Indigenous Zulu games as an educational tool for the multicultural schools in South Africa

Abstract

Active participation, and formal and informal contact on sports fields and in physical education classes can contribute to the bridging of diversity in a play setting. This ties in with the Revised National Curriculum Statement for Life Orientation which emphasizes the holistic development of all learners. There are widespread concerns about the inactivity and related disease profiles of the South African Youth, as well as the divisions of the past that still prevail. A national need for indigenous knowledge was identified and the opportunity arose for documenting and selecting indigenous Zulu games as part of a national survey. This study developed from this background. It aims to provide material for socio-cultural development as well as to address the void in the current educational dispensation regarding physical education as part of the Life Orientation Learning Area. Quantitative data on the trends, content and nature of these games was collected through the completion of a questionnaire (De Jongh, 1984 and adapted by Burnett, 2001), triangulated with information collected through structured interviews, focus groups and observations of learners at play. Visual and tape recordings assisted in the capturing of songs, physical skills and various other play patterns. Forty indigenous Zulu games and other play related activities were collected from grade seven learners (age 10 to 17) (n=217), and adults (age 40 to 70) (n=57) from rural and urban schools and communities in and around Empangeni, Eshowe, Vryheid, Nongoma and Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The sample (N=274) comprised of Zulu-speaking boys (n=87), girls (n=130), men (n=26) and women (n=31). A theoretical framework for inventorising Zulu play and games, was developed and applied for classification, analysis and documentation of these Zulu games. These games were presented in an educational outcomes-based framework and guidelines offered for the inclusion of indigenous games in a multicultural classroom. Thirteen of these games were, however, selected for curriculum development purposes according to the criteria of the nature (indigenous content and structure), popularity and potential for cross-field educational outcomes. Appropriate strategies were offered for teaching, learning and pedagogy. These thirteen selected indigenous Zulu games may meaningfully contribute to the physical education curriculum for promoting ethnic understanding, reinforcing social skills and to provide an opportunity to use fundamental motor skills and movement concepts in dynamic settings in the multicultural classroom in the South African context. It is recommended that these indigenous Zulu games should hence be introduced to all learners in the multicultural classrooms of all South African schools, providing that sufficient time will be allocated and subject specialists will be appointed for teaching physical education. Furthermore it is recommended that research should be conducted on the indigenous games of all other ethnic groups, not only the Zulu in KwaZulu-Natal, but throughout South Africa to be included in a comprehensive physical education curriculum.Prof. C. Burnett-Louw Prof. W.J. Hollande