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International Review of Education

, Volume 62, Issue 1, pp 45–62 | Cite as

Moving beyond a destructive past to a decolonised and inclusive future: The role of ubuntu-style education in providing culturally relevant pedagogy for Namibia

  • Karen L. Biraimah
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Namibia has one of the most dehumanising and destructive colonial pasts of any nation in Africa, or, for that matter, the world. Before colonisation, the area now known as Namibia was home to diverse cultural groups. The successive colonial regimes of Germany and South Africa inflicted genocide, brutality and apartheid on the region. Namibia finally fought for and won its independence in 1990 – over three decades after Ghana became the first independent sub-Saharan nation in 1957. Today, Namibia strives to leave behind its troubled past and harness the power of education to provide greater equality of opportunity and quality of life for all of its citizens. The concept of ubuntu, with its emphasis on inclusiveness, equity and equality, is central to Namibia’s pursuit of this goal. Significant challenges stand in its way, including extreme poverty, an emerging economy struggling with drought and a competitive world market, and a populace with multiple mother tongues and cultural traditions. After a brief summary of Namibia’s colonial past, this study examines these challenges, noting that the same factors that provide Namibia with a rich and diverse cultural tapestry also pose great difficulties for educators determined to provide equitable education for all. Current inequities in Namibian education are assessed, with a particular focus on the divide between urban and rural Namibia and between the four major ethnic and cultural groupings: the White Afrikaans speakers, the Black African majority, the Coloured population, and the Basters. The study concludes by suggesting multiple ways in which education could be brought closer into line with ubuntu values. The author argues that the very same factors that currently pose challenges to the quality and equity of Namibian education (ethnicity, urban/rural location, gender and socioeconomic class) might, if seen from a new perspective, become the basis for educational transformation.

Keywords

Cultural identity Ubuntu Inclusive education Namibia 

Résumé

Entre passé destructeur et avenir décolonisé et intégrateur : le rôle d’une éducation de style Ubuntu pour élaborer une pédagogie adaptée à la culture en Namibie – La Namibie possède l’un des passés coloniaux les plus déshumanisants et destructeurs parmi les nations africaines ou même mondiales. Avant la colonisation, le territoire couvert aujourd’hui par la Namibie abritait plusieurs groupes culturels. Les régimes coloniaux successifs de l’Allemagne et de l’Afrique du Sud ont infligé à la région génocide, brutalité et apartheid. Le pays a finalement lutté avec succès pour son indépendance acquise en 1990 – plus de trois décennies après celle du Ghana, première nation subsaharienne devenue indépendante en 1957. Aujourd’hui, la Namibie s’efforce de laisser derrière elle son passé douloureux et d’exploiter le pouvoir de l’éducation afin d’accroître pour tous ses citoyens l’égalité d’accès et la qualité de vie. Le concept Ubuntu, qui met l’accent sur l’inclusion, l’équité et l’égalité, est décisif dans la poursuite de cet objectif par le pays. Sa démarche est cependant entravée par des défis considérables, dont une extrême pauvreté, une économie émergente freinée par la sécheresse et un marché mondial concurrentiel, et une population caractérisée par une multitude de langues maternelles et de traditions culturelles. Après une brève synthèse du passé colonial de la Namibie, la présente étude examine ces défis et constate que les mêmes facteurs apportent au pays un paysage culturel riche et diversifié, tout en posant de grandes difficultés aux éducateurs déterminés à dispenser à tous une éducation équitable. L’auteure procède à une évaluation des inégalités actuelles dans le système éducatif, en particulier la fracture entre la Namibie urbaine et rurale, et entre les quatre grands groupes ethniques et culturels : les locuteurs afrikaans blancs, la majorité noire africaine, la population métisse et les Basters (bâtards). L’auteure conclut en proposant de nombreuses façons de rapprocher davantage l’éducation des valeurs Ubuntu. Elle avance que précisément les facteurs qui posent actuellement des défis à la qualité et à l’équité de l’éducation en Namibie (appartenance ethnique, milieu urbain et rural, sexe et catégorie socioéconomique) pourraient, à condition d’être considérés dans une nouvelle perspective, constituer le point de départ d’une transformation de l’éducation.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.College of Education and Human PerformanceUniversity of Central FloridaOrlandoUSA

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