This article has its basis in the author's own growing annoyance at so-called "sandwich" programmes, where young academics from developing countries study and learn theories at universities in the Global North, then go to their own countries for fieldwork -- only to return to the host country to fit their data into the theories of the…

This article discusses the concept "ubuntu", an African worldview rooted in the communal character of African life. Some of the same thinking can, however, be found in various Eurasian and Latin-American philosophies. The concept "ubuntu" is also used in language planning: here, the question of language of instruction is…

Africans speak African languages in their everyday lives while lessons in school are delivered in an exogenous language. In many places adult education is also carried out in a language the majority of people do not speak. The exogenous languages, which are the languages of the former colonial powers and mastered just by a small African elite, are…

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)