A stand-alone, blended or restructured indigenisation approach to curriculum? A critical perspective

Abstract

Attempts to come up with a relevant curriculum that responds to the African context, in general, and to Ethiopia, in particular, have been unsuccessful. The indigenisation approach has been applied in curriculum development and studies as a strategy for rehabilitating the knowledge base and perspectives of the neglected peoples in order to make their curricula relevant. Originally, the indigenisation approach involved a process of modifying a transplanted Western model to make it relevant to the importing country’s political and socio-cultural context. Now, it has transformed into an authentication or cultural validation approach that seeks authentic roots in the local system to construct a domestic model in the light of the social, cultural, political and economic characteristics and needs of a particular country. The problem addressed in this article is the lack of curriculum relevance to the Ethiopian socio-cultural and structural context which is hampering the country’s renaissance and development. This article employs a critical perspective to investigate the problem. A standalone indigenisation approach, which calls for rooting the curriculum in indigenous foundations and theories, as well as in principles and ideas derived from the culture, all followed by a blending approach which allows an intercultural dialogue, is suggested as being feasible. The authors argue that this approach is an alternative that can contribute towards ensuring the relevance of curriculum and the success of the African renaissance and development.