Is traditional African education still valid in the 21st century? : A case study of traditional education of the Mwera tribe in Nachingwea District, Lindi region, Tanzania
Loading...
Date
2006
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Historically we can say that education is as old as mankind. From the very beginning
people from all societies have been concerned with education and in response to the
questions of education, they have given various answers. The answers have come to us
in our times in the form of educational traditions. Therefore people speak of African
tradition, the Europeans tradition, etc. In the case of Africa, Traditional African
Education (TAE) was taken seriously and for this reason it involved everybody that is
every adult member of the community was taken to be a teacher who provided
direction to the young on their way to adulthood life. Today the educational
understanding in which Africa finds herself now can be traced partly to the fact that the
new African breed of leaders, educated people and even young people only took pride
in occupying the positions previously occupied by the white man. Hardly did they
recognize any value in the traditional culture that the white man had come to condemn.
The leaders and policy makers have adopted European education hook, line and sinker
and became proponents of the system they had condemned. Africans abandoned or
looked down upon their own language, clothing/dress, food, religion, names, and
kindred cultural tags. The study examined, described and analysed critically the
traditional African education and see how the colonial domination in Africa changed
the traditional structural system. Problems that contributed to the decline of traditional
African education have been discussed. Suggestions and recommendations have also
been given. The results show that most of respondents were knowledgeable about
traditional African education. But with the advent of modern times in Africa and
particularly in Nachingwea District where the research was conducted these age-old
traditions have been abandoned. Confronted with new changes in all areas of life,
modern man has come to a point where the old is no longer meaningful and relevant as
before.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
African education, Education of the Mwera, Mwera tribe in Nachingwea, 21st century, Europeans tradition