ERIC Number: EJ1212566
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Apr-10
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1990-3839
EISSN: N/A
Pastoral Education: The Missing Link in Uganda Education System
Ochieng, Sidonia Angom; Waiswa, David Claeve
Educational Research and Reviews, v14 n7 p240-253 Apr 2019
Pastoralism is a production system closely linked with cultural identity that relies on raising livestock on pastures. Studies indicate that over 30 million people in the Great Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) practice pastoralism and agropastoralism as a major source of livelihoods. Livestock are their social, cultural, spiritual and economic assets providing food and income for the family within and between generations. Yet this important production system of livelihood as well as socialisation mechanism is missing in the school or university curriculum of these countries including Uganda. With the exception of Tanzania and Ethiopia that have recently designed a curriculum on pastoral studies in their university curriculum, pastoral education has been missing in the school and University curriculum of the Great Horn of Africa school systems yet most of these countries livelihoods depend on pastoralism. From the socialisation perspective, the dynamism surrounding the livelihoods of these communities and/or families impedes peace in society. Families as social units play very important role of socialisation and recreation therefore, making pastoral education an important element not only from an African traditional context but also from the sociological perspectives. The sense and complex nature of communities and households struggling to improve on their own survival and development through the practice of pastoralism are complex yet central to the maintenance of peace and stability of the communities. The inclusion of pastoral education to the school and university curriculum as a common or cross cutting course unit would introduce undergraduate and postgraduate students to the fascinating and rich world of pastoralism. This would provide the students with knowledge and skills to analyse and understand pastoral systems as they exist today, and the options for their future development in support of national economic growth in a changing world. The curriculum would also help students from different backgrounds to understand how pastoralism functions as a system, its contributions to local, national and global economies and sustainable environmental management, and its role in promoting peace, socialisation, and harmony between pastoral and other communities.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Indigenous Knowledge, Cultural Influences, Elementary Secondary Education, Postsecondary Education, Educational History, Foreign Policy, Teacher Education, Animals, Agricultural Occupations, Mobility, Curriculum, Relevance (Education), Educational Policy
Academic Journals. e-mail: err@academic.journals.org; e-mail: service@academicjournals.org; Web site: http://academicjournals.org/journal/ERR
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Uganda
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A