REPURPOSING THE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION AGENDA FOR AFRICA’S FUTURE
sub-themes:
Sub-theme 1: Reclaiming the learning crisis agenda in Africa
The “crisis of learning” is associated with the recognition that there are currently about 250 million out of school children. Many were in school but dropped out due to the low quality of education they received in the early years of formal schooling. The crisis threatens the ability of these children to climb out of poverty through acquisition of skills to enhance their future productivity and income-earning opportunities. The jobs of the future will require that students with strong foundational literacy and numeracy skills, as well as soft skills like problem solving and creative thinking, to enable them to adapt to meet the demands of future economies. However, the narrative of the learning crisis has often not included African voices that interrogates the reasons behind it, why it persists, and the implications for new policies to address the challenge. We welcome proposals on lessons from practice, theoretical, conceptual and particularly empirical research that address any of the following specific issues:
Teachers’ and their role in addressing the learning crisis
Understanding the roots of Foundational literacy and numeracy skills gap
Effective pedagogy for improving learning
Early Childhood Education and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
Education Reform for improving teaching and learning
Political Economy of Education Reform to improve teaching and learning
SUB-THEME 2: STEM: CREATING A NEW AGENDA TO ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA
Although Africa constitutes 15% of the world population, the continent’s natural resources, such as bauxite, gold and oil, continue to be exploited by the West because Africa’s development capacity remains underexploited. To reverse this trend, the African Union has identified science and technology innovation as the main drivers for her development. Africa needs a new generation of workforce – creators, designers, engineers and teachers of mathematics and science. This requires prioritising STEM knowledge and skills. But how sound are strategic plans or policy frameworks on STEM to be a transformative force to accelerate Africa’s development? To what extent do policies and innovations reflect the needs of Africa and the potential for STEM to contribute?
This theme would offer knowledge sharing and networking opportunities for people involved in STEM initiatives, STEM education, etc.
We welcome proposals on lessons from practice, theoretical, conceptual and particularly empirical research that address any of the following specific issues:
Challenges confronting STEM education in Africa
Promising and successful policies, strategies and initiatives for strengthening STEM education
The role of universities and colleges in STEM education initiatives
STEM education-industry collaboration and internships
Programmes that inspire students about STEM careers and increase participation in STEM
The role of STEM education in preparing Africa’s future workforce - role of African governments.
SUB-THEME 3: TRANSFORMING PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION FOR LEARNING IN AFRICAN SCHOOLS
Teachers are responsible for students' learning and the quality of education generally. It is, therefore, important for the preparation they receive to become teachers to be of such quality to impact students’ learning. In different contexts, various teacher preparation models have been found to work best to produce teachers with the competencies to improve student learning outcomes. Other pre-service and CPD models emphasize the development of critical thinking, communication, computer literacy, and adoption of innovative instructional/assessment approaches. But there are still gaps in our understanding of how teacher education produces teachers who can maximise student learning outcomes. It is linked to the question: what types of at-scale teacher education programmes in Africa can produce the largest effects on student learning outcomes?
Under this theme, we welcome proposals on lessons from practice, theoretical, conceptual and particularly empirical research that address any of the following specific issues:
Effective pre-service and in-service teacher education models
Integrating technology for CPD and pre-service teacher education
At-scale teacher education programmes and impact on student learning outcomes
Innovative teaching/assessment approaches in pre-service and CPD to promote 21st-century teaching skills
Improving teacher quality through teacher licensure models in Africa
Sub-theme 4: Repossessing educational planning for transforming education in Africa
Planning in education is key to achieving effective education systems. Planning is undertaken at various levels, from the school through to the national and sector-wide levels. Educational planning has become even more urgent in the wake of a post COVID-19 world where schools were closed for months, resulting in huge learning losses. This raises several questions for education planners: how it should address education emergencies to minimise learning loss; what is the role of data in effective planning of education in Africa and what data gaps limit education planning? This sub-theme invites papers which interrogate education planning systems in Africa for insights into what works or does not work? Papers that explore the potential of education planning to improve learning and promote effective accountability systems in Education are also welcomed. In particular, we are interested in how schools and teachers can be involved in the design, collection and understanding of data. The theme also welcomes analysis of education planning for the attainment of the SDGs and particularly SDG4.
Under this theme, we welcome proposals on lessons from practice, theoretical, conceptual and particularly empirical research that address any of the following specific issues:
Education Management Information Systems
Data for educational planning
School Improvement Planning
Education Sector Planning
Planning for Emergencies
Indicators for Educational Planning
Equity Issues in educational Planning
Financial Planning
Sub-theme 5: Redesigning financing and accountability models for education in Africa
Effective financing of education is key to improve learning and yet although some African governments are increasing the proportion of GDP to education, this is not resulting in improved learning outcomes. The justifications for increased government investment in education are clear: it makes both good fiscal sense and good public policy; education contributes to economic growth while also increasing opportunities for individual advancement. Financing education thus becomes an essential element in meeting the equal-opportunity challenge in education. This theme seeks to examine metrics for financing education and the extent to which they consider demographic differences and locality cost of living differences of learners, how well they capture variations in needs of learners and the variations in resources needed to achieve equitable financing of education for all. The theme also welcomes papers which explore school financing policies and practices in African education systems. We welcome proposals on lessons from practice, theoretical, conceptual and particularly empirical research that address any of the following specific issues:
Financing education through payment by results – equity and sustainability issues
Capitation grants in the context of equitable financing of education
Global financing of education in Africa– the limits and potential
Sustainable Financing of education through philanthropy and donor financing
Public and Private Financing of Education
Low-fee private schools in the context of sustainable financing of education
Mechanisms for achieving more financially sustainable funding for education
Sub-theme 6: Reforming curriculum to meet learners’ life and employability needs
Curriculum drives changes in schools for learners to become productive members of their societies. Also, curriculum is key to providing the fundamental content and channels for essential knowledge, skills and abilities for sustainable development.
Societal changes call for reforming curriculum to meet the changing needs of learners’ life and employability. Curriculum reforms in Africa have often not led to the significant improvements in education as expected.
For this theme, we will welcome critical reviews and analysis of school curriculum reforms including curriculum as cultural practice and critique of hidden curriculum. We are also interested in papers that focus on issues and questions such as:
Insights on how to ensure curriculum reforms produce the expected impact
How we can develop more inclusive curriculum, the politics of curriculum reforms
intersections of pedagogy and school curriculum
Curriculum to develop skills to address social and economic challenges in the African context
Indigenisation of the African school curriculum. improving learning through pedagogy and curriculum reforms
Sub-theme 7: Re-envisioning technology for quality distance education in Africa
All over the world, distance education has become a viable alternative to traditional “brick and mortar” education system especially at the tertiary education level. This is mainly due to inadequacy of required resources and facilities. The situation is even worse in Africa, where the rise in people seeking higher education does not match expansion in facilities (academic and residential). Distance education has the potential to offer a transforming response tailored to those learners’ lives, where they can study and earn. Access to and quality of distance education in Africa has become a topical issue in the education sector in recent times. Most institutions that offer higher education through the distance mode have grappled with issues such as quality of assessment, use of technology in facilitation, learners’ support services, poor learning environment and outmoded delivery strategies. Re-envisioning technology can introduce innovative responses to these long-experienced issues. In line with these, empirical/theoretical research as well as practical lessons from experts are welcome.
We welcome proposals on lessons from practice, theoretical, conceptual and particularly empirical research that address any of the following specific issues:
Access, quality and relevance of distance education in Africa
The use of technology in the delivery of quality distance education
Effective assessment policy and practice in distance education
Equitable Distance Education systems
Teaching and learning practices for effective distance education
Sub-theme 8: Integrating health, language and youth debates into the education discourse
Education for the future cannot exist in a vacuum. Africa has the world’s youngest population and while learning and education throughout the life course is essential, strong interlinkages between health, language, youth and education are equally imperative. Yet, these are separate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), even though each critically depends on the other. Cherishing young people and creating convivial conditions in which they can flourish is not a virtue. It is a pre-condition of planning for the future. Having conversations about education depends on these wider debates. We are looking for research that transcends the disciplinary boundaries, that have been shaped by neo-colonial thinking, and instead gestures towards reconceptualising / re-imagining / re-learning ourselves. We particularly seek innovative research methodologies which encompass the lived experiences of individuals and brings the voices and bodies of those on the ground into conversations about the future.
We welcome proposals on lessons from practice, theoretical, conceptual and particularly empirical research that address any of the following specific issues:
The interlinkages between health, including sexual and reproductive health, and education
How acknowledging, respecting and consciously promoting minoritised languages can influence educational outcomes
Young people’s experiences in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), transition into the labour market (both formal and informal) and the implications these have for education and training systems and employers
Education about the causes, remedies and mitigations of an accelerating climate crisis inherited by young people that threatens the future of Africa and how their voices can be amplified to help safeguard their future
Enabling a multi-sector dialogue beyond educational and related bodies, to include those that occupy different positions such as health, youth and gender
Sub-theme 9: Educational leadership –emerging practices that are transforming education and learning
The Education 2030 Agenda emphasize the critical role educational leadership and administration play in improving the quality of learning outcomes. Research has shown that effective and efficient leadership, purposeful planning and administration influence the quality of learning. According to Kouzes and Posner (2007), leadership is seen to be at the hub of transforming values into actions, visions into realities, obstacles into innovations, separateness into solidarity, and risks into rewards. Many African countries have carried out various strategies and models to improve learning outcomes and it is imperative that these strategies and models are driven by research and targeted to improve educational leadership, and administration to meet specific needs. In relation to educational leadership, there is the need to examine issues associated with enhancing efficiency, effectiveness and quality at the school, regional, national and international levels. For educational administration, key issues to be addressed to ensure school leaders effectively manage, organize, and coordinate time, space and available resources must assume primacy in research. An overarching importance for ICERDA is the understanding and promotion of evidence-informed leadership, management and administration practices across Africa end elsewhere.
We welcome proposals on lessons from practice, theoretical, conceptual and particularly empirical research that address any of the following specific issues:
Decentralization, school autonomy and accountability
The integration of ICT in educational administration
Evidence of the link of educational leadership to quality learning outcomes
School leadership for inclusion and special education
Women in leadership – equality, rights and successes
Student leadership as a catalyst for school improvement
Leadership in turbulent times - experiences from Schools, TVET and Higher Education
Dealing and mediating student and staff mental health – an emerging global challenge in schools and other educational settings
New horizons on educational leadership, management and administration research