Education in Africa

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The arrival of Europeans on the African continent resulted in many challenges as European standards were placed upon traditional practices. On of the areas this has been most noticeable is education. Traditional African education was focused around raising the young of the tribe to have the skills necessary to take their place in African society upon adulthood. Boys and girls were generally taught separately as boys followed and mimicked their fathers and girls stayed around the home with their mothers. According to an article by John K. Marah, Ed.D., "Girls were socialized to effectively learn the roles of motherhood, wife, and other sex-appropriate skills. Boys were socialized to be hunters, herders, agriculturalists, blacksmiths, etc., depending on how the particular ethnic group, clan or family derived its livelihood." As you can see, this is not the "reading, writing, and arithmetic" that has been engrained in Western culture as the basis for education. Education and teaching focused around what was necessary for survival and the livelihood of the tribe. Another key purpose to African education is to ensure that youth are prepared for marriage and the challenges of supporting a family. It is important that as soon as a young woman is old enough she gets married and starts a family to ensure that the tribe or clan population continues. She must have the skills necessary for this. Likewise, her husband must know how to hunt to provide for the family, or learn a particular trade to earn a living off of. Clan rituals, values, and ceremonies have also been critical in the upbringing of African children. Learning particular dances, songs, stories, and beliefs is essentail to the continuation of cultural heritage. As you can see, this is not the "reading, writing, and arithmetic" that has been engrained in Western culture as the basis for education. As well, much of this education took place on a daily basis in the everyday life of the family and was not separated as a specific time for learning within school walls.

While some may say that because of this history European education systems do not make sense in African society, the fact is that countries within Africa are trying to enter the global system. Because of this, the children of Africa need to have the proper schooling in order to not only take their place among African society, but the global community as well. Until this occurs, Africa will never be able succeed as a developed region. However, according to WorldMapper, which explores varying aspects of development around the world, African countries are consistently at the bottom of the list in areas such as primary school enrollment, girls at primary school, and adult literacy. One of the major reasons for this is that many African governments spend very little money on their education systems to provide a decent place for children to study or even books to use. In the United States we are used to every classroom having computers and internet, every child having the books and supplies they need, and grappling over if the school bus is late. However in Africa, many times children are simply concerned about whether their school "building" will be standing that day. This often means that the cost of education falls to the parents who may or may not being able to afford it. Countless charities, missions, and NGO's have set up camp in Africa with the goal of building new school buildings and improving the overall education for the children.

It is not only important for children in Africa to receive a quality education just to learn the skills that other children around the world have. It is also an opportunity to educate them about the world outside their village; their country; their continent. If they never consider the "outside" world, they will never try to achieve goals beyond where they are; they would simply continue the cycle of learning tribal rituals and skills important in the Bush to maintain their village and tribe. Opening young eyes to greater opportunities is the key to development because it shows them that they can reach higher and push their family and their nation to change leading to better life. This concept reaches beyond children though. For ages governments have feared educating the public because an ignorant, unaware population does not know any better; they believe that whatever life they are leading is right and fair. It is when information and knowledge leaks into society that people begin to question the system, often leading to revolution. Though this is likely not the motive of African governments, the byproducts of this problem are standing in the way of development. If political leaders do not know how governments are being run elsewhere, they can not make informed decisions about how to effectively run their nation. If farmers and other manufacturers are unaware of how their products are being used and what they are being sold for elsewhere, they can not know if they are getting a fair price for their goods. The constant influx of information is vital to development within a region, especially one as underdeveloped as Africa.

Journal of Education, Edward Coleson

Traditional African Education

Schools for Africa

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