindeer People. Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia, London, Harper Perennial.