Exploring the Potential of Local Wisdom as a Scientific Bridge: A Systematic Literature Review in the Educational Context

Abstract

Local wisdom has great potential as a rich and multidisciplinary learning resource. The development of technology has led the world of education to focus on involving digital devices and forgetting local wisdom that is actually inherent in everyday life. This study aims to identify the extent of local wisdom involvement in learning through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). Article searches were conducted on the Scopus database (2017-2024). From the initial 236 documents, 40 articles were selected for analysis using Vos Viewer and Parsif.al software. The results of the analysis showed that research on local wisdom in learning covered a wide range of disciplines, education levels, and learner competencies. Four main groups were identified: demographic, cultural, educational, and thematic analysis aspects. Local wisdom is relevant in social sciences, humanities, medicine, engineering, agriculture, computer science, and earth and planetary sciences. Most research was conducted at universities (32%), mostly using qualitative methods (51%). Publication trends show an increase in interest from 2018 to 2023, with the United States and the United Kingdom dominating the field. SLR reinforces the potential of local wisdom as a learning resource that can enhance conceptual understanding, motivation, critical thinking, character development, and preservation of cultural heritage. However, further research is needed to determine effective integration strategies, teaching materials, and long-term impacts, especially for higher education that produces prospective primary school teachers. This study contributes to understanding the current state and potential of local wisdom integration in education across different disciplines and levels. The study provides valuable insights for educators, researchers and policy makers to utilize local wisdom as a multidisciplinary learning resource and identify future areas of research and development.