Using Pierre Bourdieu's "capital framework" as a theoretical lens, this qualitative phenomenological case study explored the challenges that obstruct African refugee students' access to higher education in Egypt. Fifteen African refugee students (ten male and five female) in Egypt responded to semi-structured interview questions to…

Philosophies of education serve as frameworks for producing lifelong learners and a knowledgeable and skilled human workforce who brace up their societies for changes in the 21st century. However, the Ghanaian education system continues to relegate its rich Indigenous philosophies to the back burner, favouring Western educational philosophies to…

This article has its basis in the author's own growing annoyance at so-called "sandwich" programmes, where young academics from developing countries study and learn theories at universities in the Global North, then go to their own countries for fieldwork -- only to return to the host country to fit their data into the theories of the…

While South Africa has been lauded as a multilingual country that accorded official status to 11 languages, the academic notion of multilingualism has always been conceived from a monolingual perspective. Monolingual ideologies, which inadvertently favoured European languages to the detriment of local languages, were passed on to African countries…

In this essay, the author introduces the concept of "convivencia" (peaceful coexistence) as a framework for re-centring education as a moral enterprise. He discusses "convivencia" within the context of education and society in Colombia, paying special attention to the Colombian rural school model "Escuela Nueva" (New…

This paper is a reflection that critically examines the dynamics of education and the struggle by African people for freedom, control of the mind, self-definition and the right to determine their own destiny from the start of colonial rule to the present. The primary methodological approach is historical structuralism, which stipulates that social…

This article considers the folklore of the Chewa people of Zambia as an instrument of education. It suggests that there is only a fine distinction between Chewa culture ["mwambo wa a Chewa"] and Chewa education ["maphunziro ya Uchewa"]. The former comprises tribal "truths" to be imposed on the minds of the younger…

Despite setting high hopes on education, very few pastoral nomad children in Kenya transition from primary education to secondary education. This article argues that the national Kenyan compulsory formal curriculum fails to accommodate the needs of pastoralist communities. Literacy rates are particularly low among the Turkana people, pastoralist…

This article discusses the concept "ubuntu", an African worldview rooted in the communal character of African life. Some of the same thinking can, however, be found in various Eurasian and Latin-American philosophies. The concept "ubuntu" is also used in language planning: here, the question of language of instruction is…

"Ubuntu" is an African philosophy of human kindness; applying it in the Global South would fundamentally alter the design of the education sector. This essay argues, however, that the field of international educational development is not, in fact, structured to support an education influenced by "ubuntu" ideals. Specifically,…

Namibia has one of the most dehumanising and destructive colonial pasts of any nation in Africa, or, for that matter, the world. Before colonisation, the area now known as Namibia was home to diverse cultural groups. The successive colonial regimes of Germany and South Africa inflicted genocide, brutality and apartheid on the region. Namibia…

This essay examines the value of educating for peace. It does this through a consideration of the African cultural world-view known as "ubuntu," which highlights the essential unity of humanity and emphasises the importance of constantly referring to the principles of empathy, sharing and cooperation in efforts to resolve our common…

This paper addresses the dilemma of language in education in African countries with particular reference to Burundi. African languages are still marginalised by colonial languages such as French and English. Looking at other African countries in general and at the case of Burundi in detail, an analysis is made of the adopted policies aimed at…

The liberation of Africa and its peoples from centuries of racially discriminatory colonial rule and domination has far reaching implications for educational thought and practice. The transformation of educational discourse in Africa requires a philosophical framework that respects diversity, acknowledges lived experience and challenges the…

This study argues for the integration of African oral traditions and other elements of traditional learning into the modern school curriculum. It thus contributes to supporting the increased relevance of education to local communities. In particular, using the example of riddles collected from one of the main ethnic groups in Northwestern…