Challenges to development and indigenous knowledge management: informing university ICT pedagogical frameworks in Africa.
Kanakulya, T.D.Abstract:
This paper holds that ICT can enhance and sustain authentic African development namely, local human capacity building; community based decision-making and participatory approach to development. The emergence of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) within development discourse could significantly make a contribution if incorporated into the ICTs framework of tools. But incorporating IK into ICTs presents challenges. The paper examines a number of IK challenges in an African university such as curriculum innovativeness; epistemological and pedagogical adjustment; and adjusting to new paradigms in development discourse while at the same time considering the possible contribution of new technological innovation. The content lies in the general domain of the development discourse within which the contribution of IK is analyzed. With the basic assumption that social advancement ('development') is founded in a given community’s epistemology, it argues that authentic development must necessarily consider the nature of knowledge that prevails. The increasing disillusionment in Africa over the Naturalist knowledge project is appreciated and therefore proposes 'knowledge-mode' dialogue as a possible synthesis. In conclusion, whereas IK can help significantly in the local emancipatory development, there are still major challenges that call for more analysis and research.
Full text available as: pdf
| Chapter Title: | Challenges to development and indigenous knowledge management: informing university ICT pedagogical frameworks in Africa. |
| Book Title: | Universities: taking a leading role in ICT enabled human development. |
| Edited by: | F.F. Tusubira & Nora K. Mulira |
| City: | Kampala, Uganda |
| Publisher: | Phanton Solutions |
| No. of Pages: | 54 - 69 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| Document Type: | Chapter in Book (Peer Reviewed) |
| Subject Area: | Contributory Studies and Research Approaches |
| Country: | African Continent |
| Keywords: | Indigenous Knowledge Systems IKS, Information & Communication Technology ICT, Knowledge Management, Knowledge, Pedagogy, Universities |
| File Size: | 356 KB |
| Rights: | Permission granted by editors |
| Date Added: | 28 August 2008 |