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Article 1: In this articles it explains African philosophy and it gets in more details in pages 79, 80 & 81

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African Philosophy and the Decolonization

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Article 2

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African philosophy for successful integration of technology in higher education

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African philosophy for successful integration of technology in higher education

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Article 3

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Julius Nyerere - The Fulfillment of Education

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 Key principles and values embedded in African educational traditions

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 Key principles and values embedded in African educational traditions

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The article get into details about the traditional education and it unveils the wisdom beyond western education.

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Key principles and values embedded in African educational traditions

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Key principles and values embedded in African educational traditions

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In the article there is more clarity on traditional education to formal education.

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Contemporary education aims to reimagine education for the 21st century by emphasizing more on science and technology. It involves changing how we do school consciously, deliberatively and intentionally.

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Contemporary education refers to the current state and practices of education in the modern world, typically reflecting the prevailing educational methods, theories, technologies, and societal influences of the present time. It is a dynamic and evolving field that adapts to the changing needs of students, society, and the workforce.

Certainly, here's an original and detailed explanation of the key characteristics of contemporary education:

1. Technology Integration: In modern classrooms, technology plays a significant role. Schools frequently incorporate computers, tablets, interactive software, and internet resources to enrich the learning experience. This enables students to access information quickly, collaborate online, and develop digital literacy skills, which are increasingly vital in today's world.

2. Student-Centered Learning: Contemporary education shifts its focus toward individual students. It acknowledges that each student possesses unique needs, interests, and abilities. This approach encourages active participation in the learning process, fosters critical thinking, and promotes problem-solving skills. Students are encouraged to take ownership of their educational journey.

3. Lifelong Learning: Education is no longer confined to formal schooling. Contemporary education recognizes the significance of lifelong learning. In a rapidly changing world, continuous skill development is essential. Learning extends throughout one's life, beyond the traditional school years. Individuals must adapt and acquire new knowledge and skills to remain relevant in their careers and personal lives.

4. Inclusivity and Diversity: Modern education places a strong emphasis on creating inclusive and diverse learning environments. It seeks to accommodate students from various backgrounds, abilities, and learning styles. Equity and ensuring access to quality education for all students are paramount. This approach prepares students to thrive in a diverse and interconnected world.

5. Interdisciplinary Approach: Many contemporary educational programs promote interdisciplinary learning. This means that students explore connections between different subjects and gain a holistic understanding of complex issues. It fosters critical thinking and problem-solving by encouraging students to see the bigger picture and understand how various fields of knowledge relate to one another.

6. Project-Based and Experiential Learning: Today's education frequently incorporates project-based and experiential learning methods. Rather than solely relying on textbooks and tests, students engage in real-world projects. They apply their knowledge in practical situations, fostering practical skills and enhancing their problem-solving abilities.

7. Assessment and Feedback: Assessment methods have evolved beyond traditional testing. Contemporary education incorporates a broader range of evaluation tools, including formative assessments, peer assessments, and self-assessment. Feedback is an integral part of the learning process, helping students recognize their strengths and areas for improvement.

8. Global Perspective: In an increasingly interconnected world, contemporary education places a strong emphasis on global awareness and cultural competence. Students are encouraged to learn about and appreciate diverse perspectives, engage in international experiences, and gain an understanding of global issues. This prepares them to be informed and responsible global citizens.

9. Environmental and Social Responsibility: Many modern educational institutions incorporate sustainability and social responsibility into their curricula. Students learn about environmental conservation, social justice, and ethical behavior. They acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to address global challenges such as climate change and social inequality.

10. Personalized Learning: Advances in technology and data analytics enable contemporary education to offer personalized learning experiences. This means that instruction is tailored to each student's unique needs and preferences. Customized learning pathways empower students to reach their full potential.

Contemporary education continually adapts to ongoing research, evolving education policies, and changing societal dynamics. Its primary objective is to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to thrive in an ever-evolving world.

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Contemporary education refers to the current state and practices of education in the modern world, typically reflecting the prevailing educational methods, theories, technologies, and societal...

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Understanding "UBUNTU".

Nelson Mandela was influenced by the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of human and the belief that a person is a person through other people. This philosophy underpinned his approach and reconciliation.

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Nelson Mandela explains "ubuntu" concept

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In the image they demonstrate being together as 1, with no discrimination showing each other "ubuntu".

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One of is quotes is "WITHOUT UNITY, THERE IS NO FUTURE", This legend also emphasizes unity and dignity meaning we have to be united so that we protect the dignity of Africa.

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Dignity for Africa, the UJAMAA experience of Julius NYERERE in TANZANIA. (subtitled in english)

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Nyerere believed that the education provided should encourage the development of an enquiring mind, an ability to learn from others, and a basic confidence in one's own position as a free and equal member of society.

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Link

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1. Introduction

In this introduction, the study is firstly placed in context, providing a brief justification for the research. The research questions are then presented to develop an understanding of APE and their relevance in SL. The chapter then reviews relevant contemporary literature which has contributed to our knowledge and understanding of APE and SL in Africa. This is achieved by means of a systematic literature search in the library and on the Internet, including policy reports, and academic papers on each of the four areas relevant to the research questions. The main underlying influences and perceptions held by the literature on APE and SL are analysed qualitatively in order to inform how APE could improve the SL challenges of African local communities.

2. Conceptual Clarifications

2.1. African Indigenous Education

2.2. Characteristics of African Indigenous Education

Such an indigenous education does not derive its origins from the individual but from the collective epistemological understanding and rationalization of the community; it is about what local people know and do and what local communities have known and done for generations and their ability to use community knowledge produced from local history, from important literacy skills critical to survival in an African context (Semali, 1999; Lavngwa, 2019). This type of education can also be said to have nine key characteristics (MacOjong, 2008; Njoki et al., 2015; Ebot Ashu, 2016); developed in Ebot Ashu (2020b, 2021a, 2021b) and approved by African Union (2016a, 2016b, 2018):

It is a lifelong process whereby a person progressed through predetermined stages of life ofgraduation from cradle to grave. According to Moumouni (1968: p. 30), these practices begin from the "womb to the tomb" and are interwoven in theory and practice. They epitomize the African's existence, actions, practices, and beliefs (Lavngwa, 2019).

It is community oriented and geared to solving the problems of the community. The instructional activities were therefore directed towards the social life of the community, so as to prepare the learners to fit into their community. This encourages every person in the community, whether young or old, to put their competence and skills into the community.

It is not dependent on literacy in that thelearning experiences are delivered orally and the knowledge is stored in the heads of elders. MacOjong (2008) says that, instructors are carefully selected from the family or clan to impart knowledge, skills and attitudes to the young, informally at the didactic and practical levels.

It places emphasis on practical learning whereby the young adult learned by watching, participating and executing what they learnt. Skills like carving, masonry, clay working, cloth making, canoe making, cooking, and home management are insisted upon among the children in the community. These are skills open to all, since, traditionally; they were the basic skills, knowledge and attitudes that enabled children could acquire these traditional skills by participating in socio-cultural activities (Lavngwa, 2019; Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022).

The question of "learning by doing" is very important. The best way to learn sewing is to sew; the best way to learn farming is to farm; the best way to learn cooking is to cook and the best way to learn how to teach is to teach. These pragmatic pedagogic methods according to what ancient Greek learned from traditional African education include observation, memorisation, oral imitation, and storytelling (Plato, 1988; Plato, 1968; Nyamnjoh, 2004). By this pragmatic approach of "learning by doing", children can develop life-long skills (Dewey, 1991; Lavngwa, 2019).

It is functional in the sense that the knowledge skills and values that are imparted are relevant to the socio-economic, political and cultural activities of an individual and the local community. Learners learn skills that are useful for immediate and long-term activities like guards, leaders or teachers, and received training around the chief's residence.Homes are used to prepare brides for marriage (Lavngwa, 2019). Enculturation, socialization and education take place in the family (Nsamenang, 2016).

There were basically no formal exams at the end of a specific level of training, but a learner was considered a graduate when he/she was able to practise what he or she had learnt throughout the period of training. A ceremony was held to mark the completion of training and thus the assumption of more community responsibilities. This was common, especially during what the Africans refer to as "coming of age" ceremonies and "rites of passage". While western education stresses competitive individualism and eliminates students through the failure of tests, indigenous education emphasises cooperative communalism evaluated by life experiences (Lavngwa, 2019; Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022).

The Holistic Nature of African indigenous education simply means that everyone is bound to learn about all the activities of society, like farming, craftsmanship, hunting and fishing, without specialisation. This holistic approach to indigenous education ensures that children grow as jacks of all trades and masters of all. It sets out to transmit moral, spiritual, intellectual, social, and physical lessons which fit different developmental stages that culture recognizes (Tala, 2012; Lavngwa, 2019). Yet at the basis of this holistic African education are found moral values that are invaluable to membership in the community (Lavngwa & Ngalim, 2015; Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022).

It is a way to protect, preserve and develop the traditional indigenous skills and cultures of Africa. The acknowledgement of traditional owners' language protection, and the preservation and celebration of their heritage is important to enable the people to gain employment, develop professional skills and participate in the nations and international development. However, we must note that such a cultural revival or preservation of indigenous values does not mean an uncritical swallowing of all pre-colonial practices (Levy-Bruhl, 1995; Lavngwa, 2019; Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022).

2.3. African Philosophies of Education (APE)

The indigenous education above did not develop in a vacuum; it had its own philosophical bases on which it was built. The problem of what constitutes valid indigenous knowledge for philosophy of education brings us to the debate on the consensus of what aspects of culture can be considered. This evokes Marcien Towa's problematic of whether African philosophy is a myth or reality (Towa, 1998). The question of what counts as philosophy is itself a philosophical problem. The hallmark of philosophy is to take a position and justify it rationally. There is hardly any consensus (Lavngwa, 2019; Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022). These African Philosophies of Education (APE) are reviewed in turn below.

Preparedness/preparationism: This is a preparatory philosophy. Children were prepared to assume adult cultural, social, economic and political roles and functions in the family, the tribe or the clan. Children are prepared to play the role of husband and wife, bread provider and councillor in the village. Children learn farming to become farmers; hunting to become hunters; fishing to become fishermen and fisher women (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b).

Utilitarianism/Functionalism: The utilitarian or functionalist philosophy of indigenous education required the child to work while learning or learn while working. Children learnt moral and spiritual ways of living, social and economic activities, as well as communal participation in order to be useful in the social, economic and political life of the society in which they are growing. A child, who learned how to cook, cooked; a child who learnt how to farm farmed; a child who learnt how to build built or participated in effective building (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b; Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022).

Communalism (Etek): In African traditional society, learners learned/acquired a common spirit to work and live a healthy life and that the means of production were owned communally. The education was also an integral part of culture and history. For example, children's upbringing was the task of the whole community. This African communalism is manifested in Julius Nyerere's Ujama'a socialism that set out to create an egalitarian society in which everyone worked towards nation building through the elimination of poverty (Lavngwa, 2019).

Holisticism/multiple learning: In this philosophical base, learners were required to acquire multiple skills. They were either not allowed to specialise in specific occupations, or very little room for specialisation existed. When a learner learnt about a certain skill, say farming, she/he was obliged to learn all other skills related to farming such as, how to prepare farms, hoeing, food preservation, how to fight diseases attacking crops and so on.

Perennialism was a philosophical approach that required children to learn in order to perpetuate culture. It was founded on the belief that cultural knowledge should not be left to decay and disappear. This philosophical base ensures that the traditional communities in Africa use education as a tool for preserving the status quo of the tribe.

Ethnophilosophy was first used by Kwame Nkrumah and was coined by many other Africa philosophers like Leopold Sedar Senghor's philosophy of négritude,who viewed it as a combination of ethnography and philosophy. Ethnophilosophy is based on the works of ethnographers, sociologists and anthropologists who interpret collective world views of African peoples, their myths and folklores as a constitutive part of African philosophy (Hountondji, 1996; Karp & Masolo, 1998). Ethnophilosophy is associated with the cultural artefacts, narratives, folklore and music of Africa's people accessible to all peoples and cultures in the world (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b; Hountondji, 1996; Karp & Masolo, 1998; Horsthemke, 2017; Lavngwa, 2019; Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022).

Community (Etek) Philosophy in ancient Africasteadfastly focuses on process, not outcomes. Community Philosophy process is caring, collaborative, critical and creative. Together, people work out what really matters, what's possible, and what they can do; it is a rich, deeply rewarding experience (Waghid, 2016a; Horsthemke, 2017). Graeme (2010) and Evans (2012), agreed that Community Philosophy empowers people in any context to be active citizens and to generate ideas at a grassroots level (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b).This is about thinking together in a non-confrontational and truly democratic way.

Reasonableness (Atah Ntii-Aloh) is the quality of being plausible or acceptable to a reasonable person. The concept of reasonableness is well documented by Boettcher (2014) and Waghid (2016b) in the context of John Rawls's political liberalism, and especially its main ideas of public reason and liberal legitimacy (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b). Waghid (2016a) and Horsthemke (2017) summarised that the reasonableness of African knowledge(s) is guided by an appreciation of African cultures. As a rule, all cultural relationships are recognized from the unity of common and individual values of people (Lavngwa, 2016). These general managing principles symbolize the common will of society or the General Will (Rousseau, 1988).

Moral Maturity (Ayaamba) is a requirement in the person who is to apply a body of knowledge or a skill to the solution of a problem, or to the understanding of a situation, if the knowledge is not to remain abstract and the skill potentially unrealised. Moral maturity consists of seven elements: moral agency, harnessing cognitive ability, harnessing emotional resources, using social skill, using principles, respecting others, and developing a sense of meaning (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b).For Waghid (2016a), moral maturity in this regard is that one understands that one's behaviour now is going to serve as role model for the upcoming generation.

Maat or Ma'at (Moninkim) refers to the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, peace love, unity, law, morality, and justice. Our ancestors believed that Maat could be represented by a goddess who personified these concepts, and who regulated the stars, seasons, and the actions of mortals and the deities who had brought order from chaos at the moment of creation. The most well-known image of Maat is with a feather on her head (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b).Her ideological opposite was Isfet (Egyptian jzft), meaning injustice, chaos, violence or to do evil (Graness, 2016; Horsthemke, 2017).

The Teachings of the Vizier Ptahhotep (Atah Obasinjom) is regarded as the oldest completely preserved doctrine of wisdom. As explained by Graness (2016), the core of the teachings is concerned with morality, social propriety (duties toward superiors, duties towards equals, and duties towards inferiors), and respect for Maat as the unity of cosmos and society, order and justice. The central concern of the teachings is how to lead a truly ethical life. Here, a wise teacher, head teacher, principal, father or king as David speaks to his son Solomon, presenting his experiences in a didactic and reflective way (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b; Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022).

The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant (Ntt-Aloh Nkpak) according to the analysis of Graness (2016), categorise the tale of the eloquent peasant as a classic piece of political philosophy. The text sees three roles of political authority in the speeches of the peasant: the role of the leader, the role of the protector, and the role of the creator of good as described by Graness. These role models are based on the concept, values and norms of Ma'at as the fundamental idea of the order of the world that must be applicable to school leadership (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b).

The Dialogue of a Man with his Soul is, on the one hand, a form of criticism of the traditional cult of the dead; on the other hand, it is a very life-affirming text which expresses an appreciation of this mortal world despite all its social problems. Graness (2016) writes that ancient Egyptians believed the soul was made of different parts, namely Ka, Akh and Ba (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b; Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022).

Imhotep (Atah Ntuifar) (27th century BCE), or "he who cometh in peace", was born in Ankhtowe, a suburb of Memphis, Egypt. Imhotep was an intellectual, scientist, theologian, moralist, architect, high priest and physician, inventor of the pyramid, author of ancient wisdom, astronomer and writer, and his many talents and vast acquired knowledge had such an effect on the Egyptian people that he became one of only a handful of individuals of non-royal birth to be deified, or promoted to the status of a demi-god (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b). Asante (2000) draws from a number of primary sources to reveal that Imhotep, Ahmenhotep, Akhenaton, and many other African intellectuals were great philosophers long before the arrival of the Greeks (Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022).

The Kemetic Philosophy, or authentic Kemetism, from the native name of Ancient Egypt, refers to submission to the authority of the laws of the creation and to the order of the universe (Daugherty, 2014). A Kemetic is a follower of Maat and one who organises his existence in accordance with these laws to preserve life (Asante, 2000; Graness, 2016). In ancient Kemet, there were also seven cardinal principles/virtues of the Goddess Maat to achieve human perfectibility. These principles are Truth, Justice, Balance, Order, Compassion, Harmony and Reciprocity (Asante, 2000; Graness, 2016).

As Above So Below (Ossow Yah Enssi) explains that, throughout authentic Africa, human societies (below) have been organised according to the (above) world universal order. The phrase derives from a passage in the Emerald Tablet, explains that which is below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing (Ebot Ashu, 2020b, 2021a, 2021b). As humans we must learn to find that philosopher's stone that is within each one of us (Ebot Ashu & Lavngwa, 2022). The Message intended as a version of the New Testament translation of the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6:10. (The prayer's phrase is traditionally rendered "on earth, as it is in heaven").

3. African Philosophy of Education and Its Relevance to School Leadership

4. How African Union Philosophies of Education "Fit" into Today's School Leadership

This paper has highlighted key issues regarding how African Philosophies of Education (APE) might help to address contemporary challenges of School Leadership (SL). APE can be such a powerful tool for the continent's post-colonial educational systems as they work to become producers of knowledge that has a public and international relevance (Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, 1993, 2014). Yusef Waghid, a distinguished professor of the Philosophy of Education at Stellenbosch University, writes that adopting an APE can be a powerful tool to help the continent's school system at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels by creating real social change and justice (Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, 1993, 2014).

4.1. Framework on the Relevance of African Philosophies of Education to School Leadership

The framework below provides opportunities for aspiring indigenous educational leaders in learning institutions and educational systems to enhance their expertise in aspects of leadership, governance, management and administration of schools in Africa through enriched practical, research-based and theoretical perspectives relevant to contexts in which indigenous educational leadership takes place as shown in Table 1.

4.2. Framework on How African Philosophy of Education "Fits" in Today's School Leadership World

The notion of an African Philosophy of Education (APE) in School leadership (SL) emerged with the advent of the de-colonisation of education and the call for an educational philosophy that would reflect this renewal, in other words, through a focus on Africa and its cultures, identities and values, and the new imperatives for education in a postcolonial era (Abdi, 2011). This paper concludes by proposing a framework to inform future research into the integration of APE with SL. Adopting this framework can be a powerful tool to help the continent's schools and educational systems create real social change and justice as shown in Table 2.

. African philosophies of education and their relevance to school leadership.

An Epistemic Theoretical Framework to Guide the delivery of African Philosophy of Education (APE) in School Leadership (SL) practice.

. African union philosophy of education as it "fits" in today's school leadership.

The frameworks above clarify the relevance of African Philosophy of Education in School Leadership knowledge production and sharing in the era of de-colonisation (Abdi, 2011). They have identified different strands of African Philosophies of Education as they "fit" in today's School Leadership world, providing a framework that can contribute to the development and reflection of academic scholars and practitioners in other parts of the world.

5. Conclusion

This paper sought to answer why there is an absence of African Philosophies of Education (APE) influences in School Leadership (SL) in most African countries. A number of APE strands were considered.Each philosophy will be critically evaluated to understand the Epistemic Theoretical Framework to Guide the delivery of African Philosophy of Education (APE) in School Leadership (SL) practice.

This paper emphasises that African Philosophies of Education (APE) in School Leadership (SL) Policy and Practice (APESL) will increasingly become a truly global phenomenon supporting decolonising of School leadership. African philosophers of education must do their utmost to make their discipline "fit" today's school leadership world. Research, if it is to influence practice, must be incorporated into teaching, especially for pre- and in-service teachers. Given that school leadership training remains in its infancy there is a need for greater attention to advance scholarship that is based on empirical evidence that is grounded in perspectives from different regions and societies in Africa.

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African Philosophies of Education and Their Relevance to School Leadership in Africa A Guide for Educational Systems and School Leaders

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Discover the transformative potential of African Philosophies of Education (APE) in School Leadership (SL). Explore the integration of African Indigenous Education (AIE) and gain insights into a new epistemic theoretical framework for educational leadership. Join the de-colonisation movement today.

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Nelson Mandela's contributions to philosophy are deeply intertwined with his life's work and political activism. His philosophy was rooted in the struggle against apartheid and pursuit of racial equality and human rights.

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Significance of African teaching philosophies

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Significance of African teaching philosophies

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Reflection on African-driven teaching philosophy

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The picture illustrates how these people value their culture

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The beliefs, customs, and habits are passed down from generation to generation within a particular society.

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Schools for Africa - Education a Human Right | UNICEF

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Link: The article inside the link gives a clear understanding of oral traditions.

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Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved and transmitted orally from one generation to another. The transmission is through speech or song and may include folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verses. In this way, it is possible for a society to transmit oral history, oral literature, oral law and other knowledge across generations without a writing system, or in parallel to a writing system. Religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, and Jainism, for example, have used an oral tradition, in parallel to a writing system, to transmit their canonical scriptures, rituals, hymns and mythologies from one generation to the next.

Oral tradition is information, memories and knowledge held in common by a group of people, over many generations, and it is not the same as testimony or oral history. In a general sense, "oral tradition" refers to the recall and transmission of a specific, preserved textual and cultural knowledge through vocal utterance. As an academic discipline, it refers both to a set of objects of study and a method by which they are studied.

The study of oral tradition is distinct from the academic discipline of oral history, which is the recording of personal memories and histories of those who experienced historical eras or events. Oral tradition is also distinct from the study of orality defined as thought and its verbal expression in societies where the technologies of literacy (especially writing and print) are unfamiliar to most of the population. A folklore is a type of oral tradition, but knowledge other than folklore has been orally transmitted and thus preserved in human history.

According to John Foley, oral tradition has been an ancient human tradition found in "all corners of the world". Modern archaeology has been unveiling evidence of the human efforts to preserve and transmit arts and knowledge that depended completely or partially on an oral tradition, across various cultures:

The Judeo-Christian Bible reveals its oral traditional roots; medieval European manuscripts are penned by performing scribes; geometric vases from archaic Greece mirror Homer's oral style. (...) Indeed, if these final decades of the millennium have taught us anything, it must be that oral tradition never was the other we accused it of being; it never was the primitive, preliminary technology of communication we thought it to be. Rather, if the whole truth is told, oral tradition stands out as the single most dominant communicative technology of our species as both a historical fact and, in many areas still, a contemporary reality.

In Asia, the transmission of folklore, mythologies as well as scriptures in ancient India, in different Indian religions, was by oral tradition, preserved with precision with the help of elaborate mnemonic techniques.; Quote: The early Buddhist texts are also generally believed to be of oral tradition, with the first by comparing inconsistencies in the transmitted versions of literature from various oral societies such as the Greek, Serbia and other cultures, then noting that the Vedic literature is too consistent and vast to have been composed and transmitted orally across generations, without being written down. According to Goody, the Vedic texts likely involved both a written and oral tradition, calling it a "parallel products of a literate society".

All ancient Greek literature, states Steve Reece, was to some degree oral in nature, and the earliest literature was completely so. Homer's epic poetry, states Michael Gagarin, was largely composed, performed and transmitted orally. As folklores and legends were performed in front of distant audiences, the singers would substitute the names in the stories with local characters or rulers to give the stories a local flavor and thus connect with the audience, but making the historicity embedded in the oral tradition as unreliable. The lack of surviving texts about the Greek and Roman religious traditions have led scholars to presume that these were ritualistic and transmitted as oral traditions, but some scholars disagree that the complex rituals in the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations were an exclusive product of an oral tradition. The Torah and other ancient Jewish literature, the Judeo-Christian Bible and texts of early centuries of Christianity are rooted in an oral tradition, and the term "People of the Book" is a medieval construct. This is evidenced, for example, by the multiple scriptural statements by Paul admitting "previously remembered tradition which he received" orally.

Writing systems are not known to exist among Native North Americans before contact with Europeans. Oral storytelling traditions flourished in a context without the use of writing to record and preserve history, scientific knowledge, and social practices. While some stories were told for amusement and leisure, most functioned as practical lessons from tribal experience applied to immediate moral, social, psychological, and environmental issues. Stories fuse fictional, supernatural, or otherwise exaggerated characters and circumstances with real emotions and morals as a means of teaching. Plots often reflect real life situations and may be aimed at particular people known by the story's audience. In this way, social pressure could be exerted without directly causing embarrassment or social exclusion. For example, rather than yelling, Inuit parents might deter their children from wandering too close to the water's edge by telling a story about a sea monster with a pouch for children within its reach. One single story could provide dozens of lessons. Stories were also used as a means to assess whether traditional cultural ideas and practices are effective in tackling contemporary circumstances or if they should be revised.

Native American storytelling is a collaborative experience between storyteller and listeners. Native American tribes generally have not had professional tribal storytellers marked by social status. Stories could and can be told by anyone, with each storyteller using their own vocal inflections, word choice, content, or form. Storytellers not only draw upon their own memories, but also upon a collective or tribal memory extending beyond personal experience but nevertheless representing a shared reality. Native languages have in some cases up to twenty words to describe physical features like rain or snow and can describe the spectra of human emotion in very precise ways, allowing storytellers to offer their own personalized take on a story based on their own lived experiences. Fluidity in story deliverance allowed stories to be applied to different social circumstances according to the storyteller's objective at the time. One's rendition of a story was often considered a response to another's rendition, with plot alterations suggesting alternative ways of applying traditional ideas to present conditions. Listeners might have heard the story told many times, or even may have told the same story themselves. This does not take away from a story's meaning, as curiosity about what happens next was less of a priority than hearing fresh perspectives on well-known themes and plots. Elder storytellers generally were not concerned with discrepancies between their version of historical events and neighboring tribes' version of similar events, such as in origin stories. Tribal stories are considered valid within the tribe's own frame of reference and tribal experience.

Stories are used to preserve and transmit both tribal history and environmental history, which are often closely linked. Native oral traditions in the Pacific Northwest, for example, describe natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis. Various cultures from Vancouver Island and Washington have stories describing a physical struggle between a Thunderbird and a Whale. One such story tells of the Thunderbird, which can create thunder by moving just a feather, piercing the Whale's flesh with its talons, causing the Whale to dive to the bottom of the ocean, bringing the Thunderbird with it. Another depicts the Thunderbird lifting the Whale from the Earth then dropping it back down. Regional similarities in themes and characters suggests that these stories mutually describe the lived experience of earthquakes and floods within tribal memory. According to one story from the Suquamish Tribe, Agate Pass was created when an earthquake expanded the channel as a result of an underwater battle between a serpent and bird. Other stories in the region depict the formation of glacial valleys and moraines and the occurrence of landslides, with stories being used in at least one case to identify and date earthquakes that occurred in CE 900 and 1700. Further examples include Arikara origin stories of emergence form an "underworld" of persistent darkness, which may represent the remembrance of life in the Arctic Circle during the last ice age, and stories involving a "deep crevice", which may refer to the Grand Canyon. Despite such examples of agreement between geological and archeological records on one hand and Native oral records on the other, some scholars have cautioned against the historical validity of oral traditions because of their susceptibility to detail alteration over time and lack of precise dates. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act considers oral traditions as a viable source of evidence for establishing the affiliation between cultural objects and Native Nations.

Oral traditions face the challenge of accurate transmission and verifiability of the accurate version, particularly when the culture lacks written language or has limited access to writing tools. Oral cultures have employed various strategies that achieve this without writing. For example, a heavily rhythmic speech filled with mnemonic devices enhances memory and recall. A few useful mnemonic devices include alliteration, repetition, assonance, and proverbial sayings. In addition, the verse is often metrically composed with an exact number of syllables or morae - such as with Greek and Latin prosody and in Chandas found in Hindu and Buddhist texts. The verses of the epic or text are typically designed wherein the long and short syllables are repeated by certain rules, so that if an error or inadvertent change is made, an internal examination of the verse reveals the problem. Oral Traditions are able to be passed on through means of plays and acting which can be shown in the modern day Cameroon by the Graffis or Grasslanders who act out and deliver speeches to spread their history in the manner of Oral Tradition. Such strategies help facilitate transmission of information from individual to individual without a written intermediate, and they can also be applied to oral governance.

The law itself in oral cultures is enshrined in formulaic sayings, proverbs, which are not mere jurisprudential decorations, but themselves constitute the law. A judge in an oral culture is often called on to articulate sets of relevant proverbs out of which he can produce equitable decisions in the cases under formal litigation before him.

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book provides an excellent demonstration of oral governance in the Law of the Jungle. Not only does grounding rules in oral proverbs allow for simple transmission and understanding, but it also legitimizes new rulings by allowing extrapolation. These stories, traditions, and proverbs are not static, but are often altered upon each transmission barring the overall meaning remains intact. In this way, the rules that govern the people are modified by the whole and not authored by a single entity.

Ancient texts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were preserved and transmitted by an oral tradition. For example, the śrutis of Hinduism called the Vedas, the oldest of which trace back to the second millennium BCE. Michael Witzel explains this oral tradition as follows:

The Vedic texts were orally composed and transmitted, without the use of script, in an unbroken line of transmission from teacher to student that was formalized early on. This ensured an impeccable textual transmission superior to the classical texts of other cultures; it is, in fact, something like a tape-recording... Not just the actual words, but even the long-lost musical (tonal) accent (as in old Greek or in Japanese) has been preserved up to the present.

Ancient Indians developed techniques for listening, memorization and recitation of their knowledge, in schools called Gurukul, while maintaining exceptional accuracy of their knowledge across the generations. Many forms of recitation or paths were designed to aid accuracy in recitation and the transmission of the and other knowledge texts from one generation to the next. All hymns in each Veda were recited in this way; for example, all 1,028 hymns with 10,600 verses of the Rigveda was preserved in this way; as were all other Vedas including the Principal Upanishads, as well as the Vedangas. Each text was recited in a number of ways, to ensure that the different methods of recitation acted as a cross check on the other. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat summarizes this as follows:

Samhita-patha: continuous recitation of Sanskrit words bound by the phonetic rules of euphonic combination;

Pada-patha: a recitation marked by a conscious pause after every word, and after any special grammatical codes embedded inside the text; this method suppresses euphonic combination and restores each word in its original intended form;

Krama-patha: a step-by-step recitation where euphonically-combined words are paired successively and sequentially and then recited; for example, a hymn "word1 word2 word3 word4...", would be recited as "word1word2 word2word3 word3word4 ...."; this method to verify accuracy is credited to Vedic sages Gargya and Sakarya in the Hindu tradition and mentioned by the ancient Sanskrit grammarian Panini (dated to pre-Buddhism period);

Krama-patha modified: the same step-by-step recitation as above, but without euphonic-combinations (or free form of each word); this method to verify accuracy is credited to Vedic sages Babhravya and Galava in the Hindu tradition, and is also mentioned by the ancient Sanskrit grammarian Panini;

Jata-pāṭha, dhvaja-pāṭha and ghana-pāṭha are methods of recitation of a text and its oral transmission that developed after 5th century BCE, that is after the start of Buddhism and Jainism; these methods use more complicated rules of combination and were less used.

These extraordinary retention techniques guaranteed an accurate Śruti, fixed across the generations, not just in terms of unaltered word order but also in terms of sound. That these methods have been effective, is testified to by the preservation of the most ancient Indian religious text, the ( ca. 1500 BCE).

Research by Milman Parry and Albert Lord indicates that the verse of the Greek poet Homer has been passed down (at least in the Serbo-Croatian epic tradition) not by rote memorization but by " Oral-formulaic composition". In this process extempore composition is aided by use of stock phrases or "formulas" (expressions that are used regularly "under the same metrical conditions, to express a particular essential idea"). In the case of the work of Homer, formulas included eos rhododaktylos ("rosy fingered dawn") and oinops pontos ("winedark sea") which fit in a modular fashion into the poetic form (in this case six-colon Greek hexameter). Since the development of this theory, of Oral-formulaic composition has been "found in many different time periods and many different cultures", and according to another source (John Miles Foley) "touch[ed] on" over 100 "ancient, medieval and modern traditions."

The most recently revealed of the world's great religions, Islam had its two major sources of divine revelation - hadith and the Quran - compiled in written form relatively shortly after being revealed:

hadith-meaning "narrative" or "report" in Arabic, is the record of the words, actions, and the silent approval, of Muhammad-was transmitted by "oral preachers and storytellers" for around 150-250 years. Each hadith includes the (chain of human transmitters who passed down the tradition before it was sorted according to accuracy, compiled, and committed to written form by a reputable scholar.

the Quran-meaning "recitation" in Arabic, is believed by Muslims to be God's revelation to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, delivered to him from 610 CE until his death in 632 CE-is said to have been carefully compiled and edited into a standardized written form (known as the ) about two decades after the last verse was revealed.

Nonetheless, few disagree that the oral milieu the sources were revealed in, and their oral form in general were/are important. The Arab poetry that preceded the Quran and the hadith were orally transmitted. Few Arabs were literate at the time and paper was not available in the Middle East.

The written Quran is said to have been created in part from what had been memorized by Muhammad's companions, and the decision to create a standard written work is said to have come after the death in battle ( Yamama) of a large number of Muslims who had memorized the work.

For centuries copies of the Qurans/ mushaf were written by hand, not printed, and their scarcity and expense made reciting the Quran from memory, not reading, the predominant mode of teaching it to others. To this day the Quran is memorized by millions and its recitation can be heard throughout the Muslim world from recordings and mosque loudspeakers (during Ramadan). Muslims state that some who teach memorization/recitation of the Quran constitute the end of an "un-broken chain" whose original teacher was Muhammad himself. It has been argued that "the Qur'an's rhythmic style and eloquent expression make it easy to memorize," and was made so to facilitate the "preservation and remembrance" of the work.

Islamic doctrine holds that from the time it was revealed to the present day, the Quran has not been altered, its continuity from divine revelation to its current written form insured by the large numbers of Muhammad's supporters who had reverently memorized the work, a careful compiling process and divine intervention. (Muslim scholars agree that although scholars have worked hard to separate the corrupt and uncorrupted hadith, this other source of revelation is not nearly so free of corruption because of the hadith's great political and theological influence.)

But at least a couple of non-Muslim scholars ( Alan Dundes and Andrew G. Bannister) have examined the possibility that the Quran was not just "recited orally, but actually composed orally". Bannister postulates that some parts of the Quran - such as the seven re-tellings of the story of the Iblis and Adam, and the repeated phrases "which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?" in sura 55 - make more sense addressed to listeners than readers.

Banister, Dundes and other scholars (Shabbir Akhtar, Angelika Neuwirth, Islam Dayeh) have also noted the large amount of "formulaic" phraseology in the Quran consistent with " oral-formulaic composition" mentioned above. The most common formulas are the attributes of Allah - all-mighty, all-wise, all-knowing, all-high, etc. - often found as doublets at the end of a verse. Among the other repeated phrases are "Allah created the heavens and the earth" (found 19 times in the Quran).

As much as one third of the Quran is made up of "oral formulas", according to Dundes' estimates. Bannister, using a computer database of (the original Arabic) words of the Quran and of their "grammatical role, root, number, person, gender and so forth", estimates that depending on the length of the phrase searched, somewhere between 52% (three word phrases) and 23% (five word phrases) are oral formulas. Dundes reckons his estimates confirm "that the Quran was orally transmitted from its very beginnings". Bannister believes his estimates "provide strong corroborative evidence that oral composition should be seriously considered as we reflect upon how the qur'anic text was generated."

Dundes argues oral-formulaic composition is consistent with "the cultural context of Arabic oral tradition", quoting researchers who have found poetry reciters in the Najd (the region next to where the Quran was revealed) using "a common store of themes, motives, stock images, phraseology and prosodical options", and "a discursive and loosely structured" style "with no fixed beginning or end" and "no established sequence in which the episodes must follow". He also suggests that the possibility that at one point the text of the Quran was not fixed but had formulas used interchangeably in different "slots", might explain the story of Abdollah bin Sa'd, a scribe of Muhammad's revelations, who is alleged to have suggested that the attributes "knowing and wise" be substituted for "mighty and wise" in one Quranic revelation told to him by Muhammad, and that Muhammad accepted the suggestion.

The Catholic Church upholds that its teaching contained in its deposit of faith is transmitted not only through scripture, but as well as through sacred tradition. The Second Vatican Council affirmed in that the teachings of Jesus Christ was initially passed on to early Christians by "the Apostles who, by their oral preaching, by example, and by observances handed on what they had received from the lips of Christ, from living with Him, and from what He did". The Catholic Church asserts that this mode of transmission of the faith persists through current-day bishops, who by right of apostolic succession, have continued the oral passing of what had been revealed through Christ through their preaching as teachers.

The following overview draws upon Oral-Formulaic Theory and Research: An Introduction and Annotated Bibliography, (NY: Garland Publishing, 1985, 1986, 1989); additional material is summarized from the overlapping prefaces to the following volumes: The Theory of Oral Composition: History and Methodology, (Indiana University Press, 1988, 1992); Immanent Art: From Structure to Meaning in Traditional Oral Epic (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991); The Singer of Tales in Performance (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995) and Comparative Research on Oral Traditions: A Memorial for Milman Parry (Columbus, Ohio: Slavica Publishers, 1987). in the work of the Serb scholar Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787-1864), a contemporary and friend of the Brothers Grimm. Vuk pursued similar projects of "salvage folklore" (similar to rescue archaeology) in the cognate traditions of the Southern Slavic regions which would later be gathered into Yugoslavia, and with the same admixture of romantic and nationalistic interests (he considered all those speaking the Eastern Herzegovinian dialect as Serbs). Somewhat later, but as part of the same scholarly enterprise of nationalist studies in folklore, the turcologist Vasily Radlov (1837-1918) would study the songs of the Kara-Kirghiz in what would later become the Soviet Union; Karadzic and Radloff would provide models for the work of Parry.

In a separate development, the media theorist Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) would begin to focus attention on the ways that communicative media shape the nature of the content conveyed. He would serve as mentor to the Jesuit, Walter Ong (1912-2003), whose interests in cultural history, psychology and rhetoric would result in Orality and Literacy (Methuen, 1980) and the important but less-known Fighting for Life: Contest, Sexuality and Consciousness (Cornell, 1981) These two works articulated the contrasts between cultures defined by primary orality, writing, print, and the secondary orality of the electronic age.

I style the morality of a culture totally untouched by any knowledge of writing or print, 'primary orality'. It is 'primary' by contrast with the 'secondary orality' of present-day high technology culture, in which a new orality is sustained by telephone, radio, television and other electronic devices that depend for their existence and functioning on writing and print. Today primary culture in the strict sense hardly exists, since every culture knows of writing and has some experience of its effects. Still, to varying degrees many cultures and sub-cultures, even in a high-technology ambiance, preserve much of the mind-set of primary orality.

Ong's works also made possible an integrated theory of oral tradition which accounted for both production of content (the chief concern of Parry-Lord theory) and its reception. This approach, like McLuhan's, kept the field open not just to the study of aesthetic culture but to the way physical and behavioral artifacts of oral societies are used to store, manage and transmit knowledge, so that oral tradition provides methods for investigation of cultural differences, other than the purely verbal, between oral and literate societies.

The most-often studied section of Orality and Literacy concerns the " psychodynamics of orality" This chapter seeks to define the fundamental characteristics of 'primary' orality and summarizes a series of descriptors (including but not limited to verbal aspects of culture) which might be used to index the relative orality or literacy of a given text or society.

In advance of Ong's synthesis, John Miles Foley began a series of papers based on his own fieldwork on South Slavic oral genres, emphasizing the dynamics of performers and audiences. Foley effectively consolidated oral tradition as an academic field [4] when he compiled Oral-Formulaic Theory and Research in 1985. The bibliography gives a summary of the progress scholars made in evaluating the oral tradition up to that point, and includes a list of all relevant scholarly articles relating to the theory of Oral-Formulaic Composition. He also both established both the journal Oral Tradition and founded the Center for Studies in Oral Tradition (1986) at the University of Missouri. Foley developed Oral Theory beyond the somewhat mechanistic notions presented in earlier versions of Oral-Formulaic Theory, by extending Ong's interest in cultural features of oral societies beyond the verbal, by drawing attention to the agency of the bard and by describing how oral traditions bear meaning.

The bibliography would establish a clear underlying methodology which accounted for the findings of scholars working in the separate Linguistics fields (primarily Ancient Greek, Anglo-Saxon and Serbo-Croatian). Perhaps more importantly, it would stimulate conversation among these specialties, so that a network of independent but allied investigations and investigators could be established.

Foley's key works include The Theory of Oral Composition (1988); Immanent Art (1991); Traditional Oral Epic: The Odyssey, Beowulf and the Serbo-Croatian Return-Song (1993); The Singer of Tales in Performance (1995); Teaching Oral Traditions (1998); How to Read an Oral Poem (2002). His Pathways Project (2005-2012) draws parallels between the media dynamics of oral traditions and the Internet.

The theory of oral tradition would undergo elaboration and development as it grew in acceptance. While the number of formulas documented for various traditions proliferated, the concept of the formula remained lexically-bound. However, numerous innovations appeared, such as the "formulaic system" with structural "substitution slots" for syntactic, morphological and narrative necessity (as well as for artistic invention). Sophisticated models such as Foley's "word-type placement rules" followed. Higher levels of formulaic composition were defined over the years, such as " ring composition", "responsion" and the " type-scene" (also called a "theme" or "typical scene"). Examples include the "Beasts of Battle" and the "Cliffs of Death". Some of these characteristic patterns of narrative details, (like "the arming sequence;" "the hero on the beach"; "the traveler recognizes his goal") would show evidence of global distribution.

At the same time, the fairly rigid division between oral and literate was replaced by recognition of transitional and compartmentalized texts and societies, including models of diglossia ( Brian Stock Franz Bäuml, and Eric Havelock). Perhaps most importantly, the terms and concepts of " orality" and " literacy" came to be replaced with the more useful and apt " traditionality" and " textuality". Very large units would be defined ( The Indo-European Return Song) and areas outside of military epic would come under investigation: women's song, riddles and other genres.

The methodology of oral tradition now conditions a large variety of studies, not only in folklore, literature and literacy, but in philosophy, communication theory, Semiotics, and including a very broad and continually expanding variety of languages and ethnic groups, and perhaps most conspicuously in biblical studies, in which Werner Kelber has been especially prominent. The annual bibliography is indexed by 100 areas, most of which are ethnolinguistic divisions.

Present developments explore the implications of the theory for rhetoric and composition, interpersonal communication, cross-cultural communication, postcolonial studies, rural community development,[5] popular culture and film studies,[6] and many other areas. The most significant areas of theoretical development at present may be the construction of systematic hermeneutics and aesthetics specific to oral traditions.

The theory of oral tradition encountered early resistance from scholars who perceived it as potentially supporting either one side or another in the controversy between what were known as "unitarians" and "analysts" - that is, scholars who believed Homer to have been a single, historical figure, and those who saw him as a conceptual "author function," a convenient name to assign to what was essentially a repertoire of traditional narrative. A much more general dismissal of the theory and its implications simply described it as "unprovable" Some scholars, mainly outside the field of oral tradition, represent (either dismissively or with approval) this body of theoretical work as reducing the great epics to children's party games like " telephone" or " Chinese whispers". While games provide amusement by showing how messages distort content via uncontextualized transmission, Parry's supporters argue that the theory of oral tradition reveals how oral methods optimized the signal-to-noise ratio and thus improved the quality, stability and integrity of content transmission.

There were disputes concerning particular findings of the theory. For example, those trying to support or refute Crowne's hypothesis found the "Hero on the Beach" formula in numerous Old English poems. Similarly, it was also discovered in other works of Germanic origin, Middle English poetry, and even an Icelandic prose saga. J.A. Dane, in an article characterized as "polemics without rigor" claimed that the appearance of the theme in Ancient Greek poetry, a tradition without known connection to the Germanic, invalidated the notion of "an autonomous theme in the baggage of an oral poet."

Within Homeric studies specifically, Lord's The Singer of Tales, which focused on problems and questions that arise in conjunction with applying oral-formulaic theory to problematic texts such as the , , and even , influenced nearly all of the articles written on Homer and oral-formulaic composition thereafter. However, in response to Lord, Geoffrey Kirk published The Songs of Homer, questioning Lord's extension of the oral-formulaic nature of Serbian and Croatian literature (the area from which the theory was first developed) to Homeric epic. Kirk argues that Homeric poems differ from those traditions in their "metrical strictness", "formular system[s]", and creativity. In other words, Kirk argued that Homeric poems were recited under a system that gave the reciter much more freedom to choose words and passages to get to the same end than the Serbo-Croatian poet, who was merely "reproductive". Shortly thereafter, Eric Havelock's Preface to Plato revolutionized how scholars looked at Homeric epic by arguing not only that it was the product of an oral tradition, but also that the oral-formulas contained therein served as a way for ancient Greeks to preserve cultural knowledge across many different generations. Adam Parry, in his 1966 work "Have we Homer's Iliad?", theorized the existence of the most fully developed oral poet to his time, a person who could (at his discretion) creatively and intellectually create nuanced characters in the context of the accepted, traditional story. In fact, he discounted the Serbo-Croatian tradition to an "unfortunate" extent, choosing to elevate the Greek model of oral-tradition above all others. Lord reacted to Kirk's and Parry's essays with "Homer as Oral Poet", published in 1968, which reaffirmed Lord's belief in the relevance of Yugoslav poetry and its similarities to Homer and downplayed the intellectual and literary role of the reciters of Homeric epic.

Many of the criticisms of the theory have been absorbed into the evolving field as useful refinements and modifications. For example, in what Foley called a "pivotal" contribution, Larry Benson introduced the concept of "written-formulaic" to describe the status of some Anglo-Saxon poetry which, while demonstrably written, contains evidence of oral influences, including heavy reliance on formulas and themes A number of individual scholars in many areas continue to have misgivings about the applicability of the theory or the aptness of the South Slavic comparison, and particularly what they regard as its implications for the creativity which may legitimately be attributed to the individual artist. However, at present, there seems to be little systematic or theoretically coordinated challenge to the fundamental tenets of the theory; as Foley put it, ""there have been numerous suggestions for revisions or modifications of the theory, but the majority of controversies have generated further understanding.

1. Vansina, Jan: Oral Tradition as History (1985), reported statements from present generation which "specifies that the message must be oral statements spoken, sung or called out on musical instruments only"; "There must be transmission by word of mouth over at least a generation". He points out, "Our definition is a working definition for the use of historians. Sociologists, linguists or scholars of the verbal arts propose their own, which in, e.g., sociology, stresses common knowledge. In linguistics, features that distinguish the language from common dialogue (linguists), and in the verbal arts features of form and content that define art (folklorists)."

2. Oral Tradition Archived 2016-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, Encyclopædia Britannica, John Miles Foley

3. Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: "Methodology and African Prehistory", 1990, ^ UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa; James Currey Publishers, ISBN 0-85255-091-X, 9780852550915; see Ch. 7; "Oral tradition and its methodology" at pages 54-61; at page 54: "Oral tradition may be defined as being a testimony transmitted verbally from one generation to another. Its special characteristics are that it is verbal and the manner in which it is transmitted."

4. Donald S. Lopez Jr. (1995). "Authority and Orality in the Mahāyāna" (PDF). Numen. Brill Academic. 42 (1): 21-47. doi:10.1163/1568527952598800. hdl:2027.42/43799. JSTOR 3270278.

5. Dundes, Alan, "Editor's Introduction" to ^ The Theory of Oral Composition, John Miles Foley. Bloomington, IUP, 1988, pp. ix-xii

6. ^ Folklore in the Oral Tradition, Fairytales, Fables and Folk-legend Archived 2016-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, Julie Carthy (1984), The Oral Tradition, Volume IV, Yale University, Quote: "Folklore is said to be in the oral tradition. Dundes states that the most common criterion for a definition of folklore is its means of transmission that is, orally. He clarifies however that materials other than folklore are also orally conveyed. Therefore oral transmission itself is not sufficient to distinguish folklore from non-folklore."

7. ^ John Scheid (2006). Clifford Ando and Jörg Rüpke (ed.). Religion and Law in Classical and Christian Rome. Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 17-28. ISBN 978-3-515-08854-1.

8. ^ Caduto, Michael; Bruchac, Michael (1991). Native American Stories, Told by Joseph Bruchac. Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55591-094-5.

9. ^ Ballenger, Bruce (Autumn 1997). "Methods of Memory: On Native American Storytelling". College English. 59 (7): 789-800. doi:10.2307/378636. JSTOR 378636.

10. ^ Lawrence, Randee (Spring 2016). "What Our Ancestors Knew: Teaching and Learning Through Storytelling". New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education. 2016 (149): 63-72. doi:10.1002/ace.20177.

11. Echo-Hawk, Roger (Spring 2000). "Ancient History in the New World: Integrating Oral Traditions and the Archaeological Record in Deep Time". American Antiquity. 65 (2): 267-290. doi:10.2307/2694059. JSTOR 2694059.

12. ^ Mason, Ronald J. (2000). "Archaeology and Native North American Oral Traditions". American Antiquity. 65 (2): 239-266. doi:10.2307/2694058. ISSN 0002-7316. JSTOR 2694058.

13. Crowley, David; Heyer, Paul (1999). Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society (Third ed.). Longman Publishers USA. p. 67.

14. Wilke, Annette and Moebus, Oliver. Sound and Communication: An Aesthetic Cultural History of Sanskrit Hinduism (Religion and Society). De Gruyter (February 1, 2007). P. 495. ^ ISBN 3110181592.

15. ^ Tamim Ansary (2009). Destiny Disrupted, a History of the World Through Islamic Eyes. Public Affairs.

16. ^ "Qur'an and its preservation through chain of oral tradition". Arab News. 27 February 2015.

17. ^ Kurpershoeck, P. Marcel (1994). Oral Poetry and Narratives from Central Arabia. 1. Leiden: E.J.Brill. p. 57.

18. ^ Sowayan, Saad (1992). The Arabian Oral Historical Narrative: An Ethnographic and Linguistic Analysis. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. p. 22.

19. ^ Paul VI (November 18, 1965). "Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation "Dei verbum"". www.vatican.va. The Hole See.

20. ^ "Early Scholarship on Oral Traditions" Archived 2008-05-29 at the Wayback Machine: Radloff, Jousse and Murko Oral Tradition 5:1 (1990) 73-90

21. Foley, John Miles. The Theory of Oral Composition. Bloomington: IUP, 1991, pp. 57 ff.

22. Davis, Adam Brooke. "Agon and Gnomon: Forms and Functions of the Anglo-Saxon Riddles" in De Gustibus: Essays for Alain Renoir. Ed John Miles Foley. NY: Garland, 1992 110-150

23. ^ "Wayne State University Press - Language and Literature: - Page 1". Wsupress.wayne.edu. Archived from the original on 2012-02-10.

24. ^ "Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne". Lib.unb.ca. Archived from the original on 2011-08-05.

25. ^ "Werner H. Kelber - Oral Tradition in Bible and New Testament Studies - Oral Tradition 18:1". Muse.jhu.edu. doi:10.1353/ort.2004.0025.

26. ^ "Culture Education" and the Challenge of Globalization in Modern Nigeria by Ademola Omobewaji Dasylva. This paper has to do with the challenges of globalization in modern Nigeria and the process of "culture education," a terminology used to emphasize the peculiar means and methods of instruction by which a society imparts its body of values and mores in the pursuance and attainment of the society's collective vision, aspirations, and goals. Within this framework, this paper examines the legacies of imperialism and colonization within the Nigerian educational system--particularly in reference to the teaching of folklore and oral tradition--including the destruction of indigenous knowledge systems and the continuing lack of adequate resources in African universities. The paper concludes by offering suggestions for a more fully synthesized indigenous and formal Nigerian educational system as a method of addressing postcolonial rupture. PDF Archived 2008-05-29 at the Wayback Machine Oral Tradition 21/2 (2006):325-41.

27. ^ "Christopher Butler cites Bart Ehrman, 'Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why'". Christopherbutler.wordpress.com. 2006-04-28. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05.

28. Perhaps the most prominent and steadfast opponent of oral traditional theory on these grounds was ^ Arthur Brodeur, in, e.g., The Art of Beowulf. Berkeley: University of California Press. 3rd printing 1969; "A Study of Diction and Style in Three Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poems." In Nordica et Anglica. Ed. Allan H. Orrick. The Hague: Mouton. pp. 97-114; "Beowulf: One Poem or Three?" In Medieval Literature and Folklore Studies in Honor of Francis Lee Utley. Ed. Jerome Mandel and Bruce A. Rosenberg. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. pp. 3-26.

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Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved and transmitted orally from one generation to another. The transmission is through speech or song and may include folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verses.

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Holistic education is a comprehensive approach to teaching that seeks to engage all aspects of the learner including mind, body, and spirit. This article explains holistic education and gets in more details about the holistic education.

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It is difficult to map the history of holistic education because many feel that the core ideas of holism are not new but "timeless and found in the sense of wholeness in humanity's religious impetus". On the other hand, the roots of holistic education can be traced back to several major contributors.

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Link: this explains communal learning

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Community-based learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community engagement with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience with a greater emphasis on reciprocal learning and reflection.

"Community Based Learning (CBL) is a pedagogical approach that is based on the premise that the most profound learning often comes from experience that is supported by guidance, context-providing, foundational knowledge, and intellectual analysis. The opportunity for students to bring thoughtful knowledge and ideas based on personal observation and social interaction to a course's themes and scholarly arguments brings depth to the learning experience for individuals and to the content of the course. The communities of which we are a part can benefit from the resources of our faculty and students, while the courses can be educationally transformative in powerful ways." (Swarthmore College | http://tinyurl.com/jrhpf4x)

Community-based learning refers to a wide variety of instructional methods and programs that educators use to connect what is being taught in schools to their surrounding communities, including local institutions, history, literature, cultural heritage, and natural environments. Community-based learning is also motivated by the belief that all communities have intrinsic educational assets and resources that educators can use to enhance learning experiences for students. (Glossary of Education Reform | http://edglossary.org/community-based-learning/)

"... field-based "experiential learning" with community partners is an instructional strategy-and often a required part of the course. The idea is to give students direct experience with issues they are studying in the curriculum and with ongoing efforts to analyze and solve problems in the community. A key element in these programs is the opportunity students must both apply what they are learning in real-world settings and reflect in a classroom setting on their service experiences. These programs model the idea that giving something back to the community is an important college outcome, and that working with community partners is good preparation for citizenship, work, and life." (Association of American Colleges & Universities | https://www.aacu.org/leap/hips)

"...a teaching and learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities {which often involves reflection}" (National Commission on Service-Learning).

Below is an experiential learning continuum. On the left-hand side of the continuum is the service we do as citizens. The right-hand side represents the service we do in a community as a professional. Community-based learning is the experience of engaging in the community through a disciplinary lens. The middle column below offers descriptors of community-based learning.

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Community-based learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community engagement with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience with a greater emphasis on reciprocal learning and reflection. "Community Based Learning (CBL) is a pedagogical approach that is based on the premise that the most profound learning often comes from experience that is supported by guidance, context-providing, foundational knowledge, and intellectual analysis.

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This picture illustrates people sharing their knowledge, and views in a community of practice manner.

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The history of education traces the evolution of the formal teaching of knowledge and skills from prehistoric and ancient times to the present and considers the various philosophies that have inspired the resulting systems.

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in Russia and the USSR, the system of training teaching and research personnel in history.

In Russia historical education as an independent branch of higher education developed in the early 19th century. Historical subjects were introduced in philological departments of universities in 1804. History and philology sections were established in the philosophical faculties of four universities in 1835. These sections were reorganized as faculties with special chairs of history in 1849, offering courses in Russian history, philology and systematization, the history and literature of the Slavic peoples, ancient and medieval history, the theory and history of the fine arts, the auxiliary historical disciplines, Greek and Roman philology, and Oriental languages. History was taught in the spirit of the official theory of "autocracy, Orthodoxy, and nationalism." revolutionary historical thought, represented by the works of the Decembrists and the revolutionary democrats, was persecuted. Nevertheless, the establishment of special chairs of history and faculties of history and philology in the universities promoted the development of the science of history. A number of leading Russian scholars of the bourgeois-liberal school, including T. N. Granovskii, S. M. Solov'ev, and V. O. Kliuchev-skii, greatly contributed to the development of Russian historical education.

The University Charter of 1863 had a favorable effect on the development of historical education. In the 1870's seminars were introduced alongside lectures. At the end of the 19th and early 20th century the teaching of history was influenced by the ideological and methodological crisis of bourgeois historical science that intensified in the period of imperialism and that was marked by preoccupation with minor research problems and the spread of the theory that the laws of historical development cannot be known.

The creation of a fundamentally new system of historical education, based on Marxist-Leninist theory, was begun after the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution. The Socialist Academy of the Social Sciences was founded in Moscow in 1918; in 1924 it was reorganized as the Communist Academy with an institute of history. The Society of Marxist Historians, formed in 1925, significantly influenced historical education in the USSR. In 1919 the history and philology faculties of the universities were reorganized into departments of social sciences (FONy), including history sections. Communists, both teachers and research workers, were assigned to teach in the universities. In 1921 the Institute of the Red Professoriat (IKP) was organized to train Marxist scholars; in 1925 the IKP was divided into several institutes, including an institute of history. In 1925, the departments of social sciences were replaced by humanities departments, including ethnology and history-archaeology sections (these departments were abolished in 1931). The Moscow Institute of History, Philosophy, and Literature (MIFLI) was founded in 1931, subsequently merging with the corresponding departments of Moscow State University (1941). The Leningrad Institute of History, Philosophy, and Linguistics (LIFLI) functioned from 1931 to 1937.

The reorganization of historical education at the end of the 1920's and the beginning of the 1930's was, as shown by experience, in many respects unjustified and in practice led essentially to the destruction of the system of historical education. This development was closely linked to the virtual abolition of the teaching of history in secondary school. The decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and of the Central Committee of the ACP (Bolshevik) of May 16, 1934, On the Teaching of Civic History in School elaborated the basic principles for the teaching and study of history and pointed out that it was inadmissible to ignore historical education. This resolution marked a turning point in the development of historical education in the USSR. Departments of history were established at the universities of Moscow and Leningrad in 1934 and subsequently at many other universities and pedagogical institutes. New history textbooks for secondary and higher schools were prepared under the supervision of the Central Committee of the ACP (B) in the late 1930's. In the course of this work, Marxist-Leninist solutions to a number of important problems of the history of the USSR and of world history were found. Among the many prominent Soviet scholars who made important contributions to the development of historical education in the USSR were B. D. Grekov, N. M. Druzhinin, E. V. Tarle, M. V. Nech-kina, M. N. Tikhomirov, E. A. Kosminskii, A. M. Pankratova, S. D. Skazkin, V. M. Khvostov, I. I. Mints, A. S. Bubnov, and E. Iaroslavskii, who helped prepare textbooks for higher and secondary schools.

The present system of Soviet historical education developed in the 1930's. In the USSR in 1971 specialists in historical education were being trained at more than 150 universities and pedagogical institutes in day, evening, and correspondence courses. History curricula include courses in the history of the USSR, archaeology, and world history (ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary history; the history of the West and South Slavs and of the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America), courses in such historical disciplines as historiography and the study of sources, and courses in the history of philosophy, of religion and atheism, and of art. An important place in the history curriculum is devoted to the study of methodological and socioeconomic disciplines, such as Marxist-Leninist philosophy, scientific communism, and political economy, to the history of the CPSU, and to one or several foreign languages. Since the principal task of historical education is the training of teachers of history and social science, history curricula include a number of pedagogical disciplines-pedagogy, psychology, and methods of teaching history and social science. In the university about 20 percent of the student's classroom time is devoted to his area of specialization-the history of the USSR, world history, archaeology, museology or archival science, ethnology, the history of religion and scientific atheism, or the history of a single country. In pedagogical institutes historians are trained without specialization. Practice teaching and practical training takes place in schools, on archaeological and ethnologic expeditions, and in archives and museums. Historians specializing in the countries of Asia and Africa are trained in the departments of Oriental Studies at the universities of Yerevan, Leningrad, Tashkent, and Tbilisi, at the University of the Far East in Vladivostok, and at the Institute of Oriental Languages of Moscow State University. Specialists in the history of the arts are trained at the universities of Moscow, Leningrad, and Tbilisi and at the University of the Urals in Sverdlovsk. In universities the course of study is five years and in pedagogical institutes, four years (for history teachers with a knowledge of a foreign language it is five years). Instruction in universities and in most pedagogical higher educational institutions is completed by defending a diploma thesis and passing state examinations.

In 1971 there were 104,700 students specializing in history in universities and pedagogical institutes, including students in evening and correspondence courses. Of these, about 45,000 were enrolled in universities. That same year approximately 20,000 students were admitted to history departments, including 7,700 at universities, and 15,700 specialists in history graduated, including more than 6,000 from universities. In addition, more than 3,000 students were being trained in historical-archive science at the Moscow Historical-Archive Institute.

Research and research-teaching personnel are trained in graduate programs offered by higher educational institutions, by the scientific research institutions of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and of the republic academies, and by the scientific research institutions of the Academy of Social Sciences attached to the Central Committee of the CPSU. Specializations in these graduate programs include the history of the CPSU, the history of the USSR, the history of the workers' and communist movements, world history, the history of international relations and foreign policy, historiography, and the study of sources. Over 3,000 students specializing in history were being trained in graduate programs in 1971.

In 1971 there were over 166,000 history teachers in general secondary schools and 26,500 research and teaching-research workers in history in higher educational institutions and scientific research institutions, including about 12,000 doctors and candidates of sciences. Between 1937 and 1971 the Supreme Attestation Commission approved the academic degree of doctor of historical sciences for 1,700 persons and the degree of candidate of historical sciences for 15,700 persons.

Departments for improving the qualifications of history teachers in higher educational institutions were organized at the end of the 1960's at the universities of Moscow, Kiev, and Leningrad, at the University of the Urals, at the Moscow Pedagogical Institute, and at a number of other large higher educational institutions. To raise the qualifications of history teachers in secondary schools, institutes for the advanced training of teachers have been established in all the republics and oblasts of the USSR.

Specialized courses in the history of the national economy, the history of economic studies, the history of the state and law, the history of philosophy, the history of science and technology, and the history of art are offered in the corresponding departments of various higher educational institutions. Courses in the history of the CPSU, philosophy, political economy, and scientific communism are obligatory at all higher educational institutions, taking into account the student's field of specialization.

General historical education is provided in secondary schools, both general and specialized, and includes the study of basic facts about the history of the ancient world, the Middle Ages, modern and contemporary history, the history of the USSR, and social science.

REFERENCES

Bushchik, L. P. Ocherk razvitiia shkol'nogo istoricheskogo obrazovaniia vSSSR. Moscow, 1961.
"O rabote istoricheskikh fakul'tetov gosudarstvennykh universitetov" (K 25-Ietiiu postanovleniia TsK VKP(b) i SNK SSSR "O prepodavanii grazhdanskoi istorii v shkolakh SSSR"). Voprosy istorii, 1959, no. 7, 11, 12; 1960, no. 1.
Alekseeva, G. D. Oktiabr'skaia revoliutsiia i istoricheskaia nauka v Rossii ( 1917-1923). Moscow, 1968.

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Looking for Historical Education? Find out information about Historical Education. The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia . It might be outdated or ideologically biased. in Russia and the USSR, the system of training... Explanation of Historical Education

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The significance of historical education

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The significance of historical education

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Explanation of historical significance.

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The images analyzes the concept of contemporary education.

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The image is an illustration of ubuntu and represents the idea that we are all connected and interdependent. Ubuntu is also a way of living that promotes the growth and progression of others and society as a whole.

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What we can learn from the African philosophy of Ubuntu - BBC REEL

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Paulo believed that education is never neutral and that it should empower people to transform themselves and their society. He emphasized the importance of dialogue, critical thinking, and humanization as key virtues and methods in education.

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Paulo Freire’s Philosophy of Education: Key Concepts