The influence of rurality and its indigenous knowledge on teaching methods in higher education – lessons from Ukulange Mbusa of the Bemba people of Zambia

Abstract

This study was on the influence of rurality and its Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) with reference to the Ukulange Mbusa (UM) ceremony of the Bemba people of the Northern Zambia. Rurality is a demographic and a social category and implies distance from urban centres, sparse population, lack of amenities, infrastructure and sometimes social deprivation. A lot of forms of indigenous knowledge are imparted on learners from rural areas before they join universities and meet other knowledge systems. The study tried to establish if some learning and teaching approaches, methods and techniques used in such traditional ceremonies and settings could influence the teaching and learning in higher learning institutions. Interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGD), and documents analysis were used to collect data. The sample was drawn from traditional chiefs, women counsellors (alangizi) and university students initiated in the Ukulange Mbusa ceremony. Findings of the study are that the positive influences of rurality and their forms of indigenous knowledge are often minimised, misunderstood, ignored, viewed as backward, local, native, and therefore not suitable for use in higher learning institutions. However, this study argues that progressive indigenous forms of knowledge must be hybridized with the university ones, save negative ones such as those fuelling early marriages.
 
 Keywords: Indigenous knowledge, Rurality, Folklore, Culture, ZambiaHow to cite this article:Banda, D. & Kapwepwe, M. 2020. The influence of rurality and its indigenous knowledge on teaching methods in higher education – lessons from Ukulange Mbusa of the Bemba people of Zambia. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South. 4(2): 197-217. https://doi.org/10.36615/sotls.v4i2.148.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Rural students’ transition in and through a semi-urban university: Experiences from the National University of Lesotho

“…As such, they tend to be overwhelmed with both academic and social demands (Beach et al, 2019). For example, the students were daunted by the fact that they had to do the bulk of the work independently, while at the same time they struggled to cope with fast-paced lecturing where information was presented and handouts issued without adequate guidance and explanation (Banda & Kapwepwe, 2020). This implies that higher education teachers need to be more conscious and empathetic of the fact that their students come from different backgrounds (Devlin et al, 2012).…”

“…Thus, there should also be application of teaching approaches that are accommodative of rural students. Higher education should regard decoloniality and the related spatial geographic theory as imperatives to be considered to ensure equitable access on the part of students from different socio-cultural backgrounds (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2018;Banda & Kapwepwe, 2020). For instance, these students should undergo a comprehensive orientation programme with specific focus on study skills and life skills required to ease their transition.…”

“…Accordingly, university teaching approaches often include fast-paced teaching approaches wherein the lecturer presents information to students or gives handouts to study in search of answers to be reproduced (Banda & Kapwepwe, 2020).…”

“…This state of affairs leaves rural students feeling left out and isolated. This is because they are used to rural teaching approaches, which include slow-paced guidance, instruction, questioning that is paced with the learners' abilities, as well as facilitation of student collaboration and active participation (Banda & Kapwepwe, 2020). Nonetheless, the status quo continues despite the fact that higher education is supposed to be a public good that caters for all prospective students irrespective of their geographical or social background.…”