1,720,958 research outputs found
Applicability of Progressivism to Zimbabwe's Postcolonial Education System
No full textAbstract: Like the rest of Western pedagogies, the theory of progressivism is under the threat of extinction within Zimbabwe’s contemporary education system. This is partly because the discourse on philosophy of primary and secondary education in the country resonates with and revolves around the philosophy of Unhu/Ubuntu. Progressivism is also facing imminent disappearance from Zimbabwe’s teacher education philosophy syllabus because the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development [MoHTEISTD], in collaboration with University of Zimbabwe [UZ], is in the process of reviewing and revamping the country’s teacher education syllabi with a view to aligning them to Education 5.0. This Education 5.0 blueprint exalts the heritage-based philosophy, a predilection which warrants the scrapping of Western philosophies-theories like progressivism from Zimbabwe’s teacher education syllabus. It is this looming demise of progressivism which perturbs the author since he is of the conviction that progressivism continues to inform Zimbabwe’s primary and secondary education significantly. The current textual analysis, therefore, interrogates the applicability of progressivism to Zimbabwe’s education system - an undertaking which positions the author to effectively assess justification for the continued study of this theory (progressivism) in the country’s teacher education institutions within the postcolonial dispensation. Thus, the author juxtaposes progressivist ideas with aspects of Zimbabwe’s education system as encapsulated in Zimbabwe’s Curriculum Framework for Primary and Secondary Education for period 2015-2022 [also known herein as Government of Zimbabwe or GoZ (2015) or Curriculum Framework 2015-2022]. Observably, there is strong compatibility between progressivism and Zimbabwe’s Curriculum Framework 2015-2022 as the latter seems to manifest ideas of the former in terms of instructional aims, curriculum, pedagogics, ideal teacher and school system, of course, notwithstanding a few points of dissonance. This discernible congruency, therefore, serves to justify the continued study of progressivism in Zimbabwe’s teacher education institutions
Western Ethics: Drawing Lessons for Zimbabwe's Contemporary Education
No full textAbstract: The ‘narratives of return’, which have gained currency over the years, serve to foster a bigoted conception of ethics in the realm of education within Sub-Saharan Africa where the current moral discourse seems to over glorify African ethics. While it is worthy to value ethics from the home perspective, overdoing it may turn out to be a self-injurious predisposition especially within the new world order suffused with globalisation sensibilities. This article, therefore, seeks to reflect upon the development of Western ethics, highlighting its relevance to Zimbabwe’s education system. The author, thus, addresses the contribution of Western ethics to the development of the Afro-Zimbabwean ethical code as embedded in the philosophy of Unhu/Ubuntu. In terms of methodology, the current reflection is textual analysis within which the author scrutinises available written sources on the evolution of Western ethics from Protagoras to Hegel. As noted herein, the Western conceptualisation of ethics continues to shape Zimbabwe’s moral component of education. The foregoing, therefore, warrants the conclusion that the hybridisation of Western and African ethics is capable of bequeathing to Zimbabwe’s system of education a vibrant moral grounding thereby capacitating education in the country to continue raising good citizens
Indigenous Knowledge: A Catalyst of Sustainable Development or Manifestation of Anachronism and Pseudoscience in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textThe current textual analysis, which comes against the backdrop of the unmistakable denigration of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems in some quarters of the Sub-Saharan societies, discusses the centrality of Indigenous Knowledge to sustainable development in the region in question. The article, therefore, interrogates African Indigenous Knowledge Systems through the lens of decolonial ideals, critical consciousness, and the Unhu/Ubuntu philosophy. In its interdisciplinary approach, this discussion is anchored in and informed by Gade’s theory of ‘narratives of return’ as well as by the Sankofa principle —notions that look into the past for solutions to the socio-economic problems vexing Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) within the postcolonial dispensation. The current inquiry observes the primacy of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems mainly in the fields of education, medicine, mathematics, agriculture, environmental conservation, maintenance of a clean environment, and biodiversity preservation. Although African Indigenous Knowledge Systems are sometimes indicted for being anachronistic and viewed in some quarters of African society as manifestations of pseudoscience, they remain the key to unlocking the door that has prevented the masses from accessing mathematics, science, and engineering. Thus, African Indigenous Knowledge Systems are neither anachronistic nor pseudoscience but a sine qua non for sustainable socio-economic development in SSA in general and Zimbabwe in particular. However, this does not warrant the wholesale removal of Western Knowledge Systems from the local socio-economic development spheres. The current reflection, therefore, recommends the hybridization of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Western Knowledge Systems for sustainable socio-economic development in SSA
The Sustainability of Unhu/Ubuntu as a Philosophy of Education in a Postcolonial and Globalising Zimbabwe: A Hermeneutical Discussion
No full textThis inquiry was motivated by a great deal of debate that surrounds Ubuntu (also called ‘hunhu/unhu’ in Shona or ‘botho’ in Sotho), a philosophy specific to Sub-Saharan Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular. The study was, therefore, a critical examination of the sustainability of Ubuntu as a philosophy of education in a postcolonial and globalising Zimbabwe. The current inquiry took a qualitative research approach, which is informed by the interpretivist research paradigm - a research worldview considered more successful in inquiries of a human-social nature. As a case study, the field inquiry was conducted in 3 schools and a university within Masvingo Urban, Zimbabwe. The research participants included 3 school teachers, 3 deputy heads, 3 heads, and 4 university lecturers. Despite the criticism that the Ubuntu philosophy is a postcolonial utopia invention as well as narrow Bantu philosophy without continent-wide resonance, the current inquiry discovered that the said philosophy is well-positioned to salvage Zimbabwe’s education system from the negative influences of globalisation and Euro-American modernity. It was, therefore, concluded that Ubuntu remains a sustainable philosophy guiding instruction in a postcolonial and globalising Zimbabwe. This inquiry, thus, recommends the escalation of education for Ubuntu in order to advance the social-cultural-moral formation of the Indigenous Zimbabwean learners
Applicability of Deweyan Pragmatism to Zimbabwe's Contemporary Education System
No full textAbstract: The current textual analysis seeks to estimate the applicability of Deweyan pragmatism to Zimbabwe’s system of education as encapsulated in Curriculum Framework for Primary and Secondary Education for period 2015-2022 [also known herein as Government of Zimbabwe or GoZ (2015) or Curriculum Framework 2015-2022]. This undertaking comes against the background of Education 5.0 which occasioned a recent move by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development [MoHTEISTD] in collaboration with University of Zimbabwe [UZ] to scrap Western educational philosophies (Deweyan pragmatism included) from Zimbabwe’s teacher education syllabus. Thus, the author is perturbed specifically by the imminent disregard of Deweyan pragmatism as a result of the unmistakable exaltation of the heritage-based philosophy within Zimbabwe’s new teacher education syllabus. Having synopsised pragmatist ideas, the current reflection juxtaposes Deweyan pragmatism with Zimbabwe’s Curriculum Framework 2015-2022 in terms of instructional aims, curriculum content, instructional methodology, ideal teacher and school system. Observably, the fundamental aspects of Zimbabwe’s education system as portrayed in Curriculum Framework 2015-2022 essentially turn out to be of a Deweyan making. Notwithstanding a few points of divergence between Deweyan pragmatism and Zimbabwe’s Curriculum Framework 2015-2022, the former is on the whole applicable to the latter. This finding readily harmonises with Wuta’s (2020) observation that there is a close connection between pragmatism and the Unhu/Ubuntu philosophy which currently undergirds education in Zimbabwe. The current reflection, therefore, demonstrates that the idea of peripherising Western philosophies like Deweyan pragmatism is more emotive than rational. This article, thus, implores the MoHTEISTD and UZ to revisit their position (that of excising Western philosophies) with due sobriety so that they consider restoring Deweyan pragmatism in particular to its rightful place in Zimbabwe’s teacher education, specifically in the Educational Foundations (Philosophy) syllabus, for the good of the country’s primary and secondary education secto
A Search for a Viable Philosophical Grounding of Education in Sub-Saharan Africa in General and Zimbabwe in Particular
No full textThe unhu/ubuntu philosophy is largely portrayed as antagonistic to the occidental philosophies of education. Unhu/Ubuntu is posited as a deconstructive, decolonising and derooting African philosophy of education. This implies that the occidental philosophies of education, which have taken root in sub-Saharan Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular, are imbued with imperialistic tendencies and are a manifestation of cultural imperialism. In spite of this view, the theoretical discussion in this study envisages points of convergence between unhu/ubuntu and Occidental philosophies in terms of contribution to education in the region in question. This implies that unhu/ubuntu and Occidental philosophies should not be viewed as divergent but rather as complementary, especially within this modern world order propelled by the forces of globalisation. It is this eclectic approach that has vast potential to bequeath to the region in question a vibrant education system steered by an appropriate epistemology
The resilience impetus to rural livelihoods of elderly women in rural Zimbabwe: A case of Chivi District
No full textThe study took a qualitative approach with face-to-face in-depth interview and observation as the data-generation instruments. The research design was hermeneutic phenomenology in the form of a case study. This approach was chosen to allow for the in-depth exploration of the lived experiences and resilience of elderly rural women in the Chivi District of Zimbabwe. Eighteen elderly rural women were selected using snowball sampling and were interviewed in their immediate environments, which suggest a focus on their naturalistic daily living context. This inquiry was guided by the Afrocentric ideology and the Life Course Perspectives which illuminated the inquirers’ understanding of these elderly rural women’s life experiences in Chivi District. The Life Course Perspective was a complementary framework that helped to analyse how experiences and challenges accumulate over a person\u27s lifetime. Indigenous African Knowledge Systems (IAKS) were found to be a crucial factor in the resilience of these women as they navigated daily challenges. These elderly rural women were not passive victims but active agents in improving their living conditions. It also emerged that, the traditional extended family is no longer a "safety net" for the elderly. The government\u27s social protection policies are neither effective nor consistently enforced in alleviating the challenges faced by the elderly in rural Zimbabwe. The study recommends the government to improve social protection policies that target the elderly women; policies should provide social, economic, and psychological support to enhance their health and living conditions. Communities are urged to strengthen family support systems, making them more vibrant and comprehensive
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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