Exploring the Value of the Indigenous Knowledge of Ubuntu in Early Childhood Education in South Africa

The dismissal and devaluing of indigenous knowledge during the successive eras of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa compelled the African majority to adopt the colonisers' values, attitudes, language, cultural practices, morality, and institutions. In education, the consequent neglect of sociocultural contexts inevitably influenced the cultural identities of children negatively and disrupted the intergenerational continuity of core values and traditions especially in the early years of development. Early childhood development is acknowledged as the most critical developmental phase when behaviour, attitudes, and values are learnt and retained. It presents an ideal opportunity to impart rich values and social mores, particularly in the current context of moral and ethical decline in democratic South Africa. Local/community resources and positive cultural values and practices can contribute to children's holistic development by building strong foundations for essential prosocial values that are embodied in ubuntu. With roots in African traditional society and philosophy, ubuntu espouses the ideal of interconnectedness and interdependence among people. This article reports on the views of a sample of urban, rural, and semi-rural early childhood development staff and community members on the inclusion of ubuntu values and principles in the early childhood development curriculum. The collective support for the inclusion of ubuntu in the preschool phase suggests the potential for developing socially responsible citizens for cohesive co-existence in democratic South Africa.