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“New Education” for the Congo? The indigenist approach, New Education and prescriptive pedagogy

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Abstract

This article responds to a question put forward approximately a decade ago by the history of education research group at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven: Did the child-centred ideas of New Education, as promoted by Ovide Decroly, influence the education policy in the former Belgian colony of Congo? Naturally, ideas were circulating that could have been linked with indigenism, taking into account African traditions and local oral traditions. Some hold that in everyday educational practice, as much in Belgium as in the Belgian Congo, the paternalistic perspective remained uninterrupted. Offering a more nuanced picture, this article is based on the biography of Gustaaf Hulstaert, a noted missionary educator, and also analyzes his textbooks and manuals.

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Hulstaert’s textbooks in the Mongo language

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  • Bekolo bya bakambo [Fables about judicial matters] (1954). Mbandaka, Belgian Congo: Batomami ba Boloko w’Oyengwa wa Yesu.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Etienne Sabbelaan, 53, 8500, Kortrijk, Belgium

    Marc Depaepe

  2. Groenenboomgaard 24, 1760, Roosdaal, Belgium

    Frank Simon

  3. Wilselsesteenweg 9, 3020, Herent, Belgium

    Honoré Vinck

Authors
  1. Marc Depaepe
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  2. Frank Simon
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  3. Honoré Vinck
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Correspondence to Frank Simon.

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Depaepe, M., Simon, F. & Vinck, H. “New Education” for the Congo? The indigenist approach, New Education and prescriptive pedagogy. Prospects 45, 95–111 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-014-9331-0

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