Challenges And Prospects In African Education Systems

Challenges and Prospects in African Education System: The general idea this book is trying to disseminate is to inform readers about the compelling challenges and prospects in African system of education. As we all know, when issues of Africa educational system is raised, the first set of thoughts that come to mind is decline in standard, deterioration of facilities, examination malpractices, cult crises or school-based violence, shortage of teachers, underqualified teachers, and poor teachers' performance, which results in poor learning standards, lack of classroom discipline that is exacerbated by insufficient resources and inadequate infrastructure, failure of appropriate inspection and monitoring, and confusion caused by changing curricula without proper communication and training. All these have led to massive demoralization and disillusionment among teachers and a negative and worsening perception of African system of education. This, therefore, calls for in-depth analysis aimed at tutoring every stakeholder in education on how their action and inactions have individually and collectively contributed to the collapsing state of education in Africa. However, the prospect is that Africa's recovery and sustainable development can only be guaranteed through expansion and sustenance of both quantitative and qualitative-of the continent's stock of human capital through education. In order for education to realize its key role in development, it must be provided to the younger segments of African society as quickly as human and financial resources permit, with the ultimate goal of developing a comprehensive, meaningful and sustainable system of education at all levels and for all age groups. This is the message that this book puts across in the six knitted sections.

The purpose of education has been debated in recent years, especially surrounding its curriculum and structure. In order to fully understand this discussion, the relationship between education and the labor market must be explored. Global Perspectives on Work-Based Learning Initiatives is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on recent progress in selected countries across the globe in educational programs designed to better prepare students for the workforce through the use of work-related learning. While highlighting topics such as degree apprenticeships, integrated learning strategy, and economic development, this book is ideally designed for education administrators, professors, business and education professionals, academicians, researchers, and graduate-level students seeking current research on the relationship between the education and labor market.

Regionalization of higher education in Africa is the least researched topic in the field of Social Science. IN this regard, this book is a pioneer in terms of exploring both the historical and theoretical dynamics of regionalization processes within Africa. THe interplay manifested within the book between Political Science theories and higher education concepts makes the whole analysis strong and solid. THe book raises fundamental questions that focus on context and formation, operationalization and implications, and challenges and prospects of regionalization processes in Africa. IN doing so, it gives both, the analytical contexts of the evolution of higher education regionalization in Africa and the current initiatives by the African Union as a whole.

This volume of the International Perspectives on Education and Society series investigates the challenges and prospects for higher education in Africa, especially issues of development, expansion, internationalization, equity, and divergence.

"This is a well crafted, timely book that comes at a time when so much is happening in higher education contexts across the world. Clearly, it is in response to these global (and selectively local) trends that Kariwo, Gounko and Nungu bring together an impressive lineup of both established and emerging scholars who achieve a comprehensive and critically constructed perspective on tertiary education systems. Collectively, the chapters in this work shall expand the epistemic boundaries of the area and its affiliated disciplines, and the book as a whole will greatly benefit interested scholars, students, education policy makers and the public at large. " - Ali A. Abdi, Professor, University of Alberta

This book is a critical-cultural evaluation of educational technology adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa, including projects such as the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child). It presents efficient ways of improving education delivery among low-income communities through designing and implementing congruent educational technologies that incorporate social and cultural proclivities. Ezumah defines technology with regards to pedagogy, and seeks to debunk the assumption that educational technology consists only of digital and interactive options. Additionally, she argues for a narrative paradigm shift aimed at validating analog technologies as equally capable of providing necessary and desired educational objectives and outcomes for communities who cannot afford the digital alternatives. By comparing African educational systems in precolonial, colonial, and post-colonial times and incorporating the history of technology transfers from the Global North to South, the book highlights cultural imperialism, development theory, neocolonialism, and hegemonic tendencies.

Emphasizes the need to consider the geographic, historic, and cultural context of an information communication technology (ICT) for development initiative. This work includes several real examples that show some of the key success factors that have to be taken into consideration when using ICTs for development. It is a tool for practitioners.

The quality of education is pivotal for the production of human capital and this cannot be compromised by failing to refocus on the quality of education offered in schools. The inputs in the system such as trained and motivated teachers, buildings and classrooms including sanitation, clean water, instructional material such as textbooks, as well as strong leadership with vision to steer the winds of change are important in providing the desired outcomes. The chapters in this volume are broadly divided into three subsections as follows: learner related issues, (farm and rural schools, poverty and schooling, school violence, and students rights); teacher related issues,(teacher morale and motivation, teachers for all schools, management needs of school principals); and administrative/policy related issues (inclusive education, and school community relations). The social demand for better schools, effective principals, qualified and committed teachers and better opportunities for all place a huge challenge to provinces and the state to protect the rights of all citizens. This volume sets out the challenges facing the education system in South Africa, such as poor school infrastructure, poor learning conditions, and a lack of learning materials and provides recommendations on how some of these can be overcome.

Education in West Africa is a comprehensive critical reference guide to education in the region. Written by regional experts, the book explores the education systems of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. It critically examines the development of education provision in each country, whilst exploring both local and global contexts. Including a comparative introduction to the issues facing education in the region as a whole, this handbook is an essential reference for researchers, scholars, international agencies and policy-makers at all levels.

Containing both theoretical discussions of globalization and specific case analyses of individual African countries, this collection of essays examines the intersections of African education and globalization with multiple analytical and geographical emphases and intentions. The 11 essays critically analyze the issues from historical, cultural, and socio-economic perspectives. Of interest to both educators and scholars who are interested in a more in-depth understanding of the current reign globalization, African Education and Globalization is an important and timely read.

Higher Education in Africa. Crises, Reforms and Transformation

This 50th volume examines current global trends in higher education, which include the situation of academic faculty, the demand for access, the role of the university in society and its governance, funding trends, and higher education’s international dimensions.

Women's Activism for Gender Equality in Africa This volume on Womens Activism for Gender Equality in Africa is a special collaboration between the Journal of International Womens Studies (JIWS) and Wagadu, two open-access journals that address gender issues within a transnational and cross-cultural context. Using interdisciplinary feminist and activist approaches these essays explore individual and collective actions undertaken by African women in cultural, social, economic, historical and political contexts. In revealing the diversity of African womens activism, the underlying issues around which womens social change work develops, and the impact that work has on individuals and communities, this volume has significance for women and men throughout the world.

Sexual abuse, a topic still struggling to break free of its social taboos, is an issue that must be addressed, assessed, and discussed in order to further efforts for prevention and treatment. Social, Psychological, and Forensic Perspectives on Sexual Abuse is an important resource that comprehensively examines the prevalence, assessment, causes, and impacts of sexual violence from cultural, legal, psychosocial, theoretical, and medical viewpoints. Discussing difficult but relevant issues including forensic assessment, legal ramifications, mental health, risk assessment, and effects on family life, this book is geared towards researchers, mental health professionals, clinicians, and special educators seeking current research on prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation in sexual abuse.

Growth in the scope, scale and importance of higher education regionalization should not be underestimated or ignored. Africa – like Asia, Europe and Latin America – is promoting deeper cooperation among higher education bodies and institutions across the continent and focusing more attention on Pan-African and sub-regional harmonization of policies and programmes. This is the first book which brings together diverse scholars and policy experts to examine key aspects and challenges of African higher education regionalization. Chapters examine the progress and prospects of core regionalization issues and strategies such as academic mobility, quality assurance, recognition of qualifications, research centres and networks, curriculum and competencies, and regional academic programmes. Other chapters discuss important themes such as the relationship between regionalization, internationalization and Africanization; historical antecedents and perspectives; an analytical model to understand functional, organizational and political approaches to Africa’s higher education regionalization; and the influence of the Bologna process on the African Union’s Strategy for the Harmonization of Higher Education Programmes. Together these chapters provide a comprehensive overview of efforts by the African Union; sub-regional higher education associations such as IUCEA, SARUA and CAMES; Pan-African organizations and actors; key research networks and centres of excellence; and the involvement – or dependence – on external actors and funders, especially from Europe. Fundamentally, the book asks the question whether higher education regionalization in Africa is more rhetoric than reality. It discusses the progress to date on specific themes; identifies historical, political, sustainability and funding challenges; and concludes that while the impacts of regionalization efforts have not been fully realized there is cautious optimism for the future.

This book explores the interrelationship between ideology, the state, and education reforms, placing it in a global context. It examines some of the major education reforms and policy issues in a global culture, particularly in light of recent shifts in quality and standards-driven education, and policy research. The book critiques the neo-liberal ideological imperatives of current education and policy reforms, and illustrates the way the shifts in the relationship between the state and education policy affect current trends in education reforms and schooling globally. With this as its focus, the book’s individual chapters highlight hand-picked scholarly research on major discourses in the field of comparative education. A compendium of the very latest thinking on the subject, the book – like the other volumes in the series – offers a state-of-the-art sourcebook for researchers, practitioners and policymakers alike. Not only do the chapters offer a timely overview of current issues affecting comparative education and education policy research in what is now a global educational culture; they also outline future directions that education and policy reforms could take. By doing so, they provide a comprehensive picture of the intersecting and diverse discourses of globalisation and policy-driven reforms in education. Individual chapters critically assess the dominant discourses and debates on education and policy reforms. Using diverse comparative education paradigms from critical theory to historical-comparative research, they address globalisation, ideology and democracy and examine both the reasons for and outcomes of education reforms and policy change. As such, they provide an informed critique of models of quality and standards-driven education reforms that are informed by Western dominant ideologies and social values.

The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian History provides a comprehensive history of Africa's most populous and most rapidly developing country. Rather than centering the rise of the nation-state, the Handbook reads the narrative of national politics alongside deeper histories of political and social organization, as well as in relation to competing influences on modern identity formation and inter-group relationships, such as ethnic and religiouscommunities, economic partnerships, and immigrant and diasporic cultures. This transnational approach incorporates the most important ideas from the new scholarship emerging in the 21st century, creating a forward-looking volume appropriate for a dynamic, diverse, and swiftly changing Nigeria.

Quality is at the heart of all education systems as good quality teaching and learning environments ensure effective learning outcomes. Quality influences what students learn, how well they learn and what benefits they draw from their education. The quest to ensure that students achieve decent learning outcomes and acquire values and skills that help them play a positive role in their societies is an issue on the policy agenda of nearly every country. As many world governments struggle to expand particularly basic education, they also face the challenge of ensuring that students stay in school long enough to acquire the knowledge they need to cope in a rapidly changing world. The purpose of this book is therefore to profile some aspects of education quality in the African education systems and highlight key policies for improving the teaching and learning outcomes. The book is also intended to provide basic information to scholars who are interested in studying education in the Sub-Saharan African region. To enable users understand and appreciate developments, trends and changes that have taken place in the education systems, for most chapters, the book deliberately adopts a historical approach which leads to some focus on developments which date back to the colonial period in Africa.

In March 2019, students and researchers from Germany, the USA, China, Kenya and South Africa came together at the University of Tuebingen to discuss Educational Governance from an international perspective. The group was mainly comprised of Ph.D.- and Master-students from various disciplines - Education, Literature, Philosophy, Political Science - and debated questions such as: What are the distinctive and different rationales underlying the discourse of Educational Governance and its political, economic, academic and pedagogic objectives? How can we make these rationales visible and which theories and analytic tools can help us to decipher the meanings attached to them? Are there different local and national trajectories in education discourse and practice with regard to Educational Governance and which role do international organizations and transnational transfer play? This edited volume displays these discussions and aims at initiating a broader communication about Educational Governance between previously separated spaces.