Skip to main content

Schooling and the African Child

Bridging African Epistemology and Eurocentric Physical Sciences

  • Chapter
African Indigenous Knowledge and the Sciences

Abstract

In recent years, a few African countries have experienced some economic growth but most still struggle to meet the basic needs of their citizens. Education plays a vital role in the development of human capital needed to ensure more sustainable economies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Aikenhead, G. S. (1996). Science education: Boarder crossing into the sub-culture of science. Studies in Science Education, 27, 1–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aikenhead, G. S. (2006). Science education for everyday life: Evidence-based practice. New York, NY: Teachers’ College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aikenhead, G. S., & Michell, H. (2011). Bridging cultures: Indigenous and scientific ways of knowing nature. Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Archer, M. S. (1984). Social origins of educational systems. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrier, R. M. (2010). Astronomical misconceptions. Physics Teaching, 48, 319. Retrieved June 14, 2010, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.3393064

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Business-Higher Education Forum. (2010). Increasing the number of STEM graduates: Insights from the U.S. STEM Education Modeling Project. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from www.bhef.com/sites/g/files/g829556/f/report_2010_increasing_the_number_of_stem_grads.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Cobern, W. W., & Aikenhead, G. S. (1998). Cultural aspects of learning science. In B. J. Fraser & K. G. Tobin (Eds.), International handbook of science education (pp. 39–52). Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cobern, W. W. (2000). The nature of science and the role of knowledge and belief. Science and Education, 9(3), 219–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, V. B. (1995). When science is “another world”: Relationships between worlds of family friends, school and science. Science Education, 79(3), 313–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Favia, A., Comins, N. F., & Thorpe, G. L. (2013). The elements of item response theory and its framework in analyzing introductory astronomy college student misconceptions. I. galaxies. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Library. Retrived April 27, 2014, from http://arxiv.org/abs/1206.2302

  • Forde, D. (1968). African worlds: Studies in the cosmological ideas and social values of African peoples. London: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher, J. J. (2006). Teaching science for understanding: A practical guide for middle school and high school teachers. London: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gwekwerere, Y., Mushayikwa, E., & Manokore, V. (2014). Empowering teachers to become change agents through the Science Education In-service Teacher Training Project in Zimbabwe. Canadian and International Education Journal, 42(2), Article 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hailikari, T., Katajavuori, N., & Lindblom-Ylanne, S. (2008). The relevance of prior knowledge in learning and instructional design. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 72(5), 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jegede, O. J. (1995). Collateral learning and the eco-cultural paradigm in science and mathematics education in South Africa. Studies in Science Education, 25, 97–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jegede, O. J. (1997). School science and the development of scientific culture: A review of contemporary science education in Africa. International Journal of Science Education, 19(1), 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jegede, O. J., & Aikenhead, G. S. (1999). Transcending cultural borders: Implications for science teaching. Journal of Science and Technology Education, 17(1), 45–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lagoke, B. A., Jegede, O. J., & Oyebanji, P. K. (1997). Towards an elimination of the gender gulf in science concept attainment through the use of environmental analogues. International Journal of Science Education, 19(4), 365–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lemke, J. L. (1990). Talking science: Language, learning, and values. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lemke, J. K. (2001). Articulating communities: Sociocultural perspectives on science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(3), 296–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Libarkin, J. C., Asghar, A., Crockett, C., & Sadler, P. (2011). Invisible misconceptions: Student understanding of ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Astronomy Education Review, 10(1), 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kristiansen, M. H. (2014). Agency as an empirical concept. An assessment of theory and operationalization (Working Paper No. 2014/9). The Hague, The Netherlands: Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michie, M. (1999, December 13–16). Where are indigenous people and their knowledge in the reforming of learning, curriculum and pedagogy? Fifth UNESCO-ACEID international conference Reforming learning, curriculum and pedagogy: Innovative visions for the new century, Bangkok, Thailand. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mmichie/aceid.html

    Google Scholar 

  • Mudimbe, V. Y. (1998). The invention of Africa: Gnosis philosophy and order of knowledge. London: James Currey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mushayikwa, E., & Lubben, F. (2009). Self-directed professional development: Hope for teachers working in deprived environments? Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 375–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nashon, S. M. (2004). The nature of analogical explanations: High school physical science use in Kenya. Research in Science Education, 34, 475–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogawa, M. (1986). Towards a new rationale of science education in a non-western society. European Journal of Science Education, 82, 113–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogawa, M. (1998). A cultural history of science education in Japan: An Epic description. In W. W. Cobern (Ed.), Socio-cultural perspectives on science education (pp. 139–161). Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ogunniyi, M. B. (2007). Teachers’ stances and practical arguments regarding a science-indigenous knowledge curriculum: Part 1. International Journal of Science Education, 29(8), 963–986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogunniyi, M. B., & Hewson, M. G. (2008). Effects of an argumentation-based course on teachers’ disposition towards a science-indigenous knowledge curriculum. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 3(4), 159–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogunniyi, M. B., Jegede, O. J., Ogawa, M., Yandile, C. D., & Oladele, F. K. (1995). Nature of worldview presuppositions among science teachers in Botswana, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32, 817–831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Onwu, G., Holtman, L., Vurumuku, E., Ogunniyi, M., Fakudze, C., & Langenhoven, K. R. (2006, January 10–13). Teachers’ knowledge of science and indigenous knowledge and views on the proposed integration of the two knowledge systems in the classroom. Proceedings of the 14th Annual Meeting of the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, M. (1998). Indigenous knowledge and Western science: Perspectives from the Pacific. In D. Hodson (Ed.), Science and technology education and ethnicity: An Aotearoa/New Zealand perspective (pp. 59–75). Wellington: The Royal Society of New Zealand.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaffer, J. (2004). From contextualism to contrastivism. Philosophical Studies, 119(1–2), 73–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vongalis-Macrow, A. (2006). Displaced agency: The obfuscation of teachers in globalized education policy. In W. D. Bokhorst-Heng, M. D. Osborne, & K. Lee (Eds.), Redesigning pedagogy: Reflections on theory and praxis (pp. 59–73). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Sense Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Gwekwerere, Y. (2016). Schooling and the African Child. In: Emeagwali, G., Shizha, E. (eds) African Indigenous Knowledge and the Sciences. Anti-colonial Educational Perspectives for Transformative Change. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-515-9_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-515-9_3

  • Publisher Name: SensePublishers, Rotterdam

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-6300-515-9

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics