Based on these analyses of the foreign cultural content in many textbooks, Biraimah (1988) contends that:
“There is a need to produce textbooks that more closely conform to the reader’s lived culture, and not necessarily to the values and roles associated with industrialized nations. To this end, it will be necessary to encourage indigenous authors to create textbooks more sensitive to the cultural patterns of their readers.” (p. 140)
A number of scholars have suggested that incorporating local knowledge in the classroom will have positive effects on both students and society. Semali (1999) promotes the use of indigenous knowledge in the classroom, arguing that “. . . Local people do know a great deal about their environment, in which they have often lived for generations; and this knowledge must be taken into account in the planning and implementation of education as well as development policies” (p. 308). Banda and Morgan (2013) argue that Chewa folklore in Zambia plays a significant role in socialization (p. 204), and that even if certain beliefs may not be scientifically correct, they should be incorporated into the school curriculum to help learners critically examine them (p. 208). In a study of folktales used in literacy practices in Papua New Guinea, Yektinintyas-Modouw (2013) found that picture books of folktales motivated children to learn the alphabet so that they could read them (p. 90). Elders use folktales to teach moral lessons and impart good character, and as such, they are “a unique way to educate the whole person” (p.90).
What we know about the process: how to and case studies