The purpose of this study was to examine the Indigenous Navigator partnership through its Bésiro project in Bolivia to find out whether the partnership approach can enhance Indigenous participation in global education. In the short term, enhancing the participation of Indigenous peoples in global education may help them maintain their unique identity and culture. In the long term, it may enable Indigenous peoples to actively decide on policy that concerns them. The objective of the research was to help policymakers and those working in the field of international and comparative education to secure Indigenous peoples’ right to determine their own education development. In the 19th and 20th centuries, after the creation of nation-states in Latin America, national education efforts sought to unify populations through assimilationist policies. Those policies used the dominant language as the language of instruction, and the content of curricula responded to the national vision of those in power. Indigenous peoples held on to their culture and language despite the external pressure to assimilate and the lack of recognition and support. In the second half of the 20th century, a global Indigenous movement took place that claimed Indigenous peoples’ collective rights within the nation-state, including the right to self-determine their education. This movement succeeded in garnering international attention, which led to the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This declaration served as a framework upon which states were expected to model their laws. While this helped put the plight of Indigenous peoples in the international spotlight, some countries have implemented the Declaration to a greater extent than others. As a result, many Indigenous peoples remain stripped of the power and legal authority to ultimately decide on the education (and other) issues that concern them. The power asymmetries that have been affecting them in international education politics persist. A global education system that does not count on the continuous participation of Indigenous peoples as collective actors fails to meet the goals of inclusion and equality that it intends to achieve. Against this background, the following questions remained unanswered: Who is entitled to participate in global education and in what capacity? How are Indigenous peoples currently participating in global education? Why and how should the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which is the international agency tasked with promoting peace through international cooperation in education, science, culture, communication, and information, enhance Indigenous participation in its education politics? Driven by the questions above, I carried out a qualitative case study involving a multistakeholder partnership–the Indigenous Navigator. The Indigenous Navigator partnership includes Indigenous and non-Indigenous nongovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, and other international and national stakeholders. This partnership developed a framework and a set of tools to produce Indigenous data and track progress toward the fulfillment of Indigenous human rights. When applied to education, the Indigenous Navigator partnership translates the data collected into projects designed by Indigenous peoples for their own purposes. The Indigenous Navigator partnership offers an alternative approach for global education to enhance Indigenous participation in education policy. The Indigenous Navigator partnership’s project that became the case study was called Revitalization and Vitalization of the Bésiro Language of the Monkox Nation. This project was designed by the Monkox, a people indigenous to Bolivia. The Monkox utilized the Indigenous Navigator’s framework and set of tools, and focused on revitalizing their Bésiro language. This Bésiro project was implemented between 2019 and 2020 in Lomerío, in Bolivia’s lowlands. The case of the Monkox within Bolivia stands out because even though the Monkox are small in number, they have a long history of defending their language and their education. Bolivia, in turn, has drawn regional and international attention because it adopted Indigenous human rights into its political constitution and has come forth with a unique education model based on intraculturality, interculturality and plurilingualism, and in which Indigenous peoples are seen not only as individuals with a right to education, but also as peoples with collective education rights. To analyze the effectiveness of the Indigenous Navigator partnership and the Bésiro project, I spent 7 months observing the functioning of the Indigenous Navigator partnership prior to fieldwork, then spent another year interviewing 42 key stakeholders, out of whom at least 17 were Indigenous. I also analyzed relevant documents related to Indigenous education in Bolivia, global education, and enhanced participation. The results of the study offer a glimpse into present-day Indigenous education in Bolivia; an analysis of the Indigenous Navigator partnership and the Bésiro project; and a comparison between local, national, and international power dynamics that interacted throughout the project and can further impact education politics in Bolivia and beyond. The results show that the Indigenous Navigator partnership operated through what I call multisphere Indigenous ownership (i.e., the capacity of each partner to contribute from their own area of expertise while reducing the stratification of power) to ensure the Monkox’s self-determination in the Bésiro project. The analysis also shows that interculturality is difficult to reach if intraculturality, or the reaffirmation of a people’s identity, culture, and politics, has not been strengthened. To reaffirm intraculturality, the active participation of Indigenous peoples in their own education policy processes is vital. Only then will Indigenous peoples be able to achieve sustainable education along with national efforts. Lastly, the case study revealed that the Indigenous Navigator partnership worked through tacit interculturality between the European Union and Latin America, that is, the implicit reciprocity of two Indigenous systems in both parts of the world. As an outcome of this analysis of the Indigenous Navigator partnership and the Bésiro project, it is suggested that the global education community, guided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, implement multistakeholder Indigenous ownership to allow Indigenous peoples, as collective stakeholders, to participate in education policy processes that concern them. This study closes with a policy and research agenda that contributes to achieving sustainable, quality education for Indigenous peoples.

The research study focused on the integrating of indigenous African knowledge systems in teaching and learning at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe. The curriculum of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe offers a number of degree courses. The study sets out to address the problem with the curriculum of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe, namely, that it is to a large extent dominated by Western knowledge and gives little priority to indigenous African knowledge systems. The majority of the courses offered at the CUZ are Eurocentric in nature and give little regard to the indigenous African knowledge systems. The study was undergirded by the Afrocentric theory which focuses on giving the African world view in terms of knowledge. The research study was informed by the constructivist paradigm which focuses on how individuals analyse and construct meanings of social situations. The research approach is qualitative in nature that means it is based on social interpretation and not numerical analysis of data. The data in the study was generated through face-to-face interviews, focus group discussion and document analysis. The data was presented under different themes. The study found out that they are few courses in the CUZ curriculum which include IAKS. Most of the knowledge and theories in the courses offered at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe curriculum are Western oriented. The knowledge in most of the courses is reminiscent of the colonial education system and gives no regard to indigenous African knowledge systems. The recommendation is for the inclusion of indigenous African Knowledge systems in the CUZ curriculum. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

The new higher education system of South Africa is in the process of transformation. Part of the transformation process involves raising the use and status of indigenous languages to become essential part of the country‟s higher education system. The constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) laid a foundation responding to the imperative regarding the use and status of indigenous languages. The Ministry of Education (Higher Education) pays special attention to fitting their education policies to the constitution by incorporating subsection 27(2) of the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act 101 of 1997) that states “subject to the policy determined by the Minister, the council, with the concurrence of the senate, must determine the institutional language policy of a public higher education institution and must publish and make it available on request”. The Language Policy for Higher Education was published by the Ministry of Education in November 2002. Lastly, the Ministry of Education appointed a Ministerial Committee “to advise on the development of African (indigenous) languages as mediums of instruction in higher education.” This committee published its report in 2005. This study investigates the fit between government language policies and institutional language policies. The focus is on indigenous languages in the South African higher education system. The main purpose is to argue for the design of an integrated institutional language policy framework in a holistic way. The study population consisted of the 23 universities and the indigenous language academic staff. A case study and survey were used. All twenty-three indigenous language units from the 23 universities‟ departments were used in the survey section of this research. A random sample of respondents was used, all the respondents were indigenous language academic personnel. Questionnaires were sent to each one who agreed to participate. This questionnaire was the main research instrument for collecting data. The research showed that there is no fit between government language policies and institutional language policies. It is recommended that improvements in fit between government language policies and institutional language policies be embarked upon across the 23 universities‟ staff members and stakeholders (students). / African Languages / Thesis (D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages))

The new South Africa is encouraging multilingualism. The Department of Education has given a mandate to promote African languages. The Department of Higher Education came up with higher education language policy in 2002. All the higher education institutions have to choose indigenous languages to promote. Tshwane University of Technology has decided to promote Setswana and siSwati as their primary and secondary languages, respectively, to be used within the university. This study is about assessing the implementation of the Tshwane University of Technology’s language Policy. The researcher uses mixed methods to conduct the research. A survey and observation were used as tools to collect data. The researcher observed the implementation of the language policy at Tshwane University of Technology (Soshanguve Campus). The researcher also reviewed the language policies for Higher education and the Tshwane University of Technology’s language policy. The signage, marketing tools, billboards, directions and university documents were observed. This research was based on promoting the indigenous languages. From the data collected, Setswana is not used to convey the message within the university; therefore the indigenous languages are not yet implemented or promoted / African Languages / M. A. (Afrcan Languages)

African curricular reforms indicate major inherent structural defects because only the contents of the curriculum were changed. As a result, the Western cultural influences embedded in the curriculum foundations are transmitted to the students, causing the curricular material to be irrelevant and unrelated to their culture and philosophy. The focus of this study was on making the basic education curricula relevant to the socio-cultural and structural context of the Gamo ethnic group of Ethiopia. The main aim of the study was to critically analyse how the indigenization approach is conceptualized and reflected in the policies and curricula, and in the implementation of the curricula at basic education level since the adoption of the 1994 Education and Training Policy, and to produce a model suited to indigenizing the basic education curricula for the Gamo ethnic group. To this end, the study employed a critical perspective to investigate the problem. The approach and design consists of a qualitative multiple case study. The country‟s constitutions, policies and strategies were treated as one case, while two cases, one from the Gamo Gofa Zone and another from the Addis Ababa City Administration, were treated similarly, so as to study the basic education curriculum planning and implementation process. The findings of the field study disclosed that the indigenization from the ethnic group‟s perspective has some strength, but major deficiencies. In order to keep the strengths up and avoid the weaknesses, a stand-alone indigenization approach, which calls for rooting the curriculum on indigenous foundations, theories, principles and ideas derived from the culture, and a blending approach, which allows for intercultural dialogue, were suggested as feasible. The researcher believes that this approach is an alternative that could contribute towards ensuring the relevance of the basic education curriculum for the Gamo ethnic group. A model which will assist in materialising the curriculum indigenization from the Gamo ethnic group‟s perspective was suggested. The salient features of the constitutional, policy and strategy provisions were outdone by their favour for a standardization approach. They will have to be revisited, either in favour of indigenization, or the standardization thesis, since these paradigms are opposite poles. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The new higher education system of South Africa is in the process of transformation. Part of the transformation process involves raising the use and status of indigenous languages to become essential part of the country‟s higher education system. The constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) laid a foundation responding to the imperative regarding the use and status of indigenous languages. The Ministry of Education (Higher Education) pays special attention to fitting their education policies to the constitution by incorporating subsection 27(2) of the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act 101 of 1997) that states “subject to the policy determined by the Minister, the council, with the concurrence of the senate, must determine the institutional language policy of a public higher education institution and must publish and make it available on request”. The Language Policy for Higher Education was published by the Ministry of Education in November 2002. Lastly, the Ministry of Education appointed a Ministerial Committee “to advise on the development of African (indigenous) languages as mediums of instruction in higher education.” This committee published its report in 2005. This study investigates the fit between government language policies and institutional language policies. The focus is on indigenous languages in the South African higher education system. The main purpose is to argue for the design of an integrated institutional language policy framework in a holistic way. The study population consisted of the 23 universities and the indigenous language academic staff. A case study and survey were used. All twenty-three indigenous language units from the 23 universities‟ departments were used in the survey section of this research. A random sample of respondents was used, all the respondents were indigenous language academic personnel. Questionnaires were sent to each one who agreed to participate. This questionnaire was the main research instrument for collecting data. The research showed that there is no fit between government language policies and institutional language policies. It is recommended that improvements in fit between government language policies and institutional language policies be embarked upon across the 23 universities‟ staff members and stakeholders (students). / African Languages / Thesis (D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages))

The new South Africa is encouraging multilingualism. The Department of Education has given a mandate to promote African languages. The Department of Higher Education came up with higher education language policy in 2002. All the higher education institutions have to choose indigenous languages to promote. Tshwane University of Technology has decided to promote Setswana and siSwati as their primary and secondary languages, respectively, to be used within the university. This study is about assessing the implementation of the Tshwane University of Technology’s language Policy. The researcher uses mixed methods to conduct the research. A survey and observation were used as tools to collect data. The researcher observed the implementation of the language policy at Tshwane University of Technology (Soshanguve Campus). The researcher also reviewed the language policies for Higher education and the Tshwane University of Technology’s language policy. The signage, marketing tools, billboards, directions and university documents were observed. This research was based on promoting the indigenous languages. From the data collected, Setswana is not used to convey the message within the university; therefore the indigenous languages are not yet implemented or promoted / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

African curricular reforms indicate major inherent structural defects because only the contents of the curriculum were changed. As a result, the Western cultural influences embedded in the curriculum foundations are transmitted to the students, causing the curricular material to be irrelevant and unrelated to their culture and philosophy. The focus of this study was on making the basic education curricula relevant to the socio-cultural and structural context of the Gamo ethnic group of Ethiopia. The main aim of the study was to critically analyse how the indigenization approach is conceptualized and reflected in the policies and curricula, and in the implementation of the curricula at basic education level since the adoption of the 1994 Education and Training Policy, and to produce a model suited to indigenizing the basic education curricula for the Gamo ethnic group. To this end, the study employed a critical perspective to investigate the problem. The approach and design consists of a qualitative multiple case study. The country‟s constitutions, policies and strategies were treated as one case, while two cases, one from the Gamo Gofa Zone and another from the Addis Ababa City Administration, were treated similarly, so as to study the basic education curriculum planning and implementation process. The findings of the field study disclosed that the indigenization from the ethnic group‟s perspective has some strength, but major deficiencies. In order to keep the strengths up and avoid the weaknesses, a stand-alone indigenization approach, which calls for rooting the curriculum on indigenous foundations, theories, principles and ideas derived from the culture, and a blending approach, which allows for intercultural dialogue, were suggested as feasible. The researcher believes that this approach is an alternative that could contribute towards ensuring the relevance of the basic education curriculum for the Gamo ethnic group. A model which will assist in materialising the curriculum indigenization from the Gamo ethnic group‟s perspective was suggested. The salient features of the constitutional, policy and strategy provisions were outdone by their favour for a standardization approach. They will have to be revisited, either in favour of indigenization, or the standardization thesis, since these paradigms are opposite poles. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

This disseration addresses a historical-education analysis of events that contributed to the deterioration of a culture of learning from 1652-1998 among Black South Africans. Black education was purported to be inferior and unjust. The previous government spent less on Black education and applied stringent measures to solve problems besetting Black education. Dissatisfaction among Blacks led to rioting that unsettled the culture of learning, especially during 1970-1990. It was only during the 1990's that the Nationalist government under F.W. de Klerk, acknowledged the legitimacy of the demands by Blacks for an equitable and just education. After Nelson Mandela had been elected as the first Black president of South Africa, a single education system was formed. Control and administration of education was assigned to the nine newly established provinces. The provinces adopted the motto : Re a soma - We are working in our schools, for the development of a culture of learning, especially in Black communities. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(History of Education)

This disseration addresses a historical-education analysis of events that contributed to the deterioration of a culture of learning from 1652-1998 among Black South Africans. Black education was purported to be inferior and unjust. The previous government spent less on Black education and applied stringent measures to solve problems besetting Black education. Dissatisfaction among Blacks led to rioting that unsettled the culture of learning, especially during 1970-1990. It was only during the 1990's that the Nationalist government under F.W. de Klerk, acknowledged the legitimacy of the demands by Blacks for an equitable and just education. After Nelson Mandela had been elected as the first Black president of South Africa, a single education system was formed. Control and administration of education was assigned to the nine newly established provinces. The provinces adopted the motto : Re a soma - We are working in our schools, for the development of a culture of learning, especially in Black communities. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(History of Education)