Beyond Eurocentric Models: Rethinking Guidance and Counseling Services in Tanzanian Schools Through an Indigenous Lens
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38073/almusyrif.v8i2.2538Keywords:
Guidance and Counselling, Tanzania, Western Psychology, African Psychology, School CounsellorAbstract
Guidance and counselling in schools are key helping children cope, maintain their mental health and continue learning. However, Western psychological approaches have dominated counselling services in Tanzania making students and counsellors as mere consumers. This might hinder the educational and growth needs of a Tanzanian child. Therefore, this paper reports a review of literature in Tanzania to investigate provision of guidance and counselling services in schools in the light of Afrocentric approach which takes in the Tanzanian cultural context. The paper highlights the historical development of guidance and counselling services in Tanzanian schools, then examines the setbacks of employing Western approaches on providing guidance and counselling services, and finally, advocates the need for Afrocentric approaches as an important aspect in practicing school guidance and counselling in Tanzanian context.
Downloads
References
Adams, G., Dobles, I., Gómez, L. H., Kurtiş, T., & Molina, L. E. (2015). Decolonizing psychological science: Introduction to the special thematic section. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3(1), 213–238. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.564
Adeyemi, M. B., & Adeyinka, A. A. (2003). The principles and content of african traditional education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 35(4), 425–440. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-5812.00039
Amani, J., & Sima, R. (2015). The status of career counselling services in higher learning institutions in Tanzania. International Journal of Education and Social Science www.Ijessnet.Com, 2(8), 18.
Awinsong, M., Dawson, O., & Gidiglo, B. E. (2015). Students " Perception of the Role of Counsellors in the Choice of a school Career: a study of the Mfantseman Municipality in Ghana. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 13(3), 79–99.
Bhatia, S. (2020). Decolonizing psychology: Power, citizenship and identity. Psychoanalysis, Self and Context, 15(3), 257–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/24720038.2020.1772266
Bierschenk, T., & Olivier De Sardan, J. P. (1997). Local powers and a distant state in rural Central African Republic. Journal of Modern African Studies, 35(3), 441–468. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X97002504
Charema, J., & Shizha, E. (2008). Counselling Indigenous Shona People in Zimbabwe: Traditional Practices versus Western Eurocentric Perspectives. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 4(2), 123–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/117718010800400209
Chiboola, H. (2020). Theoretical Perspective of Traditional Counseling. Counseling and Therapy, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90418
Chilewa, E. A., & Osaki, K. (2022). The Effectiveness of Guidance and Counseling Practices on Students’ Career Development in Secondary Schools in Temeke Municipality. Journal of Humanities and Education Development, 4(1), 160–181. https://doi.org/10.22161/jhed.4.1.17
Felicia, O., Yusif, D. B., Agyeman, N. P., & Kwasi, O.-A. (2018). Assessment of Guidance Services in Senior High Schools in Upper Denkyira East Municipality. British Journal of Education, 6(5), 68–83.
Fujo, M. H., & Dida, M. A. (2019). Centralized Admission System for Advanced Level Private Schools: Case of Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. Journal of Information Systems Engineering & Management, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.29333/jisem/5743
Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health information & libraries journal, 26(2), 91-108.
Iyabo, O. M. B. (2016). History and development of guidance and counselling: The missing dimension of Nigeria school counselling services Omoniyi. International Journal of Education and Research, 4(11), 413–424.
Kimangale, S. H., Goodwin, S. L., Lints-Martindale, A., Mwita, H., Carlson, A. A., Wiser, B., & Kennedy, M. (2021). Tanzanian rural psychological services: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 45(1), 43.
Kimario, F. L. (1994). An assessment of the existing guidance and counselling practices in Tanzania primary schools: a case of Moshi urban and Rombo districts (Doctoral dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam).
Letsoalo, S. S., Molepo, M. M., & Seabi, J. (2024). Integrating African cultural beliefs into mental health care: A necessity for effective therapeutic approaches. South African Journal of Psychology. Retrieved from SciELO South Africa
Lubawa, D., Ngirwa, C., & Shavega, T. (2021). Perceived Influence of Career Guidance and Counselling Services on Secondary School Students’ Academic Performance: A Case of Tanga City, Tanzania. East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 2(1), 68-75. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46606/eajess2021v02i01.0067
Lyimo, G. E., Lyakurwa, S. E., & Mkongo, J. (2025). Provision of Counselling Services in Handling Psychosocial Challenges Among Students in Secondary Schools in Tanzania: Challenges and Opportunities. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 1-20. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4374697/v1
Lyimo, G. E., Mkongo, J., & Lyakurwa, S. (2023). Cultural practices in professional counselling in secondary schools in Tanzania: implications and lesson. European Journal of Research and Reflection in Educational Sciences, 11(2).
Maree, J. G., & Magere, G. M. (2023). The influence of group career construction counselling on Tanzanian high school students’ career decision-making difficulties. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2023.2190809
Mahone, S. (2006). Psychiatry in the East African colonies: A background to confinement. International Review of Psychiatry, 18(4), 327–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540260600859621
Mashala, Y. L. (2017). The Impact of the Implementation of Fee-Free Education Policy on Basic Education in Tanzania. Advances in Neonatal Care, 16(1), 74–86.
Mdee, A., Wostry, A., Coulson, A., & Maro, J. (2019). A pathway to inclusive sustainable intensification in agriculture? Assessing evidence on the application of agroecology in Tanzania. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 43(2), 201–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2018.1485126
Mdidi, A. S. (2015). Assessment of Guidance and Counseling Services.
Mgumba, B. F. (2021). The Status of Counselling Services for Students with Visual Impairments in Tanzanian Universities. Journal of Education, Humanities & Sciences (JEHS), 10(5).
Mnyanyi, C. B. F. (2012). Counselling at the Workplace in Tanzania What can Distance Education do. Huria - Journal of the Open University of Tanzania, 13(2), 220–229.
MoEC. (2019). the United Republic of Tanzania Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Curriculum for Primary Education Standard I - Vii.
Moodley, R. O. Y. (1999). Challenges and transformations: Counselling in a multicultural context. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 21(2), 139–152. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005347817892
Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT). (2005). Education and training policy. Government Printer
Mosha, H. (2018). The state and quality of education in Tanzania: A Reflection. In School of Education University of Dar es Salaam (pp. 1–12).
Musisi, S., & Musisi, N. (2002). the Legacies of Colonialism in African Medicine Acknowledgements. C.
Naidoo, A. V. (1996). Challenging the hegemony of eurocentric psychology. Journal of Community and Health Science, 2, 9–16.
Ndumbaro, A. A. (2020). The status of guidance and counselling to students with disabilities in inclusive secondary schools in Tanzania. 86.
Nkuba, M., & Kyaruzi, E. (2015). Is it not now?: school counselors’ training in Tanzania secondary schools. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(19), 160–170.
Ntilisinda, J. (2017). The effectiveness of guidance and counseling services in facilitating learning among secondary school students in Tanzania: a case study of Dodoma municipality. University of Dodoma Institutional Repository, 117.
Nuffic |. (2014). Education system Tanzania. 1–13.
Nyerere, J. (1967) Education for self‐reliance, Dar es Salaam: Government Printer
Nwoye, A. (2015). African psychology and the Africentric paradigm to clinical diagnosis and treatment. South African Journal of Psychology, 45(3), 305–317. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246315570960
Nwoye, A. (2017). The Psychology and Content of Dreaming in Africa. Journal of Black Psychology, 43(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798415614159
Nwoye, A. (2018). African psychology and the emergence of the Madiban tradition. Theory and Psychology, 28(1), 38–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354317742204
Ocheni, S., & Nwankwo, B. C. (2012). Analysis of colonialism and its impact in Africa. Cross-Cultural Communication, 8(3), 46–54. https://doi.org/10.3968/j.ccc.1923670020120803.1189
Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2018). Curriculum: Foundation, Principles and Issues, Seventh Edition. In Pearson Education.
Shamanism – Dangers and Degradations - JA Show Articles. (n.d.).
Shayo, E. (2011). Origin and development of guidance and counseling practice in Tanzanian Schools. In EzineArticles.com.
Sima, R. G. (2018). The challenges in the provision of counseling services in secondary schools in Tanzania. University of Dar Es Salaam Library Journal, 29, 113–133.
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of business research, 104, 333-339. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Turnbull, D., Chugh, R., & Luck, J. (2023). Systematic-narrative hybrid literature review: A strategy for integrating a concise methodology into a manuscript. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 7(1), 100381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2022.100381
URT. (2018). Basic education statistical abstract 2004-2017. 101.
Winkelman, M. J. (2019). Shamanism. January 2007.
Winkleman, M. (2010). Shamanism and the Origins of Spirituality and Ritual Healing. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 3(4). https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v3i4.458
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mustapha Almasi, Saldin H. Kimangale, Neema Kessy
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
