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| November 2009 |
Insight/Opinion |
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Literacy in rural Africa is yet to incorporate the key driver for change: scientific literacyProf Wanja Gitari
In rural Africa we are accustomed to the emphasis on basic literacy in reading and writing: jifunze kusoma na kuandika. Basic literacy was introduced as a modernizing measure to help rural Africans function in the prevailing local and global social, economic, and political contexts. However, it has become apparent in the last two decades that kusoma na kuandika as conceptualized at the time cannot adequately prepare rural citizens for imminent changes that are occurring in their living conditions. The notion of basic literacy should be expanded to include other strands of knowledge, such as science - sustainable science developed in concert with rural citizens. Scientific literacy refers to the wide range of functionalities that arise from an understanding of pertinent science concepts, processes, skills, and the scientific enterprise. It is implied in the call for citizens to judiciously apply scientific knowledge to understand, explain, and utilize resources in everyday life (Laugksh, 2000; Miller, 1983). In addition, Norris and Phillips (2002) posit that scientific literacy must consist of reading for deep and critical understanding or consciousness raising. How would functionality in relation to scientific literacy and consciousness raising play out in a rural setting? I will explain using a river in my village. But first let me provide the context of the river. [In the inset photo you will notice the darkened water, a consequence of erosion and chemicals run-off from the catchment area. Also notice the high river banks that are indicative of reduced water volume.]
The Ganga was once a vibrant river, as I recall. While growing up, four decades ago, I played in the banks of the Ganga; swam in make-shift pools on the river’s plains; watched fresh water animals dart and dig into the river bed; washed loads of laundry on the river’s banks; collected water in jars from the river and took the water home for domestic use; cultivated a modest garden of water-demanding crops such as cabbage and sugarcane on the river plain; and took cows and goats to the river for their mid-day drink. At the time, the Ganga was still at its prime and a reliable source of water for the community. But this is not the case anymore: the river’s volume has dwindled dramatically due to climate change and human activities; its banks have been cleared exposing them to constant natural and human erosion. Very few families directly depend on the Ganga for their water supply. The debilitation is symptomatic of what is going on in most parts of rural Africa: the downgrading of rural vitality. Indeed, the debilitated condition of my local river got me thinking about the future of natural and human resources, not only in my village, but in rural villages in the rest of Africa. This analysis of Ganga’s problems therefore is a pointer to the factors that are robbing rural Africa of its vitality. It is also a suggestion of how that vitality may be restored based on consciousness-raising-literacy. Arguably, the problems of the Ganga lie in three areas: (1) Natural and infrastructural: there is reduced runoff from Mt. Kenya due to changing climate. Changing climate has caused a large portion of the snow cap on Mount Kenya to melt, thereby reducing the runoff that previously fed Ganga tributaries. As well, there is water withdrawal from the river’s tributaries, thanks to the rural water project. (2) Leadership: there seems to be no political or cultural leadership in my village as concerns environmental and ecosystem problems. Furthermore, the Kenyan government is lax to implement existing policies that pertain to the continued existence of natural resources, such as Ganga. (3) Agency: Although some villagers may wish to reverse the river’s destruction, they may not know how to proceed. Other villagers may know the avenues with which to advocate for change but lack the will power to do so. Given the current state of national and regional governance in Kenya, it is accurate to say that national politics and policies are unlikely to actively impact the condition of the Ganga, or rural vitality in general. And even if Kenya had an ideal government, such a government would not effectively carry out its mandate in the context of uninformed citizens. In this regard, it is prudent to facilitate a change in the way people view the problems that occur in everyday life at the village level. Therefore, knowledge and will power must be nurtured through literacy that is liberating. But, how will the community be mobilized through the learning of science, in particular, in order for individuals to effectively function in their villages? In the Ganga example the villagers would be said to be effectively functioning if they were to work toward the reclamation of the river. To raise consciousness the villagers must be confronted with a search for answers to several critical questions: what is the ecological, historical, cultural, aesthetic, and economical value of the Ganga? When did its condition deteriorate? How did its condition deteriorate? What caused its condition to deteriorate? What has been lost and/or gained as a result of Ganga’s deterioration? Is it important and necessary to restore the river? If so, what must be done in order to restore the river? To explore these questions, the villagers require indigenous and scientific knowledge of the environment, in addition to other domains of knowledge. Roth and Barton (2004) argue that the science in scientific literacy is not applied independently of other forms of knowledge. The understanding, explaining and utilizing of scientific knowledge in social cultural settings requires the integration of science know-how with other forms of knowledge, such as technological, indigenous, political, economic, and so forth. Therefore in arguing for the use of scientific knowledge in a rural setting, one should be cogniscant of other domains of knowledge. That is to say, for scientific literacy to be effective, any problem solving that uses science must be cogniscant of pertinent concepts and skills from the local knowledge. Local knowledge consists of the interrelated and integrated understandings that inform the conduct of affairs in everyday life. Moreover, for the scientific literacy to be sustainable, it must be learned by the youth as well as the adults: it must be a part of the regular science syllabus, as well as the core syllabus for non-formal science literacy programs. In concluding, it is important to mention a major implication for formal science learning that may arise from the preceding discussion. How do we structure grassroots based scientific literacy within African science education systems, most of which are exam driven. Here is a suggestion based on the Kenyan context. Participation in a community development project should be structured into the high school curriculum. Following, each student should be required to spend a stipulated number of hours serving the community in an aspect that requires the use of scientific knowledge. Such community projects would involve youth in, for instance, forms two and three; and their performance in the project would count toward their high school certificate. The youth would contribute to development projects such as the reclamation of a local river. The necessary science concepts from the science syllabi would be incorporated into the project’s objectives. Youth and adults would work under a village scientific literacy project leader. The project leader would be part of a committee composed of key stakeholders from within the communities and science teachers of local secondary schools. Using such a framework, Kenya and other African countries will begin to build scientific literacy from the grassroots and eventually restore rural vitality. *Wanja Gitari is Associate Professor of Science education University of
Toronto, Canada More information:
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Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.