Afrocentric curriculum is designed to empower peoples of the African diaspora. They should feel confident about themselves as human beings and express a positive identity and wellbeing. Teachers should teach with respect and compassion for the African heritage and include African children and their culture and languages in all teaching/learning. Many Africans have been subjugated by limiting their awareness of themselves and indoctrinating them with ideas that they are inferior. All learners should be treated equally, and the curriculum should encourage the optimal development of learners, whatever their color, creed, or context. Teachers should be retrained on “ubuntugogy” thus uplifting the teaching and learning in classrooms. It is suggested that universities and Departments of Education work collaboratively to formulate a democratic Afrocentric curriculum for the 21 st century.
Published in Chapter:
School Safety in Mamelodi: A Contradiction in Terms
Keshni Bipath (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
Copyright: © 2019
|Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-7476-7.ch002
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the crisis surrounding school safety in South Africa in general and in Mamelodi East in particular. It outlines a case study of the context and crisis in primary schools there, laying bare the brutal truth of bullying, vandalism, and gangsterism in these schools. Research into senior primary, high, and primary schools led to an empirical investigation which included interviews with school principals. This confirmed a reality that is being ignored: the current education system is in fact creating more opportunities for violence, bullying, and impoverishment. While resources such as the National Safety Programme exist, their translation into real measures and interventions remains questionable. Amongst other interventions, a more relevant Afrocentric curriculum and training for teachers is recommended. All stakeholders in education, community, home, and industry need to be held responsible for this dire situation and to take collective action.