On the Educational Potential of Ubuntu

Abstract

The literature on Ubuntu is as prolific, as it is diverse. Over the past two decades, the increasing attention has been devoted to Ubuntu in relation to African education. In recognising the richness of attention, which has thus been afforded to Ubuntu, this chapter attempts to offer something else. I consider the concept of Ubuntu as an African notion for education, in the same way that some Europeans describe bildung as education, and ta’dib, for some Muslims, means education. Hence, in this chapter, I firstly analyse the concept Ubuntu. Secondly, I show how Ubuntu relates to at least three meanings of education, namely, interdependent human action, deliberative inquiry and socially responsive action. Finally, I make an argument for Ubuntu as a cosmopolitan practice, thus further enhancing its educational impetus before concluding with the rationale for Ubuntu, namely, a cultivation of dignity.