An Integrative Review on the San of Botswana's Indigenous Literacy and Formal Schooling
          Education

Lone Ketsitlile

doi:10.1017/jie.2012.21

Authors

Lone Ketsitlile University of Botswana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2012.21

Keywords:

San Indigenous learning, Indigenous literacy, San formal schooling experiences, English and Setswana language acquisition

Abstract

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 and it is English (the official language) and Setswana (the national language) that are taught in schools. In theory, this should not be the case. This highly 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 education system of Botswana. This article is an integrative review about the San of Botswana and (1) explains what has been studied about the San with regard to their indigenous ways of knowing and reading the world; (2) gives a clear picture of their formal schooling experiences; and, (3) provides an overview of their English and Setswana language acquisition.

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