ERIC Number: EJ1239826
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Dec
Pages: 50
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1740-2743
EISSN: N/A
Using Ethnocentric Dialogic Education to Develop the Autonomy of Children in Africa: A Kenyan Study
Corrado, Evelyn Wandia
Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, v17 n3 p82-131 Dec 2019
Dialogue can be an excellent weapon for justice and liberation, which 'silenced' groups could use to challenge the status quo and authenticate their efficacy. Over the years, there has been a preconceived negative focus on Africans which has suppressed African children's autonomy. Consequently, there is a need to liberate the position of children in Africa through illuminating their reality, by paving the way for their emancipation, through the use of pedagogical spaces. Impartiality can only happen when these children are actively engaged in their world. The process needs to start from having interactive classrooms by incorporating dialogic approaches. Using a study in Kenya, I explored the reality and complexity of childhoods in Africa which has not been investigated before. I used observations of 10-12-year-old students in their classrooms learning, within their school environment and also within their community. I also interviewed five teachers exploring how dialogic practice could be applied. It was evident that most of the students (children) in Kenya have active and vibrant childhood experiences in their social-cultural lives. However, they engage passively in their classroom learning, where their voices are silent. The silencing scars their engagements in the formal settings, positioning them into passive positions, even when they are misrepresented and overlooked. Thus, if African education embraces dialogic engagement, then, students will be equipped with skills to emancipate themselves and their identity. The exercise also could salvage these students' participation locally and globally. Although pedagogical reform is critical, further dialogues with key players are necessary.
Descriptors: Personal Autonomy, Dialogs (Language), Foreign Countries, Teaching Methods, Classroom Communication, Interaction, Child Development, Classroom Environment, Teacher Attitudes, Self Concept, Learner Engagement, Educational Change, Ethnocentrism, African Culture, Culturally Relevant Education, African Languages, Learning Processes, Language Usage, Course Descriptions, Power Structure, Comparative Analysis, Institutional Characteristics, Parent Participation, Educational Resources
Institute for Education Policy Studies. University of Northampton, School of Education, Boughton Green Road, Northampton, NN2 7AL, UK. Tel: +44-1273-270943; e-mail: ieps@ieps.org.uk; Web site: http://www.jceps.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Kenya
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A