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Indigenous Knowledge and Public Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

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  • Munyaradzi Mawere

Abstract

The discourse on indigenous knowledge has incited a debate of epic proportions across the world over the years. In Africa, especially in the sub-Saharan region, while the so-called indigenous communities have always found value in their own local forms of knowledge, the colonial administration and its associates viewed indigenous knowledge as unscientific, illogical, anti-development, and/or ungodly. The status and importance of indigenous knowledge has changed in the wake of the landmark 1997 Global Knowledge Conference in Toronto, which emphasised the urgent need to learn, preserve, and exchange indigenous knowledge. Yet, even with this burgeoning interest and surging call, little has been done, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, to guarantee the maximum exploitation of indigenous knowledge for the common good. In view of this realisation, this paper discusses how indigenous knowledge can and should both act as a tool for promoting the teaching/learning process in Africa’s public education and address the inexorably enigmatic amalgam of complex problems and cataclysms haunting the world.

Suggested Citation

  • Munyaradzi Mawere, 2015. "Indigenous Knowledge and Public Education in Sub-Saharan Africa," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 50(2), pages 57-71.
    • Handle: RePEc:gig:afjour:v:50:y:2015:i:2:p:57-71
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    File URL: http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/859
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    1. Warren, D.M., 1991. "Using indigenous knowledge in agricultural development," World Bank - Discussion Papers 127, World Bank.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lesley Hatipone Machiridza & Russell Kapumha, 2023. "Beyond Colonial Boundaries: Reimagining the Rozvi through Landscapes, Identities and Indigenous Epistemologies," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Olgah Lerato Malapane & Walter Musakwa & Nelson Chanza & Verena Radinger-Peer, 2022. "Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review of Indigenous Knowledge from a Comparative African Perspective: 1990–2020," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-20, July.
    3. Mbah, Marcellus & Johnson, Ane Turner & Chipindi, Ferdinand M., 2021. "Institutionalizing the intangible through research and engagement: Indigenous knowledge and higher education for sustainable development in Zambia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

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