Handbook of African Educational Theories and Practices: a Generative Teacher Education Curriculum

Abstract

This monumental piece of work, covering nine thematic sections in thirty six intellectually heavy weight chapters, mobilising forty-four contributors from sixteen different countries, breaks new ground in its efforts to address the challenge of kutiwa kasumba that has been Africa's burden since the colonisation of the continent and since its assimilation of western education. Kutiwa kasumba is a Kiswahili term that can best be translated as ‘brainwashing’. It was manifest in the doctrine that pretended that Africa had no history prior to its contact with western explorers. This handbook raises fundamental issues concerning the re-conceptualisation of Education and its goals in the African context. It explores Africa’s philosophical worldviews, sociocultural values, beliefs and practices and suggests ways in which these can be ploughed into educational research and development, curriculum development and pedagogical practices. The discussions and arguments presented on the various chapters do not in any way foreclose debates; instead, they are presented as instigation to further discussion and in-depth analysis. The target audience for this Handbook is education students in African colleges of education and faculties of education. The secondary audience is comparative education students and researchers across the globe.