Ethnopedagogy and Global Education: A Strategy for Integrating Local Wisdom into the 21st-Century Curriculum

Abstract

Twenty-first-century education requires learners to develop collaboration, critical thinking, digital literacy, creativity, and civic literacy skills. However, globally standardized educational frameworks often fail to align with local realities and may contribute to the erosion of students’ cultural identities. This study proposes the integration of ethnopedagogy through the 4T Model (Targets, Threads, Tasks, and Traces) as a strategy for harmonizing global competencies with the local wisdom values of the Bima community. The research employed a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach conducted through three iterative cycles in three junior secondary schools, involving 12 teachers, 180 students, and local cultural leaders. Data were collected through document analysis, classroom observations, interviews, focus group discussions, student reflections, and cultural portfolios, and were analyzed using thematic analysis with source and method triangulation. The findings indicate that ethnopedagogical integration strengthens the connection between global competencies and local values, particularly in linking collaboration with gotong royong (mutual cooperation), critical thinking with Maja Labo Dahu, and digital literacy with oral traditions. Student engagement increased significantly, as evidenced by higher classroom participation, a greater number of critical questions, and reflective responses expressing cultural pride and self-confidence. Furthermore, the implementation of authentic assessment through cultural portfolios successfully documented students’ cognitive, affective, and psychomotor achievements, resulting in improvements in problem-solving skills (+18%) and communication skills (+15%) compared with the control group. Although challenges related to teacher capacity and regulatory constraints remain, this study contributes theoretically by extending the ethnopedagogy literature, practically by offering an applicable culture-based learning model, and policy-wise by emphasizing the importance of recognizing authentic assessment within national evaluation systems