A book that challenges the dominant narratives that oversimplify existing challenges and offer one-size-fits-all solutions to improving educational access in Africa has been launched in Accra.
Titled “Reconceptualising the learning crisis in Africa”, the book argues that those dominant narratives systematically frame African children, teachers and communities in deficit terms and ignore their knowledge, potential and cultural resources.
It was co-authored by the Founder of the Centre for the Study of Global Development (CSGD) at the Open University, UK, Professor Kwame Akyeampong, and a lecturer at the Centre for Education and International Development of the Institute of Education, University College of London, Dr Sean Higgins.
Case studies
The 279-page book draws on three case studies of accelerated learning programmes (ALPs) for out-of-school and underperforming children in Ethiopia, Liberia and Ghana.
The case studies illustrate multi-dimensional models that reimagine the purposes and pedagogies of basic education, reconnect with the lived experiences of African children and children’s learning, with demonstrably excellent results.
The book concludes that achieving education for all (EFA) in Africa requires a holistic approach to learning, rooted in the relational philosophy of care, community and shared humanity.
The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, who launched the book, described it as not only an academic achievement; “it is a call to rethink how we value our children, our teachers and our schools and to reclaim the African classroom as a space in which we nurture our sense of belonging, identity and possibility, even as we ensure our children develop strong basic skills.”
on the role of the teacher, he said the so-called global ‘learning crisis’ had often been interpreted as a crisis of teaching, leading to quick fixes.
He, however, said the evidence from Ghana, Ethiopia and Liberia showed that meaningful learning happened when teachers were not treated as passive deliverers of instructions but as co-creators of knowledge.
In a presentation, Prof. Akyeampong, who is also a Senior Fellow of the CDD, expressed concern that schoolchildren in Africa were taught in a language they did not understand.
He added that the current educational system did not leverage local languages, which had led to deficit framing and systemic exclusion of children in learning.
"Mother-tongue instruction is critical for foundational learning and yet it is being overlooked in learning crisis discourse," Prof. Akyeampong, a Chen Yidan Visiting Fellow at Harvard, stressed.
Writer's Email: severious.dery@graphic.com.gh
