AFROCENTRICITY AND INCLUSION OF AFRICAN HISTORY IN THE HIGHER LEARNING CURRICULA: STUDENT PERCEPTIONS AND VOICES

Abstract

Exclusion of African history in the curricula of institutions of higher learning, particularly in the context of Africa, has been a common concern. Central to this concern are questions relating to how African history can add value to the academic formation as well as critical thinking of students. Drawing from qualitative data collected using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Semi-Structured interviews and documentary research, this paper discusses important considerations in the inclusion of the African history in the higher learning curricula. This was done by exploring and examining perceptions as well as, views of students at the University of Botswana relating to African history and higher learning curricula, in the hope of discovering various factors that have contributed to the exclusion of African history in the tertiary education curricula. Educational background of lecturers, lack of adequate African history documentation and globalization were cited as contributing factors towards the current exclusion of African history. Through the lens of Afrocentricity, we argue that African history, narratives and experiences are determinant factors of the future. This is to say that, meaningful contributions to the development and study of Africa should include Africa’s own history, narratives, perspectives and interests. Without their preservation, acknowledgement and incorporation into educational institutions for future generations, graduate unemployment perpetuated by inability to contextualize skills, emigration and continued dependence on the west plus a magnified loss of African pride and culture will continue to exist. A rigorous Afrocentric curricula transformation therefore remains an important matter deserving of attention and interrogation among institutions of higher learning in the continent especially Botswana.