Recently, there has been an increasing interest in citizenship education incorporating indigenous knowledge and values of the local contexts. In sub-Saharan Africa, there is an African humanism known as Umunthu (in Bantu; Ubuntu in southern Africa; Mtu in Swahili). Its essence is the strength and depth of the relationships with others and the community (e.g. Mbiti, 1969; Mokgoro, 1998; Avoseh, 2001). Such a perspective is expected to promote diversity in citizenship education based on different values from those of the West. However, the current curricula have been criticised for not taking into account indigenous knowledge and values. Therefore, this study, focusing on the Umunthu value, aimed to explore how citizens are portrayed as good citizens who engage with family, community, state and others in four social studies textbooks of Grade 1 in Malawi's secondary education. The analysis found that: 1) the nature of the family is changing and there is concern about the spread of individualism; 2) active service citizens and communities that are not dependent on the government are strongly expected; 3) rights and duties are thought to be a set and responsible citizens are the ones who contribute to others/society under the Umunthu value and 4) there is a focus on vulnerable groups and living together beyond differences. From the informal interviews with three education administrators, it was suggested that behind the citizenship orientation is a sense of crisis against people's entitlement mindset since the introduction of the multi-party system in 1994 and a desire for the restoration of the Umunthu value. An implication of this is the possibility that excessive demand for self-reliance might cause vulnerable groups to be left behind.
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