Ancestral Computing for Sustainability: Centering Indigenous Epistemologies in Researching Computer Science Education.

This article offers Ancestral Computing for Sustainability (ACS) to dismantle the logics of settler colonialism that affect accessibility, identities, and epistemologies of computer science education (CSE). ACS centers Indigenous epistemologies in researching CSE across four public universities in the United States. This paper describes Ancestral Computing for Sustainability and explores reflections of two students engaging as researchers in ACS inquiry. Drawing on Indigenous methodologies and Participatory Action Research, they share their reflections as co-researchers in ACS through storywork. These critical reflections include their relationship to computing, observations of the interdependent work within ACS, ethics and  sustainability, and their experiences within the focus groups. The article ends with recommendations for furthering ACS as a decolonial approach that centers Indigenous epistemologies in CSE. Recommendations for CSE education include Ancestral Knowledge Systems and adding sustainability as a topic within computing education pathways and building student-faculty relationships based on trust is recommended to foster students, academic and personal growth within CSE education and research.

Ancestral Computing for Sustainability: Centering Indigenous Epistemologies in Researching Computer Science Education.

  • Author Lopez-Quinones, Alyssa and Martinez-Lopez, Marlen and Moreno Sandoval, Cueponcaxochitl D. and Carroll-Miranda, Joseph and Lindala, April E. and Chatman, Michelle C. and Fleming, Jeffery and Shockley, Ebony Terrell and Cadeau, Denise and Flores-Reyes, Elizabeth
  • Publication Title TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning
  • Publication Year 2023
  • BPC Focus Students with Disabilities
  • Methodology Qualitative
  • Analytic Method NA
  • Institution Type NA
  • DOI 10.1007/s11528-022-00820-y
  • URL https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-022-00820-y