Yusef Waghid

African philosophy of education reconsidered : on being human

Introduction: African Philosophy of Education as a Practice 2: In Defence of a Communitarian View of African Philosophy of Education 3: Religion, Ethics and Aesthetics in African Metaphysics and Epistemology 4: Towards a Different Understanding of African Education: Reconstituting the Place of Ubuntu 5: On Enacting Ubuntu, Democratic Citizenship Education and the Enlargement of Moral Imagination: Learning and Teaching in South Africa 6: On Education and Human Rights in Africa: Restating the Claims of Cosmopolitan Justice 7: On Educational Change and the Illusion of Inclusion: Against Exclusion on the African Continent Postscript: Terrorism and the Challenges to African Philosophy of Education

Reconsidering Ubuntu: On the educational potential of a particular ethic of care

In this article we argue that ubuntu (human interdependence) is not some form of essentialist notion that unfolds in exactly the same way as some critics of ubuntu might want to suggest. Rather, we offer a philosophical position that (re)considers the situation of the self in relation to others. The article starts from the general issues at stake in the debate concerning particularity and universalist ethics. We then reconsider the general position of the ethics of care, and particularly how it has recently been revisited by Michael Slote. Following this, ubuntu is characterised as a particular kind of ethic of care. With this in mind, what we shall put forward is an extension of Seyla Benhabibs (2006) view that the self and others should iteratively and hospitably engage in deliberation. Although we agree with Benhabib that iterations (as arguing over and over again and talking back) are worthwhile in themselves, considering ubuntu (‘a person becoming a person in relation with other persons’), we find Stanley Cavells (1979) idea of ‘living with skepticism’—particularly, acknowledging humanity in the Other and oneself—as more apposite to extend the theoretical premises of ubuntu. Although the practice of ubuntu is lived out differently amongst Africas people, we want to add to the diverse ways in which ubuntu can both disrupt and offer ways as to how challenges of human conflict and violence can possibly be resolved. The article finally addresses a couple of educational examples and argues that this approach, by being well‐grounded in the life experience of learners, can critically assist the central role of education.

Patriotism and Democratic Citizenship Education in South Africa: On the (im) possibility of reconciliation and nation building

In this article, I shall evaluate critically the democratic citizenship education project in South Africa to ascertain whether the patriotic sentiments expressed in the Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy (2001) are in conflict with the achievement of reconciliation and nation building (specifically peace and friendship) after decades of apartheid rule. My first argument is that, although it seems as if the teaching of patriotism through the Department of Educations democratic citizenship agenda in South African schools is a laudable initiative that can contribute toward establishing a definitive break with our apartheid past, the expression of blind patriotic sentiments (such as pledging allegiance to ones country and its citizens only) as articulated in the Manifesto can potentially marginalise others (immigrant communities) as the country endeavours to build its fledgling democracy. My second argument is that the intended democratic form of patriotism of the Department of Education can possibly be undermined by cultivating a culture of ‘safe expression’, which could slow down the countrys quest for reconciliation and nation building.

Reclaiming freedom and friendship through postgraduate student supervision

Postgraduate student supervision at the level of doctoral and masters studies can be enjoyable, frustrating and demanding. In this article I identify some of the challenging moments in postgraduate student supervision I have encountered over the past few years, focusing on the notion of learning as understood by some students. My contention, based on my interactions with doctoral and masters candidates,1 is that learning is understood by students as something that can at best be associated with a consumer and market-oriented ‘logic’, but that this conception of learning works against what ought to constitute ‘authentic’ learning. Hence, I argue for higher levels of freedom and friendship to become more prevalent in postgraduate student supervision in order to cultivate a culture of ‘authentic’ learning different from one that advocates a consumer, market-driven ‘logic’.

Peters' Non-Instrumental Justification of Education View Revisited: Contesting the Philosophy of Outcomes-based Education in South Africa.

In this article I argue that Outcomes-basedEducation is conceptually trapped in aninstrumentally justifiable view of education. Icontend that the notion of Outcomes-basedEducation is incommensurable with anon-instrumental justification of educationview as explained by RS Peters (1998). Theprocess of specifying outcomes in educationaldiscourse lends itself to manipulation andcontrol and thereby makes the idea ofOutcomes-based Education educationallyimpoverished. In this article an argument ismade for education through rational reflectionand imagination which can complement anOutcomes-based Education system for the reasonthat it finds expression in a non-instrumentaljustifiable view of education.

Education and madrassahs in South Africa: on preventing the possibility of extremism

Nowadays education in the madrassahs (Muslim schools) is constantly being placed under the spotlight, such as being considered as seedbeds for terrorism. This article takes a critical look at some South African madrassahs with the aim to find out what these educational institutions do and whether or not the possibility for radicalisation and extremism exists. It concludes with an argument for democratic citizenship education to be taught in the madrassahs.

Education, responsibility and democratic justice: Cultivating friendship to alleviate some of the injustices on the African continent

In South Africa there is widespread recognition amongst university educators that the new outcomes‐based education (OBE) system can prevent instrumental thinking, particularly in view of OBEs agenda to encourage critical learning. However, what these educators do not necessarily take into account is that many students are not always ready to deal with critical learning because of the apparent persistence of instrumental thinking at some universities in South Africa. Simply put, many students seem to be quite willing to be taught about some of the ends of education, rather than the reasons behind these ends. With this idea of desired student learning in mind, in this article, I argue that it has become necessary to fulfil the promise of democratic justice on the African continent through educating for friendship, rather than perpetuating uncritical modes of learning which could further extend the violation of human dignity on the African continent. Reflecting on several moments in my classroom pedagogy and conversations with colleagues at different universities, I firstly argue that critical learning cannot be blind to prescriptiveness, since students (in this case postgraduate students about to qualify professionally as school teachers) have to be made attentive in some way to the public realm of a democratic post‐apartheid South Africa and post‐colonial Africa. In short, they have to be taught what it means to be democratically just. Thereafter, I argue that teaching students about democratic justice can entail critical learning and, hence, be non‐instrumental, provided that university educators become more responsible educators. Finally, I examine how actions (non‐indoctrination, impartiality and deliberation achieved through respect and friendship) can potentially fulfil the democratic justice project, the success of which is so desperately needed on the African content.

Education, democracy and citizenship revisited : pedagogical encounters

CITATION: Waghid, Y. 2010. Education, Democracy and Citizenship Revisited: Pedagogical Encounters. Stellenbosch: SUN MeDIA. doi:10.18820/9781920338510.

Universities and public goods: In defence of democratic deliberation, compassionate imagining and cosmopolitan justice

CITATION: Waghid, Y. 2009. Universities and Public Goods: In Defence of Democratic Deliberation, Compassionate Imagining and Cosmopolitan Justice, in E. Bitzer (ed.). Higher Education in South Africa: A Scholarly Look behind the Scenes. Stellenbosch: SUN MeDIA. 71-83. doi:10.18820/9781920338183/04.

Teacher mobility, 'brain drain', labour markets and educational resources in the Commonwealth

by W.J. Morgan, A. Sives and S. Appleton, Nottingham, UNESCO Centre for Comparative Educational Research, 2006, 218 pp. (paperback), ISBN 66 1‐86192‐762 2 This book explores teacher mobility, more ...