Indigenous Knowledge and Public Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The discourse on indigenous knowledge has incited a debate of epic proportions across the world over the years. In Africa, especially in the sub-Saharan region, while the so-called indigenous communities have always found value in their own local forms of knowledge, the colonial administration and its associates viewed indigenous knowledge as unscientific, illogical, anti-development, and/or ungodly. The status and importance of indigenous knowledge has changed in the wake of the landmark 1997 Global Knowledge Conference in Toronto, which emphasised the urgent need to learn, preserve, and exchange indigenous knowledge. Yet, even with this burgeoning interest and surging call, little has been done, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, to guarantee the maximum exploitation of indigenous knowledge for the common good. In view of this realisation, this paper discusses how indigenous knowledge can and should both act as a tool for promoting the teaching/learning process in Africa's public education and address the inexorably enigmatic amalgam of complex problems and cataclysms haunting the world.

South African science teachers' strategies for integrating indigenous and Western knowledges in their classes: Practical lessons in decolonisation

“…o Teaching knowledge that is relevant for learners' daily lives (Keane & Malcolm, 2003) o Using IK as a tool to make Western science more accessible, moving from the known to the unknown (Mawere, 2015).…”

“… Cultural identity. To connect learners with their culture and bring back the role of parents, community, and elders into education (Khupe, 2014;Mawere, 2015;Msimanga & Shiza, 2014).…”

African Indigenous Leadership Philosophy and Democratic Governance System: Gada’s Intersectionality with Ubuntu

“…In line with this, Several Afrocentric scholars (Asante, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2014; Dei, 2000a, 2014; Letseka, 2012; Mazama, 2001, 2003, 2006) have called for the adaption of African culture, history, values, rituals, world view, and lived experience based Indigenous, social democracy, and governance systems. Indigenous institutions need to be restored and revitalized in a way that meets the current and future needs of Africans and adapting Indigenous philosophy based leadership were recommended as African solutions to African problems (Asabere-Ameyaw et al, 2014; Kumah-Abiwu, 2016; Mawere, 2015; Wilson, 2007; Koenane, 2017; Mbigi & Maree, 1995). Therefore; Gada leadership philosophy should be cultivated and adapted to political, public, and private organizations leadership and management practice in Oromia, Ethiopia, and beyond.…”

The relational legacies of colonialism: peace education and reconciliation in Rwanda

“…9 At the same time, attempts to build indigenous systems, inspired by long-established indigenous methods, were sidelined during the colonial past, and despite decolonisation have not been revived. 10 Particularly in peace education, one might expect that indigenous methods should permeate the training in order to break the link with their colonial pasts. 11 Several scholars as well as policymakers suggest that education is seen as a key institution in African post-conflict societies, and mainstreaming 'peace education' is regarded as being an important tool for establishing reconciliation.…”