Ethno-epistemological view to achieve educational goals

Abstract

From a teaching and learning perspective, the ethno-epistemological view can be used to achieve educational goals of democracy, quality, equity and access. Encouragement to ensure that the educational goals are achieved is seen in the curricula of many educational systems. However, implementers of educational goals aim to achieve educational goals using the Eurocentric perspective. The Eurocentric perspective has a context that is different from that of the ethno-epistemological perspective. For this reason, the objective of this concept paper is to emerge a hybrid approach to contextualize and address educational goals during teaching and learning through using an African ethno-epistemological perspective. There is a need to answer the question on how these goals be achieved using the construct of the ethno-epistemology view triggered the above objective. The mentioning of goals in a curriculum of an educational system aims to ensure teaching and learning are relevant and significant to trigger human development. Authors used a methodology involving analysis of sampled curricula in the region that suggest ethno-epistemological view can be useful to address educational challenges. The sampled curricula were selected basing on the fact that their curricula suggest decolonization. However, curricula do not mention how ethno-epistemological perspectives can be used to mitigate challenges teachers face when they want to achieve educational goals. This is also evident as sampled curricula emphasize the need to engage educational goals as important to meet the schooling needs of learners and students during the teaching and learning process. However, curricula do not mention how educational goals can be achieved using the ethno-epistemology view. Also, the use of questioning and follow-up questions to students during teaching reveal that educational goals can be addressed using an ethno-epistemological perspective. Findings were the use of culturally aligned analogies, similes, case studies and others ensured the success of implementing educational goals to contextualize teaching and learning. As a result, the ethno-epistemological perspective allows decolonizing the curriculum and contextualizing as deep learning occurs.