This book focuses on current trends, potential challenges and further developments of teacher education and professional development from a theoretical, empirical and practical point of view. It intends to provide valuable and fresh insights from research studies and examples of best practices from Europe and all over the world. The authors deal with the strengths and limitations of different models, strategies, approaches and policies related to teacher education and professional development in and for changing times (digitization, multiculturalism, pressure to perform).
This open access book is a comparative analysis of recent large scale education reforms that broadened curriculum goals to better prepare students for the 21st century. The book examines what governments actually do when they broaden curriculum goals, with attention to the details of implementation. To this end, the book examines system level reforms in six countries at various levels of development. The study includes system level reforms in jurisdictions where students achieve high levels in international assessments of basic literacies, such as Singapore and Ontario, Canada, as well as in nations where students achieve much lower levels, such as Kenya, Mexico, Punjab-Pakistan and Zimbabwe. The chapters examine system-level reforms that focus on strengthening the capacity to teach the basics, as in Ontario and Pakistan, as well as reforms that aim at building the capacity to teach a much broader set of competencies and skills, such as Kenya, Mexico, Singapore and Zimbabwe. The volume includes systems at very different levels of spending per student and reforms at various points in the cycle of policy implementation, some just starting, some struggling to survive a governmental transition, and others that have been in place for an extended period of time. From the comparative study of these reforms, we aim to provide an understanding of how to build the capacity of education systems to teach 21st century skills at scale in diverse settings.
What is the nature of childhood today? On a number of measures, modern children's lives have clearly improved thanks to better public safety and support for their physical and mental health. New technologies help children to learn, socialise and unwind, and older, better-educated parents are increasingly playing an active role in their children's education. At the same time, we are more connected than ever before, and many children have access to tablets and smartphones before they learn to walk and talk. Twenty-first century children are more likely to be only children, increasingly pushed to do more by "helicopter parents" who hover over their children to protect them from potential harm. In addition to limitless online opportunities, the omnipresent nature of the digital world brings new risks, like cyber-bullying, that follow children from the schoolyard into their homes. This report examines modern childhood, looking specifically at the intersection between emotional well-being and new technologies. It explores how parenting and friendships have changed in the digital age. It examines children as digital citizens, and how best to take advantage of online opportunities while minimising the risks. The volume ends with a look at how to foster digital literacy and resilience, highlighting the role of partnerships, policy and protection.
What have postcolonial Sub-Saharan African countries achieved in their education policies and programmes? How far have they contributed to successful attainment of the targeted 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on education? What were the constraints and barriers for developing an education system that appeals to the needs of the sub-region? Re-thinking Postcolonial Education in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 21st Century: Post-Millennium Development Goals is an attempt to demonstrate that Sub-Saharan Africa has the potential and capability to provide solutions to challenges facing its desire and ability to provide sustainable education to its people. To that end, the contributors are academics with an African vision attempting to come up with African home-grown perspectives to fill the gap created by the lapse of the MDGs as the guiding vision and framework for educational provision in Africa and beyond. The book seeks to articulate and address African issues from an informed as well as objective African perspective. The book is also intended to provide insights to scholars who are interested in studying and understanding the nature of postcolonial education in the Sub-Saharan African region. Given the objectives and themes of this book, it is intended for academic scholars, undergraduate and graduate students, human rights scholars, curriculum developers, college and university academics, teachers, education policy makers, international organisations, and local and international non-governmental organisations that are interested in African education policies and programmes. “Rethinking Postcolonial Education in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 21st Century provides contemporary reflections from multiple perspectives and re-positions the issue of education at the forefront of the debates on African development.” – Lamine Diallo, Associate Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada “The book is a welcome addition to discourses and analyses on education in sub-Saharan Africa with reference to a postcolonial critique and the Millennium Development Goals framework on education in Africa.” – Michael Tonderai Kariwo, PhD, Instructor and Research Fellow, University of Alberta, Canada
The book represents a contribution to policy formulation and design in an increasingly knowledge economy in Zimbabwe. It challenges scholars to think about the role of education, its funding and the egalitarian approach to widening access to education. The nexus between education, democracy and policy change is a complex one. The book provides an illuminating account of the constantly evolving notions of national identity, language and citizenship from the Zimbabwean experience. The book discusses educational successes and challenges by examining the ideological effects of social, political and economic considerations on Zimbabwe’s colonial and postcolonial education. Currently, literature on current educational challenges in Zimbabwe is lacking and there is very little published material on these ideological effects on educational development in Zimbabwe. This book is likely to be one of the first on the impact of social, political and economic meltdown on education. The book is targeted at local and international academics and scholars of history of education and comparative education, scholars of international education and development, undergraduate and graduate students, and professors who are interested in educational development in Africa, particularly Zimbabwe. Notwithstanding, the book is a valuable resource to policy makers, educational administrators and researchers and the wider community. Shizha and Kariwo’s book is an important and illuminating addition on the effects of social, political and economic trajectories on education and development in Zimbabwe. It critically analyses the crucial specifics of the Zimbabwean situation by providing an in depth discourse on education at this historical juncture. The book offers new insights that may be useful for an understanding of not only the Zimbabwean case, but also education in other African countries. Rosemary Gordon, Senior Lecturer in Educational Foundations, University of Zimbabwe Ranging in temporal scope from the colonial era and its elitist legacy through the golden era of populist, universal elementary education to the disarray of contemporary socioeconomic crisis; covering elementary through higher education and touching thematically on everything from the pernicious effects of social adjustment programmes through the local deprofessionalization of teaching, this text provides a comprehensive, wide ranging and yet carefully detailed account of education in Zimbabwe. This engagingly written portrayal will prove illuminating not only to readers interested in Zimbabwe’s education specifically but more widely to all who are interested in how the sociopolitical shapes education- how ideology, policy, international pressures, economic factors and shifts in values collectively forge the historical and contemporary character of a country’s education. Handel Kashope Wright, Professor of Education, University of British Columbia
This book offers an insightful and critical examination of Zimbabwe's education system. The authors take a broad perspective and explore the most important aspects of the education system. The book starts by looking at the history of Zimbabwe's education system focusing on its development from an exclusionary past where a few privileged individuals could access education, and proceeds to explore the country's universal education, which followed the attainment of political independence from Great Britain in 1980. The authors then go on to examine the socio-economic and political factors that have contributed to the collapse of a once-vibrant education system that has been credited with producing, arguably, some of Africa's finest professionals. As an antidote to this, the authors discuss service delivery models that have emerged as "best and effective" practices in education and how these could transform the country's education system so that it can meet the educational, societal, professional, and economic demands of the 21st Century a timely focus for a country trying to reinvent itself as it emerges from a decade-long severe socio-economic and political crises. The authors did an excellent job of discussing how to maximise positive educational outcomes for every Zimbabwean child via early childhood education, special education, inclusive education, counsellor education and educational research. To their credit, the authors focus on fundamental educational issues pertaining to teacher preparation, emphasising structural, functional and sociological needs in response to the demands of a 21st Century economy. The book is an excellent resource for scholars, researchers, teacher preparation programs, professional development programs for in-service teachers, development studies programs, history scholars, and policy-makers, among others.
African Higher Education in the 21st Century explores the philosophical dimension of higher education systems in Africa by analysing its ontological, epistemological and ethical foundations.
Innovation is rapidly becoming a driving force in every global sector, and education is no exception. This book offers a timely and comprehensive analysis of innovation trends within Zimbabwe’s education system, exploring its impact on students, teachers, and the wider educational landscape. Drawing on extensive research and firsthand accounts, the book meticulously evaluates the potential of innovation to drive socio-economic growth and enhance lives. While acknowledging the benefits of innovation and creativity, the authors also raise critical questions about the ethical implications and long-term sustainability of these advancements, especially within the Zimbabwean context. This balanced exploration offers invaluable insights for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the complexities and possibilities surrounding educational innovation in Zimbabwe.
This collection focuses on the post-independence educational development in Zimbabwe. It shows how the ZANU PF regime has presided over the demise of education, and covers a wide range of topics such as violence against teachers, poor salaries, student activism, minority languages, and curriculum innovations. This volume argues that the regime has used education as a tool for repression. Curriculum innovations introduced and implemented in Zimbabwe have little to do with improving the performance of the learners, and more to do with stopping teachers from pushing the regime change agenda. Consequently, this has resulted in a nation in crisis, marked with high turnover, poor economy, and mass exodus of teachers and learners. The contributors to this volume make various suggestions which could recenter education towards addressing the experiences of the learners, as opposed to being used as a tool to push repression and thwart democracy.
The Challenge of Change in Africa's Higher Education in the 21st Century brings the reader face to face with the mega challenges and key opportunities in Africa's higher education sector in the twenty-first century. Mwenda and Muuka are two of Africa's emergent scholars, with 20 published books and over 100 articles published in peer-reviewed journals between them as of 2008. Authors who are diverse in their knowledge and experience of the complexities of education in Africa join Mwenda and Muuka in this treatise, which traverses the higher education milieu on the continent from Cape Town in South Africa to Lagos in Nigeria. Stated simply, those who have long called for a new generation of scholars on education in Africa will find a healthy and refreshing answer in The Challenge of Change in Africa's Higher Education in the 21st Century. The motivation for this book was the editors' recognition of gaps in the current understanding of higher education in Africa. The book has clear advantages and defining features over other books on higher education on the continent in the following respects. The Challenge of Change in Africa's Higher Education in the 21st Century is a book written from and with twenty-first century realities, making it a significant addition to the continuing and urgent search for solutions to the continent's development dilemma. It is therefore critical reading and research material for many stakeholders including students, professors, universities, and research libraries on the one hand and higher education ministries in Africa on the other. The role of international development agencies and non-governmental organizations towards enhancement of higher education in Africa cannot be overemphasized.
