ASRC 6600 - Education and Development in Africa

(crosslisted) EDUC 5020

Spring. 4 credits. Student option grading.

N. Assié-Lumumba.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the human capital theory that emphasizes the importance of formal education for achievement of full productive potential of individuals and economic growth and development of countries enjoyed a renewed popularity. African countries promoted educational expansion with the expectation that it would lead to socio-economic development. The initial euphoria, however, was followed by skepticism and then disillusion. Education, as it was being organized, delivered, received, and utilized, began to be perceived even as a hindrance to development. The course examines the relationship between formal education and individual and national development. Different paradigms of development, including modernization and dependency theories, and Third World Forum, are discussed with an emphasis on the perceived and actual roles of education in individual and national development. The issues to be discussed include education and schooling, the role of primary, secondary, and higher education in development, the problems of employment, language, equity in access and results with a focus on gender, race, and social class. Case studies, including selected countries of the different African sub-regions, will be used for illustration.