Browsing by Author "Chinsembu, Grace M."

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    Perceptions of lecturers in the faculties of Education and Agricultural and natural Resources at the University of Namibia towards prospects and challenges of integrating indigenous knowledge (IK) into the University curricula
    (2013) Chinsembu, Grace M.
    The study set out to analyse the perceptions of lecturers of the faculties of Education, Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Namibia towards the prospects and challenges of integrating Indigenous Knowledge into the university curricula. Convenience sampling was used to select the respondents, and the study was descriptive in nature. The findings of the study indicated that 27.0% of the lecturers equated IK to community and cultural knowledge Majority (81.1%) of the lecturers supported the inclusion of IK into the curricula. Similarly, the perceptions on the type of content reviewed that many lecturers opted for traditional medicine and traditional education. Lecturers perceived that the integration of IK into the university curricula should be done through research, policy formulation, introduction a degree programme on IK, and infusion of IK into the already existing curricula. The mechanisms for preserving IK were documentation and informal education. Prospects of integrating IK into the curricula were very high. However, the challenges of integrating IK into the curricula included the following: unskilled person-power, lack of documentation, non-scientific nature of IK, and different cultural backgrounds. The results of this study make a strong case for the teaching and learning of IK at the University of Namibia. The University of Namibia should either integrate IK into existing curricula or implement new IK degree programme and courses.
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    To integrate or not: Exploring the prospects and challenges of integrating indigenous knowledge at the University of Namibia
    (University of Namibia Press, 2015) Chinsembu, Grace M.; Hamunyela, Miriam N.
    Namibia has a population of about 2.1 million people of which 87.5% belong to one of nine main indigenous ethnic groups: Aawambo (50.0%), vaKavango (9.0%), Ovaherero (7.0%), Damara (7.0%), Nama (5.0%), Lozi (4.0%), San (3.0%), Baster (2.0%) and Tswana (0.5%) (UNDP, 2000). In Namibia, ethnic identity is stronger than national identity, with 75% of Namibians feeling much stronger ties to people of their own ethnic group than to fellow compatriots of other ethnic groups (Shaw- Taylor, 2008). Undoubtedly, a lot of indigenous knowledge is embedded within these strong ethnic and cultural precincts. Over the past two decades, many Namibian policy makers and knowledge workers have begun to realize the importance of indigenous knowledge in the country’s development process. In 2011, the Polytechnic of Namibia hosted a three-day conference on the technology of indigenous knowledge under the theme, ‘Embracing indigenous knowledge systems into a new technology design paradigm’. During this conference, Namibians were urged to nurture the knowledge of their ancestors and ensure that it is protected and preserved. At the University of Namibia (UNAM), the Multidisciplinary Research Centre (MRC) conducts annual indigenous knowledge symposia. The MRC also has a research programme on indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), which is funded by the Ministry of Education (ME). Nowadays, more plans are being devoted to the documentation of indigenous knowledge before it disappears.