This research handbook provides meaningful coverage on current trends in the dynamic education systems of Africa. It presents the main findings on current issues in the education systems from different African countries. Specifically, it examines education policies and what can be done differently by African nations to strengthen these policies. The objective is to highlight African nations’ capacity to address issues of social justice to generate ideas that can help translate the increasing strengths of the continent into achieving sustainable development.
Monograph outlining the educational system of each African country - includes information on primary education, secondary education, higher education, vocational training, teacher training, technical education, etc. In respect of examinations, certificates and degrees, curriculum, hours per week for each subject, matriculation requirements, etc. Bibliography pp. 1510 to 1550, maps, references and statistical tables.
Many people believe education in Africa is in a state of crisis. More than 45 million African children do not attend school. In many places, classes are held outside, under tents or trees, and schools often do not have such essential supplies as chalk and textbooks. Yet there have also been significant improvements in recent years. More young Africans are able to attend school today than a generation ago, and the governments of many countries are attempting to address the problems in their educational systems. This book chronicles the development of educational systems in Africa, from the colonial era to the present day. It examines the current state of education in Africa, discussing the effect that the continents poverty has on funding schools and explaining the persistence of educational inequalities.
This book makes a critical contribution to the study of pan-Africanism and the education of African people for continental African citizenship. It is a unique endeavor in that it intersects the social history of pan-Africanism and the education of African people at a 'global' level and provides reflections from a multidisciplinary perspective on the urgency for continental pan-Africanism educational system in order to produce a more renascent African for the twenty-first century. Arguing that Pan-African Education is a mass-based educational system that will ‘craft’ a pan-African African personality, John Marah calls for integrated African school systems and curriculum changes conducive to larger social integration and institutionalized pan-African educational processes. The establishments of pan-African Teachers Colleges; intensive language institutes; pan-African literature courses; the training of African military and police forces; the use of music, sports, media and other extra-curricular activities (the hidden curriculum), etc.; are viewed as essential aspects in the socialization of a pan-African character or personality. Pan-African Education is an essential read for students and scholars of Pan-Africanism, African and Africana Studies, and Black Studies.
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.
It is over 40 years since Coombs (1967) first drew attention to the World Education Crisis, and specifically problems in the educational systems of countries in the developing world. Today, many of these problems remain, and are most visible in the educational systems of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. A large number of children remain out of school and for those who do enrol, less than half complete the primary education cycle. More worrying is the fact that those who do complete primary schooling leave with unacceptably low levels of knowledge and skills. The problems of access to education, and the quality of learning opportunities and learning outcomes are unevenly spread between rural and urban areas, better- and worse-off constituencies, and between boys and girls. This raises questions about the nature of the state and its commitment to equality and equity for all. The chapters in this volume argue that quality, equity and democratic accountability are inseparable objectives in the quest to strengthen and improve educational systems in the developing world. Between them they highlight the specific problems of quality, equity and democratic accountability in a number of African educational systems, and provide useful insights into ongoing work by national governments and international donor agencies to remedy these shortcomings.
