[Link]

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E-ISSN: 2690-2788
Journal of Curriculum Studies Research
Volume: 5 Issue: 3 2023

pp. 131-143

Integrating African Indigenous Education in the Curriculum: A Learning

Curve for South Africa
Stewart Lee Kugaraa & Tsetselelane Decide Mdhluli*a

* Corresponding author ABSTRACT

Email: [Link]@[Link] Even though Western education is indispensable and became a
game changer, its adoption in the mainstream education system
a. Department of Cultural Studies
and Political Studies, Faculty of (curriculum) has substantially strained the passing of relevant skills,
Humanities, University of Limpopo, values, and knowledge to most African communities. The adoption
Sovenga, South Africa. of Western education was not tailored to the context, realities, and
needs of most indigenous communities. The popular and accepted
Western education has been applauded for preparing graduates
Article Info
Received: October 03, 2023 who mostly look for employment, do not resonate with their
Accepted: November 15, 2023 realities and environment, and can barely create jobs with the
Published: December 19, 2023 acquired education. Unlike indigenous education, which prepared
the young ones to face their immediate future realities and
10.46303/jcsr.2023.35 contribute to the development of the community, Western
education seems far from equipping Africans to understand
How to cite themselves and their surroundings. Grounded in the African
Kugara, S. L., & Mdhluli, T. D. (2023).
Renaissance, this paper explores African indigenous education in a
Integrating African indigenous
education in the curriculum: A bid to draw lessons from it. To achieve this, a conceptual paper is
learning curve for South Africa. framed from a review of literature on Google scholar, DHET
Journal of Curriculum Studies accredited journals, Scopus, and other relevant credited sources.
Research, 5(3), 131-143. The paper does not seek to undermine the importance and value of
[Link]
Western education in the curriculum but advocates for the
Copyright license adoption of indigenous education to bring positive impact to
This is an Open Access article African societies. Collaborative efforts are recommended for the
distributed under the terms of the revival, adoption, and continuation of indigenous education
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 without looking at it as inferior.
International license.
KEYWORDS
Indigenous education; Western education; skills; knowledge;
realities; curriculum.
 132

INTRODUCTION
The authors’ interest in the adoption of African indigenous education began when we started
lecturing the Bachelor of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (BIKSs). Having been taught and
educated under the Western system, we felt the things we were taught from primary school to
the doctorate level reflected little regarding Africa and its values. In other words, besides being
employed by someone, we could hardly convert our knowledge into something tangible within
our community. This is because the Western-based education that formed the basis of the
curriculum did not capture much of the African values and needs (Mamphiswana & Noyoo,
2000). It is our humble view that it prepared us to be ready for employment and to serve other
people. Our opportunity to lecture IKSs unearthed how much we were detached from Africa
and using indigenous ways to find African solutions. Having been baptized in this African
indigenous education and as new converts, we accept that our objectivity was somehow
clouded, hence our endeavor to promote African indigenous education. Having to see some of
our graduates venturing into starting indigenous restaurants and various indigenous
entrepreneurs made us advocates for the infusion of African indigenous education in the
mainstream in a bid to make qualifications resonate with the challenges faced in Africa. As such,
the write-up was not specific about a subject, module, or degree. It embraced all qualifications
in general, thereby giving generalized narratives. The generalized view was indispensable for
now to set a roadmap before venturing into specifics.
Background
Indigenous education is openly defined by the authors to mean informal relevant skills,
experiences, values, and knowledge used by African communities to construe their realities
within their environment (Bhuda, 2021; Seroto, 2011). Indigenous education passed from one
generation to another orally and through experience was subjugated during the colonial era
when formal education was introduced. Indigenous education is hailed for its deep entrenched
teachings on practical things that promote prosperity using locally available resources.
We the authors argue that the formal Western education system is fundamental but to
some extent diametrically opposed to the needs of Africans. African indigenous skills and
knowledge that empowered its products to sustain were excluded in the formal education.
Some graduates from the formal education system are unemployed and doing nothing, as
opposed to those who were homeschooled in indigenous education and are running indigenous
enterprises (Moerane, 2016; Reyhner & Eder, 2017). This made the authors rigorously probe
the likely results indigenous education can produce if infused in formal education. The
harnessing of African indigenous education is indispensable and makes more sense than
throwing it in the dustbin in preference for an education that is foreign and does not address or
resonate with day-to-day realities of sustainable livelihood.
Since time immemorial, indigenous education was cherished and was at the core of all
African societies in preparing the younger generations for their tomorrow. Various institutions
within the African setup were designed to ensure community of what they were taught and

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what they would be doing at home and in the community (Lekoko & Modise, 2011). This alone
showed the relevance of indigenous education within the community. Beyond doubt, African
indigenous education gave direction to community development and had a close attachment to
the life lived in the indigenous communities. The success of the life of the indigenous
communities is accredited to the congruencies of the indigenous education and the lived
lifestyle of communities (Tharakan, 2015). Extrapolating from the latter, the authors argue that
indigenous education sufficiently prepares the young generation for experiences that they
encounter daily.
With the advent of colonialism, indigenous education was discarded in preference for
Western education (Ramadikela et al., 2020). Indigenous education was replaced by Western
education and administered to Indigenous people to prepare them for a life within their
indigenous communities. The authors argue that this was paralysis of analysis. Why would non-
Westerners be trained with Western education for life within indigenous communities? This is
devious, damaging, and creates useless people who cannot give any palliatives to the
community in which they live. This can be argued to be the perpetuation of colonialism. Such
an educational system is meant to alienate Indigenous peoples from their heritage and their
existence (Brock-Utne, 2002; Hammar et al. 2021; Situmorang et al., 2021). Infusing the African
values and norms within the curriculum offers the opportunity to bridge this gap. The authors
have observed that the perpetuation of such a system in the education arena has midwifed a
current generation that scorns and belittles Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) as a degree
program or modules.
The authors advocate for the infusing of indigenous education in the mainstream of
education in a bid to honor and preserve indigenous knowledge and to harvest the practical
solutions it brings. It is envisaged that its adoption will harness inclusive teaching and learning
that bolsters holistic learning in all its facets. Consequently, it is expected to boost pride among
Indigenous Africans, as they will cherish their roots and routes. Non-indigenous Africans will also
be exposed to new forms of learning and restore dignity and mutual respect to Indigenous South
Africans.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The African Renaissance theory advocates reviving past values and norms in order to apply them
in current and future endeavors (Rabaka, 2022). This theory was popularized by the former
president of South Africa, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, who primarily drove the education agenda to
restore the African mind to its sane state and discourage brain drain. Such a move was rooted
in glorifying African heritage and adopting it in every facet of life. In so doing, President Mbeki
adopted it as a political philosophy to overcome corruption and lawlessness on the African
continent (Mekoa, 2018). Against this backdrop, we argue for the restoration of African
education, as we strongly believe that it is worthy of reviving, preserving, and continuing in this
age to harness its strength. This will give value to education as learners and students become

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able to bring palliatives to their environments. We argue for the African values, norms, and
traditions that promote Ubuntu and foster development. Any negative forms that were
associated in some practices are not advocated for in our quest for revival. In the famous speech
of President Mbeki, the following were key factors in the African Renaissance: growth, social
cohesion, and economic rebuilding (Muxe Nkondo, 2007).
We have come to the realization that the advent of colonization and apartheid in South
Africa jeopardized African indigenous education. Even though Africans fought for their freedom
and independence, it is argued that the so-called “freedom and independence” is a dream, as
the colonially established systems of education and Constitution directly and/or indirectly
control African values and the norms of African Indigenous peoples. As it stands, African
indigenous education is currently marginalized and is on the verge of extinction because of the
socio-economic transformation that has been perpetrated under the veil of democracy
(Pietersen & Plaatjies, 2023; Samkange et al., 2021). In a bid to restore African indigenous
education in South Africa, the authors use the African Renaissance theory. This paper drives the
narrative to revive African indigenous education so that children and societies can be
empowered to use indigenous solutions to address local challenges while having a global
outlook.
African indigenous education skillfully weaves themes across various disciplines such as
education, child-rearing, governance, conservation, heritage, and development. The potency
and quality of this education is a testament to the great smiths, potters, hunters, weavers, and
medicine men that produced prolific and outstanding outputs. A generous look at African
indigenous education products reveals variety, flexibility, and practical dexterity, as evidenced
by the various experts within the surviving African spaces. With these things on the verge of
extinction, we provide a different narrative of African indigenous education with the intention
to advocate for its revival within the mainstream of education. We stress that its revival is
indispensable and should not be viewed as inferior but be apportioned the respect and honor it
deserves.
African Indigenous Education (AIE)
To start, the authors explored the meaning and understanding of African indigenous education.
Based on the influence of Western education on our thought patterns, it is a mammoth task to
find unanimous agreement on what constitutes African indigenous education. One can argue
that it is impossible to obtain an unadulterated African indigenous education because of the
colonialism and apartheid so long in place. Nonetheless, critical issues can be unveiled and
agreed upon that include the philosophy and practices of African Indigenous peoples. The ability
to coin these tenets will illuminate that which can be vouched to mean African indigenous
education. This section thus unearths what constitutes African indigenous education (AIE).
Quan-Baffour (2006) defines African indigenous education as “The transmission of
relevant knowledge, skills and values usually to the younger members of society to enable them
fit into their respective communities” (p. 464). Extrapolating from this quote, it is critical to note

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that this form of education was not formally documented. Also critical was the fact that it was
mainly targeted to the younger members to be able to copy community norms based on their
experiences. We opine that experience produced education for African indigenous communities
and it was relevant for their survival and livelihood. Thus, hunter, warrior, potter, goldsmith,
and others were specialized careers that were goal specific. The advent of the Western
education system sought to alter the status quo by converting Indigenous people to offer them
services (Mackenzie, 1993), a serious downgrade that divorced them from sustaining
themselves with their environments. Against this backdrop, the authors outline the
characteristics attached to African indigenous education in support of those presented by Mbiti
(1989):
• It is not individualistic;
• It is both formal and informal;
• It is closely knitted to the social and cultural life;
• It embraces both the physical and metaphysical aspects; and
• It is not static but conforms to the changes (environmental, emotional, physical, and
mental).
The authors draw attention to the unique characteristics listed above and show that
African indigenous education (AIE) focused on molding one’s career, orientating oneself to
community life holistically with all necessary responsibilities for the sustainability of self, others,
and the environment. AIE bakes in a legal subject of integrity and who possesses fundamental
skills for survival of self, the community, and the environment. It was never meant to prepare
one to be a servant and/or worker of another but to champion life (Mdhluli et al., 2021). AIE is
arguably said to be community-oriented and never designed to ignite competition but
complement others.
In its conceptualization, one was forever learning. To Indigenous peoples, life and
education are inseparable. Years of accumulated tested experience become the traditions,
values, and norms of the community. These outcomes are then passed down through practical
teachings and word of mouth (Daswa et al., 2018). It ought to be highlighted that AIE is holistic
in nature and cannot be reduced to categorizations of being practical, theoretical, and spiritual.
It embraces all these, and they operate as one entity. The advent of the Western education
system discombobulated AIE as it sought to create cheap labor for their advantage (Bassey,
1999). Nevertheless, the emergence of Afrocentricity, Sankofaism, and the African Renaissance
have advocated for the adoption of practical skills, knowledge, and values in the mainstream
education system to bring value to the education offered to children who cannot create their
own solutions to the communities but rely on being employed. Such a bold move is birthed from
the narrative that Africans are being taught foreign concepts that do not yield authentic results
in the unique environments, thus relooking at their indigenous philosophy to recalibrate
solutions that are fit and proper.

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The Integration of Indigenous and Modern Education

The 21st century has witnessed the rise of a movement toward integrating indigenous and
modern education. Such a move is credited to various scholars who propound diverse
contestations on how Western education and epistemologies were and are dominating syllabi
(Breidlid, 2013; Dube et al., 2022; Odora Hoppers, 2002). According to Dei (2000), such
dominance of Western epistemologies in African spaces undermines the rights of African
Indigenous peoples and is a direct violation of laws and policies that recognize and protect
marginalized and minority groups. Such injustice directly challenges the Constitutional
imperatives of redressing past injustices. This discussion came to light when it seemed there
was agreement on the importance and significance of indigenous education in almost all
sectors. Integration and/or inclusion is envisaged to yield both positive and negative results.
However, there is also a thorny issue: How will this integration and/or inclusion be done?
Against this backdrop, we critique the integration of indigenous and modern education.
Our first concern when it comes to the proposed integration and/or inclusion is the
formation of a uniform curriculum that will embrace all Indigenous peoples in South Africa.
Indigenous peoples are composed of diverse, unique, and distinct cultural values within a
geographical location. For instance, the Tsongas, Venda, and Pedi speakers can share a
geographical community but subscribe to different values. Integration and/or inclusion of such
indigenous knowledge in one school would be a massive task. This does not merely affect the
curriculum but requires the teacher to be well-versed in many different knowledge systems to
in order to cater to all learners. Nonetheless, we argue that even though there is this diversity
that seems complex, it is doable. Diversity does not mean disunity.
Second, since the colonial time, African indigenous knowledge has been demonized and
labelled as archaic, primitive, and backward by the colonial masters who sought to propagate
their own knowledge and exploit Africans (Ezeanya-Esiobu, 2019). Throughout the colonial and
apartheid times, African Indigenous peoples were subjected to psychological torture as they
were coerced to accept Western education, which was then used as a standard of intelligence
and access to provisions. Coming to the issue of integration and/or inclusion, some Indigenous
peoples still have trust issues, and this move could be the final nail in the coffin. There is likely
to be contestation by Indigenous peoples who wish to maintain their self-determination and do
not want to see a dilution of their knowledge (Lâm, 2000).
Third, we opine that it is difficult to reach a unanimous decision regarding the integration
and/or inclusion of African indigenous education in the mainstream of education. African
indigenous knowledge holders believe that some indigenous knowledge is sacrosanct, secret,
and cannot be shared with outsiders or other genders (Kugara et al., 2021). Allowing such
knowledge to be put in the open is a double jeopardy, as this violates ancestral obligations.
Reflecting on the way that indigenous knowledge had been appropriated for financial gain by
unscrupulous people, trust has already been lost (Pert et al., 2020). Some African indigenous

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knowledge holders are of the view that Western educational systems are cunning and can be
springboards to decimate the only remaining pride for African indigenous communities. African
indigenous knowledge is holistic in nature (Tshamano et al., 2023), and there is much of it that
contradicts the scientific, which is a major stronghold that stands to challenge the transmission
of indigenous education. Ancestral values and belief systems are part of it. Such knowledge is
viewed with skepticism and doubted by a Western worldview lens, yet it is meant for Africans
and for African use.
Finally, what complicates this integration and/or inclusion further is the way teaching is
conducted in formal schools. African indigenous education has a mode of transmission of
knowledge that is likely to be resisted. The structure and physical setup of Western classrooms
will have to be collapsed and/or changed to suit African indigenous education. Otherwise, it will
be a shame and dehumanizing to adopt Western methods to teach and assess African
indigenous education. Outdoor setups and activities that conform to African indigenous
education will have to be adopted. The question is whether this will be advocated and promoted
when nowadays people are more concerned with the safety of the children and do not prepare
them for such. We submit that failure to understand and capture the essence of such
indispensable components for African indigenous education will be a big compromise and
undermine it. This will be failing to embrace and harness interculturalism, an element that is
fundamental for integration and/or inclusion. This calls for the stakeholders to be actively
involved in establishing such a critical and complex composition.
It should be made clear that this process of integration and/or inclusion is not child’s play
and shall require patience, collaboration, openness, and resilience, as they are real hurdles that
can block such a stupendous initiative. African indigenous education and Western education are
founded on different worldviews and complex epistemologies hinged on different social,
cultural, historical, and political positionalities. Stoer and Cortesão (1999) submit that viewing
this web of diverging and delicate matter calls for both indigenous and international
perspectives to form an intercultural dialogue.
Modernizing Education While Maintaining Cultural Integrity
We recognize that it is complicated to modernize education while keeping cultural integrity
intact, to promote contemporary practices of education (including the usage of modern tools)
on the African indigenous launchpad. This entails the hiring of African indigenous knowledge
holders to teach some practices in a classroom. On the other hand, it means taking students to
African indigenous setups for them to assimilate the cultural practices. As that is not enough,
institutions ought to be flexible in terms of their assessment policies to allocate marks for certain
practices that Western-based education disregards. In that regard, the authors suggest the
following in embracing modern education while maintaining cultural integrity:
• Integration of indigenous knowledge
The better way that the authors deem fit to modernize education while maintaining cultural
integrity is to integrate indigenous knowledge into the curriculum. The inclusion of indigenous

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language, practices, and values in the curriculum smooths the way. Such a move to integrate
can be initiated within degrees, subjects, and modules wherein indigenous knowledge carries
valuable insights. It is fundamental to comprehend the roots and routes of the Indigenous
peoples of South Africa to have understanding how the suzerain education affected them by
pushing their practices and values away. Integrating indigenous knowledge would be judicious
in redressing past injustices and imbalances.
• Orientation and training of lecturers and teachers
One watershed challenge we encountered when we were teaching IKSs was that the lecturers
were thinking and reasoning from the Western perspective. This was because we were trained
in a Western system, so trying to adopt the African way seemed strange and wicked. The best
way to navigate this is to have lecturers and teachers trained with relevant knowledge and skills
to allow integration of indigenous views. A workshop on cultural sensitivity is critical to
acknowledge and appreciate diverse backgrounds of indigenous groups. A new way of training
lecturers and teachers in the teaching of an integrated curriculum ought to be developed.
• Involvement of indigenous knowledge holders in the community
African indigenous knowledge has been demonized and misrepresented, and this has resulted
in it becoming extinct. Against this backdrop, there is a need for involvement of indigenous
knowledge holders in the community to assist curriculum developers with fundamental issues
to include in the curriculum. Just like experts are given remuneration for such tasks, traditional
health care practitioners, indigenous singers, potters, and others indigenous knowledge holders
ought to come on board to perform such roles with similar benefits.
• Incorporating indigenous education
In addition to the supposedly global languages, students and learners need to be taught using
their indigenous languages. Such a move holds water in decolonizing the mentality of the
students and learners while restoring and preserving indigenous languages in the modern
dynamic world. It is argued that indigenous languages give precise and concise expression of
their culture; thus, eliminating the language entails eliminating the cultural norms and values.
We argue that some of the colonial narratives of citing African names when referring to peasant
farmers and people of low life and/or criminals ought to be reviewed to generate a thinking that
Africans matter and that they can do anything that is good and above average. The use of
indigenous languages also makes it easy for learners to capture concepts easily without
struggling with the language first.
• Promulgation of statutes and policies
As a way of buttressing the above, there is a need to promulgate statutes and policies that
provide a roadmap for the adoption and preservation of indigenous knowledge within the
system of education. Such initiatives need funding and resources. There should be academic
notice of how colonial education was propagated and spread. The colonial and apartheid
government controlled the thinking of Africans by deliberately passing statutes and policies that
suppressed African indigenous education. The mere fact that there are major determinants of

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education needs to be taken into consideration. These determinants (social, political, etc.)
should be the driving force to give a roadmap to the statutes and policies. Thus, the African
indigenous aspirations should find expression in these statutes and policies so that they become
deliverable. The South African government policy must therefore push for South Africans to be
taught in their indigenous languages at institutions. Such a push by the government ought to
align the South African products of education to partner with their ideological beliefs, which
resonates with their environmental realities. Through this, the education that was used to
suppress South Africans will be reviewed to become a tool to elevate them.
Efforts for the Continuation of African Indigenous Education
African indigenous education has been in existence since time immemorial, and there is
therefore a need and a desire for continuance. For its continuance, collaborative efforts are key
to confront hindrances that have been established over the years. Key among these roadblocks
is to ascertain whether African indigenous education was commonly accepted, proper, and can
still be structured. Against this backdrop is the surgical attack on African thought by colonizers
who peddled a narrative that they came to civilize dark Africa, which was said to be primitive
(Abodohoui, 2022). The mere fact that there was no chronologically written diary of African
indigenous education forms the basis of colonial opposition to it (Odora Hoppers, 2021).
Contrary to this form of codification, indigenous forms were used to preserve knowledge:
proverbs, folklore, indigenous games, stories, etc. (Chilisa & Tsheko, 2014; Makeleni et al., 2023;
Nevhudoli & Olive Netshandama, 2023).
From the above submissions, the authors argue that there are abundant sources of
African indigenous education. Appraising collaborative efforts for its continuance entail
rigorously looking at the following:
• Collaborative efforts by diverse stakeholders
The authors argue that there is a need to bring diverse fundamental stakeholders to harness
their collaborative efforts to foster continuation of African indigenous education. Key
stakeholders include African indigenous communities and governmental, non-governmental,
and academic institutions. A critical look at the stakeholders shows that African indigenous
communities top the list, as they are the victims who desire to have their education system
preserved and set to be passed on to future generations through formal systems of education.
Their desired hopes can find expression through legislation, policy, funding, curricular
incorporation, and advocacy.
• Envisaged challenges
It is prudent that any collaborative efforts to allow continuation of African indigenous education
be handled carefully because of the horrendous past that may attract distrust among the African
indigenous knowledge holders. Colonial rule inflicted psychological torture through its policies
that ensured the decimation of African indigenous knowledge. As such, allowing foreign means
and strategies that once dehumanized them to come in as a savior leaves much to be desired.
This could easily be seen as a jackpot to financially exploit Africans using their resources.

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Additionally, this could be viewed as a legitimate way of selling off their intellectual property
rights. In the recent past, it was taboo and irrational to document African indigenous knowledge
systems as they were regarded demonic and archaic. This established view is a stumbling block
and a thought that makes one suspicious of surreptitious motives. This hatches the idea that
“African issues must be addressed by African people.” Conceived in this statement is that
Africans understand their issues, are not judgmental, and have Africa at heart in such
engagements. Nevertheless, the idea of bringing in an outsider brings objectivity. To map a way
forward in such a convoluted scenario, there is the need to have an open-door policy to bring in
outsiders who are fully aware of the pre-colonial era and the position that the colonizers of the
time had in mind when they quashed African indigenous education.
The authors perceive the thorny issue of cultural mismatch between African indigenous
education and the Western-oriented education system. This mismatch will breed tension, anger,
and resentment in the process, as some things that are not regarded as important will be thrown
away and some polished to meet so-called Western standards. It is an open secret that current
African studies scholars are products of Western education, including the current authors. The
direct Western influence on African indigenous education must be cautioned, as it will
perpetuate colonial rule as their objectivity is questioned. A new African indigenous worldview
is critical to see the rationality and logic of African issues. Failure to do this will place magnifying
glasses on the scholar; they will major the minor, minor the major, and be engulfed in prejudices
and frustrations of trying to employ parochial logical reasoning. That will not work. Working
with genuine African indigenous knowledge holders, as discussed above, will bring sanity to
capturing the philosophical underpinnings of Africans before colonization.
One must be open-minded to see the preservation of culture, empowerment of the
indigenous communities, and equity in education that will be brought about by a genuine
collaborative endeavor. Such positivity in the outcome ought to supersede the diverse
challenges that will be witnessed in the process. Mutual understanding, respect, and trust are
the sure vehicles that can enhance this initiative.

CONCLUSION
From the foregoing analysis, it may be noted that the integration and/or inclusion of African
indigenous education is envisaged to positively impact African societies. This journey will
rejuvenate the abandoned history, awaken unity and a sense of pride, and empower the
recipients to sustain their livelihood. Besides a change in the educational trajectory, the social
fabric of the African indigenous communities will be enriched, thereby giving diversity and
building an invisible bond with non-indigenous Africans. However, such a noble move is not
going to be easy to execute as there are real and delicate compromises that will have to be
attended to. Collaborative efforts are recommended for the revival, adoption, and continuation
of indigenous education without looking at African indigenous education as inferior. Even
though African indigenous education is being advocated to be integrated and/or included in the

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curriculum, it needs meticulous attention to ensure that it is designed to foster entrepreneurial

skills that are aligned to the modern dynamic world so as to inspire students and learners to
create relevant opportunities that will create sustainable employment and solutions.

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