New Directions in African Education: Challenges and Possibilities

Essays from African scholars explore education in post-colonial Africa, critically examining education in the African context and the ways it can be reinvented to better meet local needs.

It has been said that education in post-colonial Africa is in a state of crisis. Policies and practices from Eurocentric colonial regimes have carried over, intertwining with challenges inherent in the new political and economic climate. Leaders have done little to remedy the malfunctioning education system, and even where attempts have been made, they have overwhelmingly been shaped by commercial and capitalist interests.

In New Directions in African Education, Nombuso Dlamini has gathered essays from continental African scholars who, before pursuing graduate studies in North America, had first-hand experience with the education system in post-colonial Africa. Their cross-cultural perspective has provided a unique opportunity to critically examine education in the African context and to present possible courses of action to reinvent its future.

These authors are in search of a new model for African education—a model that embraces indigenous knowledge, helps cultivate a greater sense of pride in people of African descent, and, most importantly, serves local needs.

With Contributions By: Eva Aboagye, Uzo Anucha, Grace W. Bunyi, George J. Sefa Dei, S. Nombuso Dlamini, ephania Matanga, Selina Mushi, Jacinta K. Muteshi, and Grace Khwaya Puja

S. Nombuso Dlamini is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education and holds the position of Research Leadership Chair at the University of Windsor. Her research encompasses youth, identities studies, postcolonial cultures, and critical race matters. She is the author of Youth and Identity Politics 1990-1994.

Introduction
S. Nombuso Dlamini

The Place of African Indigenous Knowledge and Languages in Education for Development
Grace W. Bunyi

Some Issues of Science Education in Africa
Wanja Gitari

Reproductive Health in Kenya: A Matter of Social Justice
Jacinta K. Muteshi

Gender, Post-Secondary Education, and Employment Opportunities for Women in Tanzania
Grace Khwaya Puja

Information Technology and the Curriculum Process: Student Participation and the Changed Role of the Teacher
Selina L.P. Mushi

Envisioning African Social Work Education
Uzo Anucha

A Comparison of International Discriminatory Practices against People with Disabilities in North America and Africa: Cases in Zimbabwe and Canada
Zephania Matanga

Financing Students in Higher Education: Examining Trends and Funding Options in Africa and Canada
Eva Aboagye

Possibilities in African Schooling and Education
George J. Sefa Dei

Index