This article deals with the fact that most children in Africa are taught in a language neither they nor their teachers master, resulting in poor education outcomes. While there are also donor interests and donor competition involved in retaining ex-colonial languages, as well as an African elite that may profit from this system, one of the main…

This article offers a gender perspective on peace education and the work for peace. To what extent are girls and boys in our society being socialised equally or differently when it comes to learning how to care, empathise with others and engage in or endure violent behaviour? Why are women generally more likely than men to support conscientious…

This article examines some of the problems concerning the language of instruction in higher education within Europe and relates them to the African context. The author argues that there is reason to be worried about the spread of the use of English as a language of instruction in higher education, to the detriment of the smaller European languages…

This article, drawing on a set of studies conducted in the framework of the Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa (LOITASA) research project, shows how well African students express themselves if they are allowed to use a familiar African language, and conversely the difficulties they have when forced to use a foreign language, a…

Addresses the danger of English in higher education in Norway, stating that if the mother tongue is replaced by English in academia, it does not develop at the highest levels. Discusses five phenomena threatening the Norwegian language, including the increasing use of English words and the recruitment of teachers who do not speak Norwegian.…

Discusses two studies that examine the effects of English, and its status as the official language, on Namibian languages. Finds that the numbers of students in African language classes in Namibia have been dropping significantly--in 1995 there were 100 students taking Oshindonga, and in 1999-2000 there was one. (Contains 66 references.) (NB)

Discusses the indigenization of universities in Africa. Briefly looks at pre-colonial and colonial education before describing the situation after independence and, especially, the effects on higher education of a concentration of resources on basic education. Draws upon examples, taken mostly from Tanzania. Contains 36 references. (VWC)

Builds on a consultancy report dealing primarily with the status of the African languages in Namibian schools after Independence in 1990. Contains a description of the Namibian languages, the language policy, and the status of the languages in Namibian schools. (42 citations) (VWC)