INDIGENOUS PROVERBS: A SEEMINGLY NEGLECTED PEDAGOGIC TOOL FOR TEACHING, LEARNING AND ADOLESCENTS DEVELOPMENT IN CAMEROON

Lately, there have been calls for the decolonisation of education in Africa to promote a culturally relevant, inclusive and appealing education system. African proverbs, as a component of indigenous knowledge system (IKS), are a cultural template and framework through which African societies leave an indelible mark. The beauty of proverbs lies in their relevance, which includes being a way of impacting wisdom, education and morality. Hence, considering the experiences of colonisation by African countries, displaced and consequently replaced African identity and the call for decolonisation across the education system, this study aims to explore and appraise the relevance of indigenous proverbs in education.The objective for this study was to ascertain the influence of proverbs generated knowledge on the development of cognitive skills of adolescentsThe study was anchored on the Eco-Cultural Theory of BameNsamenang (2015) which explains the eco-cultural theories of development in what is known as Social ontogenesis.This study utilized a mixed method approach. For the qualitative aspect, the ethnographic research design was used and for the quantitative aspect, the correlational survey research design was used. The two were then triangulated with the aid of the convergent parallel mixed method design. Among other things, it is observed that the content and instructional component of these proverbs can reorient learners on the importance of education, provide a moral and culturally inclusive education and aid reflective learning and easy understanding of abstract ideas. This study concludes that the application of proverbs by educators can be a useful tool in enhancing the teaching and learning process and cultivating good character.