Indigenous Knowledge and the African Way Forward: Challenges and Opportunities

Beyuo Alfred Naamwintome; David Millar

doi:10.4236/oalib.1101295

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Indigenous Knowledge and the African Way Forward: Challenges and Opportunities

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DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1101295 958 Downloads 1,822 Views Citations

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Beyuo Alfred Naamwintome¹, David Millar²

Affiliation(s)

¹Department of Community Development, Faculty of Planning and Land Management, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.
²Department of African and General Studies, Faculty of Integrated Development Studies, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.

ABSTRACT

Indigenous knowledge exists and particularly in Africa and is being challenged as science and this negatively influences the harnessing of it globally. The study focused on the history of knowledge as science and the evolutionary analysis of science as a body of knowledge, within a Grounded Theory approach. The findings revealed that indigenous knowledge is a body of knowledge like the western science and has survived the custodians of this body of knowledge for generations; it dictates the progress and the well-being of the knowledge community. The study also revealed that colonialization and globalization have negatively influenced the recognition of indigenous knowledge and hence its utilization. The study recommends the deschooling and reschooling of African’s scholars who have the potential of ensuring that the development of Africa reflects the African cultural, social and spiritual context.

KEYWORDS

Indigenous Knowledge, Africa Culture, Endogenous Development

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Cite this paper

Naamwintome, B. and Millar, D. (2015) Indigenous Knowledge and the African Way Forward: Challenges and Opportunities. Open Access Library Journal, 2, 1-9. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1101295.

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