INDIGENOUS CURRICULUM | CULTURE AND TRADITIONAL | DOES IT HELP THE PEOPLE / USERS?

INTRODUCTION
            The importance of indigenous curriculum tot eh user
            “indigenous curriculum could be seen as all that is available to an individuals in nay social setting which others such individuals an opportunity to know more about himself.
            According to Akuma (2011) It is very important to know that curriculum of any indigenous society comprises all the activities, experiences, conditions and situations which the society selects and organizes consciously to bring positive changes in the learner and the society at large.

            This indigenous curriculum comprises of both the programme of activities of the society and programme of social mental activities. The activities of being morally, strong, physically fit, emotionally stable mentally sound socially amiable.
            The indigenous curriculum anned consciously or unconsciously toward the development of an individual to be socially fit. For us to better  understand the usefulness of this indigenous curriculum to the user we are going to consider, we need to understand the factors that properly defines the usefulness of indigenous curriculum to the user.
            These factors includes the culture, the curriculum user, the elders, the learning process and the disciplines.
            Factors are certain conditions that are necessary for something to happen or to be considered before something (Akuma 2011:31).
Culture
            The culture of the people defines how usefulness their curriculum could be to the user since in a traditional setting, you cannot is said to be social heritage. The distinctive way of life of a people. It is the totality of group experience, thought patterns, beliefs, actions, skills and behaviour learned and shared by virtue of belonging to a social unit.
            The elders are the cultural Specialties, who transmit this cultural heritage to the young ones.
            Within the society some elders and adult members have specialized functions as hunters, fishermen, carpenters (wood carvers) midwives blacksmiths, goldsmiths, herbalists and bonesetters. Other vocations like wearing, pottery, weaving and dying etc.
These and much more are cultural disciplines
            The learning process is through imitation, initiation and apprenticeship to prepare the young into the society and prepare them into adulthood.
The importance to the user
            The indigenous curriculum is very important to the user in so many areas and it is defined on the context of the type of education available to the people at any particular time.
            Fafunwa (1991) aptly defined indigenous education as the aggregate all the process e.g by which a child develops his abilities attitudes and other forms of behaviour which are of positive value to the society in which he lives.
            The indigenous curriculum helps the user in so many areas like
i.        To develop physical skills
ii.       Develop intellectual skills
iii.     Have respect to elders
iv.      To value and promote his cultural heritage
v.       To acquire specific vocational training
v.       know the dignity of honest labour
vi.      To have sense of belonging 
i.          Inculcate physical skills          
            The indigenous curriculum is designed in a traditional setting to develop the physical and emotional stability of the child. He is being unconsciously trained on how to jump, climb a tree, swings throw intertwines, dances or performs a balancing act on logs or on top of fenced walls with both hands stretched as balancing exercises. This serves as a natural way or process of growth in the physical environment, no matter how limiting, challenges the child to try out new ideas.
            The indigenous curriculum helps the child to understand about cultural roots and cultural celebration. How support and advance the traditional culture that are supportive.     
            The lack of indigenous education is lack of indigenous curriculum. The indigenous education is the key to self determination and it takes place in indigenous languages.
            At present, many Nigerians are deprived of the opportunity to take pride in their indigenous background, which hindered their identification with their culture and history.
            The indigenous curriculum helps the child to understand the culture and the language of the people.
            In medicine, some companies are using indigenous curriculum (knowledge) to identify medicinal plants with little or no modification.
2.         Intellectual skills    
            The curriculum in an indigenous context is not divided up into subjects as in the western curriculum system.
i.          It encourages intellectual growth and development of the user. At night the adults or elders tell stories about he historical background of the community the intertribal wars and heroic exploits of their community with the neighbouring villages.
ii.         It also help the user to learn personal hygiene and environmental sanitation. They swept cpds, villages squares, kept clean the villages springs and public toilets through the knowledge of indigenous  health education.
3.         Helps the user to have respect to elders      
            Through the indigenous curriculum, the user is taught the way of greeting of his people. Verbal greeting are after accompanied by physical gestures in the form of kneeling down, crouching and shaking hands. The user by this get conversant with various greeting styles of his ethnic group.
4.         In  vocational training      
            The knowledge acquired from indigenous educational curriculum in tradition vocation, the user can competently fit into the society as a herbalists or native medicine, bonesetters, traditional birth attendants.
            Vocational training is largely run on the apprenticeship system. Some of these vocations may be hereditary, only members of such families can be taught the particular trade.
            In Nigeria zone groups or families specialized in such trades or vocations as mat, blacksmith, bonesetting, weaving etc. The user gains vast knowledge from this vocational tradition curriculum.
Knowledge to the user
            Increased health
            The indigenous curriculum include the an aspect of traditional health education. Here the people develop a sound knowledge on preventive medicine. The various herbal drugs in the forest are made known to the user.
            Treebarks, leaves, seeds, roots that useful for preventive and permanent cures of various disease are taught and practiced.
            It exposes the users to various physical exercises like wrestling, shooting fishing and hunting expedition which may latter become ones profession.
            In more precise the user is made to know quite in time, the behaviour which attract moral lapses and deviations from the norm. beahviours like insubordination, fornication, adultery, theft, poisoning, attract special punishments.
            Also socially the user understand information about his community, the village goods, marriage customs, coronation ceremonies, initiation sacrifices of all kinds. In the same way source of these cultures are strictly gender stero-typed but some may require the females whether young or old.
            Why is it that indigenous curriculum are important to the user.


Conclusion
            Indigenous curriculum consists of the culture and traditional of the people. By this the user acquires better social and health habits which demands close familiarity with the total ways of the life of the people. How they live, do things, values and beliefs.
            The user of curriculum is not only expected to know the cultural heritage of ones people but also to live and conform to the norms of his culture within his society (use) so as to become effective citizen Michael michie (1999).
            Internet, indigenous people and their knowledge www.members.ozemail.com
Paper presented at the fifth UNESCO ACEID international conference “learning curriculum”.        
                
           
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