Towards an African-Centred Philosophy of Special Education: Contributions from Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa Intellectual Traditions

This doctoral study develops an African-centred philosophy of special education by drawing on Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa intellectual traditions, generating an original philosophical contribution to the foundational conceptual bases of the field. Special education as a professional and academic discipline has been almost exclusively theorised from Western European and North American intellectual traditions, producing a body of foundational knowledge that, while globally disseminated, inadequately reflects the values, social ontologies, and epistemological commitments of African societies in which special education is now being practiced. The study employs a philosophical methodology combining textual analysis of published philosophical, theological, and anthropological accounts of Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa intellectual traditions with primary research through dialogical interviews with forty-two elders, scholars, and practitioners identified as carriers of these traditions across South East, South West, and Northern Nigeria. The intellectual products of these traditions are interrogated for their implications for understanding disability, human difference, educational obligation, community responsibility, and individual dignity. Synthesis generates an original philosophical framework, provisionally titled the African Communal Pedagogy of Difference, which offers alternative foundational propositions for special education theory and practice. The study makes a primary theoretical contribution to African philosophy, disability studies, and special education, while generating practical implications for decolonising the curriculum and professional preparation of special educators in Nigeria. Keywords: African philosophy, special education, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa intellectual traditions.