Learning and an African lifeworld in (higher) education

Abstract

There have been concerns in recent years about drop-outs and matric pass rates in schools, and low through-put rates at higher education institutions in South Africa. I assume that these concerns relate to a perceived lack of, or inadequate, learning. Focusing on blacks in general or African learners and students in particular, these concerns however, failed to acknowledge the cultural dimension of learning. This article attempts to focus attention on a cultural dimension and argues that we need to explore the notion of the lifeworld, particularly the African lifeworld, in order to develop a deeper understanding of the unacceptable level of matric passes, drop-outs and through-put rates. Rasmussen (1998) argues that, for a variety of reasons, learning should be studied as a cultural phenomenon and I explore various types of learning cultures. Finally, I argue for transformative learning as a means to address concerns related to a perceived lack of learning Keywords : Learning, culture, lifeworld, African lifeworld, (higher) education, transformative learning. Indilinga Vol. 7 (2) 2008: pp. 171-181