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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:New Wine in an Old Bottle: Culturally Relevant Curriculum from Eritrean Indigenous Education System
Author:Sullivan-Owomoyela, JoanISNI
Year:1996
Periodical:Eritrean Studies Review (ISSN 1086-9174)
Volume:1
Issue:2
Period:Fall
Pages:1-26
Language:English
Notes:biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:Eritrea
Northeast Africa
Subjects:curriculum
traditional education
Education and Oral Traditions
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
education
Ethnography
indigenous knowledge
Curriculum planning
educational systems
science and technology
Abstract:A critical consideration in making the curriculum in African formal education systems culture specific is the incorporation of indigenous pedagogical issues to ease a learner's transition between the informal and formal learning environs. The identification of cultural components that are most influential in the learning process and the transference of these elements to the formal educational system curricula in Eritrea is addressed in this study. Ethnographic research was conducted during the 1994-1995 academic year in four culturally and linguistically diverse settings, among Kunama in Barentu, Saho in Qohaito, Tigré in Asmat, and Tijgrinya refugee returnees in Golluj. In each setting the author investigated how the indigenous competencies of fine arts, language, spatial and logical reasoning, and interpersonal relationships were developed in the home and society environs. The data collected indicated an indigenous education framework consisting of cultural activities, methods of transmission, transmitters, and values that constituted the basic components in learners' acquisition of proficiency in each competency area. Common themes emerged from the variant indigenous education systems which may be transferred to the national curriculum to create not only a link between the home/society and the school, but also to contribute to the process of community building. Notes, ref.
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