Abstract Book of the 11th International Academic Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences
Year: 2025
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Recognition of Indigenous Languages in Higher Education Learning and Teaching Settings as Ubuntu and Justice
Mzuyabonga Gumede
ABSTRACT:
South Africa, like all other countries of the world that underwent colonization, experienced trivialization of its indigenous languages in a myriad of ways. Basic and higher education arenas manifested adverse repercussions regarding the students’ s academic success and epistemological access due to the imposition of English as a colonial language to local students as a medium of instruction. This conceptual paper makes an argument that the recognition and utilization of the indigenous languages in higher education learning and teaching settings will do justice and promote ubuntu to students’ learning. The practice of justice and ubuntu through the recognition and utilization of indigenous languages will arguably culminate in effortless epistemological access and student success. In this sense, the local students will bring their worldviews into learning. Hence, they will actively participate in knowledge creation since they will mirror themselves as valuable humans who are treated with ubuntu in learning. Ubuntu-based learning and teaching practice foregrounds the ethos of care, equity, love, compassion, collectivity, commitment, respect, dignity, and diligence. Likewise, justice promotes human dignity and equal affordance of opportunities to citizens in all walks of life, such as education. In support of the researcher’s argument, a body of relevant literature will be used to illuminate the points being made. The study is framed by the theory of agency and educational equity mindset. Therefore, agency and educational equity mindset can enable the recognition of the students’ worldviews in learning, which find expression in their indigenous languages.
Keywords: agency, educational equity mindset, epistemological access, medium of instruction, worldviews