Programme of Study: UNESCO Education

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EDUCATION

Programme of Study

Rationale

The conceptual design of this programme of study has been guided by a particular view of the nature of history as a discipline and of the educational and cultural needs of students.

The methods of studying history as a multidisciplinary exercise have determined the aims and objectives stated in the programme of study.

The importance of teaching about the TST in schools as a major historical event has not been sufficiently recognised. The assumption of this programme of study is this: through a coherent and comprehensive examination of the subject students should come to an understanding of the enormous historical magnititude and significance of the contribution of African people to the modern world.

As a major tragic event in the rise of modernity, the TST has led to the formation of diasporas throughout the Atlantic world. It is necessary to inculcate among young people a deep appreciation of the positive and negative aspects of this historic episode and the resultant social processes in the development of the industrial age.

The course of study is designed to enable students obtain not only a sense of the moral aspects of this tragic development, but to understand the significant achievements of dispersed African peoples in the making of Atlantic modernity – particularly with respect to Europe and the Americas.

A detailed analysis of the various aspects of the ‘trade in humans’ can lead to meaningful comprehension and evaluation of the contributions of African peoples to the cultural, social, economic, and political making of what is now described as the ‘West’.

Students will acquire objective and scientific knowledge to facilitate an understanding of the attitudes, values and mentalities that shaped institutions and social relations in the ‘West’ as part of the Atlantic world.

Through the multidisciplinary study of the evidence, the education process will also contribute to the redressing of the academic imbalance that exists in respect to teaching and learning about this historical episode and process.

General Aims

To enable students to locate the TST as a major element in the emergence of the modern world.

To enable students to understand the historical importance and the contemporary significance of the TST.

To develop in students a knowledge and understanding of intercultural links particularly in reference to the shaping of new social identities.

To encourage students to develop positive learning values and attitudes which would be of benefit to themselves and society at large.

To encourage students to develop a deep sense of social duty, moral responsibility, and commitment to social justice in all aspects of life.

To assist students whose societies have been significantly affected by the trade to develop positive pedagogical responses.

To assist students who are descendants of victims of the TST to develop and nurture positive pedagogical responses that may support their right to equitable social inclusion where there continues to be exclusion.

Specific Aims

To prepare students to develop an interest in the advance study of the TST in order to generate significant research and new knowledge for the future.

To empower present and future students with new and innovative resource materials and participation in academic and cultural activities that will facilitate the sustainability of intercultural dialogue and research.

To create, by means of project work, a catalyst for the bonding of students, teachers, and technology experts, communicators, non-governmental organisations, government officials, and other supportive persons and agencies.

General Learner Objectives

Student should participate in intercultural exchange, and seek to develop greater sensitivity and awareness with respect to the history and legacies of the TST.

Student should seek to acquire the research skills and attitudes necessary for the multidisciplinary study of the TST.

Students, teachers, and the community should seek to recognise, and promote the preservation of, historic sites, artifacts and other materials and non-material representation that were part of this historic process.

Specific Learner Outcomes

Content Organisation

Learning Modules

ASSESSMENT METHODS

RESOURCE MATERIALS

- The Transatlantic Slave Trade
A Student Guide

- Slave Voices:
The Sounds of Freedom