African Pedagogy Through the Lens of Indigenous Knowledge and Decolonisation

Abstract

Africa needs to decolonise its education in order to minimise Western hegemony in education. This chapter, therefore, argues that integration of Indigenous knowledge systems into African education is not merely supplementary but fundamental to the process of minimising such imperial dominance. The chapter examines how colonial educational frameworks deliberately subjugated African ways of knowing, dismissing them as primitive and inferior, which entrenched a paradigm of intellectual dependency. The chapter then proposes a transformative pedagogical strategy rooted in epistemic reconstitution, advocating for the intentional reinstatement of Indigenous perspectives in the African classroom alongside a critical engagement with Western thought. It particularly emphasises the development of ‘solar knowledge’ to cultivate the ethical and spiritual dimensions of learning in higher education. In conclusion, the chapter recommends the indigenising of curricula across all subjects and reforming teacher education to foster a decolonial mindset and pedagogical approach. Such measures are crucial for reclaiming Africa’s educational sovereignty and enabling its graduates to produce contextually relevant and globally engaged knowledge.