The perspectives of nursing students regarding the incorporation of African traditional indigenous knowledge in the curriculum

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine

 
 
Field Value
 
Title The perspectives of nursing students regarding the incorporation of African traditional indigenous knowledge in the curriculum
 
Creator Ngunyulu, Roinah N. Sepeng, Nombulelo Moeta, Mabitja Gambu, Sanele Mulaudzi, Fhumulani M. Peu, Mmampeko D.
 
Subject — curriculum; participatory transformative approach; African traditional Indigenous knowledge; practices; decolonisation
Description Background: South Africa was caught off guard by the student unrest in 2015 and 2016. This unrest was named the #fees must fall campaign. During this campaign, students raised the issue of decolonisation of the curriculum, challenging the higher education fraternity and the academic community. This was based on the fact that the existing curriculum has inadequate content on African traditional indigenous knowledge (ATIK), and continues to use the Western approach to address the needs of a multicultural, multiracial and multi-ethnic societies. Institutions responded by initiating dialogues regarding decolonisation of the curriculum in senates, scholars and between different health professional bodies.Aim: This article aimed to explore and describe the perspectives of nursing students regarding incorporating ATIK into the curriculum.Methods: Using a participatory transformative approach, researchers and participants worked collaboratively to inform social change. Participants comprised nursing students. The academics, traditional health practitioners, indigenous knowledge holders and primary health care nurses formed the panellists. Data were collected through one communal dialogue workshop, which lasted for 8 hours, tea and lunch included. Data were analysed thematically.Results: Students’ perspectives emerged strongly as four themes, namely, politics of identity, displacement and distortion, curriculum content and institutional resistance. Students expressed that the current education system results in an identity crisis. The existing curriculum does not adequately convey an understanding of ATIK; it is displaced and distorted.Conclusion: Nursing science has great potential to incorporate the wealth of ATIK into its curriculum. In spite of a vibrant and rich cultural heritage, the ATIK specific to nursing sciences still needs to be incorporated into the existing curriculum in a responsive and relevant manner.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Department of Nursing Science
Date 2020-04-16
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/phcfm.v12i1.2171
 
Source African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 12, No 1 (2020); 8 pages 2071-2936 2071-2928
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2171/3715 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2171/3714 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2171/3716 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2171/3713
 
Coverage — 2018-2019 —
Rights Copyright (c) 2020 Roinah N. Ngunyulu, Nombulelo Sepeng, Mabitja Moeta, Sanele Gambu, Fhumulani M. Mulaudzi, Mmampeko D. Peu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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