Toward a Reconstructionist Philosophy of Missiological Education in Francophone Africa: Case of DR Congo

Scholarly Research Paper from the year 2012 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy Beyond Occidental Tradition, grade: -, Atlantic International University, language: English, abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore five major philosophical schools in their effort to promote specific vision of education, and to apply some findings to the context of my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, using missiological education as case study. Missiological education is an emerging discipline still working to define itself and the challenges it faces. In this paper, it is to be understood as studies about the mission God imparted to the church. Given its correlation with God's mission (missio Dei), the mission of the church (missio ecclesiae) is global, going from and to the whole earth (oikumene). It also concerns the whole human being (holistic/wholistic), taking into account physical, psychological, and spiritual felt needs. If education allows learners to transform their society and themselves (Sidorkin, 2011, p. 524), how can missiological students transform their churches by making them both "mission-minded congregations" and "in-mission communities"? What kind of missiological education will cause students to engage their churches in missio Dei and to transform themselves? These questions cry out for scholarship on learning theory, pedagogies/andragogies, and methodologies as they relate to the discipline of missiology. Without doubt, the study of educational philosophies will shed new light.