PDU3701
Assignment 2 2026
Unique number:
Due Date: 2026
Detailed solutions, explanations, workings
and references.
+27 81 278 3372
, QUESTION 1
1.1
African values were marginalised in education mainly through colonial and
postcolonial schooling systems that prioritised Western knowledge, languages and
worldviews while treating African ways of knowing as inferior or irrelevant. During
colonial rule, education was deliberately designed to serve the political and
economic interests of colonial powers. School curricula reflected European history,
philosophy, religion and culture, while African histories, languages and belief
systems were either ignored or presented as primitive and backward (Higgs and
Letseka, 2022).
One key way African values were marginalised was through language. Colonial
education systems imposed European languages such as English, French and
Portuguese as the main languages of teaching and learning. Indigenous African
languages were excluded from formal education or used only in the lower grades.
This undermined African identity and cultural expression, as language is central to
the transmission of values, customs and collective memory (Higgs and Letseka,
2022).
Another major form of marginalisation occurred through curriculum content. African
philosophies such as ubuntu, communalism and indigenous knowledge systems
were not recognised as legitimate sources of knowledge. Instead, Western
individualism, competition and rationalism were promoted as universal truths.
Learners were taught to value Western lifestyles, success models and knowledge
systems above their own cultural traditions. This created a sense of alienation,
where African learners were forced to disconnect from their communities in order to
succeed academically.
Teaching methods also contributed to marginalisation. African education traditionally
emphasised oral traditions, storytelling, apprenticeship, collective responsibility and
moral formation. Colonial schooling replaced these with rigid classroom structures,
rote learning and examination-driven teaching. As a result, education became
detached from learners’ lived realities and community life.
Varsity Cube 2026 +27 81 278 3372
Assignment 2 2026
Unique number:
Due Date: 2026
Detailed solutions, explanations, workings
and references.
+27 81 278 3372
, QUESTION 1
1.1
African values were marginalised in education mainly through colonial and
postcolonial schooling systems that prioritised Western knowledge, languages and
worldviews while treating African ways of knowing as inferior or irrelevant. During
colonial rule, education was deliberately designed to serve the political and
economic interests of colonial powers. School curricula reflected European history,
philosophy, religion and culture, while African histories, languages and belief
systems were either ignored or presented as primitive and backward (Higgs and
Letseka, 2022).
One key way African values were marginalised was through language. Colonial
education systems imposed European languages such as English, French and
Portuguese as the main languages of teaching and learning. Indigenous African
languages were excluded from formal education or used only in the lower grades.
This undermined African identity and cultural expression, as language is central to
the transmission of values, customs and collective memory (Higgs and Letseka,
2022).
Another major form of marginalisation occurred through curriculum content. African
philosophies such as ubuntu, communalism and indigenous knowledge systems
were not recognised as legitimate sources of knowledge. Instead, Western
individualism, competition and rationalism were promoted as universal truths.
Learners were taught to value Western lifestyles, success models and knowledge
systems above their own cultural traditions. This created a sense of alienation,
where African learners were forced to disconnect from their communities in order to
succeed academically.
Teaching methods also contributed to marginalisation. African education traditionally
emphasised oral traditions, storytelling, apprenticeship, collective responsibility and
moral formation. Colonial schooling replaced these with rigid classroom structures,
rote learning and examination-driven teaching. As a result, education became
detached from learners’ lived realities and community life.
Varsity Cube 2026 +27 81 278 3372
