The affirmation of African dignity is an axiological keystone of Afrocentricity (15). Western philosophers such as Georg Wilhelm, Friedrich Hegel and David Hume argued that Africans were sub-human. However, Afrocentricity's axiological effect is valorizing Africanness and its cultures (16). This translates to fairness and cultural sensitivity in integrating and interpreting African cultural beliefs, experiences and norms in research initiatives (17). For recreation and leisure research, this centres the place of Africans' agency in the discourse.

The epistemological implications of Afrocentricity involve affirming contextualised constructions of knowledge by Africans (18). African perspectives as forms of knowledge should not only be centred, but must be understood from the viewpoint of the researched (19). For recreation and leisure research, this generates nuanced forms of knowledge which evolve authentic African recreation and leisure interpretations and illustrations.

Afrocentricity views reality as a multiplicity of worlds, which evokes a multifaceted way of regarding phenomena (20). The implications are that Africans should produce change through their own interpretation and construction of reality (21). For recreation and leisure, research should seek deeper understandings of socio-cultural dynamics to develop culturally responsive programmes.

Afrocentricity is associated with cultural and social immersion as opposed to scientific distance (22). It dovetails with research methods such as participatory action research, considered to be liberating and empowering for social change and envisioning alternative systems for Africans (23). In recreation and leisure, this may induce community involvement in all stages of research processes for co-production of knowledge.

Makaudze and Mkhatshwa (24) deployed Afrocentricity in a study of Swati riddles as forms of leisure. The adopted axiological posture involved incorporating a Swati person to be a co-author, which provided cultural agency and contextually accurate interpretation of phenomena. The epistemic significance was that it allowed for knowledge to be generated from the viewpoint of one who understood the culture. Methodologically, the qualitative nature of the study provided in-depth and nuanced understandings and interpretations of riddles. However, since the study relied on secondary data, it had contextual limitations and possibilities of bias, thereby necessitating participatory methods involving people as primary sources of data to add multiple layers of nuance and voices.

Sankofa is associated cultural humility, in which researchers respect and consider the histories of people and phenomena (28). Under Sankofa, research re-discovers lost identities and value systems, and legitimises indigenous knowledge as a body of scholarly thought (29). In the context of recreation and leisure research, aspects such as cultural tolerance, celebration of diversity and promotion of inclusivity should inform research practices (30).

Sankofa dovetails with inductive knowledge generation which involves contextual understanding of phenomena and of the past (20). Traditional African communities, especially the elderly, are deemed key indigenous knowledge holders and transmitters (31). In recreation and leisure research, knowledge production may involve inter-generational transfer from the older generation to the younger, and re-imagining how such knowledge may be reclaimed to address current realities (32).

Under Sankofa, the view of reality implies a temporal connectedness of the past, present and future, as well as the integration of historical, the spiritual and cultural aspects (29). This results in nuanced understandings of reality, especially within Africa's diverse heritage (33). For recreation and leisure, discourses should explore and interpret phenomena from physical, social, spiritual, cultural and historical lenses.

Sankofa is associated with methodological flexibility wherein story-telling, proverbs and songs can be embedded in research activities as part of participatory research methods to amplify the voices of the researched (34). In addition to participatory methods, Sankofa opens up the space for recreation and leisure disciplines to delve into historical and archival research to unearth knowledge about past recreation and leisure practices. This further opens it up to interdisciplinary methods to provide holistic understandings of complex phenomena.

A study by Madima (35) on cultural heritage preservation among the Venda people of South Africa deployed Sankofa. Its main axiological underpinning was social justice, involving reclaiming indigenous games knowledge. Epistemologically, the study generated knowledge inductively by recognising elderly community members to be custodians of indigenous knowledge. Ontologically, the study adopted a holistic view of reality by contextualising indigenous games within the broader milieu of Venda culture. In terms of methodology, the study adopted participatory action research which regarded participants as co-researchers. The study combined Sankofa with the Diffusions of Innovations theory, in which the former provided the basis for retrieving knowledge, while the latter explained how knowledge could be digitised. Such a combination provided a balance between tradition and modern innovation. However, it was not clear in the study on how Sankofa underpinned all steps of the research process, especially in data analysis.

The central ethic of social ontogenesis is the recognition of communal relationships. The key implication is that research should map onto people's needs, social configurations and norms (29). By interpreting childhood development through socio-cultural lenses underpinned by biological indicators, the implication for recreation and leisure research is to ensure that a respectful appreciation of social relationships underpins research which intersects with childhood development.

African Social-Ontogenesis inclines towards knowledge construction based on human interactions with socio-cultural context (19). This integrates diverse strands of knowledge threads into a unified conceptual system (as opposed to being in separate disciplines) (40), thus providing holistic insight into African-centred norms of competence (41). Recreation and leisure research, while maintaining its identity, may adopt multidisciplinary methods that break boundaries and foster deeper understandings of phenomena that involves complex social issues (6).

Under African Social Ontogenesis, reality is context-specific and is a construct of multiple influences (42). By not discounting biological factors in foregrounding socio-cultural factors, the theory adopts both an objective and subject view of reality (realism), in which objective biological facts are contextualised within subjective socio-cultural experiences (36). Recreation and leisure research may anchor on both objective and subjective notions of reality, with particular focus on developing context-specific understandings informed by social norms.

The social embeddedness of Social Ontogenesis predisposes it to research designs such as ethnography and phenomenology which provide for in-depth engagement with communities (43). Mixed methods approaches are also suitable to capture both objective and subjective realities (44). For recreation and leisure research, in addition to other proposed methods, adopting longitudinal methods may ensure prolonged community engagement and track social developmental milestones over time.

Ejuu (45) deployed Social Ontogenesis principles to explore how indigenous games constituted social developmental activities in children's phases of growth in Uganda. In terms of axiology, study consent was obtained from the community at a clan meeting, where also parents and children consented to participate, thus pointing to the importance of communal and relational ethics. The study inclined towards constructivist methodology in which the social implications of indigenous games were examined. Methodologically, the study used observations, document analysis and interviews, which points to a realism ontological perspective that acknowledges the multifaceted nature of reality. However, as highlighted, longitudinal studies could provide more nuanced insight into how indigenous games constitute social markers over time.

Relational and reciprocity ethics undergird Ubuntu (29). The interests of the researched-upon are taken into account (46), hence the conduct of researchers must be aligned towards commitment to community, not only to self (50). In recreation and leisure, research experiences should be mutually beneficial and any spin-offs should also redound to the community and not only to the researchers.

Under Ubuntu, knowledge is constructed and generated collaboratively (51). Ubuntu associates with inductive approaches in which dialogue, consultative processes and consensus-building form part of the knowledge generation process (28). In recreation and leisure research, Ubuntu may foster establishment of harmonious research teams in which co-creation and co-ownership of knowledge is fostered within a collaborative and mutually respectful process.

Ubuntu slants towards multifaceted and nuanced understandings of reality (51). The communitarian nature of life in most African societies necessitates that each member should be symbiotically embedded in the collective interests of the whole (52). For recreation and leisure, this means adopting a view of reality which incorporates multiple positions and insights within a communal discourse (6).

Ubuntu associates mostly with participatory and community research approaches (53). Collective sharing of ideas and decision making can be central to Ubuntu-underpinned research studies (46). Recreation and leisure research may consider adopting Ubuntu-underpinned methodologies which include linguistic inclusivity and co-opting research participants as co-researchers to build mutual trust, promote sharing of skills and gain insider cultural insight (54).