The lack of indigenous education, would continue to set indigenous youth apart

from their own cultures. education is the key to self-determination, she

recommended that educational instruction take place in indigenous languages

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WHAT IS AFRICAN INDIGENOUS

EDUCATION? PHILOSOPHICAL BASES
OF AFRICAN INDIGENOUS
EDUCATION.STRENGTHS AND
LIMITATIONS OF THIS EDUCATION,
AND RELEVANT IS IT TO THE
MODERN EDUCATION TODAY.
FEBRUARY 8, 2012 LEAVE A COMMENT

African indigenous education was a lifelong process of learning where by a person

progressed through predetermined stages of life of graduation from cradle to grave.
Cameroon & Dodd (1970). This implies that African indigenous education was continuous
throughout lifetime from childhood to old-age

Mushi (2009) defines African indigenous education as a process of passing among

the tribal members and from one generation to another the inherited knowledge, skills,
cultural traditions norms and values of the tribe.

In www.eric.ed.gov/../recordDetail. African indigenous education is defined as the

native, locally developed form of bringing up the youngsters by the older and more
experienced members of the society. Being native is by no means to deny the fact that
indigenous learning goals, content, structures and methods have not been enriched, or for that
matter, polluted or both by outside influences.
 African indigenous education can generally be defined as the form of learning in Africa
traditional societies in which knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the tribe, were passed from
elders to children, by means of oral instructions and practical activities.

The main characteristics of African indigenous education included the following.

Traditional African indigenous education was community oriented, geared to solving

the problems of the community. The instructional activities were therefore, directed towards
the social life of the community, so as to prepare the learners to fit into their community.

Kenyatta (1961 in Mushi 2009) holds it that;

It was taught in relation to a concrete situation. The boys and girls learnt about birds that
were harmful, how they could be controlled, and what birds could be eaten. In the same way
they learnt about trees that were good for firewood, building or for propping crops like
banana and yams as well as those which resisted ants.

It was illiterate. The learning experiences were made orally and the knowledge was
stored in the heads of elders. The instructors were carefully selected from the family or clan.
Their task was to impart knowledge, skills and attitudes to the young, informally at the
didactic and practical levels. Nyerere (1975) says, at the didactic level the teaching process
took the form of the stories, legends, riddles, and songs; while at the practical level
individuals enacted what they had learnt didactically, by imitating and watching what their
elders performed.

It put emphasis on practical learning and the young adult learned by watching,
participating and executing what they learnt. The skills like carving, masonry, clay working,
cloth making, building canoe making, cooking, and home management were insisted among
the children in the community. These were the skills opened to all, as they consisted of the
basic skills, knowledge and attitudes that enabled individuals to live and function effectively
in their tribe.

The question of learning by doing is very important. The best way to learn sewing is to sew;
the best way to learn farming is to farm; the best way to learn cooking is to cook the best way
to learn how to teach is to teach and so on. Nyerere (1975 in Mushi 2009)

It was not separated from other spheres of community activity. This implies that it
was the whole life of the community and it had no special time of a day or life when it took
place. Instead it took place in the entire span of life it can therefore be viewed as a life-long
process in which an individual acquired skills, knowledge and values from womb to tomb.
Mush (2009) comments that in this case education was essentially part of life and not
separated from the societal culture.

It was functional. The knowledge skills and values that were imparted were relevant
to the socio-economic activities of an individual. The learners learned the skills that were for
immediate and long term activities. Mushi spotlights the Bena society and has the following
to say;

In Bena society, the individual who were earmarked for various community roles like guards,
leaders or teachers, received training around the chiefs (ntemi) residence. The compulsory
subjects comprised fighting, religion, law, history, agriculture and animal husbandry. Upon
completion of their training they were appointed as guards, teachers and warriors.(ibid)

It had no paper word-testing and certificates but learners graduated ceremoniously.

There were basically no formal exams at the end of a specific level of training, but a learner
was considered a graduate when he/she was able to practice what s/he had learnt throughout
the period of training. The ceremony was held to mark the completion o training and thus
assuming more community responsibilities. This was common especially during what Mushi
referred to as coming of age ceremonies and the rites of passage

African indigenous education did no develop in a vacuum, it had its own philosophical bases
on which it was built. Having looked at the main characteristics of African indigenous
education lets examine its philosophical bases. The following should be considered as
philosophical bases for African indigenous education

Preparedness/preparationism. This implies that the role of teaching and learning was
to equip boys and girls with the skills appropriate to their gender in preparation for their
distinctive roles the society. In most African traditional societies such as Sukuma, Zanaki,
Kurya, masai, Nyamwezi most girls were taught how to become good mothers and how to
handle their husbands soon after marriage, and boys were prepared to become warriors,
manual farmers, good fathers (the heads of the family) and other male dominated
occupations.(ibid)

Functionalism. This was another philosophical base in which the knowledge, skills
and attitudes imparted were relevant to the social economic activities of an individual. And so
education was for utility value. It was provided for immediate induction into real life in the
society. Learners learnt by observing, imitating and initiation ceremonies. Mushi has the
following to say on it

Indigenous African education was functional, the knowledge, skills and values that were
imparted were relevant to the socio-economic activities of the individual this was evident
in the fields of agriculture, building, fishing, iron smelting, canoe making dancing or child
rearing.(ibid)

Communalism. In African traditional society learners learned/acquired a common

spirit to work and life and that the means of production were owned communally. The
education was also an integral part of culture and history. For example children upbringing
was a whole communitys role. If for instance a child misbehaved in the absence of his/her
parents any adult member of the community was responsible to correct him/her on spot. That
implies that even children belonged to the society.

Holisticism/multiple learning. In this philosophical base a learner was required to

acquire multiple skills. They were either not allowed to specialize in specific occupation, or a
very little room for specialization did exist. When a learner learnt about a certain skill, say
farming s/he was obliged to learn all other skills related to farming such as, how to prepare
farms, hoeing, food preservation, how to fight with diseases attacking crops and so on. Also
he had to learn other skills like, hunting, house building, cookery, and principles required for
the wellbeing of an individual, clan and ethnic groups. The learner learnt multiple skills and
mastered them all.

Perennialism. This philosophical base ensured that the traditional communities in

Africa use education as a necessary tool for preserving the status quo of the tribe. Based on
this fact it did not allow the progressive influence of on the mind of young people and so it
was viewed as conservative in nature. Learners were viewed as passive recipients and could
not contribute anything to the learning process. Mushi says on this that, criticism about what
they were taught was discouraged and knowledge was not to be questioned. Questions
seeking clarification on aspects not clearly understood were encouraged (2009:39)

African indigenous education displayed the following strengths to its recipients and the
society at large.

Every member of the community was employed. Children learnt the skills that
prepared them to immediately utilize their physical environment for self-employment. The
skills acquired by watching, and imitating the elders were immediately put into practical use.
And thus the children became productive and useful members in the society.

It was successful in maintaining the socio-economic and cultural structures of the

society. The learners were taught among other things, to preserve their own culture and to get
rid of external influences. Also the skills like masonry, clay working, carving, cloth making,
building canoe making and tinsmithery, were taught in the view of maintaining the socio-
economic and cultural heritage of the society.

The learners/recipients acquired communal attitudes rather than individual. From

communalism philosophical base point of view, learners were taught to respect the properties
of the whole society, and they used their acquired knowledge for service of the society. The
Masai moran for example protected the whole society and the properties therein.

Despite its strengths, African indigenous education did not go without limitations. Below are
some of the limitations that befell African indigenous education.
 It was confined to a particular clan or society and covered that aspect considered being
of immediate relevance to them and it did not go beyond the borders of the society. Worse
enough the elders who were teachers hardly entertained any challenge. That is what Mushi
expresses in this paragraph; traditional education had a specific body of knowledge to be
learnt which never changed, and which concentrated only on the transmission of cultural
heritage, i.e. of traditions, values, and norms among the members of the tribe from childhood
to adulthood

The accumulated knowledge and skills could not be preserved in written form. It lacked
proper methods of storing knowledge and relied on the memories of the elders. Because it
was not documented it was difficult to spread from one place to another. Mush says it was
not easy to describe, compare, and estimate distance, volume, weight, and size of different
objects because figures or letters were unknown to traditional African societies (ibid).

Intellectual training occupied a very small place in traditional African education. This
means that greater emphasis was placed on the concrete rather than the abstract. It ignored
other cognitive abilities like reasoning, which although it was imperative, was insufficiently
developed. So sometimes, everything happening, be it good or bad was attributed to Gods
will.

It is correct to argue that traditional African societies had their own ways of reasoning, but
to some people this kind of reasoning could not enable them to imagine alternatives to
decision arrived at, a factor that was partly attributed to the emphasis placed on traditions i.e.
beliefs and their threats(ibid)

Learning was lineal; the young people were taught by elders who had experiences in
societal life. The young people were not given chance as they were considered to have no
experiences that would help them contribute in the learning process; they were required to
listen and internalize what they were taught by elders. That limited their creative and
innovative mental development, thus leading to slow development of a traditional society.

In traditional society some members were prevented from eating certain types of
food, such as eggs, fruits, chicken, fish, and milk. In those societies if the forefathers did not
eat such types of foods it was generalized that even the subsequent generations should not
eat. Some beliefs were attached to such foods for example if eggs were to be eaten by
expectant mothers it was believed that she would give birth to a bald-headed child. This was a
big misconception since it was not realistically true.
African indigenous education by Apollinaire Kasulwe
Publi le 17 juillet 2014 par patient

INTRODUCTION

We are going to discuss the aims, methods and content of African indigenous education in
regarding to the statement which argued that there was no education in African indigenous
societies until the establishment of western education in Africa.

Before going through the matter, we will start by looking at the key words which will help us
to understand the topic.

Indigenous: The Oxford dictionary defines indigenous as the state of belonging to a particular
place rather than coming to it from somewhere else. Indigenous can have as synonym
autochthonous, aboriginal, native, natural.

Native: connected with people who originally lived in a country before other people;
especially before white people came.

With this in mind, talking about education in African indigenous societies, we will be just
talking about education in African societies before the arrival of white people or the pre-
colonial period.

African indigenous societies were organized politically, economically and religiously, with
this in mind, we will agree that there was a need to maintain the status quo,, how can they did
that if it was not through education?

Moving forward, we are going to look at the aims, methods and content of African
indigenous education, which will help us to stand and say that there was education in African
indigenous societies. So what were the aims of education in African indigenous societies?

AIMS OF INDIGENOUS EDUCATION

Sifuna. N. D states that: Pre-colonial black had no literacy and formal schooling as they are
known today: That does not mean that African had no organized educational systems to their
own.

Sifuna.N.D. Themes in the study of the foundation of education pp. 59, 60

The traditional African education was established on the basis of customs and values which
were purely proper and different from one community to another and which were passing
from one generation to another. So education as practiced by each community had its own
distinctive features which were reflecting the particular way of life of people in that particular
community.

The education systems were influenced by the environment, both social and physical

Social: how to be accepted as member in a community, the role to play in it

Physical: how to control the nature, which was also an economical source.

The desire to manage the environment (social and physical), is what made a similarity in
regarding to the goal of education in most of the African societies.

The social and physical environment influences the aim and content of education in African
indigenous societies. These show us that what was taught meant to assist the child to adjust
and adapt to the environment both social and physical so that to exploit it and derive benefit
from it. Despite the variation and differences of educational systems in each community, the
goals were similar.

The social and physical environments influence the aim and content of education in African
indigenous societies. This shows us that what were taught, were meant to assist the child to
adjust and adapt to the environment both physical and social so that the child could exploit
and derive benefit from it.

Despite the variation of the systems of education in each community as we said, but the goals
were similar to teach the learner how to adapt and adjust to the environment both physical
and social.

The principal aim of the African education in the indigenous societies was to prepare an
individual for life, for self-reliance as education was for living; it was meant to train the
youth for adulthood within the community.

Sifuna states that: Emphasis in African indigenous education system was placed on
normative and expressive goals.

Normative goal: Concerned with instilling the accepted standards of beliefs governing correct
behavior of the individual within the society; the child was taught how to behave within the
society.

Expressive goal: Aimed at creating unity and consensus within community members.

The basics aims were the social integration of the individual, the safeguard and the perpetuate
of the customs and beliefs of the community. The conservation of the cultural heritage of the
family, clan and ethnic; the adaptation of children to their physical environment and to teach
them how to use it for the common good; were the points which influenced education in
African indigenous societies. This entailed explaining them that their future and that of their
community depended on their understanding of their ethnic institutions, laws, language,
customs and values and to perpetuate them to the future generations. Indigenous African
education also placed a strong emphasis on the learning of practical skills and acquisition of
knowledge which was useful to the individual and the community as a whole. Education was
also concerned on enhancing the religious values in the individual; Individual had to learn
how to perform rites, when to perform it.

The practical skills which the learner was learning aimed to prepare him for future
responsibilities and how one can control the physical environment so learner had to know
about landscape and weather, plants and animals.

To sum up, we will say that the aims of education in indigenous African societies were:
building of characters as well as development of physical aptitudes, skills and the acquisition
of moral qualities (to strengthen religious beliefs). Let now look at what sociologists and
philosophers consider as the philosophical bases of education in African indigenous societies.

Philosophical foundation of education in African indigenous societies

Education in African indigenous societies, did not develop from nowhere, it had its own
philosophical bases upon which it was built.

Communalism: bring the child within the community by the community and for the
community. A child becomes a communal property as soon as he/she comes out of the womb
of his/her mother this was because children upbringing was a whole communitys role. The
child acquired a common spirit of working and living in common.

Functionalism: Prepare children to their future role in the community as father or mother
and production unit. Base on this assumption, the knowledge, skills and attitudes imparted to
the learner were relevant to the social economic activities; education was for utility.

Holisticism: Multiple learning. Prepare the children in diverse fields of life. Base on this
assumption, the learner was required to acquire multiple skills and mastered them all.

Preparedness or preparationism: prepare children to become useful members of the

community. Base on this assumption, the role of education was to equip the learner with
skills appropriate to their gender in preparation for their distinctive roles in society.

Perennialism: ensure the continuity of cultural heritage. Traditional African societies were
using education as an important and necessary tool for preserving the status quo of the tribe.
It had a conservative nature. Ideas of progressive or questioning beliefs or culture were
severely punished at the extreme one may be even cast out from the community.

Sifuna.N.D. Themes in the study of the foundation of education (2006)

After talking about the aims and the philosophy which was the base of education in African
indigenous societies let us now look at the method and content.

Methods and content of education in African indigenous societies

Parents were playing a very significant role in the education of their children. Elders in the
community were playing the role of teachers they were allowed by the community to educate,
punish, rebuke a child when he/she does something wrong.

They were using the authoritarians method; learners were regarded as containers which
Elders had to fill with knowledge and skills. Elders had to teach the youngest the deep
meaning of the word live in regarding to the challenges and the need of the ethnic.

Learning was lineal; the young people were taught by elders who had experiences in social
life. The young people were not given any chance to talk, question as they were considered to
have no experiences that would help them to contribute in the learning process. They were
just required to listen and to internalize what they were taught. They were no space of
dialogue in the system.

The learning was also active; there were no class room, so education was taken place in the
field where practice was required.

To teach the learner how to fish; they will take him at the river, where fishing is taking place
and teach him the skill; so that learner will observe and manipulate a mistake was strongly
rebuked. They were expected the learner to learn largely by seeing and imitating.

To teach a child how to cultivate, they will take him to the field. Children were learning by
being useful in doing and working hand-in-hand with adults

The learning was through observation and manipulation; it was participative where children
were learning through helping and working. Severe warning was also accompanying the
learner when he/she was not able to accomplish what he was supposed to do.

Playing was part of the educational methods; through playing a child was socializing with
others and it was also a way of practicing what they learned: songs, dance

They were using formal and informal methods of education: informal teaching was the most
prominent as the community has to work for long time so children were learning by being
useful to the adults. A child was given formal teaching usually after she had made mistakes or
when the outcome was found to be unsatisfactory.

Stages of education
From 0 at about 6 or 7 years, education was given by the mother. She will help the child to
master language and to walk, she will assist the child to sit , to crawl, to stand, she will
help the child to distinguish people around him/her (uncle, grandma, grandfather) the
negative form is the most use, dont do that but most of the time she cant respond to
why. The mother was also given to the child encouragement in the physical and mental
development. These too applied to language through which the child learns to identify some
common objects in the house and homestead.

From around 7 to 14 or 15 years: at this stage education was given separately, the mother
will be educating the girl on how to keep the house, how to do house work, her role as future
women, while the father will be educating the boy on his role as man in the society. At this
stage, education is given in regarding to gender; gender separation will guide education until
the end.

At this stage, stress was made in the separation of tasks. In tabwa community, in Congo: at
the age of 10 and above, a boy was not supposed to be seen in the kitchen, if he is seen, he
will be rebuked severely because this was seen as a weakness of characters.

During this period, games occupied an important place in regarding to the goal of awakening
of intense mental and physical activities. Children were left to their own. In tabwa
community, if a child is bitten by his/her age mate, he/she was not supposed to report to the
parents, because he/she will be bitten again because a child was not supposed to be defeated
by his/her age mate as they were regarded as having the same strength because of the same
age.

As children were growing, they were increasingly engaged in productive education, learning
through the medium of work enabled children to acquire the right type of gender role.

The work that did a child usually increased in amount and complex as he/she grew.

The physical ability of the child was also taken into consideration rarely was a child assigned
a task which was beyond his/her physical fitness.

Children started taking part in agricultural, hunting, herbing, cooking and other activities

Through apprenticeship and participation in the world of work, children developed physical
endurance, skills, a sense of observation and good memory as well as self-discipline.

Parents who wanted their children to acquire occupational training normally sent them to
work with crafts men such as potters, black smiths, basket-makers and others. These were
largely traditional occupations within their clans.

The girls particularly learnt feminine responsibilities, which included helping out in the
kitchen, fetching water collecting fire wood and taking care of young siblings, this was meant
to prepare them to their roles as mother.
They were development of abilities for abstract thought and reasoning as well as
development of personality. Children became more and more closely associated with
increased production and participation in social relations and public life. At the same time
they were given a certain amount of independence in the family alongside increased
responsibilities in many spheres of life.

Adolescence education 15 18 years

It was a continuation of the same process of the same of learning skills and shaping character.
At this stage, the most important event was the initiation rites period

The initiation rites had as goals: Physical exercises (development of ones physics aptitudes)
sex education and awareness of responsibilities. To mold of character and development of the
spirit of companionship through physical and moral tests for example: they can put in water
the clothes of one of the initiate to know how he/her can react, how he/her can control
himself/herself when he/she is upset. The outcome of the initiation was the harmonious
acceptance of the initiate into the community.

Rendered him/her capable of facing the hard struggle and challenges for existence. Some
communities associated this period with circumcision, which was seen as the point of passage
into full members of the community.

The rite of circumcision was normally accompanied with formal lessons; they took the form
of songs, proverbs, tales, religious formation. The acquisition of both theorical and
practical knowledge during the period of initiation were imparted by elders but in most of the
community they were specific elders who had the role of instructor during the initiation and
this were referred to as teachers.

The initiates were warned against such things like incest, adultery, assault and theft and also
and were taught rules and how to behave in the presence of elders and other senior people.

The period of initiation was generally hard and challenging, but was helping young men and
women to become mature and self-reliant as they continued to learn throughout their life.
They were using formal and informal methods of education during this period.

The curriculum

The content of African indigenous education included;

The physical exercises, this includes: wrestling, games which required strength. This was
meant to enhance physical fitness, to strength them so that they can be the defender of the
community in case of external attack.
Economic: children were taught how to be productive and useful to the community; this
includes the teaching of art, potteries, basket making, metallurgy

Teaching of religious beliefs, morals, ethics, how to perform rites

History was taught orally (story of the family, clan), this was meant to help children to
understand why they had to keep things, beliefs, as they are.

The teaching of history, ethics, morals and religions was done through tales, legends, riddles,
proverbs. They were frightened the learners in order to make them obey and respect rules,
laws and mystics beliefs which were the base of the community.

Merit of African indigenous education

Indigenous education stressed on togetherness or unity as well as understanding of the rights

and obligations of each individual and working together within the community.

It involved children in real life. Indigenous preparation was guides by the principle of
learning by doing theories come from practice, children received functional learning which
largely prepared them to live and to work.

Educators had as responsibility to make sure boys and girls understand what is expected from
them by the community and to give them the necessaries.

I would say contrarily to the topics statement by saying that: Despite the weakness of the
systems in education such as conservative character, not flexible, static no innovative, there
was education in African indigenous societies which was meant to give learners the sense of
belonging to their community, to prepared them to life and to their roles in the community to
teach them how to conserve to beliefs and rites of the community. African education in
indigenous societies had values which are important in modern societies, values such as:
sense of belonging, togetherness, protection of the common goods and the spirit of serving
the community.

References

Sifuna.N.D; Chege N. Fatuma; IBRAHIMO o Oanda, (2006). Themes in the study of the
foundation of education. Nairobi: Jomo Kenyatta foundation.

Sifuna.D.N; Otiende. J.E, (2006). An introductory of history of education. Revised Edition.

Nairobi. Nairobi University.

Oxford dictionary. Eighth Edition.(2010). Oxford. Oxford University press

Abili Likimba, (1981). Leducation traditionnelle en Afrique et ses valeurs fondamentales.
Communication presentee au colloque du Centre de Recherche et de Pedagogie Appliquee
(CRPA) sur le theme: Valeurs et anti-valeurs des traditions Zairoises. Kinshasa. Roneo

Ngoma.N, (1981). Initiation dans les societies traditionelles Africaines, le cas de Kongo.
Kinshasa. P.U.Z. press Universitaire du Zaire

Ocitti.J.P, (1973). African indigenous education. Nairobi. East Africa Literature Bureau. http//
www.sitiwe.wordpress.com, wwwsitiwe.blog.com

Publi dans education

In traditional societies, women were seen as the source of labour, they did not own
means of production neither did they take part in decision making, but men heavily exploited
their labour. Even in learning segregation took place as womwn were isolated from men and
were supposed to learn skills realated to home management, mid wifery, healthcare weaving
and farming. On the other hand men attended to those skills considered irrelevant to women,
these included; masonry, building, or fishery.{ibid)

African indigenous education is relevant to the modern education today in the

following cases.

African indigenouos education is the basis for the foundation of Education for Self-
relience in modern education. During the establishment of ESR in 1967, Nyerere recalled
how the traditonal education was relevant to the community life-especially learning by doing,
and included it in modern education. Learners pareticiation in learning is highly encouraged
by morden educators.

Furthermore, it prepared its recepients for life duties in their societies, likewise
modern education is no exceptonal. It prepares the learners to enter the world of work, and
more specifically it changes with time. For example the introduction of information and
communication technology course in colleges and universities responds to the current
demands of information and communication technology, traditional education also changed
in response to societal problems, like how to combart the emerging diseases, wild animals,
enemies etc.

African indigenouos education has also greately influenced the need for development
of more appropriate problem solving educational curriculumand the promotion of life-long
education. Some aspects of African indigenouos education have continued to feature in policy
and practice of education.
 Basically African indigenouos education managed to provide education to all
members of the community, althogh it differed from tribe to tribe. With the coming of
western education however African indigenouos education was seen inadequate to contribete
to modern worlds demads and the need for new skills. The isolationism of African
indigenouos education was broken up as societis were now introduced into a larger world of
modern knowledge and technology.

REFERENCES

Cameroon, J. and Dodd. W. (1970) Society, Schools and Progress in Tanzania 1919-1970.
 London: James Currey

Kenyatta, (1961), Facing Mountain Kenya. The Tribal Life of the Kikuyu. London: Secker

and Warburg Ltd

Mushi PA K. (2009) History of Education in Tanzania. Dar-es-Salaam: Dar-es-Salaam

University Press

Nyerere, J.K(1975)Education Never Ends, the 1969 and 1970 New Years Eve address to

the Nation in NAEAT Adult Education and Development in Tanzania.

Dar-es-Salaam.

Nyerere J.K (1979a) Education for Self Reliance in Hinzen, H and Hundsdorfer, V H

(Eds) Education for Liberation and Development. The Tanzania Experience Hamburg

and Evans

www.eric.ed.gov/../recordDetail visited on 10th Jan 2011

INDIGENOUS AFRICAN EDUCATION
Posted on October 30, 2011 by Sitwe

INDIGENOUS AFRICAN EDUCATION

The principle aim of this paper is discuss the assertion that African children in pre-
colonial period learnt what they lived. The paper will be discussed in the light of
what is known about indigenous African education. However, to discuss this topic
thoroughly, a comparative approach in this discussion will be sustained in relation to
the education brought by the missionaries or modern education today.
What one would say without any arguments is that education existed for as long as
human beings started living in their societies in Africa. This type of education is
known as indigenous African education or traditional African education. This type of
education existed in Africa way back before the coming of the missionaries. However,
the missionaries came along with what is known as modern education or western
education. Each form of education had its own strengths and weaknesses. When the
missionaries came, they only looked at the weaknesses of traditional African
indigenous education and concluded based on what they saw that Africans were
uneducated. Little did the missionaries consider the merits of indigenous African
education even neglecting the fact that African children in pre-colonial period learnt
what they lived.
Kelly (1999:1) define education as a life long process in which the older generation
impart skills, values and knowledge into the young ones for their own survival.
Education is not the same as schooling, but it is a life long process conducted by
many agencies. Education is the action exercised by adult generation on those who
are not yet ready for social life.
African children in pre-colonial period learnt what they lived because they acquired
Informal education which is the life-long process whereby every individual acquires
attitudes, values, skills and knowledge from daily experiences and other educational
influences and resources in each ones environment for their own survival. This is the
type of education where one 1earns how to survive in life through experiences and
instructions from the elders by adapting to the environment.
Survivalistic education teaches individuals to adapt to the environment by finding
out means of surviving on their own void of others. It is clear in Africa and Zambia in
particular today that there is no any other form of education taught for the survival of
the children as it were in the indigenous African education. Individuals acquired
most of their knowledge, skills, attitudes and values through informal education, that
is, in the home, from the media, on the streets etcetera. African children in pre-
colonial period learnt what they lived simply because their type of education looked
mainly at the wellbeing of an individual and it can be eloquently said that education
existed in every society around the world. If education never existed, then people
would never have managed to survive. However, the provision of education may have
differed depending on the social needs of the people in a particular society. Thus, it
would be imperative to argue based its nature that African children in pre-colonial
period learnt what they lived in every respect.
Before the introduction of education brought by the missionaries in Africa, there was
a form of education that was aimed at preparing people for a better life in the society.
This type of education started from childhood until such a time when an individual
attained adulthood. Kelly (1999) states that although indigenous education systems
can vary from one place to another, the goals of these systems are often strikingly
similar. He further argued that the aim of indigenous education concerned with
instilling the accepted standards and beliefs governing correct behaviour and
creating unity and consensus. This looked mainly at the role of an individual in
society. On the contrary, modern education or the type of education that was brought
by the missionaries was aimed at making Africans learn how to read and write so that
Africans can easily be converted to Christianity. Thus, the missionaries were
motivated to give formal education, that is literacy and numeracy so that Africans
could read the Bible (evangelization) and spread the gospel to others. The
missionaries rejected much of tradition way of life because their desire was to
convert as many Africans as possible to Christianity religion. Thus, the education
provided was biased towards religion. The more the indigenous people learnt how to
read the Bible the higher the chances that they would be drown -to the Christian
faith. This kind of education did not teach African children to adapt to their
environments.
African children in pre-colonial period learnt what they lived as seen in the way their
education system was organised. In terms of organisation, Ocitti (1973) argued that
in African indigenous education, the powers were limited to tribal social division
family, lineage or village, clan, chiefdom. Organisations mainly describe the social
relationships that existed, that are the rights and duties of husbands, wives and
children. It also looks at whether a particular tribe is patrilineal or matrilineal that is
children belong to the husband or matrilineal where descent is towards the mothers
side or family. The relation between relatives (for example mothers or fathers
brother) was also seen to have special importance to a childs growing up. This
strongly strengthened learners to be oriented towards what they were doing.
African children in pre-colonial period learnt what they lived as their education was
organised and administered in the way that learners could easily adapt to it. In
African indigenous education, administration was done by the elders who
determined what was best for their generation and those generations to come. The
entire tribe or chiefdom would be administered by the kings or chiefs who would
either be elected or put in power through hereditary. The chief was mainly assisted
by the council which composed of the elder men of the tribe. It was some of these
elders who would play a bigger role in the provision of indigenous education by
establishing was children were encountering in their daily lives. This is because the
education was mainly towards the inculcation of good morals.
The content of indigenous education had much stress on the communal and social
aspect rather than on an individual. This was done mainly to prepare boys and girls
for adult life in households, villages and tribes. That is why the type of education
provided was described as static. This means that it was unchanging from
generation to generation, in other words it was rather conservative with little
innovation. Thus it was the same education that was practiced over and over for
years. (Mwanakatwe, 1974)

The content of indigenous education had its paramount importance on the detailed
knowledge of physical environment and the skills to exploit it. For instance, hunting
on the part of men and farming the part of females. It also had its stress on
togetherness or unity as well as understanding the rights and obligation of each
individual in a particular society. The concept of togetherness would teach the
indigenous people on how to live and work with others within the societies or
chiefdoms. The rights and obligations will put in place the extent and limitations of
individual rights. This was responsible for making sure that boys and girls
understand what is required of them in a particular society.

In its content, indigenous education also included laws, moral principles obligation
to ancestral spirits, to relatives and to others in groups or tribe. (Mwanakatwe: 1996).
It is from these lessons that children would learn to respect elders as well as pay
allegiance to the spirits if they wanted their days of their lives to be extended.
In contrast, the content of the education provided by the missionaries was only
biased towards religion. Snelson (1974) argued that the education provided had
stress on bible doctrines, agriculture, Carpentry, black smithering and other skills
that would help people raise their standards after which they would be drawn to the
Christian religion. This type of education had no appeal to the way people had
hitherto transmitted wisdom knowledge and experiences from one generation to the
next. This means that the missionaries did not consider the indigenous African
education to benefit them in any way neither did they consider how helpful it was
even to the Africans themselves.
Indigenous education encouraged togetherness or corporation rather than
competition as it is today. In short, competition was discouraged in any way possible;
instead unit was always the talk of the day in indigenous education rather than
todays education which encourages competition.
African children in pre-colonial period learnt what they lived because the methods of
teaching used in indigenous education were plain and similar because they were
action oriented and all based on doing. It was planned from childhood to adulthood
for children to adapt to their environments. So children would learn through
imitations Men would work, hunt or play and boys would imitate. Women would
also do the house chores in the presence of their daughters and later tell them to do
likewise. Sometimes, especially at evening time, children would learn through oral
literature as elders told education stories while sited around a fire. This was actually
the time when fear and punishment was used as motivators for learning and
behaviour. For instance, children would be told to stand still if elders are passing and
never to answer harshly if elders are rebuking them. They used to be told that
defaulters would grow hair on the neck or the earth would open and swallow them.
Thus the children would adhere to the instructions out of fear.

The other methods used were through social ceremonies and initiation ceremonies.
The later is where a boy or girl was taken in seclusion after attaining puberty. The
men were taught to work hard and provide for their families while the women were
taught to care for their husbands, children and the entire family. It was during this
time that men and women were taught to participate in adult activities fully (that is,
fishing, hunting, housekeeping etcetera). (Kelly 1999). All these justifies that African
children in pre-colonial period learnt what they lived
African children in pre-colonial period learnt what they lived due to the fact that
traditional education was meaningful, unifying, holistic, effective, practical and
relevant to the individual as well as the community at large. It created strong human
bonds because it involved the whole community. It was also recommended for the
fact that there was separation between education ands the world of work. Thus, it
reached out to and educated the whole person.
African indigenous education was valuable to both the individual as well as the
society. An individual benefited in that emphasis was much more concerned with
instilling the accepted standards and beliefs governing correct behaviour. In
addition, indigenous did not encourage competitiveness in intellectual and practical
matters instead it created unity consensus among members of a particular society or
tribe. Thus indigenous education was not only concerned with socialization of
younger generation into norms, religion, moral beliefs and collective opinions of the
wider society, it also laid a very strong emphasis on acquisition of knowledge which
was useful to the individual and society as whole. (Kelly 1999).

In a recap, indigenous forms of education served the needs of the community as a

whole justifying that African children in pre-colonial period learnt what they lived.
Hence, indigenous education theory hold that each of the individuals relationship
affects and is affected by all the other members of the community. There is need to
harmonize and integrate the best elements of both indigenous and todays education
system in order to create more viable system of education in Africa .

References
Blakemore and Cooksey (1980). A Sociology of Education for Africa . London Allen
and Unwin Publishers.
Bray M and Stephens (1986). Education and Society in Africa, London : Edward
Arnold
Kelly, M.J. (1998). Origin and Development of Schools in Zambia , Lusaka : Image
Publishers Limited.
Mwanakatwe M.J. (1974). The growth of Education in Zambia Since Independence,
Lusaka : Oxford UNZA Press.
Ocitti, J.P (1973). African Indigenous education. Nairobi : East Africa Literature
Bureau