Decolonising Special Education through Oshiwambo Epistemologies at Eluwa Special School

Abstract

This preliminary study examines how Oshiwambo epistemologies may inform inclusive pedagogy at Eluwa Special School in Namibia's Oshana Region.It reports seven questionnaires from three teachers, two parents and two learners, against a planned Eluwa sample of 19.The respondent-specific instruments combined five-point Likert items with open-ended questions.The analysis uses thematic interpretation informed by decolonial theory and an Ubuntu-oriented Indigenous Knowledge Systems lens, alongside within-group rating counts.Five themes concern language mediation, cultural teaching resources, stigma and care, structural constraints, and home-school collaboration.Teachers described using Oshiwambo to explain concepts within an English-medium environment, although their ratings of its benefits varied.Parents endorsed cultural participation while reporting inadequate understanding of children who learn differently.Learners expressed belonging and requested clearer explanations and manageable lesson demands.No teacher agreed that support was adequate.These accounts suggest potential value in culturally familiar instruction, while identifying tensions between communal ideals and reported exclusion.The findings do not establish intervention effectiveness, saturation or patterns across Aawambo communities.Practical priorities include accessible Oshiwambo materials, teacher development and supported family participation, followed by evaluation with a fuller dataset.