Child-Rearing in Hausa Culture: A Flash into Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development

Abstract

Child-rearing or development is fundamental in every society and any society that cannot inculcate the spirits of child-rearing from this generation to another generation will not be a good and developed society. It is through child-rearing that children are prepared for their adulthood activities and responsibilities in their respective societies. Erick Erickson developed a general psychosocial theory that includes the interplay between psychological and cultural forces working in child development. Given this, Erickson’s concepts had a basis of validity in analyzing some Hausa socio-cultural life in respect to child-rearing, while on the other hand, his concept has no validity. It is because of this, that this paper proposes that despite the Erickson theory of development, Hausa people have their developmental schema which goes hand in hand with that of Erickson. In fact, the concept of the developmental stage is more than a Western construct indiscriminately applied to indigenous culture. The Hausa culture has its views of development that is perceived as a progressive series of stages. In each stage of life, there is an element of “tarbiya” that will enable them to produce who will carry on the family honor and tradition. In Hausa, the concept of “tarbiya” encapsulates the highest of Hausa virtues. Therefore, this paper examined and highlights some of the important issues related to child development in Hausa culture and compares them with Ericson’s theory of development.