Africa Educational Research Journal
Online ISSN : 2436-1666
Print ISSN : 2185-8268
Current issue
Displaying 1-19 of 19 articles from this issue
Special Issue: Professor Nobuhide Sawamura and African Education
Articles
  • Kae Yoshino
    2024 Volume 15 Pages 57-68
    Published: December 25, 2024
    Released on J-STAGE: January 21, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Recently, there has been an increasing interest in citizenship education incorporating indigenous knowledge and values of the local contexts. In sub-Saharan Africa, there is an African humanism known as Umunthu (in Bantu; Ubuntu in southern Africa; Mtu in Swahili). Its essence is the strength and depth of the relationships with others and the community (e.g. Mbiti, 1969; Mokgoro, 1998; Avoseh, 2001). Such a perspective is expected to promote diversity in citizenship education based on different values from those of the West. However, the current curricula have been criticised for not taking into account indigenous knowledge and values. Therefore, this study, focusing on the Umunthu value, aimed to explore how citizens are portrayed as good citizens who engage with family, community, state and others in four social studies textbooks of Grade 1 in Malawi's secondary education. The analysis found that: 1) the nature of the family is changing and there is concern about the spread of individualism; 2) active service citizens and communities that are not dependent on the government are strongly expected; 3) rights and duties are thought to be a set and responsible citizens are the ones who contribute to others/society under the Umunthu value and 4) there is a focus on vulnerable groups and living together beyond differences. From the informal interviews with three education administrators, it was suggested that behind the citizenship orientation is a sense of crisis against people's entitlement mindset since the introduction of the multi-party system in 1994 and a desire for the restoration of the Umunthu value. An implication of this is the possibility that excessive demand for self-reliance might cause vulnerable groups to be left behind.

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  • Yuki Komatsu
    2024 Volume 15 Pages 69-80
    Published: December 25, 2024
    Released on J-STAGE: January 21, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    The purpose of this study is to clarify the process of children's self-efficacy cultivation in Côte d’Ivoire, focusing on schooling and apprenticeship. The field research suggested that in the context of schooling, pupil-teacher interaction in primary education contribute to the self-efficacy cultivation. In addition, apprenticeship in the informal sector during long vacations showed the process of self-efficacy cultivation by depicting one boy's relationship with his master, who was marginalized from schooling. In conclusion, the quality of education in Côte d’Ivoire was examined from the perspective of non-cognitive skills, pointing out the multilayered disparities in the quality of education inherent in classrooms and the exclusion of pupils with learning difficulties within the institutional framework of schooling. However, such pupils do not continue to be excluded outside of school. They are included in a society in which the quality of cognitive and non-cognitive education is mutually complementary between schooling and apprenticeship.

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  • Andriamanasina Rojoniaina Rasolonaivo
    2024 Volume 15 Pages 81-92
    Published: December 25, 2024
    Released on J-STAGE: January 21, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    The education system established by colonizers has significantly impacted Citizenship Education (CE) in former colonies. Many African and Asian countries continue to struggle with creating effective CE approaches that are relevant to their contexts, even decades after gaining independence. This study explores the perceptions of local school stakeholders regarding CE in Madagascar. How do curriculum developers and teachers in the rural area perceive CE in their context? How do rural primary and lower secondary school children define and practice citizenship? Fieldwork was conducted in the Itasy region in September 2019. Interviews were conducted with five teachers and several representatives of CE curriculum developers, while a questionnaire was completed by a total number of 50 primary and lower secondary school students. This qualitative research uses the thematic analysis method to analyze the data. Teachers mainly describe the content of Malagasy CE at the primary school level as focusing on ‘knowing to live’ at home and in society. However, at the lower secondary level, the content shifts dramatically to more abstract concepts modeled after French CE and becomes increasingly disconnected from the students’ everyday lives as they progress to higher grades. According to the students, regardless of their academic level, the general comprehension and enactment of good citizenship are associated with demonstrating decent behavior, a notion deeply ingrained in Malagasy culture. Recognizing the disparities between the content taught across various educational levels and the differences between local and foreign values within CE, curriculum developers aim to prioritize the instruction of Malagasy socio-cultural values, which are currently diminishing among young people. Conversely, policymakers and curriculum developers also need to illustrate the implementation of global policies such as global citizenship education, underscoring the challenges associated with implementing a relevant citizenship education in the context of Madagascar.

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Research Notes
  • Nanaka Yamaguchi
    2024 Volume 15 Pages 93-104
    Published: December 25, 2024
    Released on J-STAGE: January 21, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the process by which parents’ interest in schooling and enthusiasm for their children’s education (Educational Enthusiasm) arise, focusing on individual life histories. The results of the field survey indicated that four parents, who had different schooling experiences and family backgrounds, increased their enthusiasm for education through a process of “constructing meaning” from their school experiences. This process involved interactions with others both inside and outside of the school, shaped by their diverse life experiences. In the case of mothers, however, it was found that their own enthusiasm for education was curbed by a clear recognition of the difference between their roles and those of their husbands in the household. Previous educational research in Kenya has assumed that parents’ enthusiasm for education is generated by a rigid academic supremacy, thus ignoring the diverse backgrounds of parents and portraying the enthusiasm as homogeneous. However, the study suggested that parents’ enthusiasm for education is nurtured through their diverse life experiences, and that it is not homogeneous, but varies depending on their interactions with others.

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  • Yuta YONEDA
    2024 Volume 15 Pages 105-116
    Published: December 25, 2024
    Released on J-STAGE: January 21, 2025
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    This paper analyzes the extent to which "autonomous learning," identified as one of the key competencies to be fostered in Mozambique’s primary education, is promoted through video observations of mathematics lessons in two public primary schools. In constructing the framework for lesson observations, the theory of "self-regulated learning" was referenced as a concrete process of autonomous learning. The analysis was conducted from the perspectives of external interventions (teacher scaffolding) and internal development (the degree of students' self-regulated learning), based on transcripts of interactions between teachers and students during the lessons. The findings suggest that, in the two observed lessons, teacher scaffolding appeared to have contributed to achieving a part of lesson objectives, particularly in terms of acquiring scientific knowledge (cognitive skills). However, much of teacher’s instruction was directed at the entire class, and it became evident that individual students were not fully utilizing the teacher’s guidance to deepen their self-regulated learning. To build a foundation for autonomous learning, it is crucial for teachers to not only pose questions to the entire class but also engage in scaffolding that activates individual students’ thinking (e.g., by encouraging students to verbalize their thought processes or facilitating such verbalization), thereby helping them internalize the learning content.

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