Challenging dualism: shaping pedagogies for digital learning Dr John Hannon of La Trobe University
And
Construction and reconstruction in indigenous
knowledge systems in Africa Prof Lone Ketsitllile & Dr Uju Ukwuona
This was my first
visit to the SOTL@UJ Seminar series. These two talks and the respondent’s (Prof
Gert van der Westhuizen) unusual participatory turn in concluding), created
elegant threads of questions, examples, arguments, and provocations.
I enjoyed John’s opening
critique of ‘elevator words’ that don’t explain anything – such clichéd abstractions
need to be materialised: take ‘teaching and learning’ – which have contested
and competing theoretical traditions. (How
nicely, I though this will tie in with the Indigenous Knowledge systems talk –
which it did.)
Another bridging theme
between the two talks is Dualism: subject/object; human/technology;
virtual/real; theory/practice; bounded/unbounded spaces. John asked: ‘How are knowledge practices
enacted? There are ontological and methodological questions: knowledge needs to
be practiced; things don’t exist by themselves …
(And I thought of the dualisms tabulated by Ogunniyi (2004:293) of
western knowledge and IKS – I have changed them slightly.)
Science
Knowledge
|
IKS
|
Science is based on a
dualistic worldview
|
IKs is based on a holistic
worldview
|
Time is real and has a
continuous irreversible
series of duration. Time is commodified. Speed valued.
|
Time is continuous and
cyclical. Taking time is valued.
|
Matter is real and exists within time
and space. The world exists
‘out there’.
|
Matter is real and exists within time,
space and the ethereal realm. World is
relational.
|
All events have natural
causes
|
Events have both natural and unnatural
causes
|
Scientific laws/generalizations are
causal, logical, rational, impersonal
and universal
|
Generalizations within the indigenous
knowledge systems are relative
statements
which do not purport to have
universal application
|
Language is not important to the
workings of the natural world
|
Language is important as a creative
force in the workings of both the
natural and the unnatural
worlds
|
Science is culture free
|
Indigenous knowledge is a critical part
of culture
|
Lone Kesitlile and Uju Ukwuona |
There were more mental challenges in Lone and Uju’s presentation on the need to include IKS in
curricula. Reasons for including – or starting from an IK perspective in class -
include social justice, redress, student-centred approaches and the
decolonisation of the mind. (Here I thought of the injunction of Millar 25
years ago that that scientific literacy needs
to be socially defined - to
prevent disalienation.) We
have great IK policies in South Africa (but not in Botswana we were told). However,
since the vision in Southern Africa of ‘People’s Education for People’s Power’ in
the 1980s which included elements of indigenous knowledge (Prew, 2013), and the
more recent IK focus from NRF, DOE and DST there is little creativity or will
around implementation in schools.
Continuing the conversation on IK – curricula
integration may lead us to consider aspects of troublesome knowledge, patriarchy,
local knowledge vs universal knowledge. It is interesting that many of the IK-curriculum
ideals have been lost somewhere between theory and practice. A site for
reconstruction indeed.
Gert van der Westhuizen |
(Last thoughts…) I was jolted by Gert’s declaration that we have an epistemic responsibility “I say what I say to continue the conversation.” I hope that I have done that.
References
Millar,
R. (1989), “Constructive criticisms”. International Journal of Science
Education, pp. 587-596.
Ogunniyi, M. (2004). The
challenge of preparing and equipping science teachers in higher education to
integrate scientific and indigenous knowledge systems for learners. South African Journal of Higher Education. 18 (3) pp.
289-304.
Prew, M. (2013).
‘People’s Education for People’s Power’: The Rise and Fall of an Idea in
Southern Africa. In Logics of Socialist Education. (pp.
133-153). Springer Netherlands.