LEC 04/14

EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT IN AFRICA

Educational thought in Africa can be categorized as follows:

A    TRADITIONAL THOUGHT

a. African Indigenous education

b. Islamic tradition in education and

c. Western tradition in education.

B  CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT :

a. Conservatism

 i. Colonial view of education.

 ii. The religious view of education

 iii. The nationalist view of education

      b. Progressivism

       i. The liberal view to education

      ii. The radical view to education

      iii. The instrumental view to education

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A    TRADITIONAL THOUGHT

We shall limit this section by considering African indigenous thought as propounded by J. P. Ocitti.

     

                 a. African indigenous educational thought according to Ocitti(1973)

According to J P Ocitti (1973), African indigenous educational thought comprised of the following philosophical principles:

       i.Communalism

      ii.Preparationalism

      iii.Functionalism

      iv. Perenialism

      v. Whotisticism

    (i) Communalism

v  The concept of communalism

The term is derived from the adjective communal originating from the Latin word ‘communis’ meaning belonging equally to two or more people. It refers to a condition where people are united, cohesive, cooperative, and are committed to the welfare of the group as opposed to individualism. In practice, the principle of communalism was expressed through the socialization of children.

 Education served the purpose of strengthening the social organization; unity of the clan, community and chief-dom. Overall, cooperation was preferred to competition enabling the children to grow up seeing their well being in terms of the welfare of the group.

v  Relevance to contemporary education

    1.  Unity and cooperation are desirable virtues which modern education ought to inculcate in the learners. Education policy makers should do away with parochial/narrow minded extension of the society as a whole.

   2.  Teaching of social education, ethics, history, literature and other humanities are justified by the fact that humans (Africans) are communal beings who can only thrive through others.

  

   3. The synchronization aspects in education requires ordering and planning skills and defined leadership (chiefdom) if education is to be to serve  the welfare of a populace.

v  Limitations

  1. Communalism’s emphasis on the organic whole of the community denies the human person the freedom to exercise unique potential, and to aspire to become rather than conform.

  2.  Unity of purpose, theory and action in inhibitive to creativity. It negates the need to establish unity in diversity.

  (ii)   Pre-parationalism

v  The concept of Preaparationalism

Derived from the noun preparation which stems from Latin word ‘prepare’ meaning to make ready. It entails the process of making someone ready or suitable for a certain purpose. In the African indigenous society, children were prepared to become useful members of the society. They were expected to become well adjusted with certain values, ideas, modes of behaviour and attitudes in their adult life particularly as married men and women.

v  Relevance to contemporary education

   1.  It is imperative for education to equip individuals with the capacity to cope with the physical, social and perhaps spiritual environment. The content, methods and overall aims of education ought to prepare someone to become a useful member of the society.

   2. Modern education has relegated this aspect to training colleges and universities which caters for a negligible percentage of learners.

   3.  It is also expected that teachers and educators be prepared sufficiently to deal with and adapt to formal, informal, non-formal aspects and challenges of contemporary education.

   4. The actual teaching itself is an intentional activity whose intentionality requires sufficient preparation like scheming, lesson-planning, reading …..

v  Limitations

·         Over-emphasis on the outcome/preparation can easily overlook the process value of education. Each piece of knowledge, skill and general attitude ought to be useful.

 (iii)   Functionalism

v  The concept of Functionalism

Function is Latin word meaning action or activity proper to anything. It also refers to the ability to be useful in practical terms. Indigenous education emphasized this principle by ensuring that every learning experience was useful. Children were inducted into the society through participatory learning. They were involved in work, ceremonies, rituals, imitation play, hunting and oral literature. Practical learning was highly valued.

v  Relevance of Functionalism to contemporary Education

    1.  The utility value of learning experience is a positive approach to education. In other words, education is of use to the society.

   2. Learning by participation can encourage production in society. Instead of confining the youth and energetic adults to institutions of learning and exposing them to theories, they should work as they learn.

   3. The principle underscores the empirical approach to learning which is a useful method of teaching and learning.

   4. Creativity component of education is essential.

v  Limitations

1. The Philosophy of functionalism is in most cases outward oriented in that the learner and other participants in Education are prepared for social performance while forgetting intrinsic dispositions necessary for social functions.  

(iv).  Perenialism

v  The concept of Perenialism

The term emanates from the adjective perennial which is from Latin ‘perenis’ means lasting throughout the year or a succession of years. It designates a sense of permanence. Indigenous education was based on the assumption that cultural heritage e.g. language, food types, beliefs and traditions was essential for the survival of the clan or tribe. The values, attitudes and practices contained in the common heritage were considered established once and for all in the long distant past. Succeeding generations were not allowed to change or modify it but had to perform/observe it and hand it over.

v  Relevance of Perenialism to contemporary Education

1. Historical study of the past is good so as to appreciate and understand the milestones in the development and evolution of ideas, knowledge and certain practices.

v  Limitations

     1. It tends to overlook the learners. Teaching based on perenialism is mainly teacher and content centered while today’s teaching advocated for the learner centered approach.

      2. Knowledge is pragmatic and keeps on changing after every given period of time.

(v)    Holisticism

v  The concept of Holisticism

It is derived from the adjective holistic whose origin is the word ‘hal’ an old English term meaning not divided into parts, complete amount or a combination of parts. Indigenous education entailed a wide range of skills, attitudes, values and knowledge. It was aimed at producing an all round person equipped with a wide range of skills.

v  Relevance of Holisticism to contemporary Education

   1.  Holistic approach to learning is important because it enables and individual to function in diverse situations.

v  Limitations

   1. The approach however encourages shallowness (jack of all trades and master of none)

   2.  Specialization is essential for innovation to be realized in the societ

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B  CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT

In this section we will deal with one aspect from conservative thoughts in education(Nationalism) and one other from liberal view of Progressive (Liberalism).

(a) Contemporary view: Cultural Nationalist ideas in education according to Edward Wilmot Blyden (1832 -1932)

Born in West Indies in 1932, he migrated to Liberia in 1851. He lived during a time when racism was at its peak. Africans were considered backward and primitive. Western education was widespread and its major aim was to enable Africans to imbibe Western values, ideas and worldviews.

His contemporaries reacted to the racial prejudices differently;

 Some were persuaded to discard their cultures and absorb the Western culture wholesale attaining what Frantz Fanon refers to as a “black skin, white mask”. Let's consider this as Conformist stance (or Conformism)

The second group attempted to integrate the Western values with African values i.e. they discarded whatever was repugnant and adapted that which was useful. Partial Conformism stance (or Conformism).

The third category adopted a racial stance against the prevalent racial myths. They tenaciously defended the Negro cultural heritage by dispelling the lingering racial myths, and second by advancing unprejudiced racial theories. This category of thinkers was equivalent of cultural nationalists. Blyden falls in this category.

 Blyden's nationalist ideas included:

     1.  Defending the Negro race as a distinctive race capable of playing its rightful role in the civilization of humankind.

    2.  He opposed the inferiority complex exhibited among Africans in their encounter with people of other races.

    3. He painted to the fact that the Negro race had played a significant role in the field of learning in the past and could do so again if the right education was transmitted.

He thus advocated for:

     4. A race-conscious-culture based type of education i.e. a curriculum specially tailored towards the innate capacity and the ultimate utility of race. This should be an education that will cause Africans to discover themselves. Education in Africa should instill confidence among Africans. It should restore human dignity and absolute confidence or faith in one’s creative abilities. This call for authentic personality that strives to dispel the lingering myth of European people being superior to the Negro. He came up with the Philosophy of Afrikaners that sought to establish how to make black people participate in the community of nations.

  5.  The development of the mind to be able to subdue complicated phenomena. This would enable one to express themselves in normative, rational and creative domains. Towards this, he advocated for the education of girls and women in order to ensure rapid and permanent progress.

(b) Progressivist perspective: Julius Kambarage Nyerere's Liberal view to education

Born in 1922 in Musoma Tanzania, he obtained a Diploma in education at Makerere College Uganda and later undertook a Master of Arts Degree in Edinburg University in 1952. He became involved in the politics of Tanzania when he returned home. He was a co-founder of TANU along with other nationalists. During the first presidential elections in 1962, he was elected the first president of post-colonial Tanzania. Besides politics, Nyerere articulated his ideas in diverse spheres of knowledge including social philosophy and education.

In education, he advocated two related views namely: education for self-reliance and education for liberation.

i). Education for self reliance

The concept of self reliance comprises of two distinctive words, ‘self’ and ‘reliance’. Self refers to the human person, the agent or the ‘I’ of the individual. Reliance points to a state of being that are dependent on something or somebody else. It refers to some bond or relationship where subjects embrace in inter-subjective relationship viewed together. Self reliance refers to a situation where the individual relies upon himself/herself or his/her being. In a book called ‘education for self reliance’ (1967), Nyerere underscored the need to radically examine education in Tanzania.

v  He diagnosed the major pitfalls of the inherited colonial education in Tanzania as:

    1.  Education was founded upon the principle of capitalism; it promoted a class of elites and inequality and class structure.

    2.  It divorced its participants from society and discouraged them from unconditional service to the community. They want to live in towns.

    3.  It tended to be formal; book centered and despised traditional informal knowledge and wisdom.

     4. It tended to be unproductive, discouraging students and pupils from hard work.

These factors were not in agreement with the past independent Tanzania which basically embraced the philosophy of Ujamaa (African Socialism).

v  Ujamaa stood for:

1.  Work by everyone and exploitation by none.

    2.  Fair sharing of resources which are jointly produced.

    3.  Equity and respect for human dignity.

    4.   Education for self reliance. It meant the attainment of economic and cultural independence at a corporate level where society could rely on itself for progress and development.

   5.    It also meant individuals expressing themselves in creative, productive terms as a result of education.

ii).Education for liberation

The concept of liberation stands for:

      Being freed from what is or appears inhibiting/constraining. so as to be able to undertake, empowerment or freedom to become.

Nyerere’s conception of Education for liberation:

1.      Removal of constraints and limitations that stood in the way of Tanzanians to become self reliant: this is namely colonialism and post colonial conditions that were in the interest of colonial powers.

2.      Liberation is not a once for all event: it is an ongoing process involving systematic eradication o physical and mental impediments to freedom.

3.      Liberation is both physical and mental – the total emancipation of man.

4.      Education should release liberating ideas and skills to the mind of learners. This is likely to increase control over themselves, their lives and their environment

5.      Education for liberation should employ rational approaches to educating in the sense that educating should arose curiosity and provoke inquiry.

6.      The product of education for liberation is likely to be a self reliant individual.