Education as a pedagogy of the oppressed: South African education as envisaged by John Langalibalele Dube
Colonialism compressed the colonised people into living a borrowed and colonised cultural existence. It consigned them to the peripheries of the mainstream quality education and economic systems. The main purpose of Western education in the colonial era was not to advance the quality of the lives of...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
|
| Series: | Cogent Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2468561 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850109144062754816 |
|---|---|
| author | Butholezwe Mtombeni Muzi Shoba Thandoluhle Kwanhi |
| author_facet | Butholezwe Mtombeni Muzi Shoba Thandoluhle Kwanhi |
| author_sort | Butholezwe Mtombeni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Colonialism compressed the colonised people into living a borrowed and colonised cultural existence. It consigned them to the peripheries of the mainstream quality education and economic systems. The main purpose of Western education in the colonial era was not to advance the quality of the lives of the indigenous people, but to create useful tools of production that could easily take instruction from the masters. John Langalibalele Dube was a firm believer in the value of education in the emancipation of the oppressed. The oppressed classes could challenge the status quo and break the chains of oppression with quality education. It is on this basis that he established the African Industrial School to equip Africans with vocational skills. In the 1890s, the school produced African artisans who could compete with white workers in the job market. These vocational skills economically emancipated the recipients. Using the available newspaper reports and other relevant secondary sources, this article explores education as a pedagogy of emancipation as envisaged by John Dube. It aims at determining the relevancy of the vocational training approach in ushering liberatory objective of education in South African. Furthermore, it examines the South African educational system from the colonial era to current times, arguing that, whilst education played a pivotal role in collapsing colonialism, it has failed to wholly free the colonised minds. Dube’s industrial education coupled with experiential education is a double- edged sword that can mentally and economically liberate the former colonised people. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-501b16bdafc746ae8f2d564ccbbc1798 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2331-186X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-501b16bdafc746ae8f2d564ccbbc17982025-08-20T02:38:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Education2331-186X2025-12-0112110.1080/2331186X.2025.2468561Education as a pedagogy of the oppressed: South African education as envisaged by John Langalibalele DubeButholezwe Mtombeni0Muzi Shoba1Thandoluhle Kwanhi2Department of History, UNISA, Pretoria, South AfricaDepartment of Development Studies, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaDepartment of Development Studies, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaColonialism compressed the colonised people into living a borrowed and colonised cultural existence. It consigned them to the peripheries of the mainstream quality education and economic systems. The main purpose of Western education in the colonial era was not to advance the quality of the lives of the indigenous people, but to create useful tools of production that could easily take instruction from the masters. John Langalibalele Dube was a firm believer in the value of education in the emancipation of the oppressed. The oppressed classes could challenge the status quo and break the chains of oppression with quality education. It is on this basis that he established the African Industrial School to equip Africans with vocational skills. In the 1890s, the school produced African artisans who could compete with white workers in the job market. These vocational skills economically emancipated the recipients. Using the available newspaper reports and other relevant secondary sources, this article explores education as a pedagogy of emancipation as envisaged by John Dube. It aims at determining the relevancy of the vocational training approach in ushering liberatory objective of education in South African. Furthermore, it examines the South African educational system from the colonial era to current times, arguing that, whilst education played a pivotal role in collapsing colonialism, it has failed to wholly free the colonised minds. Dube’s industrial education coupled with experiential education is a double- edged sword that can mentally and economically liberate the former colonised people.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2468561Pedagogy of the oppressedpedagogy of the oppressoroppressioncolonialismemancipationeducation |
| spellingShingle | Butholezwe Mtombeni Muzi Shoba Thandoluhle Kwanhi Education as a pedagogy of the oppressed: South African education as envisaged by John Langalibalele Dube Cogent Education Pedagogy of the oppressed pedagogy of the oppressor oppression colonialism emancipation education |
| title | Education as a pedagogy of the oppressed: South African education as envisaged by John Langalibalele Dube |
| title_full | Education as a pedagogy of the oppressed: South African education as envisaged by John Langalibalele Dube |
| title_fullStr | Education as a pedagogy of the oppressed: South African education as envisaged by John Langalibalele Dube |
| title_full_unstemmed | Education as a pedagogy of the oppressed: South African education as envisaged by John Langalibalele Dube |
| title_short | Education as a pedagogy of the oppressed: South African education as envisaged by John Langalibalele Dube |
| title_sort | education as a pedagogy of the oppressed south african education as envisaged by john langalibalele dube |
| topic | Pedagogy of the oppressed pedagogy of the oppressor oppression colonialism emancipation education |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2468561 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT butholezwemtombeni educationasapedagogyoftheoppressedsouthafricaneducationasenvisagedbyjohnlangalibaleledube AT muzishoba educationasapedagogyoftheoppressedsouthafricaneducationasenvisagedbyjohnlangalibaleledube AT thandoluhlekwanhi educationasapedagogyoftheoppressedsouthafricaneducationasenvisagedbyjohnlangalibaleledube |