Legitimizing Indigenous Knowledge in Zimbabwe: A Theoretical Analysis of Postcolonial School Knowledge and Its Colonial Legacy

This article is a theoretical discussion on the social construction of knowledge in colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe. It examines effects of hegemonic knowledge constructions and how they may be delegitimated through incorporating indigenous knowledge in postcolonial school curricular. The article questions the importance attached to Eurocentric school knowledge and the devaluation of indigenous knowledge in postcolonial states. It further argues that indigenous knowledge as informal knowledge plays a major role in society and should be formalized in educational institutions to constitute a transformative and inclusive educational system. The article proposes hybridization of knowledge to give voice to the formerly marginalized in school curricular in Zimbabwe. It also proposes that knowledge as a historical, cultural, social, spiritual and ideological creation should be a product of collaborated efforts from all possible stakeholders to foster social development and self-confidence in individuals

Critical Analysis of Problems Encountered in Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge in Science Teaching by Primary School Teachers in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe the need to incorporate indigenous knowledge in science education to reflect local cultural settings cannot be overemphasized. Current policies on science are situated in Western cultural definitions, thus marginalizing indigenous knowledge, which is misconceived as irrational and illogical. This study used qualitative research methods. Ten teachers were purposively selected and interviewed to gain their insights into problems faced in incorporating indigenous knowledge into science teaching. The study found that the problems were attitudinal, institutional, and systemic. Teachers were found to be conservative “gatekeepers” who exhibited negative attitudes toward indigenous science and supported maintaining the teaching of Western science. The study suggests reforming and transforming science curriculum, policymaking, and teacher education to promote cross-cultural science in Zimbabwean primary schools

Democratic Development and the Role of Citizenship Education in Sub-Saharan African with a Case Focus on Zambia

In addressing issues related to problems of democratisation in Africa, this paper attempts to relate the issue to the need for citizenship education and the role that can play in social development. Citizenship should be central to the formation of viable civil societies that claim a tangible stake in national public spaces in post-Cold War Africa. These and related topics are discussed relative to new possibilities that could lead to the full realisation of the concept as well as the practice of enfranchised citizenship and inclusive social development in aspiring democracies in the Sub Saharan African context. The complexity of the development ‘problematique’ that Sub-Saharan Africa is facing is unique in that it is multi-dimensional, but above all else, politically located. It is, therefore, central to our discussions here that to correct the continent’s current schemes of underdevelopment, pragmatic schemes of governance must be achieved. To do that, we are suggesting, new possibilities of citizenship education should be formulated for the general African scene in general, and for democratising but still both institutionally and economically weakened Zambia

Pedagogy of the Dispersed: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the African Diaspora Phenomenon through the Human and Social Capital Lens

With its origin in Greek where 'diaspora' as a noun means 'a dispersion' or as a verb means to 'scatter about', the term is used in this paper to refer to the dispersion or scattering of Africans from their original African homeland and now live in countries other than their own. Indeed some Africans have dispersed from their own countries to other countries in Africa. For the purposes of this paper our analysis focuses on Africans who live outside Africa. This paper explores the African diaspora phenomenon starting from the commercial extraction of Africans as resources to serve as inputs into plantain development in North America and manual labourers in Europe, South America and the Caribbean, to the colonial exploitation of African peoples during the 'Scramble for Africa', to political exiles and economic refugees that ensued, following political independence and instabilities, and to expert skilled migrations of Africans abroad, including digital diaspora. Grounded in the educational philosophy of human and social capital theory, the paper presents a cost benefit analysis of the gains and losses that Africans and African countries have experienced as a result of the African diaspora phenomenon. The analysis leads to the philosophical conclusion that whereas the initial dispersion of Africans to overseas countries represented a significant cost to the human and social capital of Africa, African diaspora in the 21st century have potential to improve the human and social capital not only for themselves and their former homeland, but also in the host countries

Recent trends in school social control in sub-Saharan Africa

This chapter draws from existing literature, analysis of school policy texts and codes of discipline, to examine the context and history of school social control in sub-Saharan Africa using some evidence from Ghana. It highlights how school hierarchies, institutional surveillance mechanisms, and the code of discipline produce school social control in the sub-Saharan Africa context. It discusses school hierarchical organization as a mechanism for control based on a case study in Ghana. The discussion examines how teachers’ own schooling and training experiences make them agents of school social control and how corporal punishment plays a key role concluding with the role that foreign languages play in controlling access to further education and future social and economic opportunities