Innovating for Inclusion Lecturers’ Perceptions towards the Integration of XiTsonga Language in Teacher Education

Abstract

This paper discusses the inclusion of previously marginalised indigenous languages in the 
Zimbabwean Teacher Education Curriculum, which is a step towards resuscitating the status 
accorded to them in the national constitution. Focus is on XiTsonga, the first previously
marginalised language to be taught at Bachelor’s Degree level since Zimbabwe’s independence.  
The inclusion of previously marginalised indigenous languages is a transformation from the 
colonial education design which only recognised Shona and Ndebele while marginalising the other 
thirteen (13) now nationally-recognised indigenous languages. Informed by the decolonisation 
project which aims to address ongoing impacts of colonialism, the study investigated lecturers’ 
perceptions towards the development of XiTsonga. The significance and challenges associated 
with the recognition of XiTsonga in teacher education were explored using a qualitative research 
approach within a case study design. The researcher gathered data through interviews and 
document analysis from three purposively-sampled XiTsonga lecturers from Great Zimbabwe 
University (GZU). The research found out that lecturers were excited by the development though 
they faced several challenges which included shortage of resource materials, lack of background 
knowledge among students and overwhelming work for the three lecturers.  The study, therefore, 
concludes that although the inclusion of previously-marginalised languages in teacher education 
is a major step towards addressing the imbalances in teacher education, a lot still needs to be done 
to ensure meaningful teaching and learning. Recommendations on uplifting the position of 
XiTsonga and other previously-marginalised languages in education were submitted. The study 
recommends the teaching of the language at the lower levels of education, production of teaching 
and learning materials and training of teachers from previously marginalised languages in various 
institutions.