EDUCATIONAL-PSYCHOLOGY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MARGINALIZED PEOPLES - THE VILLAGE SCHOOLS PROJECT - JUHOAN LITERACY PROGRAM AND COMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION IN NYAE-NYAE (EASTERN BUSHMANLAND), NAMIBIA

The high student drop-out rate and level of illiteracy among the Ju/'h oan people of Nyae Nyae in Namibia has been attributed to the followin g factors: an authoritarian education system which is contrary to the traditional Ju/'hoan social system; instruction in Afrikaans, a foreig n colonial language; and the fact that Ju/'hoan children have been abu sed and discriminated against by teachers and classmates from other et hnic groups. This article discusses the Village Schools Project, which has been set up to counteract the high drop-out rate by providing bas ic community-level education for the first three years of primary scho ol. Its main objectives are: instruction in the mother tongue; trainin g of Ju/'hoan teachers; development of a curriculum relevant to the co mmunity; and the construction of school facilities close to local comm unities. It is hoped that the project will create confident students w ho will be successful when they move on to government schools in their fourth academic year. It is also hoped that this community-based prog ramme will inspire other marginalized peoples to set up their own scho ols projects.