Religious pluralism for inclusive education in Lesotho secondary schools

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Date
2017
Authors
Mokotso, Rasebate Isaac
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Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract in other languages 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘚𝘦𝘚𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘴𝘪𝘡𝘶𝘭𝘶
Abstract
𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 The current work employed qualitative phenomenological study to determine the reasons for the continued teaching of single Christian religious education in Lesotho secondary school in view that there are now compelling circumstances for pluralistic religious education. Central is the fact that Lesotho is cosigner of series of international declarations, conventions and recommendations on inclusive education which has a direct implication of inclusive teaching of religious education that can only be achieved through the teaching of multi-religious traditions. Secondly, Lesotho is no longer a religiously homogeneous society (even though this has not been the case since Christianity found the already existing Basotho indigenous religion). It is increasingly becoming a home for religious diversity through forces of a progressively globalized world. Thirdly, Lesotho is said to be a democratic state, and thus has to acquaint itself with democratic principles of education where selective knowledge rather than liberal knowledge that provide students with different perspectives is discouraged. In order to examine the reasons behind the continued mono-religious approach to the teaching of religious education regardless of the mentioned compelling factors for pluralist religious education, the study embarked on empirical research. Participants in this empirical research were selected on the basis of purposeful sampling where only those with rich information related to the topic were selected, mainly the religious education teachers and the principal. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data which was analyzed through interpretive phenomenological analysis in which the emergent themes were interpreted through explanations provided by relevant literature. Emergent themes were further synthesized through qualitative inductive and ideography to develop theories or hypotheses of the contributing factors to the continued teaching of single Christian religion in Lesotho schools. It is theorized that the contributing interrelated factors are 1) misconceptions in inclusive education, 2) paternalistic religious education and 3) religious illiteracy. Through discussions in which theories or hypotheses were linked with the literature, it was discovered that the causes of misconceptions in inclusive education are inexplicit content of inclusive education and ambiguous implementation process. Paternalistic religious education is caused by assimilationist and evangelistic perspectives of Christian religious education, and religious illiteracy is caused by religious sectarianism, media religious representation of religion and privatization of religion. From the findings recommendations are made for research community, education policy, practice, students and communities, and theory. ___________________________________________________________________
𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒔 Die huidige werk het ’n kwalitatiewe fenomenologiese studie aangewend om die redes vir die voortgesette onderrig van ’n enkel, Christelike godsdienstige onderwys in sekondêre skole in Lesotho te bepaal met die oog daarop dat daar nou dwingende omstandighede vir pluralistiese godsdienstige onderwys is. Sentraal is die feit dat Lesotho ’n medeondertekenaar is van reekse internasionale verklarings, konvensies en aanbevelings oor inklusiewe onderwys wat 'n direkte implikasie het op inklusiewe onderrig van godsdienstige onderwys wat slegs bereik kan word deur die onderrig van multi-godsdienstige tradisies. Tweedens, Lesotho is nie meer 'n godsdienstig homogene samelewing nie (al was dit nie die geval nie aangesien Christendom die reeds bestaande, inheemse Basotho-godsdiens daar aangetref het). Dit word toenemend 'n tuiste vir godsdienstige diversiteit deur kragte van 'n progressief geglobaliseerde wêreld. Derdens word gesê dat Lesotho 'n demokratiese staat is, en homself dus moet vergewis van demokratiese beginsels van onderwys waar selektiewe kennis eerder as liberale kennis, wat studente verskillende perspektiewe bied, ontmoedig word. Ten einde die redes agter die voortgesette mono-religieuse benadering tot die onderrig van godsdienstige onderwys te ondersoek, ongeag die genoemde dwingende faktore vir pluralistiese godsdienstige onderwys, het die studie met empiriese navorsing begin. Deelnemers aan hierdie empiriese navorsing is geselekteer op grond van doelgerigte steekproefneming waar slegs diegene met ryk inligting wat met die onderwerp verband hou, geselekteer is, hoofsaaklik die godsdiensonderwysers en die skoolhoof. Semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude is gebruik om data in te samel wat ontleed is deur interpretatiewe fenomenologiese ontleding waarin die ontluikende temas geïnterpreteer is deur verduidelikings verskaf deur relevante literatuur. Ontluikende temas is verder geskep deur kwalitatiewe observasies en ideografie om teorieë of hipoteses te ontwikkel van die bydraende faktore tot die voortgesette onderrig van ’n enkele Christelike godsdiens in Lesotho-skole. Daar word geteoretiseer dat die bydraende onderling verwante faktore 1) wanopvattings in inklusiewe onderwys, 2) paternalistiese godsdiensonderrig en 3) godsdienstige ongeletterdheid is. Deur besprekings waarin teorieë of hipoteses met die literatuur gekoppel is, is ontdek dat die oorsake van wanopvattings in inklusiewe onderwys oneksplisiete inhoud van inklusiewe onderwys en die dubbelsinnige implementeringsproses is. Paternalistiese godsdiensonderrig word veroorsaak deur assimilasie- en evangelisasieperspektiewe van Christelike godsdiensonderrig, en godsdiensongeletterdheid word veroorsaak deur godsdienstige sektarisme, media-godsdienstige voorstelling van godsdiens en privatisering van godsdiens. Uit die bevindinge word aanbevelings gemaak vir die navorsingsgemeenskap, onderwysbeleid, praktyk, studente en gemeenskappe, asook teorie. ___________________________________________________________________
𝑺𝒆𝑺𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒐 Mosebetsi ona wa jwale wa diphuputso o sebedisitse thuto ya boiphihlelo ba motho ka mong ho fumana mabaka bakeng sa ho ruta ho ntseng ho tswela pele ha thuto e le nngwe ya Bokreste dikolong tsa sekondari tsa Lesotho le hoja ho ntse ho na le mabaka a tlamang bakeng sa thuto e akaretsang ya bongata. Taba ya sehlooho ke hore Lesotho le lona ke mosaenedi wa diqeto tsa matjhaba, ditlwaelo le dikgothaletso tsa thuto e kenyeletsang bohle e nang le tshwaetso e otlolohileng ya thuto e akaretsang ya thuto ya bodumedi e ka fihlellwang feela ka ho ruta ditlwaelo tsa bongata tsa bodumedi. Taba ya bobedi ke hore Lesotho ha e sa le setjhaba sa mofuta o le mong wa batho (le hoja hona e sa ka ya ba taba hobane Bokreste bo fumane ho se ho ntse ho na le bodumedi bo teng ba setso sa Basotho). Bo se bo ntse bo tswela pele ho iphumanela lehae la bongata bo fapaneng ba bodumedi ho ya ka sekgahla sa tswelopele ho ya ka lefatshe ka bophara. Tabeng ya boraro, Lesotho le tsejwa e le naha ya demokrasi mme ka hona le lokela ho itlwaetsa maano a demokrasi ya thuto moo tsebo e ikgethang ho na le e lokolohileng ya tsebo ya bohle e fang baithuti mahlakore a bataletseng a tsebo a neng a sa kgothaletswe. E le ho hlahloba mabaka a ho tswela pele ha thuto ya bonngwe e ikgethileng bakeng sa ho ruta thuto ya bodumedi ho sa natswe dintlha tse boletsweng tse qobellang tsa thuto ya bodumedi ba bongata, diphuputso tsena di ile tsa qobeleha ho etsa dipatlisiso tse feletseng. Bankakarolo diphuputsong tsena ba kgethilwe ho ya ka sepheo sa ho etsa disampole e leng moo ho kgethwang feela bao ba nang le dintlha tse ngata tse matla tse amanang le sehlooho se kgethilweng, haholoholo matitjhere a thuto ya bodumedi le mosuwehlooho. Dipuisano di ile tsa sebediswa ho bokella dintlha tsa dipatlisiso mme mookotaba wa dintlha tsena wa hlaloswa ho ya ka ditlhaloso tse tshwanelehang tsa dingolwa. Melaetsa e hlahang ya kopanywa ka boitshimollelo e le ho theha diteori kapa bolepi ba dintlha tse bakang hore ho nne ho be le tswelopele ya ho ruta bodumedi bo le bong ba Bokreste dikolong tsa Lesotho. Ho sebedisitswe teori ho bontsha hore dintlha tse bakang hona ke 1) mehopolo e fosahetseng ya thuto e akaretsang, 2) thuto ya bodumedi e sekametseng ka ho bontate haholo le 3) ho se tsebe ho bala le ho ngola bodumeding. Ka ho ya ka dipuisano tseo ho hokahantsweng diteori kapa bolepi le dingolwa, ho ile ha sibollwa hore thuto e akaretsang mabaka a mehopolo e fosahetseng thutong e akaretsang ke dintlha tse sa hlakiswang tsa thuto e akaretsang le tshebetso ya tshebediso e sa hlakang le ho tsitsa. Thuto ya bodumedi bo tumisang haholo bontate e bakwa ke mekgwa ya evangedi ya thuto ya bodumedi ba Bokreste, le ho se tsebe ho bala le ho ngola bodumeding, e leng tse bakwang ke mehopolo ya mokga o itseng wa bodumedi, boemedi ba diphatlalatso tsa bodumedi esita le tsa bodumedi le boporaefete ba tumelo. Ho tswa ho diphihlello, ho entswe dikgothaletso tsa setjhaba sa diphuputso, leano la thuto, mesebetsi le phethahatso, baithuti le setjhaba le teori. ___________________________________________________________________
𝑰𝒔𝒊𝒁𝒖𝒍𝒖 Umsebenzi wamanje usebenzise ucwaningo lwekhwalithethivu i-phenomenological ukuze kutholwe izizathu zokuqhubeka kokufundiswa kwemfundo yenkolo yobuKrestu eyodwa esikoleni samabanga aphakeme eLesotho ngoba manje sekunezimo eziphoqayo zemfundo yezenkolo exubile. Okubalulekile ukuthi iLesotho ingumdidiyeli wochungechunge lwezimemezelo, izingqungquthela kanye nezincomo zamazwe ngamazwe ngemfundo ebandakanyayo enomphumela oqondile wokufundisa okubandakanyayo kwemfundo yezenkolo engazuzwa kuphela ngokufundiswa kwamasiko enkolo ehlukene. Okwesibili, iLesotho ayisewona umphakathi oxubile ngokwenkolo (yize lokhu akubanga njalo kusukela inkolo yobuKrestu yathola inkolo yomdabu yaseLesotho ekhona kakade). Liya ngokuya liba ikhaya lezenkolo ezehlukene ngenxa yamandla omhlaba othuthukayo. Okwesithathu, iLesotho kuthiwa iyizwe lentando yeningi, ngakho-ke kufanele izijwayeze nemigomo yemfundo yentando yeningi lapho ulwazi olukhethiwe kunolwazi olukhululekile olunikeza abafundi imibono eyahlukene ludikibala. Ukuze kuhlolwe izizathu ezibangela ukuqhubeka kwenqubo yenkolo eyodwa ekufundiseni imfundo yezenkolo kungakhathaliseki ukuthi yiziphi izici eziphoqelelayo ezishiwo ngemfundo yezenkolo yobuningi, lolu cwaningo lwaqala ucwaningo olunamandla. Abahlanganyeli kulolu cwaningo olunobufakazi bakhethwa ngokusekelwe ekuthathweni kwesampula okunenjongo lapho kwakhethwa kuphela labo abanolwazi olucebile oluhlobene nesihloko, ikakhulukazi othisha bezemfundo yezenkolo kanye nothishanhloko. Izingxoxiswano ezihlelwe kancane zasetshenziselwa ukuqoqa idatha eyahlaziywa ngokuhlaziywa kwe-phenomenological ehlaziya lapho izingqikithi ezivelayo zahunyushwa ngezincazelo ezinikezwe izincwadi ezifanele. Izindikimba ezisafufusa zaphinde zahlanganiswa ngokusebenzisa i-qualitative inductive kanye ne-ideography ukuze kuthuthukiswe imibono noma imibono yezinto ezinomthelela ekuqhubekeleni phambili kokufundiswa kwenkolo yobuKristu eyodwa ezikoleni zaseLesotho. Kucatshangwa ukuthi izici ezinomthelela ezihlobene 1) imibono eyiphutha emfundweni ebandakanya bonke abantu, 2) imfundo yezenkolo yobubaba kanye 3) nokungafundi ngenkolo. Ngezingxoxo lapho izinjulalwazi noma imibono ecatshangelwayo yayixhunyaniswe nezincwadi, kwatholakala ukuthi izimbangela zemibono eyiphutha emfundweni ebandakanyayo ziwukuqukethwe okungacacile kwemfundo ebandakanyayo kanye nenqubo yokuqalisa engaqondakali. Imfundo yezenkolo yobubaba ibangelwa imibono yokufanisa neyevangeli yemfundo yenkolo yobuKristu, futhi ukungafundi ngenkolo kubangelwa amahlelo enkolo, ukumelela inkolo kwabezindaba kanye nokwenziwa kwezenkolo ngasese. Kusukela kokutholakele izincomo zenzelwe umphakathi wocwaningo, inqubomgomo yezemfundo, ukuzijwayeza, abafundi nemiphakathi, kanye nenjulalwazi. ___________________________________________________________________
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.(Religion Studies))--University of the Free State, 2017
Keywords
Inclusive education, Misconceptions, Paternalism, Religious education, Religious education teachers, Religious illiteracy, Religious pluralism, Religion -- Study and teaching -- Lesotho, Education, Secondary -- Lesotho
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