The San are Southern Africa's first indigenous peoples. They can be found in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The San peoples in Botswana still face discrimination especially in the education sector as their indigenous literacy and way of life are largely ignored. Their languages are not part of the school curriculum in Botswana; English (the official language) and Setswana (the national language) are taught in schools. In theory, this should not be the case. It greatly disadvantages San children as they underperform and drop out of school. Hence, very few have made it to the University of Botswana and the colleges of education. In order for Botswana to reach its aim of an educated and informed nation by 2016, San peoples need to be catered for in the country's education system.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlmeidaD. (1998). Indigenous education: Survival for our children. In C. C. Peele, Equity and Excellence, 31(1), 6–10.
2.
AnderssonL.G., & JansonJ. (Eds). (1997). Languages in Botswana: Language ecology in Southern Africa.Gaborone: Longman Botswana.
3.
BatiboH. M. (2004). The inter-cultural dimension in the use of languages of wider communication by minority language speakers.Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 1, 89–102.
4.
BatiboH. M. (2005). Language decline and death in Africa: Causes, consequences and challenges.Clevedon, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
5.
BatiboH. M., & SmiejaB. (Eds). (2000). Botswana: The future of the minority languages.Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
6.
BieseleM., & HitchcockR. K. (2000). Ju/'hoan language education in Namibia and its relevance for minority language education in Botswana. Retrieved 4 October, 2007, from http://www.kala-haripeoples.org/documents/Bies-Hitch.pdf
7.
BlotR. K. (2003). Introduction. In BlotR. K. (Ed.), Language and social identity (pp. 1–9). Westport, CT: Praeger.
8.
BrayM., ClarkeP. B., & StephensD. (1986). Education and Society in Africa.London: Edward Arnold.
9.
Central Statistics Office. (2004). Central Statistics Office/Department of Non-Formal Education.Gaborone: Government Printers.
10.
ChebanneA., & MonakaK. (2005). The !Xo language of Northern Kgalagadi: A socio-linguistic survey and language dynamic issues. Paper presentation; University of Botswana TROMSO Series.
11.
ClaytonC., BarnhardtR., & BriskM. E. (2008). Language, culture and identity. In BriskM. E. (Ed.), Language, Culture and Community in Teacher Education.
12.
CommeyrasM., & ChilisaB. (2001). Assessing Botswana's first national survey on literacy with Wagner's proposed schema for surveying literacy in the ‘Third World’.International Journal of Educational Development, 21, 433–446.
13.
DayE. M. (2002). Identity and the young English language learner.Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
14.
GonzálezM., MollL. G., & AmantiC. (2001). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms.Theory Into Practice, 31(2), 132–142.
15.
GoodK. (1999). Review of government policy. Consultancy to the European Union on the condition of the San in Botswana.Gaborone: Unpublished consultancy report.
16.
GrenobleL. A., & WhaleyL. J. (2006). Saving languages: An introduction to language revitalization.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
17.
HaysJ. (2002). Education and the San of Southern Africa: The search for alternatives. In I. N. Mazonde, Minorities in the millennium: Perspectives from Botswana (pp. 17–28). Gaborone: Light books.
18.
KannoY. (2003). Negotiating bilingual and bicultural identities.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
19.
KetsitlileL. E. (2009). San junior secondary school students’ understandings of literacy at school and at home: A case study. Doctoral dissertation, The University of Georgia, US.
20.
KgosidintsiN. (1992). Poverty in Botswana.Gaborone: Botswana Christian Council.
21.
Le RouxW. (1999). Torn apart: A report on the educational situation of San children in Southern Africa. Commissioned by Kuru Development Trust and WIMSA.
22.
LewisM. P. (Ed.). (2009). Ethnologue: Languages of the world (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com. Retrieved 20 April, 2011.
23.
MafelaL. (2009). Changing livelihoods, language use and language shift amongst Basarwa of Botswana.International Journal of Multilingualism, 6(3), 229–245.
24.
MagogweJ. (2007). An investigation into attitudes and motivation of Botswana secondary school students towards English, Setswana and indigenous languages.English World-Wide, 28(3), 311–328.
25.
MaruatonaT. (2005). Gender and minority issues in planning literacy education in Botswana.International Journal of Lifelong Education, 24(2), 149–164.
26.
MaruatonaT. (2009). Planning and implementing a multicultural literacy education curriculum in Botswana. In KamwendoG., JankieD., & ChebanneA. (Eds.), Multilingualism in Education and Communities in Southern Africa.Gaborone: UB Tromso Collaborative Programme for San Research and Capacity Building.
27.
MasenduM. E. (2000). Language across the curriculum in education: A whole classroom approach. In LetsholoD. T. (Eds.), Advocating instructional improvement in the new millennium: Selected papers presented at the 4th Biennial Conference on Teacher Education, Gaborone, 8-10 February, 2000.
28.
MaslowA. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation.Psychological Review50(4), 370–396.
29.
MazondeI. (2002). The San in Botswana and the issue of subjectivities—national disintegration or cultural diversity? In MazondeI. N. (Ed.), Minorities in the millennium: Perspectives from Botswana (pp. 57–71). Gaborone: Light books.
30.
Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. (2003). Gaborone: Botswana Government Publishers.
31.
MokibeloE. B., & MoumakwaT. V. (2006). An investigation into reading texts in English by Khoe children: A case study of Motshelagaletau primary school in the central district. Unpublished report.
32.
MolefeC. (2004). Post-independence literacy programmes in Botswana: Implications for library service. World Library and Information Congress: 70th IFLA General Conference and Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Retrieved 9 June, 2006, from http://www.ifa.org/IV/ifa70/prog04.htm
33.
MonakaK. (2005). Mother Tongue Education: prospects for Bakgalagarhi learners. Regional Mother Tongue Conference on Multilingualism in Southern Africa Education—Sharing Experiences and Practices. 1st and 2nd June. Hosted by University of Botswana and supported by WIMSA. Gaborone.
34.
MonakaK. C., & KamwendoG. H. (2006). Linguistic minorities & marginalization in Botswana: Prospects for survival. In ElangaiyanR., McKenna BrownR., OstlerN. D. M., and VermaM. K. (Eds.), Vital voices: Proceedings of the Tenth FEL Conference, CIIL, Mysore, India (pp. 135–142). Bath, UK: Foundation for Endangered Languages.
35.
MookoT. (2006). Countering the threat of language death: The case of minority languages in Botswana.Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 27(2), 109–125.
36.
MuleL. (1999). Indigenous languages in the school curriculum: What happened to Kiswahili in Kenya? In SemaliL., KincheloeJ. C. (Eds.), What is indigenous knowledge? Voices from the academy.New York: Falmer Press.
37.
MuthwiiM. J. (2004). A fresh quest for new language bearings in Africa. In MuthwiiM. J., & KiokoA.N. (Eds.), New language bearings in Africa: A fresh quest.Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
38.
Nyati-RamahoboL. (1999). The national language: A resource or a problem.Gaborone: Pula Press.
39.
Nyati-RamahoboL. (2002a). Ethnic identity and nationhood in Botswana. In I. N. Mazonde (2002), Minorities in the millennium: Perspectives from Botswana (pp. 17–28). Gaborone: Lentswe La Lesedi (Pty) Ltd.
40.
Nyati-RamahoboL. (2002b). From a phone call to the high court: Wayeyi visibility and the Kamanakao Association's campaign for linguistic and cultural rights in Botswana.JSTOR, 28(4), 686–709.
41.
Nyati-RamahoboL. (2004). Language planning and policy in Africa. In BaldaufRichard B.Jr., KaplanRobert B. (Eds.), Language planning and policy in Africa, 1 (pp. 21–78). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
42.
OlebileL. E. (1999, 15 October). Keep learning the English language.Gaborone: Botswana Guardian.
43.
PangV. (1990). Asian American children: A diverse population.The Educational Forum, 55, 49–65.
44.
PridmoreP. (1995). Learning and schooling of Basarwa (Bushmen) children in Botswana.Prospects,XXV(4), 707–722.
45.
ReaganT., & OsborneT. (2002). The foreign language educator in society: Toward a critical pedagogy.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
46.
Republic of Botswana. (1997). Vision 2016 document.Gaborone: Government Printers.
47.
RiemerF., GaboroneS., & TshireletsoL. (1997). Improving access to basic education for Basarwa children of Botswana. Unpublished UNICEF Consultancy Report. Gaborone: UNICEF Botswana.
48.
SchecterS. R., & BayleyR. (1997). Language socialization practices and cultural identity: Case studies of Mexican-descent families in California and Texas.TESOL Quarterly, 31(3), 513–527.
49.
ShaperaI. (1951). The Khoisan peoples of South Africa.London: Lowe & Brydone Printers Ltd.
50.
StroudC. (2003). Postmodern perspectives on local languages: African mother tongue education in times of globalization.International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 6(1), 17–36.
51.
Suarez-OrozcoC., & Suarez-OrozcoM. M. (2001). Children of immigration.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
52.
SylvainR. (2002). ‘Land, water and truth’: San identity and global indigenism.American Anthropologist, 104(4), 1074–1085.
53.
WagnerR. W. (2006). An endless desert walk: Perspectives of education from the San in Botswana.International Journal of Educational Development, 26(1), 88–97.
54.
White-KaulaityM. (2007). Reflections on Native American reading: A seed, a tool, and a weapon.Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(7), 560–569.
55.
WilsonM., & ThompsonL. (Eds.). (1968). The Oxford history of South Africa. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
