History of education

T.E MAJOR

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 Pre-colonial
• Indigenous education in Africa(Botswana)
• Aims /Objectives
• Content
• Methods of delivery
• Significance of indigenous education

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 What is indigenous/pre-colonial/traditional
education
• indigenous education is as old as mankind
• It was practiced in Africa, Europe and other
parts of the world long before the
introduction of formal education.
• it refers to traditional education
• a process by which an existing society
transmitted learnt culture, knowledge, skills
and values from one individual to another.

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 Aims
• To develop the child’s latent physical skills.
• To develop character.
• To inculcate respect for elders and those in position of authority.
• To develop intellectual skills.
• To acquire specific vocational training and to develop a healthy
attitude towards honest labour.
• To develop a sense of belonging and to participate actively in
family and community affairs.
• To understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of
the community at large
Fafunwa (1974, p. 20)

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 Aims cont.
• To produce an informed and knowledgeable
person
• To impart skilled for productive purposes in
society
• To integrate the person into the society in
order to preserve its identity
• To preserve the cultural heritage of the group
• To foster unity of the group, etc.

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 Teaching learning strategies
• The teaching and learning process in the traditional sense was informal
• Oral literature gave the learner not only the desired message, but also
equipped the individual with communication skills, among other
values.
• Story telling, proverbs, riddles, poems, songs, and so on.
• The mini lecture
• Observation and imitation
• Games and plays
• Active participation was crucial in ones life
• Apprenticeship-expose the learner to specialised knowledge, skills and
values. Arts, medicine
• Rewards and Punishments were used as mechanisms to enforce
discipline
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 Who were the teachers
• Ssekamwa (1997), there were teachers who
gave basic knowledge and skills and those who
were more specialised and resourceful
• The parents played a major role in teaching
their children
• relatives, peers, etc
• Community ( it took a village to raise a child)

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 Content covered
• The culture of the group e.g. of the family, clan, tribe, etc
• Environmental education covering the physical features of the area, names of
plants and animals, their functions, and so on
• Skills especially of a manual nature that enabled the learners to perform
certain tasks for their own good and that of the community in which they lived
• Social values such as respect, love, unity, cooperation, etc
• humility which required exhibiting manners of a civilized conduct and
behaviour
• Leadership skills that which shaped a person’s role in society, based on sex,
age or status
• Religion also featured on the curriculum and was vital for the spiritual and
moral fibre of the learner and the whole community
• History of the group where the learner was expected to know and appreciate
the ancestry of the group, the past fortunes or misfortunes, among others.

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 Signficance
• - It was relevant to the peoples’ needs
• - Functional and practical in terms of training
• - Democratic, that is, education for every body
• - Affordable in terms of cost
• - Integrative as it prepared the individual to fit into society
• - Productive as learners produced in the process of training
• - Conducive to the learner who were mainly taught by close
persons around them
• - Life-long and thus rewarding
• - It had no drop outs, etc.

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 pros
• It was relevant to the peoples’ needs
• Functional and practical in terms of training
• Democratic, that is, education for every body
• Affordable in terms of cost
• Integrative as it prepared the individual to fit into society
• Productive as learners produced in the process of training
• Conducive to the learner who were mainly taught by close
persons around them
• Life-long and thus rewarding
• It had no drop outs,
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 cons
• Gender bias
• It was not programmed or structured. Thus,
uniformity in terms of content delivery and
learning varied so much among the members
of a given group.

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 Principles of the indigenous education
• Preparationism: the role of learning and teaching was to
equip boys and girls with the skills appropriate to their
gender in preparation for their distinctive roles in the
society.
• Functionalism: It was a participatory kind of education in
which people learned through imitation, initiation
ceremonies, work, play, oral literature, etc. In this way, the
learner was productive as he/she learned and was smoothly
integrated into the community: the gap which today exists
between study and the world of work was absent in pre-
colonial society. Indeed, there was no unemployment in
African traditional societies.
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• Communalism: all members of the society owned
things in common and applied the communal spirit to
life and work. Children belonged to the com- munity
and every member of the community had a stake in
their upbringing
• Perennialism: education as a vehicle for maintaining
or preserving the cultural heritage and status quo
• Wholisticism: multiple learning. It is true that
in economically, socially and practically

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 Colonial Education
• Africa was colonised by the European powers
• The motives behind this revolved around the
Political, Economic and Social interests of the
colonising powers

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 Colonial Education: Aims
• Promote literacy among the masses to enable them read and
write
• Discourage the natives against what were believed to be
backward beliefs, and practices
• Train additional manpower necessary for the strengthening of
the colony
• Train a few leaders who would be supportive and protective to
the state
• Soften the hearts and minds of the people and ensure
obedience and loyalty to the state
• Produce a small group of artisans, clerks and progressive
farmers
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 Colonial Education in Africa:
Aims and objectives of colonial education: Christianity
• Spread the Gospel of Christianity through the schools
• Promote literacy among the masses to enable them read the Christian and
other relevant literature
• Strengthen the Christian doctrines among the converts
• Discourage the natives against what were believed to be ‘pagan’ or
satanic practices
• Train additional manpower necessary for the strengthening of the mission
• Make the church self supporting through technical and practical expertise
• Train a few leaders who would be supportive and protective to the church
• Soften the hearts and minds of the people and ensure obedience and
loyalty to the church
• Prepare the masses for wider world in which they would live

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 content
• Arithmetic
• Reading ( read the Bible)
• Writing
• Girls were taught how to take care of the
home

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 Impact of colonial education policies on Africa: Pros

• They produced the manpower in different

areas of specialisation.
• Taught us their language
• Able to read and write

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 Impact of colonial education policies on
Africa: Negative
• Divided people into the elite and uneducated
• Transmitted European Culture rather than African culture
• Produced people for the white collar jobs such as clerks
• The Elite despised their own parents regarding them as
uneducated
• Curriculum was based on foreign geography and history
• Boys had more access to formal education than girls
• It was more theoretical than practical
• Promoted the acceptance of colonial rule under the pretext of
civilization
• Changed the social structure to fit in with the European concepts
of work, etc
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 Education in Botswana since
Independence
• 1966-1976 perpetuated same colonial
education
• Education grew dramatically in terms of
quantity, not quality( reading, writing,
personal behavior and morality standards
declined)
• Need to review the education system

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 Purpose of commission
• Identify major problems affecting education
• Clarify the goals of education
• Review the education system and propose
new program
• Present recommendations regarding the
implementation of the effective program

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 problems
• Physical : large land area, but sparsely
populated, rural children walk long distances
• Social and cultural factors: culture of colonial
imposed indigenous culture submerged
- Language policy in schools
- Language is one means of cultural identity

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 Aims

• Individual development: unique individuals,

education to enable leaners to acquire
knowledge, skills, attitudes and behavior that
full and successful life
• Social aim: education is to reflect the values of
the society

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 Education for Kagisano
• Education was to be guided by the 4 national
principles, combined produce national
philosophy of Kagisano, meaning social
harmony
• Social harmony embrace: social justice,
interdependence, and mutual assistance
• Education was to produce a Motswana whose
major characteristics are democracy,
development, self-reliance and unity
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 Democracy and education
• Giving each mature person a voice: schools
PTA
• Curriculum to include teaching about
democratic institutions
• Classes: involve learners ( active learning vs
passive learning, develop critical thinkers
rather than absorbers of knowledge)

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 Development and education
• National and the individual come to have
improved standards of living; increased control of
their environment, etc.
• It means gradual elimination of dependence
• Education is meant to develop productive citizens,
create opportunities for self-employment:
institutions that provide such courses
• Development of initiative and self-reliance by
students
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• Education must conserve resources
• People must learn about their country,
develop their own skills

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 Education and Unity
• Embraces loyalty, cooperation and a sense of
national identity
• Fluent in the national language and take pride
in the national cultural heritage
• Curriculum must stress national unity

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 Education and Self-reliance
• Botswana was dependent on foreign resources
• Free the country from dependence on
expatriates
• Promote self-reliance curriculum, as a way of
teaching and learning
• Teachers to be innovative in producing their
own teaching materials
• Promote Self-study skills

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 Education and Botho
• Referred to as one of the tenets of African culture
• A person who is well-rounded character, well
mannered, courteous and disciplined, and realises
his/her full potential both as an individual and as
part of the community of which he/she belongs
• Process of earning respect by first giving it
• To gain empowerment by first empowering others
• To applaud rather than resent those who succeed
• It encourages social justice for all
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 Revised National Policy on Education
• 1. To review the current education system and its relevance; and identify problems and
strategies for its further development in the context of Botswana ’s changing and complex
economy.
• 2. To re-examine the structure of the education system that will guarantee universal
access to basic education, whilst consolidating and vocationalising the curriculum content
at this level.
• 3. To advice on an education system that is sensitive and responsive to the aspirations of
the people and manpower requirements of the country.
• 4. To study the various possible methods of streaming into vocational and academic
groups at senior secondary level.
• 5. To study how the secondary structure at senior level may relate to the University of
Botswana degree programmes and how the two programmes may best be reconciled.
• 6. To advice on the organisation and diversification of the secondary school curricula
that will prepare adequately and effectively those that are unable to proceed with higher
education.
• 7. To make recommendations to Government on the best and cost-effective methods of
implementation of the final recommendations

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THE MAIN ISSUES OF THE REVISED NATIONAL POLICY ON EDUCATION

• Access and Equity

• Effective Preparation of Students For Life,
Citizenship and World of Work
• Development of Training Responsive and
Relevant To Needs of Economic Development
• Improvement and Maintenance of Quality of
the Education System
• v. Enhancement of the performance and
Status of the Teaching Profession
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 GOALS
• The goals of the revised national education policy are to prepare Batswana for the
transition from a traditional agro-based economy to the industrial economy that
the country aspires to:
OBJECTIVES
• a. to raise educational standards at all levels.
• b. to emphasise science and technology in the education system.
• c. to make further education and training more relevant available to larger
numbers of people.
• d. to improve the partnership between school and community in the
development of education.
• e. to provide life-long education to all sections of the population.
• f. to assume more effective control of the examination mechanism in order to
ensure that the broad objectives of the curriculum are realized.
• g. to achieve efficiency in educational development.
•
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• PROS AND CONS

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