Rethinking Democratic Education in Cultivating Postdigital Pedagogical Engagements in Africa
摘要
Literature in defence of democratic educational theory and practice abound. However, not much has been argued for in support of deliberative democratic educational theory vis-à-vis the cultivation of postdigital educational technologies, especially in Africa. In this chapter, I accentuate some opportunities and possibilities for African higher education to become more deliberative. Firstly, I contend that the use of postdigital educational technology cannot be separated from the cultivation of deliberative engagement, inclusivity, and criticality—all actions related to a notion of ubuntu action (working together). Secondly, the cultivation of postdigital educational technology is constituted by an enactment of assemblages of teaching-learning as university educators and students endeavour to embark on pedagogical action with one another. Thirdly, postdigital educational development ought to create conditions for students to become actively engaged in university classrooms where co-learning and co-belonging enhance their deliberative engagement in and about equal, equitable, and just higher education. In addition, I emphasise the role of African philosophical traditions and Indigenous knowledge systems in informing and enriching these deliberative practices. By integrating these local epistemologies, postdigital pedagogical engagements can be more contextually relevant and culturally responsive, fostering a deeper connection between students and their learning environments.