Collateral learning and the eco-cultural paradigm in science and mathematics education in Africa

by

Abstract

To date, the teaching of science in non-Western classrooms, especially in Africa has tended to indicate that the mechanistic world view is the only legitimate way of viewing natural phenomena. Consequently, very little is known about non-Western learners’ indigenous knowledge base, the way they learn, and the cognitive processes and their interactions which occur when learning science concepts. This paper is concerned with the effect of traditional worldview (indigenous knowledge) on the learning of science through Western worldview and how it affects cognitive processes within a situated context. It is suggested that the culture of a student’s immediate environment plays a very significant role in learning, determining how concepts are learned and how they are stored in the long term memory as schemata. Collateral learning theory has been suggested to explain how non-Western learners attempt to cope with science learning within a classroom environment which is often hostile to their indigenous knowledge. Four types of collateral learning have been identified as occupying a continuum and also that a student could be helped to progress through them for meaningful learning to occur. It is pointed out that although collaterality occurs in every society of the world, the interactions of the two or more world views in which the non-Western students learn complicate the learning process. The implications of understanding collateral learning for curriculum and instructional design, research, and professional expert advice to governments and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) of Africa have also been highlighted.