Fostering Africanisation: A Lesson of Identity Formation among Youth

In recent years, africanisation of education has become a topical subject in most African countries, and South Africa is no exception. Conscientious Africans are looking at possibilities of africanising knowledge while keeping abreast with global trends. Some experts and philosophers have highlighted that making the curriculum relevant to the African context is very crucial and has a potential of enhancing learning among African learners. However, absent in many discussions are practical aspects as to how learners and their educators can play an active role in enacting africanisation of the curriculum in the learning sites. This study was conducted in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and the researcher employed transformational research strategies and participatory methods to investigate the potential effects of the introduction of African indigenous knowledge systems (AIKS) in a learning site. The study found that educators need to understand that democratisation of education calls for the acknowledgement that through education, learners can be assisted in making certain choices in life. The study also confirmed that part of the teachers’ work is to assist the learners discover what they already have. Learners in Africa can, and should use the indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) to develop a sense of self, necessary for worthwhile living in their context. Furthermore, it was also established that transformational pedagogy would be crucial in the introduction of AIKS in the classroom.