African Education Research Articles

Rural Cultural Wealth in African Education

Globally, rural educational systems and communities are facing varied issues that impact the holistic well-being of residents ranging from the need to increase access to health and educational resources to addressing food and housing insecurities. In this manuscript, we expound upon the rural cultural wealth conceptual framework to demonstrate the application of this conceptual framework globally. Using the Nigerian context, we illustrate how the resourcefulness, ingenuity, familism, and unity found within rural communities can be harnessed to improve rural education.

‘We are not ready’ – contradictions and contestations in basic education organising in South Africa at the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This article reflects on our participation in two efforts at education organising at the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic – the national C19 People’s Coalition, and the Progressive Organisations Formation (POF). We suggest our experiences as participants in these movements reflect a broader political climate in South Africa in which large-scale, organised resistance is absent in the ‘post-1994’ basic education context. Using Gramsci’s concept of ‘interregnum’ and Gentili’s ‘crisis-as-dispositif’, we examine both collectives and their power relations to ask why we could not coalesce into legitimate, self-sustaining organising efforts, despite unviable conditions in basic public education in South Africa. We theorise the dispositif at work as captured resistance in the C19 People’s Coalition, where the process of NGOisation was evident, and nostalgic resistance in the POF, where the theory of change amongst an older vanguard of teachers had not yet reckoned with a ‘post’-apartheid political subjectivity in schools. What our direct experiences suggest is the state of unreadiness of South African education organisations, to both respond to unexpected exogenous shocks or sustain protracted struggles on any given issue. The original declaration of the C19 People’s Coalition Basic Education working group, ‘We are not ready!’, could not have been more ironic.

Educating for expected failure?

This contribution takes as a point of departure an assessment of the impact of the digital divide with specific reference to the education sector in the South African context. A core problem is clearly that such a large proportion of learners drop out of secondary schools, while the pass rates at Bachelors level are also alarming. Does this imply that education takes place with a view to expected failure? This contribution explores the question what perspective Christianity and Christian theology can bring to this social reality. It suggests that this perspective is related to the perplexing question what education is there for in the first place. It surveys various options in this regard (knowledge, skills, virtues, values, worldviews) and then argues that education is also about developing interpretative and integrative frameworks, learning to see the world around us in a way that makes sense. On this basis various strategies to cross the deep divides in the South African education system are suggested. However, it is argued that “crossing” the digital divide should not be reduced to offering soteriological answers to questions regarding the nature of education that are primarily ontological in nature.

The Margaret Wrong Memorial Fund, Late Colonial Development, and the Prizing of African Literatures, 1950–62

ABSTRACT: As scholars such as Caroline Ritter have recently demonstrated, late colonial development policy exercised significant influence on the print culture infrastructures of decolonizing African nations. The history of the Margaret Wrong Memorial Fund (MWMF) and its literary prize (1950–62) renders visible the influence of the ideology of late colonial development on this emergent field: while the positioning of language in the field was bound up in the metropolitan conferral of literary legitimacy on European languages (and, conversely, in African struggles to confer the same legitimacy on African vernaculars), the positioning of language in the surrounding field of power formed the site of a different kind of struggle regarding late colonial development in British Africa. Those members of the MWMF administrative committee who advocated after 1949 and through the 1950s for the inclusion of African vernaculars were appealing to the early twentieth-century ideology of Phelps-Stokeism, a theory of differentiated education for Africans that was based on a Social Darwinist assumption of racial inferiority. Associated with Wrong’s interwar and wartime work for the International Committee on Christian Literature for Africa and particularly with the late colonial development impulses of this work, the Phelps-Stokeist rationale for legitimizing African languages does not always line up neatly with African nationalist and anticolonial motivations for supporting vernaculars. The influence of late colonial development on the emergence of the postcolonial field of cultural production matters: the history of this field must be tracked via the metropolitan (British) welfare state and the emergent postwar development paradigm, both of which shaped debates about language, for instance, that have long been attributed to the influence of metropolitan publishers and the African nationalisms of figures such as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, among other forces.

Collaboratively Stepping Back as a Method in an Arts-Inspired Self-Study to Move Forward in Professional Learning for Social Change

We are a team of two South African teacher educator researchers at a higher education institution in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Each of us has distinct research niches, and stem from different racial and cultural backgrounds. Our common interest in and commitment to social change through education led to this collaboration where we explored ways of extending the learning we had acquired whilst completing our doctoral research projects. In our doctoral projects we focused on teaching, learning, and our professional responsibilities as South African educators in the HIV and AIDS context to facilitate social change in education. For our current study we asked the question: “What professional learning in the HIV and AIDS context can we (re)construct by stepping back and co-reflecting using arts-inspired approaches?” We used the following data sources: (1) self-chosen exemplars from each researcher’s completed doctoral projects; (2) e-mailed communications as to why we selected the particular exemplars to enhance our professional re-learning in the HIV and AIDS context; (3) individually selected artefacts used as metaphors to explore our research question; and (4) transcriptions of Zoom dialogic meetings where we probed our metaphors and found poems. Our analysis commenced with individually composed found poems using our data sources. These poems were used for poetic interrogation using a co-created Red Ribbon silhouette found poem. Combining all these arts-inspired methods and through co-reflection we could step back and look forward to answer our research question.

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The South African Education System

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The South African Education System

Linking Global Industrial Revolutions to Advancements of African Educational Systems: What We Learn from the Literature

The present article explored and discussed the literature in line with the advancements and achievements of African educations systems vis-à-vis the global industrial revolutions. Specifically, the aspects of streamlining the teaching and learning processes that make ease the work of both teachers and students have been discussed. In addition, the search of the literature talked elements related to the progress made by African schools in relation to the electrification of schools, ICT in education, internet connectivity as well as the learning content digitization. Even though progress is remarkable, however, there is a need to prioritize rural areas by aligning the requirements of the fourth industrial revolution and the fulfilment of sustainable development goals. Keywords: Teachers, students, wellbeing, mental health, electricity, internet connectivity, education, digitization, quality teaching & learning, communication, computers, artificial intelligence, robotics, innovation, interconnectedness.

Examining the Implementation and Lessons Learnt from the Annual National Assessment in a South African Education District

In the pursuit of enhancing educational practices and systems, this study delved comprehensively into examining the implementation and lessons learned from the Annual National Assessment (ANA) within an educational district in South Africa. A stratified random sampling technique was used to pick up schools from different tiers. A sample of 108 teachers from 22 schools within the UMkhanyakude education district, situated in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa participated in the study. The study examined the effects of the ANA on schools and its impact on teaching and learning. Data was collected using a questionnaire and were analyzed with SPSS software version 26. The findings indicate that teachers received sufficient training on the administration procedures of the assessment and recognized its positive influence on schools in general. However, a majority of the teachers disagreed with the notion that the assessment had positive effects on teaching and learning. They expressed a lack of confidence in the assessment, both in themselves and in their students, and also raised concerns about parental involvement. Therefore, this study suggests the inclusion of a comprehensive consultative approach and the involvement of stakeholders in future assessment administration and implementation processes. Additionally, it advocates for the importance of aligning assessments with the curriculum to prevent teachers from solely teaching to the test in most situations. This study will contribute to knowledge on test construction as well as the different approaches to assessment. Keywords: Administration, Annual National Assessment, Assessment, High Stakes, Management, Parental Involvement, Standardized Testing.

A Re-Think of a True Identity in Embracing and Practicing Western Culture(s) and Religion as Typical Bakweri, Manyu and Ugare people of the Anglophone Cameroon

Purpose: Western Education and Christian religion foundations and developments in Africa in general and Cameroon in Particular were laid and developed on African traditional education and religious practices and beliefs. Unfortunately, African traditional education, religious belief system and practices were brandished by colonial masters and Missionaries who introduced western education and Christian religious practices as fetish, uncivilized and paganic. All these allegations were from the stranger’s perspectives. Regrettably, those who engaged into the study of western education and practices of western religion were forced to upgrade foreign education and religious practices and beliefs over against African education and religious beliefs and practices. All these led to a false identity, religious practices, educational norms and values development on those who practice the western system of education and religious development. Consequently, some of the cherished Cameroonian cultural practices, religious beliefs and traditional education are fast dying out. It is for this reasons that this paper sought to address and revisit cultural beliefs and religious practices of some tribes of the Anglophone Cameroon. The purpose of this paper is to present some of the cultural practices that are educative, promote cherish values and norms and demonstrate the strength of the Bakweri, Manyu and Ugare cultural practices and belief for today’s children of the Anglophone Cameroon who have embraced western education and western religion over against our valued education and informative cultures and religion.
 Materials and Methods: The methodology is qualitative with the use of ethnography as design. Data were collected interviews, primary and secondary sources. and interviews.
 Findings: From the content analysis, the conclusion arrived at is that because the Bakweri Manyu and Ugere traditional education and cultural practices and beliefs are unique, other religions and educations should learn from the richness of these indigenous practices.
 Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Though western education is good, Christianity, western education and cultural traditional beliefs and practices should work hand in glove for a better society. Before the coming of Christianity, the cultural beliefs and practices of the Bakweri, Manyu and Ugere had long existed. The people were aware of the existence of the Supreme Being and Christian religion should not consider them as fetish and paganic. The study suggests a model of educating the young generation on the traditional education and cultural practices of the Bakeri, Manyu and Ugere people. The home is the center whereby, cultural values should disseminated to the churches, schools and community.

Collaboration within a curriculum of support in the classroom: occupational therapists' and educators' perceptions and experiences

Introduction: According to South Africa's key education policies, all children can learn and need support, necessitating collaboration between occupational therapists and educators. Collaboration between occupational therapists and educators within the classroom is however a relatively new practice in South Africa and there is a dearth of literature that report on studies in this regard. The aim of this study was thus to explore occupational therapists' and educators' experiences in adopting a classroom approach in three primary mainstream schools in the Metro North education district in the Western Cape. Methodology: A qualitative research approach andexploratory descriptive design was utilised. Data collection included semi-structured interviews and focus groups with educators and occupational therapists who participated in the curriculum of support in the classroom programme. Thematic data analysis was conducted. Findings: Three themes highlighting the meaning and value the participants assigned to classroom collaboration, andfactors that facilitate or limit the implementation of the curriculum of support emerged from the analysis. Conclusion: The study is useful in expanding the understanding of the changing role of occupational therapists within the context of inclusive education and contributes to the development of educator support strategies utilising the whole classroom approach. This approach entails the educator and occupational therapist working together in implementing activities in the classroom to all learners. These learning activities are based on curriculum themes and occupational therapy principles and components. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Occupational therapists' roles in the education practice context are expanding from traditionally working in special school settings to providing support to educators within public mainstream schools. The role of the occupational therapist within public mainstream schools is evolving from a consultative role and providing input into the individual support of learners to providing hands-on support to educators and collaborating with them within the classroom.

Assessing the imperative for school social workers: insights from principals and circuit managers in Mankweng circuit, South Africa

This research study investigated the critical role of school social workers within the educational landscape of Mankweng Circuit, South Africa. School social workers play a pivotal role in addressing the multifaceted challenges faced by students, their families, and school communities. Through a qualitative research approach, we conducted in-depth interviews with principals and circuit managers to explore their perspectives on the role of school social workers in promoting holistic student development, improving school climate, and addressing socio-emotional barriers to learning. The findings uncover the multifaceted challenges faced by school social workers, including limited resources, high caseloads, and the need for ongoing professional development. The implications of this research are significant, shedding light on the critical need for recognising and investing in the roles of school social workers in South African education. The insights gained from this study can inform policymakers, educators, and stakeholders in the field of education on the imperative of integrating school social workers into the educational system as vital contributors to the overall success and well-being of students. Ultimately, this research contributes to the ongoing discourse on strengthening the educational support system in South Africa and beyond.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis: Assessing African Sectors - Commodity, Service, Manufacturing, and Education using Mixed Model Approach

The global onslaught of COVID-19 brought about unforeseen disruptions, significantly imprinting on sectors like essential goods, services, manufacturing, and education. African nations, characterized by theirdistinct socio-economic tapestries, stood at an intriguing juncture—facing both systemic vulnerabilities and demonstrating admirable adaptability. This research delves into the multifaceted impacts experienced by these nations during the global economic turmoil.Our exploration, bolstered by graphical analyses, examines shifts in demand dynamics, particularly contrasting essential and luxury goods. The pandemic inducedphenomena like panic buying, while simultaneously causing economic slowdowns, reshaping consumption patterns. The services sector’s narrative is bifurcated: while traditional services faced setbacks, digitalcounterparts witnessed exponential growth. In manufacturing, disrupted supply chains contrasted with surges in essential goods production. With global trade facing unprecedented challenges, a noticeable tilt towards local alternatives emerges in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This trend signals both adaptability and a potential pivot towards self-reliance amidst escalating living costs. Moreover, the burgeoning influence oftechnology, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), proposes a transformative phase for African education, hinting at enhanced accessibility and quality. However, this optimism is tempered by challenges such as infrastructural gaps and the imperative for improved digital literacy.In Conclusion, this paper provides a concise yet encompassing perspective on the economic reverberations of the COVID-19 pandemic, centering on the unique experiences and lessons from the African landscape.

Effectiveness of music education in developing and fostering reading and writing for learners

Background: It is well-known, but perhaps not well documented, that after the first democratic elections in 1994, South African education was declared standard. However, poverty is widespread in rural-based schools, which negatively impacts the development of quality education for learners. This is attributed to the unique challenges that learners in rural-based schools face that affect their quality of education. Apart from inadequate state funding, insufficient resources, and underqualified teachers, learners are faced with poor reading and writing in foreign languages such as English. Furthermore, teaching language incorporating music as a supportive tool has been neglected. Music can be a powerful tool for language teaching for several reasons. This has become a significant contributor and barrier to effective education.Objective: Therefore, from this background, this article aims to discuss the effectiveness of music education in developing and fostering reading and writing in rural-based schools.Method: A qualitative research method was used embedded within content analysis of existing scholarly writings.Results: Framed within music learning theory, the findings of this article reveal that music education plays an essential role in improving the readability of learners, especially in rural-based schools.Conclusion: This article concludes by affirming that music education is essential in developing and fostering the reading and writing of languages such as English in rural-based schools. However, this calls for the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to provide a proper music infrastructure in rural-based schools.Contribution: This article provides new insight about the role of music education in improving reading and writing for learners.

The multidimensional role of the principal in post-apartheid-South-Africa

The end of apartheid in 1994 brought about radical changes in the South African education system, especially for school principals to manage their own affairs as promulgated in the South African Schools Act. These developments have changed the principal's position irrevocably. However, these changes did not result in the expected outcome in the majority of schools for a number of reasons. Teachers are frequently unsure whether the anticipated changes will have the desired impact in schools. Moreover, principals and teachers have different views on how these changes will affect schools and their work. This paper adopts a conceptual approach that draws on various theories and concepts from the literature on school leadership and management. Understanding the challenges of the school principal's job after apartheid was the aim of the research. The Standards for School Principalship (2015) provided the theoretical framework and basis for this conceptual paper. It should be noted that principals are the most crucial persons in education since they serve as managers and major delivery agents in the educational system. They are the driving force behind improved educational outcomes in South Africa after apartheid. However, it is increasingly uncommon for principals to carry out their multifaceted tasks alone because of how significantly their positions have altered since 1994. All the parties concerned with running a school should receive training and orientation in this respect. The main findings of this paper are that, since the end of apartheid, principals face various challenges in their role, such as lack of resources, support, autonomy, accountability, collaboration, diversity, equity, quality, innovation, and professionalism.

Religion in South African Education: A Divisive or Unifying Force?

Religion not only promotes tolerance among societies with different backgrounds, but also serves to enhance human society. In contrast, however, religion is seen to be the cause of conflict and division around the world. Hence, it is crucial that schools handle the teaching of religion with greater care. This paper aims to share schools’ experiences of religion-in-education policy change in South Africa – whether it unifies or divides them. It concludes that religion in education is neither a divider nor a unifier. Nonetheless, the approach that schools adopt toward the teaching of religion to learners remains a concern.

Julian Huxley and a biological approach to education in British East Africa during the interwar era

ABSTRACT During the 1930s there was a significant shift in the debate about African colonial education. Above all, somewhat discreetly hidden behind the formal language of the educational documents, is the question of the challenge presented to the traditional literary/religious missionary curriculum, or even to the adaptationist debate about African education, by the emergence of public polemic relating to the relevance of secular science education which explored issues of economic development, social welfare and social hygiene. This took place in the context of new understandings of issues like population growth, human heredity, evolution, health, eugenics and the challenges presented by the race doctrines of the fascist powers in Europe. Such issues were often hidden behind the rhetoric of “relevance” to family and community health and welfare, ecological best practices, and economic prosperity. This paper seeks to explore the first major initiative by the British Colonial Office relating to the reshaping of the African colonial school curriculum between 1929 and 1933. This attempted to extend developments relating to the extension of science education in general, and “a biological approach to education” in particular, to an educational context that had been dominated by Christian missionary education. It examines the processes by which such policy came to be initiated. It also raises obliquely broader questions relating to the linkages between social reform, eugenics, ideology and colonialism and in doing so attempts to add to the existing historiography on colonial education by referring to aspects of educational reform which seem to have been previously neglected.

Challenges faced by intermediate phase isiZulu teachers in teaching inclusive reading

Despite several interventions put in place to alleviate the reading crisis in South African education, many teachers still experience challenges in teaching reading comprehension. The situation is even more dire with regards to teaching inclusive reading to at-risk readers in mainstream schools in under-resourced settings. Very few studies have been conducted to investigate the pedagogical strategies in teaching inclusive reading in the intermediate phase (IP) isiZulu classrooms. This study aims to investigate the pedagogical challenges faced by IP isiZulu teachers who are teaching reading comprehension skills to at-risk readers in the mainstream schools of uMkhanyakude district, in the Northern part of KwaZulu-Natal province. This qualitative study is guided by the Word Learning Theory which posits that reading instruction should enhance learners’ knowledge of the alphabet and high-frequency words. Data were collected through non-participant classroom observations and interviews with 10 IP isiZulu teachers based in uMkhanyakude district. The qualitative data were analysed by the researcher through coded thematic analysis. The units of analysis in this study are IP teachers’ pedagogic strategies in teaching inclusive reading. The findings indicate that IP isiZulu teachers struggle to organise meaningful and cohesive reading strategies. Strategies employed are not structured to address specific reading challenges and consequently at-risk readers in mainstream schools remain inadequately catered for. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge related to the pedagogical strategies best suited for developing inclusive reading.

Things of the sky: Cultural astronomy and onomastic creativity in selected Tshivenḓa poetry

Cultural astronomy remains a vital component of indigenous communities across the world because it represents the preservations of their scientific knowledge. This knowledge consolidates various dimensions of indigenous knowledge systems on navigation, cosmology, religion, time, seasons, ritual, myth, ceremony, law, agriculture, food, economics and social structure. In the consolidation, one notes their concept and perception of objects such as the sun, the moon, the stars, months and seasons expressed in various modes, including poetry. Hence, in this article, eight Tshivenḓa poems were purposely selected for their thematisation of the foregoing objects and provision of the Vhavenḓa’s knowledge production around them. Four poems came from Daniel Malivhadza Ngwana’s Vhakale vha hone, two poems were from Ralson Ramudzuli Matshili’s Zwiala zwa Venḓa, one poem was from Mashuwa Tshindane’s Mutambo wa muhumbulo and one poem was from Ntshavheni Alfred Milubi’s Ipfi ḽa lurere. Relying on the thematic analysis technique, the article shows that, in naming astronomical objects, not only is the Vhavenḓa’s onomastic ingenuity revealed but also their astronomical knowledge. The Vhavenḓa’s notions of onomastics, cosmology, selenology and astronomy can in this regard be viewed as meta-narratives translatable into myth, religion, ritual and philosophy.Contribution: Given the current discourse on the decolonisation and Africanisation of knowledge in South African education, this article might assist the design of pedagogy on Africans’ view of the harmony between the chthonic world and terrestrial life.

21st-century South African teachers in turbulent educational waters

Teachers in the South African education system face numerous challenges that negatively affect their well-being and contribute to the high attrition rate in the teaching profession. Given that few studies in the South African context focus on teacher well-being, this article fills that gap by exploring how teachers experience profession-related challenges and how these affect their well-being. By merging the force field model (Samuel & van Wyk, 2008) and the PERMA model (Seligman, 2011) as theoretical frameworks, four forces, namely contextual, institutional, programmatic, and biographical, were used as a lens to explore the push and pull factors that impact the well-being of teachers. Data were collected using eight electronic open-ended questions and eight semi-structured individual interviews (case studies). The findings revealed that factors teachers identified as pushing them away from the profession were unsatisfactory remuneration, lack of resources, uninvolved parents, learner diversity, and an overwhelming workload. Pull factors that attracted them to the profession were the stability and convenience of following a teaching career, feeling valued, and being passionate about facilitating learning.

Prominent discourses in South African education from the perspective of community psychology: Challenges and opportunities for youth liberation and well-being

Community psychology takes an explicitly political stance by identifying where power lies and how it is exercised in ways that maintain privilege and discrimination against particular groups. From this perspective, we consider the challenges facing school education in South Africa today. Education is positioned as an important site for the liberation and well-being of our country's majority. However, the state of education is marked by persistent inequalities. From a Foucauldian perspective, this paper presents a meta-synthesis of school education literature and identifies prominent discourses circulating around the country's basic education sector: the discourses of democracy, human rights, and good governance; rights; development; scarce skills; the crisis in education; and privatisation are discussed. We consider the role of these discourses in the wider social processes of legitimation and power in education, and subjective implications for youth. We note the various ways in which discourses responsibilise youth and surrounding stakeholders, and how others position them as resources for the neoliberal capitalist economy. We argue for the role of counter-discourses and a collective emancipatory perspective to advance transformational educational change and embrace opportunities in the future.