The central theme of this paper concerns the way Eastern and Western (sometimes termed Oriental and Occidental) thought view the formation of the world; the means of arriving at these conclusions and the concepts or pre-conceived ideas upon which they are based. Western thought has been limited to views that have developed out of modern science, post-1500; they are mechanistic science, evolution, Whitehead's philosophy pertaining to God and modern physics. For the purpose of this paper, the emphasis in Eastern thought is placed on Mahayana Buddhism, especially the Madhyamika school of philosophy. In India it developed in contact with many other philosophical schools, and it if it is to be understood, some of these systems of though must also be studied. Therefore, the Vedanta school of Indian philosophy, Early Buddhism, and one of the creation stories of the Upanishads are used when they help to explain the Buddhist view. Mahayana Buddhism also spread to China and Japan where in developed in contact with Confucianism and Taoism, and so these are considered when they help to explain Chinese Buddhism. While this paper is focused on the views pertaining to the formation of the world, an important aspect of the study is to show what Eastern though understands by the terms "higher" and "lower" knowledge. As a further clarification, a chapter has been devoted to illustration how the respective interpretations of the world, in Eastern and Western cultures, are carried out in the everyday lives of the people. And finally, an effort is made to employ Eastern concepts in establishing a new basis for the organization and clarification of the concepts of present day science.

This study is a meta-analysis of the transformation of the curriculum for basic education in South Africa. The integration of indigenous knowledge systems (IKSs) in the curriculum is one of the reconciliatory practices adopted in an effort to deal with the rights of indigenous people globally. The study analysed cases relating to IKSs and the curriculum in Canada for a case reference in juxtaposition with South Africa, in particular. Examples of cases drawn from elsewhere in the world have also been included briefly to justify the researcher’s claims for the urgent integration of IKSs into the curriculum, which complies with the human rights course of the rights of indigenous people. Cognitive imperialism – in the form of residential schools and their assimilation policies, which functioned in the context of an informal apartheid system as was the case in South Africa with Bantu education – has been an obstacle to transformation of the curriculum in the education system in Canada. However, the Canadian government of the day has been held to account for recognising the knowledge of the indigenous people (IP) of Canada. In South Africa, the curriculum continues to be characterised by the “mute” tendencies of perpetuating a colonial-type of curriculum, which is still being European in nature and is largely excluding African interests and cultural practices. The affirmation of the United Nations Organisation’s (UNO 2007) advocacy for recognising the rights of indigenous people by means of various international forums motivated a number of scholars globally to shift their attention to a research agenda on IP issues such as their IKSs in relation to education systems that should be transforming their curricular programmes. This study forms part of that indigenous research agenda by proposing that IKSs be integrated into the curriculum for basic education in South Africa, in response to the UNO’s declaration on crucial guidance to developing societies for transforming their education systems to include relevant curricula related to IP. The aim of this study is to explore ways in which the curriculum for basic education in South Africa can be transformed by, among other things, changing the paradigm of knowledge production through emerging concepts in developmental education and using, on the way to recovery, experiences of assimilation in the education system of South Africa, with reference to experiences from Canada, in particular, and elsewhere. An in-depth literature study relating to IKS perspectives of integration in the curriculum, and its implication for transformation in the basic education curriculum in South Africa, was done. The qualitative research approach was used and a cultural phenomenological design was used. Data were collected through a desk research, including pre-meta-analysis (PMA), meta-analysis (MA), in-depth desk research (IDR), and case studies (CSs). The collected data were investigated by means of a pre-meta-analysis, which demonstrated how the transdisciplinary approach can be used to immerse IKS in such a way that it may enable indigenous people to define their own perspectives instead of relying solely on Western research concepts of anthropology and history theorists, which have relegated IKSs to something “exotic”. The synthesis of data in this study “opened a window” to the researcher, which also assisted the researcher to understand the concept of “coming to knowing”1 as an antithesis of the language of conquest that is used in the hidden agenda of assimilation in a curriculum that continues to marginalise the representation of IKSs. The transformation of the curriculum in the education system of South Africa is a political initiative driven by government, by virtue of the establishment of the South African Chairs Initiative (SAChI) which has been entrusted with the task of developing education in the country in the different disciplines. One of the driving concepts of this particular chair, the South African Chair Initiative in Development Education (SAChI-DE), is the methodology of immersion that is based on the notion of “transformation by enlargement” (TbE). Using this methodology, the emergence of new concepts in transformative education is propagated, which, according to the findings of this study, may reverse the negative situation in which the indigenous worldviews is erased for indigenous learners (IL) throughout the world. The findings were used to invoke the attention of the Department of Basic Education (DBE), for them to consider validating the newly emerging concepts of the SAChI-DE, which can make a meaningful contribution to the guidelines for a suggested, Afriko-continuum curriculum for basic education at the foundation level. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / Ph. D. (Education)

Human activities that involve interactions amongst three players i.e. nature, humans and technology, continue to impact negatively on the Earth's biosphere. The impact is tremendous: consumption of resources at an unsustainable level leading to rapid loss of natural resources and biodiversity. The plea to reverse this negative trend is as valid now as it were many years ago. While some progress has been made to develop strategies to wisely manage and protect the Earth's resources, the state of the environment is still fragile. Strategies are far from satisfactory: hence the grounds for a new commitment in a manner best suited to a country's needs and resources. In recent years, research in indigenous knowledge systems has been pursued in an attempt to develop a deeper understanding of its complex linkages with the environment. Incorporating some of these linkages in the science curricula provides opportunities for learners to make informed choices to address individual and society's needs by extracting relevant elements from Western science and indigenous knowledge systems. This research focuses on the use of indigenous knowledge in science education offered to grade eight and nine learners in South African schools. As part of this education, science curricula, teaching methodologies and resources therefore should be developed in response to the changing needs of learners and their communities. A close look at the natural science learning area of Curriculum 2005 shows that the South African curriculum developers have under-used indigenous knowledge in the teaching and learning of science at school level. The conceptualization of an inclusive and just science education has been evaded. Perceptions elicited from a small group of academics, well versed in IK, indicate that the majority of South African science teachers will embrace the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the natural science learning area but will require significant assistance from the Department of Education. The key to deal with this daunting task is for the relevant role players to establish partnerships with the knowers and holders of indigenous knowledge and to operate in a neutral, noble and altruistic manner and that in itself in the present context is highly problematic. / Educational Studies / Thesis (D. Ed.)

Human activities that involve interactions amongst three players i.e. nature, humans and technology, continue to impact negatively on the Earth's biosphere. The impact is tremendous: consumption of resources at an unsustainable level leading to rapid loss of natural resources and biodiversity. The plea to reverse this negative trend is as valid now as it were many years ago. While some progress has been made to develop strategies to wisely manage and protect the Earth's resources, the state of the environment is still fragile. Strategies are far from satisfactory: hence the grounds for a new commitment in a manner best suited to a country's needs and resources. In recent years, research in indigenous knowledge systems has been pursued in an attempt to develop a deeper understanding of its complex linkages with the environment. Incorporating some of these linkages in the science curricula provides opportunities for learners to make informed choices to address individual and society's needs by extracting relevant elements from Western science and indigenous knowledge systems. This research focuses on the use of indigenous knowledge in science education offered to grade eight and nine learners in South African schools. As part of this education, science curricula, teaching methodologies and resources therefore should be developed in response to the changing needs of learners and their communities. A close look at the natural science learning area of Curriculum 2005 shows that the South African curriculum developers have under-used indigenous knowledge in the teaching and learning of science at school level. The conceptualization of an inclusive and just science education has been evaded. Perceptions elicited from a small group of academics, well versed in IK, indicate that the majority of South African science teachers will embrace the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the natural science learning area but will require significant assistance from the Department of Education. The key to deal with this daunting task is for the relevant role players to establish partnerships with the knowers and holders of indigenous knowledge and to operate in a neutral, noble and altruistic manner and that in itself in the present context is highly problematic. / Educational Studies / Thesis (D. Ed.)