Shifting from Eurocentrism to Afrocentrism : reimagining the curriculum and pedagogy of human rights education at selected law faculties in Commonwealth Africa

Abstract

This thesis argues that the human rights education curriculum and pedagogy in law faculties of Commonwealth African tertiary institutions should be reimagined to reflect Afrocentric principles that meet the realities of people in their various contexts. This reimagining departs from the status quo, which is heavily Western in orientation, in keeping with the Eurocentric legacies of colonialism and imperialism. Eurocentrism denigrates paradigms that are non-European as inferior, uninformed, and unworthy of any standard application. By tracing the history of pre-colonial education, colonialism, imperialism and human rights education in Commonwealth Africa, the thesis contends that almost every aspect of African life, including education, has been determined by the overwhelming influence of Eurocentric colonial paradigms. The thesis argues for a shift from using non-African paradigms to framing Afrocentric pedagogies in African human rights education systems. To explore the subject and provide recommendations for contextual relevance, the thesis focuses on the nature and content, aims and pedagogical tools, stakeholders, and theoretical framing of the curriculum and pedagogy of human rights education in twelve universities teaching law and some aspects of human rights law in Commonwealth Africa: the University of Pretoria, South Africa; University of Botswana; Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; University of Buea, Cameroon; University of Lagos, Nigeria; University of Ghana; University of Nairobi, Kenya; University of Namibia; University of Makeni, Sierra Leone; National University of Lesotho; University of Mauritius; and University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Eurocentrism manifests as an overreliance on historical, literary, and general perspectives from the West, the use of language, pedagogical and assessment processes that do not encourage critical thinking. Thus, by superimposing the English language, prioritising Eurocentrism and methodologies as the primary language of instruction and assessment, the superiority of Western standards is reinforced, undermining the relevance of other ideas and alternative standards. Another feature identified includes the lack of emphasis on experiential learning rather than an overreliance on theoretical methods, which limit the ability of students to interact with and contribute to real and actual human rights issues in their communities. The curricula of the twelve universities are investigated, and the findings show a reliance on content and methods rooted in Eurocentric sources often at the detriment of African sources and perspectives; including the philosophical underpinnings of the African regional human rights system and the national frameworks. The thesis also highlights the unique features, testing the extent to which curricula and pedagogies reflect Eurocentric ideologies, and suggesting Afrocentrism as a framework for reimagining the curriculum for African law faculties. The findings showed that while most universities had some aspect of human rights content in the curriculum, the curricula lacked comprehensiveness, particularly in historical and theoretical framing, neither was it multidisciplinary in approach and pedagogy and placed limited emphasis on experiential learning, highlighting the need for more practical approaches to learning to better equip learners in advocating for human rights. The thesis further highlights the features of an Afrocentric curriculum and pedagogy for human rights education as contextual, theoretically relevant, multicultural, multidisciplinary, and continuously evolving with emerging issues. It recommends recontextualising the curriculum and proposes practical ways that various stakeholders, including academia, civil society, the African human rights regional bodies, and especially students, can adopt in reimagining human rights education in law faculties in African universities. Ultimately, the thesis promotes Afrocentrism and advocates reimagining human rights education from its present Eurocentric outlook. The thesis concludes with a sample curriculum that serves as a guide for universities looking to strengthen existing or adopt a new curriculum on human rights education in their institutions. KEYWORDS: Human Rights Education, Eurocentrism, Afrocentrism, reimagining, Commonwealth Africa, law faculties, curriculum, pedagogy