Overlooked and Undervalued: A Synthesis of ERNWACA Reviews on the State of Education Research in West and Central Africa Richard Maclure January 1997 Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA) Support for Analysis and Research in Africa (SARA) Health and Human Resources Analysis for Africa (HHRAA) U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Africa, Office of Sustainable Development The SARA Project is operated by the Academy for Educational Development with subcontractors Tulane University, JHPIEGO, Macro International, Morehouse School of Medicine, Population Reference Bureau, and Porter/Novelli. SARA is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (AFR/SD/HHR) under Contract AOT- 0483-C2178-00 (Project number 698-0483). Table of Contents Foreword.................................................................................. vii Acknowledgments.................................................................... ix Acronyms .................................................................................. xi Executive Summary ............................................................... xiii Chapter 1Introduction .......................................................... 1 1. ERNWACA and National Reviews of Educational Research.................... 1 2. Synthesis Methodology................................................................................. 4 3. Typologies of Research ................................................................................ 5 4. General Research Themes ........................................................................... 6 5. Implications for Policy and Research...................................................... 10 6. Summary: The ERNWACA Documents in Perspective ........................... 12 Chapter 2Educational Finance and Administration ................ 15 1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 15 2. Evidence of Government and Donor Agency Expenditures.................. 15 3. Critiques of International Aid.................................................................. 16 4. Community and Household Financing of Education........................... 17 5. Educational Administration at the Community Level: Insights into PTAs ............................................................................................................ 18 6. Prescriptions for Policy and Research ..................................................... 21 7. Research Methodology............................................................................... 23 8. Areas of Future Research.......................................................................... 24 Chapter 3Learning and Attrition in Formal Education Systems: Factors Affecting Content, Quality, and Effectiveness ........... 31 1. Introduction............................................................................................... 31 2. Classroom Learning and Achievement ................................................... 31 3. Factors Affecting Pupil Learning ............................................................. 34 4. Early School Abandonment...................................................................... 36 5. Policy Recommendations.......................................................................... 38 6. Methodological Issues and Avenues for Future Research ...................... 39 iii Chapter 4Teachers and Teaching ...................................... 47 1. Introduction .................................................................................................. 47 2. Classroom Pedagogy........................................................................................ 48 3. Teacher Training ............................................................................................ 50 4. Conditions of Work ........................................................................................ 51 5. Social Status and Attitudes ............................................................................. 52 6. Curriculum and Supervision ........................................................................... 53 7. Materials and Reading Habits ........................................................................ 53 8. Caveats and Areas of Further Research ............................................................. 54 Chapter 5Education and Socio-Economic Integration: Issues of Employment, Community Schooling, and Social Disparity.. 65 1. Introduction .................................................................................................. 65 2. Education and Work: Diagnostic Survey Research ............................................ 65 3. Education and the Informal Economic Sector ................................................... 68 4. Policy Efforts to Integrate Schools and Communities ......................................... 70 5. Educational Disparities and Children at Risk .................................................. 72 6. Research Recommendations ............................................................................. 74 7. Gaps and Limitations in the Research .............................................................. 75 Chapter 6Nonformal and Traditional Education: Burgeoning Fields of Inquiry ................................................................... 85 1. Nonformal Education..................................................................................... 85 2. The Limitations and Shortcomings of NFE ...................................................... 87 3. Historical Research and Traditional Education................................................. 88 4. Conclusion..................................................................................................... 90 Chapter 7Educational Reform ............................................... 99 1. Educational Reform and Research: An Overview ............................................. 99 2. School Reform: Obstacles and Shortcomings .................................................. 101 3. Research Recommendations ........................................................................... 105 4. Flaws and Caveats in Existing Research ......................................................... 106 5. Directions for Future Research ....................................................................... 108 Chapter 8Educational Research in West and Central Africa: A Fertile and Underexploited Field.......................................... 117 1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 117 iv 2. Types of Study .......................................................................................... 118 3. Research Content: Themes and Findings............................................ 119 4. Recommendations ................................................................................... 124 5. Methodology and Theory ........................................................................ 127 6. Directions for Educational Research..................................................... 128 Chapter 9Capacity Building and the Conditions of Regional Networking: Lessons for ERNWACA................................. 133 1. Introduction............................................................................................. 133 2. First Years and Primary Objectives of Educational Research Networking in Africa............................................................................... 133 3. Constraints and Deficiencies ................................................................. 135 4. Conditions for Successful Networking ................................................... 139 5. Computer Networking in Africa: Advantages and Cautionary Notes 142 Appendices ............................................................................ 145 Appendix ATypes of Research Reports by Country ................................ 145 Appendix BProportion of Sub-Themes per General Theme .................. 151 Appendix CTypes of Research Reports by General Theme .................... 157 Bibliography .......................................................................... 163 v vi Foreword The eleven-country Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa was founded in 1989 in response to widespread concerns about the deepening crisis of African education and the need to improve national research capacity. By 1993, the Networks Phase I had achieved positive results. The main accomplishment was the completion by each member country of a state-of-the-art report on all relevant educational research undertaken to date within that country. Compiling these reports later enabled the Network to define three major research themes that are presently being studied by ERNWACA researchers in four transnational research projects. These three themes are the effect of community participation on educational access and retention; the role of community participation in connecting education to society; the contribution of nonformal education to basic education for all. Altogether the state-of-the-art reviews uncovered 1,056 studies, most of which were unpublished and thus, almost completely unknown. In Bamako, in October 1993, the Networks Phase II was launched, and a decision made to proceed to prepare and publish a synthesis of the state-of-the art reviews so as to render information from these studies accessible to