Sankofa: African Thought and Education

Elleni Tedla, Sankofa: African Thought and Education. New York: Peter Lang, 1995. 236 pp. $29.95, paper. Reviewed by L. Kay Walker and Dickson A. Mungazi, Northern Arizona University. In the four decades since the process of decolonization and political independence began in Africa, African scholars have attempted to evaluate the direction that the continent of Africa has taken in its developmental efforts. Among the questions these scholars have asked as a way of determining that development are: What theory guides African nations as they struggle for development? What are some of the more pressing problems nations of Africa face today? What must African nations do to bring about new institutions that are truly vested in the interests of the people? What kind of governments should these nations have in order to represent the genuine interests of the people? What kind of education do they need in order to influence the formation of new national identities and the emergence of a fresh continental character that will give meaning to the traditions of the past and greater impact to endeavors in the future? This last question is the subject of Elleni Tedla's Sankofa: African Thought and Education. The book is divided into three parts, each with distinctive, integrated features. Part one discusses the interaction between African and Western thought processes and explains how that interaction affects African education and society today. Part two defines some essential concepts and components of both the indigenous and modern African educational systems. In part three, having laid this foundation, Tedla presents her arguments for returning to traditional African values and thought processes as the basis for education in contemporary African society. To understand Tedla's line of argument, one needs to trace both its title and its theme to their beginnings. "Sankofa" is an Akan (Ghanaian) word that means "return to the source and fetch (learn). " Following this, Tedla first urges African educators and policymakers to reach back into the past to rediscover traditions that have been lost to them. Second, she challenges them to renew and refine these traditions so that they will have new meaning for all Africans, not just the wealthy and powerful, in both the present and the future. In Tedla's view, a rejection of colonialism is ultimately a rejection of Western thought process and Western education. This rejection necessitates a redefinition of education to reflect the needs of Africa today and tomorrow. The first step toward this objective is to evaluate the continent's present educational systems within the spirit of Sankofa. The source of this renewal is indigenous African culture, history, and identity-elements that to her suggest the power within African people to shape new directions. By utilizing what is positive in these elements, she maintains, Africans can build a foundation for future development. As such, she proposes that the experiences of contemporary Africans in and out of school reflect a philosophy that is enshrined in its indigenous symbols, including the ritual, music, dance, art, proverbs, poetry, drama, technology, and architecture of precolonial Africa. That these critical features of African culture were neglected by the colonial educational system suggests to Tedla their vitality to the future of Africa. Yet, as she sees it, the challenge before the people of modem Africa is to revive the old ways so that they renew modern institutions for the benefit of all Africans, educated and uneducated, and not simply the wealthy and powerful elites. The acquisition of critical knowledge of African traditions will also require an educational system that is consistent with the contemporary needs of the continent. To fully appreciate this book, readers also must come to terms with the author's understanding of the African concept of spirituality and its role in education. …