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
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.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations