Journal of
African Studies and Development

  • Abbreviation: J. Afr. Stud. Dev
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-2189
  • DOI: 10.5897/JASD
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 240

Article in Press

Behaviorism in African Indigenous Learning and Teachings: A Case of Pre-Colonial Education in Tanzania Mainland

Mhando M. Mikidady, Fadhili A. Mtani, Abdurahman M Juma, Mnyero A. Gunda, Zioulhack K. Ismail, Kasimu B. Hasani

  •  Received: 16 August 2021
  •  Accepted: 19 November 2021
Africa is one of the world continents with a deep history of education equally to other world continents. This has offered a room for the provision of diverse educational teachings that was based on individual society’s needs and perspectives. Despite the reality that there are plenty of surviving writings describing about pre-colonial African educational issues, there is still a quest of information to understand the psychological considerations of learners in pre-colonial education teachings. It is from that vein this article has devote itself in addressing the question of behaviorism psychology of learning in the pre-colonial period Africa by taking Tanzania mainland as a case study. It has been argued in this article that indigenous educational teachings were structured in frames of psychological considerations (which were not in documents) with regard to children age, knowledge level, and nature of the knowledge content to be acquired and mastered. The documentary reviews have been opted by researcher to collect data for the study. The study has found that, the educational systems in pre colonial Africa started from family to society level considering behaviorists ideas in their learning and teaching process. For example, Concepts Response Conditioning, reward and punishment and repetition formed core part in educational systems. The article concludes that unlike what is argued in many scholarly writings on pre-colonial Africa education as unsystematic, no curriculum, and no psychological consideration. This study has found and proved the vice versa of such arguments

Keywords: Psychology, behaviorism, pre-colonial education, Tanzania mainland