Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Sustainable Learning in Rural South Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v29i1.187Keywords:
appreciative inquiry, hegemony, storytelling, critical discourse analysis, rural teacherAbstract
Calls for a decolonized curriculum in South Africa are gaining momentum. Contrary to the school curriculum that privileges knowledge from a western perspective, indigenous knowledge systems appreciate and draw from local content and forms of knowing. A number of studies have expressed the value of indigenous knowledge systems, and the need for educational processes to be properly contextualised within the local knowledge and language in South Africa. This paper suggests a break away from the current western modalities in teaching and learning and argues for unlocking and unleashing indigenous [local and latent] knowledge systems through decolonizing the curriculum. However, the uptake of such in the midst of a longstanding 'colonized' curriculum seems to be daunting. Guided by Appreciative inquiry, the paper reports on the three rural teachers' understanding towards sustainable learning through indigenous narratives as they consciously work against western hegemony and ideology (epistemologies, ontologies and axiologies). Rural learning ecologies in South Africa are constituted by over ten million learners. The learners are expected to learn western knowledge and apply such in search of sustainable livelihoods. Data generated through these stories, analysed through critical discourse analysis (at textual, social and discursive levels). The study finds that dislodging the dominant western epistemologies demystifies authenticity of learning practices, learning content and embraces indigenous communities and their knowledge. The implication involves the appreciation of indigenous knowledge systems as genuine and acceptable knowledge that may not necessarily need to be sanctioned though western modes.
Downloads
Published
Versions
- 19-02-2019 (2)
- 19-02-2019 (1)
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Australian and International Journal of Rural Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to The Australian and Internation Journal of Rural Education agree to publish their articles under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 license, allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that appropriate credit is given, that a link to the license is provided, and that you indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to The Australian and Internation Journal of Rural Education.
Manuscripts submitted for publication should not have been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. It is the responsibility of authors to secure release of any copyright materials included in their manuscripts, and to provide written evidence of this to the editors.
Papers are accepted on the understanding that they are subject to editorial revision. The Editorial Committee cannot guarantee that all contributions will be published nor give definite dates of publication. However, contributors will be advised if their papers are not accepted or if there will be a long publication delay.