Beginning in the nineteenth century, a plethora of western Christian and secular philanthropies introduced "top-down" philanthropic initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa to promote education and "development". There seems to be a complex link between the agendas of international philanthropies and their home governments' broader…

This paper employs postcolonial framework to discuss the contradictions of promoting western education in Islamic communities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Prior to colonization, Islamic education was an important socializing process that instilled strong Islamic identity in Islamic communities in SSA. European encounters in SSA and the…

The metanarrative of modernity as constructed by language arts teaching in Malawian classrooms constructs an identity among Malawians that denies the multiplicity of influences, including the participation of Malawian and other African societies, in the narrative of the creation of school knowledge. It also perpetuates the marginality of…

This discussion of external support for higher education in Africa focuses on the academic partnerships that link U.S. and African institutions. The exploration begins with a brief historical overview that links the evolution of higher education in Africa with changing patterns and forms of external support and influence. It then discusses the…

International scholarly effort in the comparative study of adult education has increased substantially over the past 20 years. The relationship between the state and adult education is one area, however, that has remained relatively neglected by researchers. In many countries, adult education has been largely the responsibility of voluntary…

In 1920, the Phelps-Stokes Fund, based in New York, sent a commission to investigate educational conditions in West, South, and Equatorial Africa. After the first Phelps-Stokes Commission, two additional commissions were sent from the United States to investigate African educational practices and conditions until the mid-1940s. These efforts to…

This paper analyzed the evolution of formal education in Africa with emphasis on the weaknesses and strengths of the system identified. Although the roots of modern education can be found in the early institutions of learning and libraries of Alexandria and Timbuktu in Africa, the continent today lags behind in all the fields of formal education.…

The three phenomena of independence, dependence, and interdependence interact in rather complex ways in African countries. These interactions, in the context of education, are examined through case studies of two regional African educational organizations: the Science Education Programme for Africa and the African Curriculum Organization. (RM)

The report focuses on the role of education in facilitating effective participation of groups and individuals in development efforts in Africa. Special attention is given to problems of the poor, women, the handicapped, those uninvolved or marginally involved such as unemployed youth, and those living and working in rural areas. The report is…

Important issues in African education involve the effects of the colonial education system on African subjects and their countries' political and socio-economic development. Of interest are some countries' efforts to correct dysfunctions resulting from the colonial system. Following independence, the state of education in many African countries in…