Redefining the role of history of education in teacher prepation and professionalism in Africa in the 21St Century. A Kenyan perspective

Abstract

The paper examines the role of history of education in teacher preparation in the 21st century. The study of history of education is one of the disciplines that is given prominence in many African countries and elsewhere in teacher training programmes. It is indeed an important component of the graduate and undergraduate programmes, non-graduate diploma studies, and the professional courses in teachers’ colleges. When you study the past, you are able to understand the process of education and how it evolved up to the present. In this way, the present not only becomes clear but also helps to illuminate the future. This paper therefore goes into synergizing the relevance of history of education in teacher preparation. Having understood and recognized the teachers as vanguards hence the need to have the knowledge of history of education in advancing the Kenyan education and attaining the millennium development goals is considered paramount. This paper argues that the History of education as a social foundation of education must continue to play an integral role in programs of teacher education. In this context the writer of this article has furnished what she takes to be some of the critical reasons for the requirement for present and future teachers to engage with history of education in realization of the millennium development goals. It argues that a is teacher is a change agent so learning the history of education will prepare him/her in training to examine present trends and dynamics in education, draw practical lessons from the past, avoid possible mistakes, and initiate more viable plans for the benefit of Society now and in future.