Reflective Practice: The Hallmark of Andragogics in Ubuntu/ Unhu Societies

One of the global contemporary goals of andragogics is the development of reflective practice. The fact that it was documented expansively by Schon and Dewey in the early decades of the nineteenth century is not tantamount to saying that it was alien to the Ubuntu/Unhu andragogics. Reflective practice is one of the hallmarks of the provision of quality education. In an attempt to explore the essence of reflective practice as a requisite for Ubuntu/Unhu andragogics, ten elderly people aged between 65 and 95 were purposively sampled and interviewed. The findings are that the epistemic reference in Ubuntu/Unhu andragogics was generally embedded in geronto-sophia. Some sagacious elderly people were the „professors‟ who emphasized on reflective practice in learners. It is recommended that readers of literature about the aims of education in Ubuntu/Unhu and other societies should employ critical literacy as the essence of reflective thinking. The contemporary educators can gain some insights from Ubuntu/Unhu andragogics for sustainable development.

Keywords: Reflective practice; andragogics; Ubuntu/Unhu societies; geronto-sophia; critical literacy.