Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Epistemic Justice and Engaged Physics Education at a South African University of Technology

This conceptual study examines how Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) can be meaningfully integrated into physics education at a South African University of Technology (UoT) to advance epistemic justice and the Scholarship of Engagement (SoE). While physics is often framed as a culturally neutral discipline grounded in Western epistemology, this positioning marginalises Indigenous ways of knowing and limits the social responsiveness of curricula. Adopting a critical conceptual and theoretical synthesis of literature, policy, and curriculum discourse, the study identifies key epistemological, pedagogical, and institutional barriers to integration. These include dominant assumptions of physics as universally valid, limited lecturer preparedness, and weak institutional mechanisms for community engagement. In response, the paper develops a pluriversal engagement framework that operationalises IKS integration through reciprocal community-university partnerships, curriculum co-design, and contextually grounded pedagogy. To strengthen practical relevance, the study draws on illustrative examples from UoT contexts, including the use of Indigenous architectural practices to teach thermodynamics, community-based astronomy initiatives linking Indigenous cosmologies with physics concepts, and co-teaching models involving Indigenous knowledge holders. These examples demonstrate how engagement can function as a process of knowledge co-production, rather than consultation. The study argues that integrating IKS through engaged, pluriversal approaches enhances conceptual understanding, strengthens curriculum relevance, and advances epistemic inclusion. It contributes to AJHECE scholarship by reframing community engagement as an epistemic practice and offers actionable strategies for embedding Indigenous knowledge within physics curricula in Universities of Technology and similar Global South contexts.