Case studies of curriculum innovations in Western Africa

CASE STUDIES

OF CURRICiUILUlM mEVOVATIOMS

UhWED NATIONS

ECONOMIC COIUMISSION FOR AFRICA

Country Paper No. 7

PUBLIC ADMZNIS12L4 170N, HUWUMAN RESOURCES AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DNISION

Ad hoc Experts Group Meeting on Assessment of Cofidence Building Factors in School

^Omicula

(18-21 October 1993, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

CASE STUDIES

OF CURRICULUM INNOVATIONS IN WESTERN AFRICAu

" A paper prepared by Mr. Pai Obanya, Director, UNESCO Regional Office for

Education in Africa

/ ^{Care Studies} of C~miruiwn Innovations in

Western

Africa _I

Whatever t h e way o n e l o o k s a t t h e c o n c e p t "Curriculum" ( e i t h e r a s a a c k a g e of what i s t o b e t a u g h t and l e a r n e d o r a s a p r o c e s s of t r a n s l a t i n g E a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n a l o b j e c t i v e s i n t o ' w i t h i n - s c h o o l d o - a h l e s ' ) one f i n d s t h a t t h e c o n c e p t embraces a l l othtar f i e l d s o f e n q u i r y i n t h e d i s c i p l i n e of e d u c a t i o n . The i o u n d a t i o n d i s o i p l i n e s of 13ducation ( p s y c h o l o g y , s o c i o l o g y , . h i s t o r y , ' p h i l o s o p h y ) have' a rolme t o . p l a y i n c u r r i c u l u m work, s i n c e c u r r i c u l u m h a s t o r e s p o n d t o s p e ' o i f i c s o c i e t a l . and p s y c h o l o g i c a l n e e d s , i . e . t h e famous 'naturE? o f .the s o c i e t y and t h e n a t u r e of t h e l e a r n e r ' o f ~ e d a a o a i c l i t e r a t u r e . S i n c e c u r r i c u i u m h a s ko b e p l a n n e d , d e v e l o p e d i n p l e m e n t e k , and.evaluate8, rh-.

management d * s c i p l i n e s of E d u c a t i o n ( p l a n n i n g , a & n i n i a t r a t : o r . . c o s t / f i n a n z i n a . s t a t i s t i c s , etc.'.) a l s o f o r m p a r t of ccirriiiulum rrork. The 'sane c a n b e

s a i h

of t h 8 e pui:ely p e d a g o g i c a l d i s c i p l i n e s 'of ^. educ:ation

t i .

e. t e a c h e r s and t e a c h i n g ; t o o l s ^' and methods, ^{e t C .} j

,

s i n c e < ? v e r y c u r r i c u l u m s h o u l d s e e k t o e n s u r e t h a t t e a c h i n g - l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s e s do 1.ead t o d e s i r e d l e a r n f n g outcomes.

Moreover, s i n c e e v e r y c u r r i c u l u m s h o u l d b e a.n e m a n a t i o n of n a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n p o l i c i e s , c u r r i c u l u m rrork s h o u l d a l s o b e s e e n as i n c l u d i n g rrork r e l a t e d t o e d u c a t i o n a l . p o l i c y f o r m u l a t i o n a n d p o l i f _{. .} y a n a l y s i s . . . . .

. . . . .

s e e n f r o m t h e s e p e r s p e c t i v e s , d r a w i n g a c l e a r l i n e of c l i s t i n c t i o n

:

b e t w e e n o t h e x a r e a s o f - e d u c a t i o n a l s t u d i e e a n d c u r r i c u l u m work: p u r e - a n d s i m p l e i s n o t e a s y . . T h e g r e y a r e a s between c u r r i c u l u m and o t h e r d i s c i p l i n e s o:E

e d u c a t i o n w i l l becone more a p p a r e n t i n t h e d i n c u s s i o n s t h a t , f o l l o w , e s p e c i a l l y , . . . .

' w h e r e . h a v e d i s c u s ' s e d s p e c i f i c ccises of. c u r r i c u l u m ' i n n o v a t i o n s . ^{' ' '}

. . . .

he t e r m !'innovation" i t l s e l f c a n . b e s e e n f r o m d i f f e r e n t a n g l e s . 11:

c o u l h mean c i r i g i n a l i t y , i n . t h e - s e n s e t h a t t h e i d e a b e i n g i n t r o d u c e d i s t o t a l l y '

new. ~t c o u l d a l s o mean creative a d a p t a t i o n . . I n m o s t c a s e s , i n n o v a t i o n i n v o l v e s more o f t h e ' l a t t e r , i . e . .the ' c r e a t i v e u s e o f i d e a , s and t h a t , . - h a e e b e e n borrowed. from Some o t h s . r s c ~ u r c s ! . ~ n r h a p s , . t h e most + g o r t ' , a n t

f e a t u r e of an i n n o v a t i o n ( w h e t h e r i n t h e form o f i d e a s ; a c t i o n , e t c . ) i s i t s

s o c i a l d e s i r a b i l i t y , i - e . a cornbination of i d e a s and a c t i o n "ins" ..lgated o r . .

e n g i n e e r e d on a c c o u n t o f b e i n g deemed t o be! s o c i a l l y d e s i r a b l e and p r o b a b l y ^. . a m e l i o r a t i v e t o w a r d s b e t t e r o r i m p o r t e d p r a c t i c e o r l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n s " . '

T h i s p a p e r ^{w i l l} t h e r e f o r e a t t e m p t t o l o o k a t l a o c i a l l y d e s i r a b l e c r e a t i v e i d e a s and p r a c t i c e s which h a v e been u s e d i n a n a t t e m p t t o s o l v e c u r r i c u l u m r e l a t e d p r o b l e m s i n s e l e c t e d c o u n t r i e s i n W e s t A f r i c a .

C u r r i c u l u m i n n o v a t i o n e f f o r t s c a n be s t u d i e d i n a t l e a s t f o u r main l e v e l s ( a s shown i n T a b l e ^{I ) .} Each l e v e l h a s a t l e a s t two d i m e n s i o n s , a l t h o u g h t h e r e c a n b e a l l manners of i l ~ r r r a o t i o n s among t h e l e v e l s and t h e d i m e n s i o n s .

L- ^{Case Studies of} Currit:uiurn ---- Lnnovations in Western Africa - I

Table I . 11evel.s and D i m e n s i o ~ s o f

~ u r r i c u ~ u m Innovation E f f o j G

Level Dimensions

1. Source E x t e r n a l l y I n t e r n a l l y

i n i t i a t e d i n i t i a t e d

2 . Major a c t o r C e n t r a l Education

educa.tion p r a c t i t i o n e r s a u t h o r it y

3 . Coverage System-wide School-based

( i n d i v i d u a l school o r s p e c i f i c s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s ) 4. S t r a t e g y Generalized Limited ( p i l o t ) a p p l i c a t i o n

I t i ! s a l s o p o s s i b l e t o ca:tegorize c u r r i c u l u n ~ i n n o v a t i o n s ( a t wha%ever

" 1 e v e l " o r "dimension" accordfng t o f ~ c u s ( i . e ; w i t h s p e c i f i c r d f e r e n c e t o t h e a r e a o f emphasis of t h e broad spectrum 02 t h e t e r n 'cuTricmlum' covered by . . s p e c i f i c i n n o v a t i i r e project!s. under . t h i s t y p e of c a t e g o r i a a t i o n , we c a n t a l k ofOrganizational/manageme?t:issl~ea,.div&xsification,.enrichment,teachers and t e a c h i n g , t o o l s f o r t e a c h m g a:nd l e a r n i n g and a d a p t a t i o n t o - t h e need= ^{. '}

-

s e o i f i c groups of l e a r n e r s . The ca.ses of curricu:lum i n n o v a t i o n reviewcxl i n

&sTaper w i l l adopt t h i s c a t e g i o r i s a t i o n , while keeping i n mind t h e

. . c 1 a i ; s i f i c a t i o n s u g g e s t e d i n T a b l e . I .

.

: I n . most ;9ngiophone West ~ f i i c a , on@ of . t h e most immediate rksu1i:s. of post-independence e d u c a t i o n a l reform e f f o r t s was t h e c r e a t i o n o:E ~lqatiional C u r r i c u l ~ Development C e n t r e s . The5e c e n t r e s go by d i f f e r e n t names, i ' i z :

. .

-

^. N i g e r i a : N i g e r i e n ~ d u c a t : i o n i i ~ ^, ~ e s e a r c h : C o u q c i l ( N Z A C ) and later^

Nigerian E d u c a t i o n a l Research mid ~ e l v e l o p m e r l t ' . ~ o u n o i l . ( N l h ~ - ) i . . ' . ^'

. ^~

. ^~

-

Ghana ^: ~ u r r i c u l u n ~ ~ i ~ i s i o n o f . t h e ' ~ h a i a $ d ~ c a i i o n . s e r . v i c i

-

S i e r r a Leone: Curriculum Depar tment

,

I n s t i t u t e of Education, U n i v e r s i t y of S i e r r ~ Leons

-

The Gambia.: N a t i o n a l Curriculum Research and Bcvelopment Centre

-

L i b e r i a : CurricuPum Unit, M i n i s t r y of Education

Whatever t h e i r a p p e l a t i o n s o r o r y a n i s a t i c r n a l p a t t e r n , t h e c e n t z e s brought i n a new dynmisnr t o s y s t e m a t i c cu~:riculum deve1opmen:t. Each of them o r g a n i z e d c o n f e r e n c e t o d e v e l o p n a t i o n a l c u r r i c u l u m g o a l s . They developed c u r r i c u l u m guidelines i n vaxious ~ i c h o o l d i s c i p l i n e s . They a l l worked t k r o u g h p a n e l s , made up of p r a c t i s i n g t e a a h e r e , r e s e a r c h e r s , t e a c h e r educl'tors, sub:ject teachex associa.tiono, and o t h e r knowledgetible/experj.enced perst:>nfl.

case S t u d m

of Curriculum Innovations in

Western

AFrica

Grouped u n d e r t h e a e g i s of t h e A f r i c a n C u r r i c u l u m O r g a n i s a t i o n ( A C O ) , t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s were a b l e t o e s t a b l i s h a mechanism f o r t h e e x c h a n g e o f knowledge and e x p e r i e n c e s , which f l o u r i s h e d from 1976 t o 1985. A l s o u n d e r t h e a e g i s of t h e ACO, s t a f f o f t h e s e i n s t i t u t i o n s r e c e i v e d i n t e n s i v e t r a i n i n g i n v a r i o u s a s p e c t s o f c u r r i c u l u m development, e . g . :

-

t e c h n i q u e s of c u r r i c u l u m development ( T a n z a n i a , 1 9 7 7 )

-

E d u c a t i o n a l m a t e r i a l p r o d u c t i o n (The Gambia, 1 9 7 8 )

-

E n v i r o n m e n t a l E d u c a t i o n i n t h e A f r i c a n S c h o o l C u r r i c u l u m (Zambia, 1 9 7 9 )

-

C u r r i c u l u m f o r S c i e n c e E d u c a t i o n ( L e s o t h o 1 9 8 1 )

-

Book P r o d u c t i o n Techniques ( N i g e r i a 1983 and Malawi 1984)

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e s t a f f o f t h e c e n t r e s b e n e f i t t e d from l o n g - t e r m c o u r s e s on c u r r i c u l u m development ( N a i r o b i ) , e d u c a t i o n a l e v a l u a t i o n ( I b a d a n ) a n d

s c i e n c e e d u c a t i o n ( N j a l a )

.

^{. .}

. . .

I n t e r m s o f a c h i e v e m e n t s , t h e c e n t r e s had d i f f e r e n t d e g r e e s o f s u c c e s s . Thus, t h e NERDC i n N i g e r i a h a s b e e n a b l e t o m o b i l i s e t h e h b a n r e i a u r c e s a v a i l a b l e w i t h i n t h e c o u n t r y t o d e v e l o p c u r r i c u l a f o r pri,mary,."secondary a n d t e a c h e r e d u c a t i o n . NERDC h a s a l s o d e v e l o p e d m a t e r i a l s i n t h e a r e a s o f N i g e r i a n . ^. l a n g u a g e s , s o c i a l s t u d i e s , i n t e g r a t e d s c i e n c e f o r p r i m a r y edUcation',:home

, , ~.

economics, and pedagogcy ( f o r t e a c h e r t r a i n i n g i n s t i t u t i o n s ) ' .

NERDC h a s however n o t b e i n g able t o s a t i s f y t h e t h i r s t f o r e d u c a t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s . The m a j o r r e a s o n i s t h a t it books t o o l o n g a t i m e t o b e p u b l i s h e d ( e v e n when t h e y are c o n t r a c t e d t o r e p u t a b l e p u b l i s h i n g h o u s e s ) . S e c o n d l y , as

was found by a r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t by a s t a f f m e m b e r o f t h e C o u n c i l , d i s t r i b u t i o n . . ^, . ^~ . h a s b e e n . a p r o b l e m a n d s o 'most of i t s p u b l i c a t , i o n s t e n d t o l a n g u i s h i n ^' . :

w a r e h o u s e s a n d do n o t e a s i l y g e t t o t h r t e a c h e r s and l e a r n e r s f o r whom t h e y

a r e i n t e n d e d .

.

^{. . . . . . . . . .}

.

^{. .}

I n t h e o t h e r .anglophone c o u n t r i e s of t h i . s u b - r e g i o n (Ghanp, S i e r r a . L e o n e . ^~ a n d - L i b e r i a ) , a combib.at.ion o f e c o n q m i . ~ and p o l i t i c a l : crises h a s n o t e n a b l e d . ' . : . .

t h e momentum o f t h e e a r l y y e a r s of s y s t e m a t i c c u r r i c u l u m development ( i , e . the, . .

1 9 7 0 ' - s ) t o b e m a i n t a i n e d . Ghana's. economic crisis o f t h e 1 9 8 0 s l e d t o - l a c k . . ^'

o f c o n t i n u i t y i n programmes, even t h o u g h m a t e r i a l s w e r e produced f o r t h e b a s i c p r i m a r y sch.001 s u b j e c t s . S i e r r a Leone and t h e Gambia r e l i e d h e a v i l y - o n e x t e r n a l - a s s i s t a n c e i n t h e e a r l y d a y s and, a s s o o n as e x t e r n a l s o u r c e s d r i e d up, a c t i v i t i e s w i t h i n . t h e : c u r r i c u l u r n c e n t r e s came t p a - s t a n d s t i l l . -Howeyer, t h e t r a i l n i n g g i v e n . t o a l a r g e numher. o f n a t i o n a l s 0.f- t h e s e c o u n t r i e s i n ~.

c u r r i c u l u m development ( e s p e c i a l l y on m a t e r i a l , w r i t i n g ) . h a s had its ' i n d i r e c t . ^{' . . .} b e n e f i t s . he c o u n t r i e s c a n now b o a s t o f a c o r p s of c a p a b l e t e x t b o o k w r i t e r s ;

One area i n which t h e r e h a s been a l m o s t z e r o - l e v e l p r o g r e s s i s t h a t of n o n - t e x t c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s . Those c o u n t r i e s t h a t h a v e made r e l a t i v e l y b e t t e r p r o g r e s s I n t e x t u a l m a t e r i a l s s h o u l d i n f a c t make some e f f o r t s i n t h e a r e a o f n o n - t e x t c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s . T h i s i s e s p e c i a l l y i m p o r t a n f f o r t h e b a s i c e d u c a t i o n c y c l e , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e e a r l y y e a r s , d u r i n g w i c h l e a r n e r s s h o u l d b e p r o v i d e d w i t h c u r r i c u l u m e x p e r i e n c e s o t h e r t h a n r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g .

I n s p i t e o f t h e not-too-rosy a c h i e v e m e n t s o f t h e c u r r i c u l u m d e v e l o p m e n t c e n t r e s d i s c u s s e d s o f a r , it i s i m p o r t a n t t o t a k e d u e a c c o u n t o f t h e i n n o v a t i o n s which t h e i r e s t a b l i s h m e n t b r o u g h t i n t o t h e p r o c e s s o f c u r r i c u l u m development i n t h e sub-region. The most i m p o r t a n t of t h e s e a r e :

,

^i. t h e c r e a t i o n o f f o c a l p o i n t s f o r c u r r i c u l u m d e v e l o p m e n t , whose work is t o b e g u i d e d by o v e r a l l n a t i o n a l development g o a l s ;

Case

Studies of Curriculum Innovations in Western Africa I

i i . t h e g r a d u a l i n c u l c a t i o n of t h e p r a c t i c e of s y s t e m a t i c and h o l l i s t i c approaches t o c u r r i c u l u m development, i n s t e a d o f t h e mere s y l l a b u s r e v i s i o n e x e r c i s e s t h a t p r e v a i l e d i n c o l o n i a l times;

iii. t h e emergence of c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s (mainly t e x t u a l m a t e r i a l s ) based on agreed c u r r i c u l u m g u i d e l i n e s ;

i v .

V .

g r e a t e r involvement of p r a c t i s i n g t e a c h e r s , t e a c h e r e d u c a t o r s and academics i n t h e work of s y s t e m a t i c c u r r i c u l u m development t h e emergence of t e r m i n a l s c h o o l examinations based on school c u r r i c u l a , t o r e p l a c e t h e e r s t h w h i l e p r a c t i c e of having school work based almost e n t i r e l y on examination requirements.

The francophone c o u n t r i e s o f t h e sub-region have n o t made t h e same Level o f f a r - r e a c h i n g a t t e m p t s t o i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s e c u r r i c u l u m development i n a

s y s t e m a t i c manner. Post-independence e d u c a t i o n a l reforms l e d t o t h e s e t t i n g up o f IPNs ( I n s t i t u t s p.4dago.gigues n a t i o n a n ) i n most c o u n t r i e s , t h e mandate o f which included . c u r r i c u l + n develbpment. w i t h i n a g e n e r a i framework o f ' Itimplementation o f e d u c a t i o n a l reforms". I n t h e c a s e o f B e n i n a n d Togo; o t h e r s p e c i a l emphasis was g i v e n and t h i s was r e f l e c t e d i n t h e names of t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s c r e a t e d t o "implement e d u c a t i o n a l r e f o r m s " , v i z :

. .

i. DIFOP ( D i r e c t i o n d e l a Formation ~ r o f e s s i o n n e l l e ) i n Togo ( r e f l e c t i n g a s p e c i a l emphasis on t e a c h e r r e t r a i n i n g j : ;

. . ' - ii. I N F R E . ( . I n s t i t u t n a t i o n a l . de formatioq e t de r e c h e r c h e e n

. Zducation;

,

^. B e n i n . ( r e f l e c t i n g : a . . . . s p e c i a l . .e;nphas.i.s on e d u c a t i o n a l . . . . ,

r e s e a r c h ) .

. ~ . . . . .

.

.

^. . . . . .

. . . .

. Even though r e g i o n a l s e m i n a r s on s y s t e m a t i c c u r r i c u l u m development were o r g a n i z e d . f o r t h e s e c o u n t ~ i e s u n d e r t h e a e g , i s o f : UNESC0i.n 1 9 7 8 ' and 1982i.

( a 1 o n g : t h e 1 i n e s . q f a s e i n i n a r f o r anglophones i n 1975), no follow-up a c t i o n ' . . ^' i n t h e form of . l n . s t i t u t i o n a l i s a t i o n o f c y r r i c u l u m development ^{. , . . .} h a s taken o f f . . . .

i n t h e francophone worxd. :

. .

. The only- p o s s i b l e e x c e p t i o n t o t h i s g e n e r a l p a t t e r n i s C d t & d s 1 v o i r e w h i c h e s t d b l i i h e . d a CenCre.de P r o d u c t i o n d e M a c e r i e l s D i d a c t i q u e s . i n . B o u a k ~ i n t h e 1'980s. Bouake i s now - w e l l known f o r - t h e t r a i n i n g ^{it has} o f f e r e . d i d - o v e r , ^{. . '} t h e . y e a r s o n m a t e r i a l development.. I t h a s i n f a c t grown. i n t o a r e g i o n a l c e n t r e , throwing i f g d o o r s - o p e n t o o t h e r fraricophone c b u n t r i e s

i n

t h e r e g i o n . According t o a 1988 r e p o r t , t h e C e n t r e p r o d u c e d . w i t h i n s i x y e a r s (1982-1988)

"some 60 documents

. . .

a h a l f of which was made up of s c h o o l textbooks and t h e o t h e r h a l f of t e a c h e r s ' g u i d e s and o t h e r s u p p o r t m a t e r i a l s " . The same r e p o r t , f u r t h e r s t a t e s t h a t "with s p e c i f i c r e f e r e n c e t o t h e primary curriculum i n CBte d l I v o i r e , a l l compulsory t i t l e s have been produced, i n a d d i t i o n t o c e r t a i n o t h e r w o r k s needed f o r t e r m i n a l and s e l e c t i o n examinitiona. Secondary e d u c a t i o n has been almost t o t a l l y l e f t out"."

The books produced by t h e C e n t r e have been adjuged t o be of good q u a l i t y ( i n t e r m s of lay-out, p r i n t i n g and d u r a b i l i t y ) . S i n c e t h e books a r e p r i n t e d by a n e s t a b l i s h e d p u b l i s h i n g house (Nouvellee E d i t i o n s A f r i c a i n e s ) , t h e y seem t o be t o o c o s t l y f o r p a r e n t s . The pedagogic q u a l i t y of t h e books a r e y e t t o b e addressed. What is a v a i l a b l e i s o n l y i m p r e s s i o n i s t evidence, v i t

"...

t h e s t a f f o f t h e C e n t r e h a s a11 had v e r y s o l i d t r a i n i n g a s well a s l o n g e x p e r i e n c e i n t h e i r a r e a s of s p e c i a l i s a t i o n " .

I n o t h e r words, t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e s t a f f was s u p p o s e d t o b e a g u a r a n t e e o f t h e h i p h p e d a g o g i c q u a l i t y o f t h e m a t e r i a l s p r o d u c e d .

INNOVATIONS AIMED

AT

CURRICU'LUM EXRICHMP3T

By c u r r i c u l u m e n r i c h m e n t i s meant. any i n t e r v e n t i o n t h a t aims a t e n s u r i n g t h a t t h e l e a r n e r g e t s o u t o f a n e d u c a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e w i t h d e e p e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g and a b r o a d e r view and a p p r e c i a t i o n o f s o c i a l and n a t u r a l phenomena and a n improved c a p a c i t y f o r c o n t i n u o u s self-deve1,opment. T h e r e i s i n f a c t a s e n s e i n which a l l c u r r i c u l u m e f f o r t s c a n b e s a i d t o h a v e t h i s same o v e r a l l o b j e c t i v e . For t h e p u r p o s e s of t h i s d i s c u s s i o n , however, w e a r e i s o l a t i n g t h e f o l l o w h g i n n o v a t i v e c u r r i c u l u m e f f o r t s f o r s p e c i a l m e n t i o n :

i. t h e u s e of n a t i o n a l l a n g u a g e s i n e d u c a t i o n

ii. t h e i n t e g r a t i o n o f c e r t a i n b r o a d e r areas o f human c o n c e r n (population/environmeintal e d u o i i t i o n , l i n k i n g e d u c a t i o n w i t K t h e _{. .} w o r l d of work) int:o.t!he s c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m .

$he Use o f W t i o n a l Idn4UggeS f o r Education:. - The term *.nati.onal.

- .

i a n g u a g e s ' is t a k e n t o mean " t h e 1a:nguages o f a n a t i o n " and t h e u s e of n a t i o n a l l a n g u a g e s i n e d u c a t i o n h a s two nia.jor d i m e n s i o n s : ( a ) t e a c h i n g t h e l a n g u a g e s , a n d ( b ) t e a c h i n g

&

thte l a n g u a g e s .

. . . .

. . w i t h s p e c i f i c . ;reierence! t o w e s t e r n ivfrica., a r e c & l t i<rvey . i h o w s t h a t i n s t r u c t i o n i s i n French, h t t h e p r i m a r y :Level, and 1 0 0 % o f t h e t h e i n t h e . following~countries:.Benin.; B u r k i h a F a s o , N i g e r , S e n e g a l a n d Togo.: T h e o n l y e x c e p t i o n i n Guinea where i n s t r u c t i o n i s 95% i n French. I n t h e a n g l p h o n e . c o u n t r i e s , - t h e . p + c t u r e i s d i f - f e r e n t ( N i g e r i a : 7 0 % ; S i e r r a Leone 45%, L i b e r i a

. . _{2 5 % . The} Gambia 2 5 8 1 , mainly b e c a u s e t h e e a r l y wars o f p r i m a r y e d u e a t i ~ n i n : t h e s e c o u n t r i e s i n v o i v e i n a t r u c t i b n i n thr, v a r i o u s naCi(3nal l a n g u a g e s . '

. . . . .

T h i s r a i t i a . t i o n h a s i.n. s p i t e o f t h e e x i s t e n c e o f i a c i o n a l e d u c a t i o n p u l i c i e s which s p e a k of " g i v i n g d u e r e c o g n i t i o n a n d . p r i d e o f p l a c e

t o n t i t i o r i a l l a n g u a g e s i n e d u c a t i o n " . ^' . .

.

^.

. . . . .

I n s e n e g a l , as, : r e p o r t e d by Yero 5 : y i l a ( 1 9 9 i ] , t h e c c r u n t r y ~ s m u l t i l i n g G a 1 s i t u a t i o n . i s a soui-ce. 'of w e a l k h whic.h o u g h t t o ha.ve been. u s e d t o a d v a n t a g e by e d u c a t i o n a l a u t h o r i t i e s . There w a a n n n a t i o n a l l a n g u a g e p o l i c y ( d e s p i t e a l l t h e t a l k a b o u t promoting A f r i c a n s o c i a l v a l u e a ) u n t i l 1991. T h i s p o l i c y e x p r e s s l y s t a t e d t h a t :

,,~ov'ernment in t e n d s t~ i n t r o d u c e n a t . i o n a 1 l a n g u a g e s i n e d u c a t i o n . . f r o m t h e p r i m a r y s c h o o l t o t h e unive:c;ity. I n e a c h d i s t r i c t , t h e l a n g u a g e o f t h f ? m a j o r i t y ~ o f t h e p o p u . l a t i o n will be t a u g h t s,o a s t o e n a b l e e a c h pupil writ^? in hiis o:r h e r m o t h e r t o n g u e n .

S i x o f t h e c o u n t r y ' s l a n g u a g e s (Wolof, S e r e r , J o o l a , B u l a a r , Mandinga and S o n i n k e ) w e r e s e l e c t e d f o r developnent. and u s e i n E d u c a t i o n . The p o l i c y however remained i d l e unti.1 1 9 8 1 when a n a t i o n a l c o n s u l t a t i o n o n e d u c a t i . o n

( " E t a t s g 8 n 6 r a u x W ) was orqani.eed.. IYnong t h e m a j o r recommendationa o f t h e C o n s u l t a t i o n was t h a t n a t i o n a l l a n g u a g e s s h o u l d b e g i v e n g r e a t e r p r o m i n e n c e i n o f f i c j . a l c i r c l e s , such a s t h e Par1:iament and t h e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .

The c o n s u l t a t i o n a l s o d i s . t i n g u i s h e d between t h e language of t h e i m m e d i a t e e n v i r o n m e n t (1.1) and t h e " l a n g u a g e of u n i f i a t i o n " ( i . e . F r e n c h ) -L2- and s u g g e s t e d t h e u s e of t h e s e a t d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s of e d u c a t i o n a s f o l l o w s :

P r e - s c h o o l : L 1 a s t h e o n l y medium of i n s t r u c t i o n

J u n i o r p r i m a r y : L1 t o b e u s e d a s medium, t o b e t a u g h t f o r t h e mas- ( a g e s 6 - 9 ) t e r y o f t h e s k i l l s o f o r a c y , w r i t i n g and r e a d i n g S e n i o r p r i m a r y : L1 a s medium + i n t r o d u c t i o n of L2 o n l y a s a

( a g e s 9-12) s u b j e c t

A t t h e s e c o n d a r y l e v e l , t h o L2 ( F r e n c h ) was e x p e c t e d t o become t h e l a n g u a g e o f i n s t r u c t i o n and n o t h i n g w a s s a i d of t h e c o n t i n u e d stud:y of t h e L1.

Gbverninent + e a & i . o n t o . t h e p r o p o s a . l g . w a s t o g a l l f o r c a u t i o a and. f o r i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o n a p i l o t b a s i s . $ The c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n i s t h a t j l i l a t i n g h a s c o n t i n u e d i n d e f i n i t e l y . T h e r e h a s been no s y s t e m a t i c e v a l u a t i o n mechanism b u i l t i n t o t h e p i l o t i n g p r o c e s s . . P r e - s c h o o l i n s t i t u t i o n s do t e a c h :in t h e

. . m o t h e r t o n y u e , w h i l e ;at t h e ' grima..xy l e v e l , t h e mother t o n g u e h a s r e m a i n e d mexe1.y a s u b j e c t , b u t n o t a medium o f i n ~ t r u c t i o n . ~

I n t h e case o f ~ o g o , t h e i . n t r o d u c t i o n of n a t i o n a l l a n g u a g e e i n t o e d u c a t i o n was p a r t o f a n o v e r a l l e d u c a t i o n a l r e f c ~ r m p r ~ j e c t , which s o u g h t t o

" d e - a l i e n a t e " t h e e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m from t h e rest of t h e s o c i e t y .

Togo i s s a i d t o have some 40 d i s t i n c t l a n g u a g e s , b u t t h e s e o a n b e

. .

y r o u p e d i n t o t h r e e f a m l i e s - ' . @ + i n S o u t h , i n t h e c e n t r a l r e g i o n , a n d

~ o l i a i n t h e n c r t h ; ^' Accordi.ng tc);.Gnon-simya [1988), . demographic c o r k s i d e r a t i o n s

---

l e d : t o t h e c h o i c e o f E w e and Xabiy'e! i n t h e " e d u c a t i o n a l d i s c L p l i n e s from t h e p r h a r y t o t h e t e ~ t F a r y 1eve.L". % o t h e r p o i n t o f view, howev6?r, i s 'chat p o l i t i c a l . c o n s i d e r a t i o n s wei(3hed h e a v i l y on ' t h e c h o i c e r,f Kabiye - o n t h e ..

N o r t h e + h a l i o f t h e c o u n t r y ; ^{. .}

. . .- . .

. .

. The' i n t r o d u c t i o n o f . b o t h l a n q ~ a g h o i n t o s d h o o l systen can

hiokier

b e s a i d t o :have r e s p e c t e d t ~ h e "ru!!es" of s y o t e m a t i c c u r r i c u l w n dcve&upment;

h a v i n g g o n e t h r o u g h t h e f o l l o w i n g B'feps:

. . ..

.

^, The r e v i e w of t h e e d u c a t i o n a l

system,

o u t ~ . i ; ? i n g new p o l i t i c a l , .

~ . socio-economic; s o c i o - c u l t u r a l a n d pecligogic obj.ectives.. . T h o s e

. . . . o v e r a l l o b j e c t i v e s were a d a p t e d i n v a r i o u s ways t o s u i t the! n e e d s o f 'mother t o n g u e e d u c a t i o n . '

ii. T h e r e w a s a n a t t e m p t t o l e a r n from t h e e x p e r i e n c e s o f Ghana ( w h i c h s h a r e s t h e Ewe Language w i t h Togo), m i s s i o n a r i e s and a d u l t e d u c a t o r s (who h a v e a l w a y s u s e d n a t i o n a l l a n g u a g e i n t h e i r w o r k ) . iii. T h e r e b a s a l s o a n a . t t e m p t a t s e n o i t i . z i n g t : h e p u b l i c t o t h e

i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e mother t o n g u e aFJ. a t o o l of e d u c a t i o n . T h e n a t i o n a l newspaper i n f a c t c a r r i e d a c e n t r e s p r e a d i n

g~

and

Rabiye

e v e r y d a y . However, t h e c!%tent t o which much o f t h e

-

'@ssucces" a c h i e v e d i n t h i s r e g a r d c o i l l d b e a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e o p p r e s s i v e m a c h i r ~ e r y o f a o n e p a r t y S t a t e i s n o t e a s y t o d e t e r m i n e .

i v . T h e r e was a n a t t e m p t t o r e t r a i n t e a c h e r s t o t e a c h i n t h e n a t i o n a l l a n g u a g e s , m o s t l y t h r o u g h i n - s e r v i c e c o u r s e s . I t i s n o t e a s y however t o e s t i m a t e t h o e x t e n t of t h e a u c c e s oE t h e s e programmes as t h e y were o f t e n gLven by p r o f e s s i o n a l l i n g u i s t s who were F r e n c h and who s p o k e none of Togo's n a t i o n a l lanqua13es.

~. Case S h x l k s

of Curriculum ' b o ~ a t i ~ n s in.

^Western

Africa

^{:.: . . ,}

I

V . F i n a l l y , t r i a l m a t e r i a l s were developed by D I F O P ( t h e n a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n a l reform f o c a l p o i n t ) .

AS r e p o r t e d by Gnon-Samya ( 1 9 8 8 ) , i n s t r u c t i o n a t t h e pre-school l e v e l i s e n t i r e l y i n t h e "language of t h e l o c a l i t y " . Nothing i s s a i d however of p r i v a t e s c h o o l s . ^{A t} t h e primary l e v e l , n a t i o n a l languages were i n t r o d u c e d i n 1978 t o about 60 % of t h e s c h o o l s i n t h e two language zones. By 1987,

Ewe

was, b e i n g t a u g h t i n a l l s i x c l a s s e s of primary e d u c a t i o n and

Kabiye

i n t h e f i r s t two y e a r s . A s a r u l e , t h e g e n e r a l i s a t i o n o f t e a c h i n g i n n a t i o n a l languages seems t o be almost f u l l y g e n e r a l i s e d ( x = 6 6 % ) i n government s c h o o l s , followed

I ' by p r o t e s t a n t s c h o o l s ( x = 5 0 % ) and t h e n by c a t h o l i c s c h o o l s ( = 3 5 % ) .

By 1981/82 t h e two languages were i n t r o d u c e d merely a s s u b j e c t s a t t h e secondary l e v e l . I n t h e two p r i m a r y t e a c h e r s c o l l e g e of t h e c o u n t r y , however, t h e s e languages a r e t a u g h t a s s u b j e c t s , while t h e r e h a s even been some a t t e m p t t o t r a i n a s p e c i a l i s e d t e a c h i n g of t h e languages.'

. . , . . . . . . . .

~ h e s e t w o c a s e s a r e i l l u s t r a t i v e of t h e f a t e of i n n o v a t i o n s i i w o i v i n g . ' . ^'

t h e t e a c h i n g o f , and t e a c h i n g i n n a t i o n a l languages i n t h e sub-ragion. A l l

t h r o u g h t h e r e g i o n , t h e r e h a s been c o n s i d e r a b l e s o c i e t a l r e s i s t a n c e t o t h i s . t y p e of i n n ~ v a ~ i o n . _{. .} R e s i s t a n c e stems f r o m s e v e r a l s o u r c e s , such a s :

. . . . .

. .

.. r e f u s a l t o l e a r n t h e new language when it i s c o n s i d e r e d t o have been

imposed c o n t r a r y t o f h e wiehes o f t h e p e o p l e ( T h i s happens a l m o s t i n . . . e v e r y c a s e where n a t i o n a l language p o l i c y i s s u s p e c t e d t o have been

based on p o l i t i c a l , r a t h e r t h a n on demographic and s s c i o - l i n g u i s t i c c o n s i d e r a t i o n s ) ;

. . _{. .}

.

. ^. a b e l i e f ( n o t svppbrted b y r e s e a r c h o r even anect,odal e v i d e n c e ) t h a t l e a r n i n g i n t h e m o t h e r tongue c o u l d i m p a i r l e a r n i n g Ftench b r E n g l i s h , ^' ~. . .

l a t e r i n t h e e d u c a t i o n a l c i r c l e ;

. .

a b e i i e f ( d l s o o f t e n e r r o n e o u s ) t h a t .African langauges are n o t ' ' s u f f i c i e n t l y equiped"

to

d e a l with s c i e n t i f i c and t . e c h n i c a l . c o n c e p t s ;

. . . . . . . ^. . .

.

.

^{. B} genuine l a c k df on-theyground P r e p a r a t i o n f o r t e a c h e r s , t h e gener.il

. . . . pubxic and of a p p r o p r i a t e c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s . ^. .

. . . .

. ^~

. . For a - c o m b i n a t i o n of t h e s e r e a s o n s , e f f o r t * t o i n n o v a t e by t e a c h i n g i n

. .

t h e mother t o n g u e -have -remained p e r p e t u a l l y - a t t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l s t a g e , . ^{. . .}

. . e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e franeophone c o u n t r i e s . d u i n e a , which i n t h e 1 9 7 O q s t o o k ' ^{, -} :more dynamic s t e p s t o conduct b a s i c e d u c a t i o n i n s i x " a r e a languages.", h a s . ^,

been accused o f " g 6 n 6 r a l i s a t i o n h a t i v e " . ( i . e . h a s t y l a r g e - s c a l e ; implementation) and h a s even had t o abandon i t s e a r l i e r i n i t i a t i v e s . There

were of c o u r s e a l s o p o l i t i c a l r e a s o n s f o r t h e e v o l u t i o n of such s i t u a t i o n s . E x t e r n a l p r e s s u r e s have o f t e n been e x e r t e d t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e a d o p t i o n o f t h e

~1 i n e d u c a t i o n d o e s n o t l e a d t o " f a l l

i n

s t a n d a r d s " , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e t e a c h i n g and l e a r n i n g of t h e language of t h e ex-Colonial master.,

P o p u l a t i o n and Family L i f e Education aims a t ."&uproving knowledge and u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e c a u s e s and t h e consequences o f p o p u l a t i o n - r e l a t e d phenomena and of t h e i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n : t h e e e a n d c u l t u r a l , ' s o c i a l and economic i s s u e s and t h e i r i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e environment and t h e q u a l i t y of l i f e " (Barboza, 1 9 9 3 ) .

I n t e n s i v e a c t i v i t i e s f o r t h e a d o p t i o n o f n a t i o n a l p o p u l a t i o n p o l i c i e s and encouraging Member S t a t e s t o t a k e account of p o p u l a t i o n i s s u e s i n t h e i r development programmes and t o i n t r o d u c e p o p u l a t i o n and f a m i l y l i f e e d u c a t i o n i n t h e s c h o o l system, began i n t h e l a t e 1 9 7 0 ' s w i t h t h e h e l p of WFPA, UNESCO,

Case Studies of Curricuium Innovations in Western Africa 1

and other international agencies. As at 1993, 33 Sub-Saharan African countries have developed programmes of population education. 16 of these (Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, C6te d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome, Senegal, sierra Leone and Togo) are in West Africa.

In almost every case, the development of population education is supposed to go along the following systematic process:

socio-cultural Reseach 1.

Development of

. . . .

. .

Development of

. ^~ _, .

. .

Experimentation 4..

. . ~.

Most of the countries i n the' region have gone through phases 1 - 5 . . The ^{: .} problem seems to arise wiien it comes to revision Of curricula andmaterials.

leading up to the phase of generali~ation.~

1

The general approach has been not to introduce population education as a separate subject, but to have it treated as an integral part of other school subjects. Benin Republic (under its project ~E~/89/P03) is a good example of a country that has produced clear curriculum guidelines on the subject. Benin is also a good example of a country that has adopted population at the pre- school, primary and secondary levels.

T a b l e 11.

I l l u s t r a t i v e M a t e r i a l s f o z P o p u l a t i o n E d u c a t i o n Developed b y Western A f r i c a n C o u n t r i e s *

Comics

T e a c h e r s ' G u i d e s and I l l u s t r a t i v e Modules

Textbooks

s o u r c e :.

- -

^..

TITLE

- 7-

^{COIRZ? BY}

--

-T---

-

Exode r u r a l e t c o n s e q u e n c e s s u r N I G E R les zones d e d e p a r t ( 1 9 9 0 )

-

P o p u l a t i o n e t R e s s o u r c e s : NIGER U t i l i s a t i o n d e p r 6 s e r v a t i f s p o u r

homme ( 1 9 9 0 )

-

L e d e s t i n ( t a i l l e d e l a f a m i l l e ) GUINEE:

(1992)

-

Guide m6thodologique p o u r B E N I N

e n s e i q n a n t s BURKIhR ^FASO

GUINEE

I

^TOGO

. . .

. . .

-

D e l a f ~ c o n d a t i o n

a

l a p a r t u r i t i o n

( 1 9 8 6 :.. d i a p o ) _{. . . .}

-

Lea MST (1986 ^s d i a p o )

-

La sexuali.t.6 (1986 : d i a p o )

-

P l a n c h c s a.natoiniques s u r l a s e x u a l i t e (1990)

~ i v r e d e Bicslogie ( f i e c l a s s e f

:

L i v r e d e ' Geogrephie (Be c l a s s e ) S i v r e d ' E t u d e s o a i a l e ( 5 e c l a s s e )

61990)

-

The o f f i c i a l g u i d e l i n e s l i s t t h e f o l l o x i n g a s t h e m a j o r p o p u l a t i o n i s s u e s o f t h e c o u n t r y :

. .

. . .

.

i .

^' r a p i d p o p u i a t i o n growth ^{. .}

2 - . r u r a l d r p o p u l a t i h ^{. .}

3. ^' uneven d i s t r i b u t i o n of p i p u l a t : i o n ^{' - . ~} 4. h i g h drop-out r a t e s of g i r l s from schooling

5. e a r l y m a r r i a g e s '

6 . n e g a t i v e a t t i t u d e s t o t h e development of women

5 . mismatch between f a m i l y e ~ i z e s a n d . a v a i l a b l e

resources

8.. t h e prevalent@ 6f s e x u a l l y - t r a n s m i t t e d d i e e a s e s , i g c l u @ i n g AIDS 9. p r e g n a n o y and i l l e g a l a b o r t i o n among school. g i r l s

10. e n v i r o n m e n t a l d e g r a d a t i o n .

From t h e s e p r i o r i t y a r e a s , t h e u u t h o x i t i e e h a v e d e v e l o p e d f o u r a r a a s o f e m p h a s i s i n p o p u l a t i o n e d u c a t i o n proSpammes:

i. p o p u l a t i o n dynamics and ~iocio-economic development ii. women i n development

iii. human s e x u a l i t y and r e 5 p o n s i b l . e p a r e n t h o o d i v . p o p u l a t i o n and environment.

I Case Studies

.. . . .

-of Curriculum Innovations in Wesfern ~ f r i & " ' - -

^{. . . --.-} .

I

These p r i o r i t y a r e a s have formed t h e b a s i s of s e n s i t i z a t i o n progrmmmes i n s ~ c h o o l s , carr'ied on through t h e i n s t r u m e n t a l i t y of e x i s t i n g s u b j e , c t s a t t h e pre-primary, primary, secondary and t.eacher t r a i n i n g l e v e l s . '

Whether p o p u l a t i o n e d u c a t i o n is seen a s a s e p a r a t e disscj.pline o r a s a ' d i m e n s i o n ' t o b e used t o e n r i c h e x i s t i n g c u r r i c u l a , t h e q u e s t i o n o f c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s ha.s o f t e n heen r a i s e d . To meet such a demand, t h e c o u n t r i e s of t h e West A f r i c a sub-region have developed a variet:y o f m a t e r i a l s , a s i l l u s t r a t e d i n Table 11. The e x t e n t of t h e i n n o v a t i o n s involved c a n b e s e e n i n t h e v a r i e t y o f m a t e r i a l s : comj.cs, t e a c h e r s guides, a u d i o - v i s u a l s , and s t u d e n t s ' t e x t s . I n n o v a t i o n can a l s o be seen i n t h e new dimension given t o school. t e x t b o o k s i n va.rious d i s c i g l i n e s , a s i s t h e c a s e i n Sao Toin6 e P r i n c i p e .

I n s p i t e of t h e huge sums of money s p e n t on developing curriculum i n p o p u l i t i o n e d u c a t i o n , "population i s s u e s " a r e y e t t o p e n e t r a t e t h e sc!hool system . f u l l y . The major reason i s t h a r i n t e g r a t i o n b n d i n t e z - d i s c i p 1 . i n a . r i t y

( s u c h a s methods o f cu:rriculum i n t e g r a t i o n ) a r e u s u a l l y d i ' f f i c u l t f o r t h e - ^'

p r a c t i s i n g t e a c h e r , e s p @ c i a . l l y when t h e t e a c h e r h a s n o t b e e n f u l l y i n v o l v e d from t h e c o n c e p t u a l i s a t i o n s t a q e . A second. reason i s . t h a t "unexaminable"

&ems i n t h e . s c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m a r e u s u a l l y n o t taken s e r i o u s l y . Thirdly,;

t h e i r s o c i e t a l a t t i t u d e t o p o p u i a t i 0 : n education h a s not been q u i t e f a v o u r a b l e . ^{~ .} F o u r t h l y , * n s t a b i l i t y ( i n t h e p o l i t i c a l and economic s e n s e ) h a s o f t s n l e d t o l a c k of c o n t i n u i t y i n p o l i c i e s and programmes and fmquen.t turn-over o f

. .

e d u c a t i ' o n a l personnel.. . .

Ervironmental BBucation: Awareness of major t h r e a t s t o t h e human environment was f i r + t r a i s s d by t h e famous T b i l i s i conference o f 1977. The need t o p r o t e c t t h e e n v i r o d e n t {and t o . i n t e g r a t e t h e "environmental dLnen!sion" . . ' ' i n t o - t h e sctioo& curriculuin h a s since been e x p r e s s e d i n d i f f . e r e n t for*,, t h e . . ' . .

lztest of which was t h e Rio Conference o f 1992.

. . . :

I n West A f r i c a , t h e g r & t s a h e i i a n &ought i f t h e 1970s a n d ' 19003

. . . . brmught i n t o t h e f o r e . . t h e . f r a g i l i t y of t h e cnvironmeat. i n t h e se'gian.

.Conterns f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f t b i s 4 r a g i L e .e,nvironmenf. h a v i l e d t o t h e . , ,

c r e a t i o n of CILSS "ComitB inter-Etat.s d e l u t e c o n t r e l a s & c h e i e n ~ e d a n e le'.

S a h e l " and of TINS0 ( t h e Uklited ~ i a t i o n s SahelianOCZice)

.

^{Bdth CILSS a n d . U'NSO}

have been a c t i v e

i n

b a s i c r e s e a r c h programmes on tile s a h e l i a n environment - a n d . h a v e become, s i n c e t h e mid-1980~1, deeply i n v o l v e d i n t h e promotion o f environmelhtal e d u c a t i o n . ^{. .} .

. . . . . ~.

.

.

An on-going s u b - r e g i o n a l c p s t i n g s o m e $ 7 m i l 2 h n a n d - e x t e n d i n g . . . .

o v e r a 5-year p e r i o d ji989-19.94) i : n . ~ o l v e s c o o p e r a t i o n among n h e c o u n t r i e s : . M a l i , M a u r i t a n i a ; Burkina Fas83, Niger, Tchad, Guinea-Bissau, C:ape Verdei G a n b i a and Senegal. Focussing m c r e p a r t i c u l a r l y on t h e j u n i o r uecc~ndary s c h o o l , t h e p r o j e c t i s conceiv(ed a s c o n t r i b u t i n g t o d e s e r t i . f i c a t i o n c o n t r o l w i t h t h e s p e c i f

lc.

o b j e c t i v e o f :

" r a i s i n g t h e l e v e l o f awareness of the youth of t h e s a h e l i a n zone to t h e d a n g e r of drouglat and. d e s e r t i f i c a t i o n w i t 2 a view t o chanoino t h e i r b e h a v i o u r and r a i s i n g t h e i r a B i l i t y

- -

t o wage a s u s t a i n e d b a t t l e a g a i n s t t h e s e enemies of development'.

TheBe o b j e c t i v e s a r e t o be a t t a i n e d through a foux-stage act.ivi.ty, i n v o l v i n g :

( a ) s e n s i t i z a t i o n and awareness-building;

( b ) t e a c h e r t r a i n i n g ;

( c J development o f curriculum n i a t e r i a l s i n s u f f i c i e n t q u a n t i t i e s and of t h e s i g h t q u a l i t y ;

.~

I

^{' : .}

~3&studles

^{.,. . . .}

o f ~ u r r i c $ ~ , h & t i ~ i v in Western Afiica 1

( d ) i n t r o d u c t i o n of environmental e d u c a t i o n i n t o t h e s c h o o l ctirriculum on an experimental b a s i s ;

( e ) g e n e r a l i z a t i o n ( ' a f t e r a p p r o p r i a t e e v a l u a t i o n ) of environmental e d u c a t i o n i n t h e school system.

The p r o j e c t i s expected t o be w e l l a r t i c u l a t e d w i t h an on-going one on environmental e d u c a t i o n a t t h e primary l e v e l . 1 o

The p = o j e c t i s c u r r e n t l y (1993-1994) i n i t s " c o n s o l i d a t i o n p h a s e " . ( t h e two e a r l i e r ' p h a s e s w e r e expected t o be "Preparatoi-y A c t i v i t i e s : 1989", a n d :

"Experimentation: 1990-1992"). Up-to-date e v a l u a t i o n r e p o r t s on t h e p r o g r e s s ' of t h e p r o j e c t a r e not easy t o come by. CILSS however s t a r t e d a r e g u l a r ' . n e w s l e t t e r on t h e s u b j e c t and t h e f i r s t i s s u e d a t e d December 1 9 9 1 , gave a summary of developments i n t h e S t a t e s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e p r o j e c t , ' a s

follows:" ..%

1. Burkina Faso

-

e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n i n 2 p r o v i n c e s

-

t e a c h e r r e t r a i n i n g

-

m a t e r i a l development i n p r o g r e s s

. 2 . c&pg v e r d e . ^, . -. t r i a l around t h e . c a p i t a l . ( P r a i a ) . . . . .

-

environmental e d u c a t i o n now part. of r e & l a r t e a c h e r ^{. ' ~ ~} t r a i n i n g programmes

.

-

m a t e r i a l s : e a r l i e r . u s e d on a t r i a l b a s i s c u r r e n t l y

. . ' - ( 1 9 9 1 ) b e i n g r e v i s e d

. . . .

3. Gambia

-

g e n e r a l i s a t i o n a b o u t t o s t a r t , a s more s c h o o l s a r e

. . . ' b e i n g s e l e c t e d t o j o i n i n t h e p r o j e c t . : ..

. ^~

'

-

e v a l u a t i o n of t h e f i r s t phase a l s o ' t a k i n g o f f 4. Guinea-Bissau

-

c h o i c e of 4 0 new s c h o o l s f o r e x t e n s i o n o f t h e

experimental phase b e i n g s e l e c t e d ^{. '}

. . . . , .

-

a d a p t a t i o n . of e x i s t i n g . m a t e r i a l s i n p r o g r e s s : . .

, .

. . . . . . . .

. . _{. . 5.} M a l i

- -

e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n on t e a c h e r , r e t r a i n i r i g i a l s o going on, with, emphasis on

in four-districts-if

t h e & b u n t r y ^{. " .}

' f o r m a t i v e e v a i u a t i o n ,

. .

- '16

' ' t e c h n i c a l a n a meihodological guides" a b o u t t o

:.. . . . . . .

:

- be t r i e d o u t , i n s c h o o l s . ; . . .

. .

. . . . _{. .}

- 6 . ~ ~ ~ ~ i ^{. .-} & ie x p e r i m e n t a t i o n o n i n f o u r d i f f e r e n t zones a

-

u s e of a v a r i e t y of communication t e c h n i q u e s t o

. ^~

s g n s i t i z e t h e p u b l i c

. . .

-

but-of-school a c t i v i t i e s a n . i s s u e s i e l e k e d t o t h e

. .

. . . . & v i r . o m e n t . . . . . . . .

. . . .

. - t e a c h e r r e t r a i n i n g ^' ' .

. ~ . . . . . _{. .} . ^~ . .

7. Niger

. ^-

³ experimental zones

-

⁴ i n - s e r v i c e s e s s i o n s f o r t e a c h e r s i n 1991

-

d r a f t m a t e r i a l s on e r o s i o n and v e g e t a t i o n l o s s

-

"Sahel v e r t " ( g r e e n S a h e l ) : a new t e x t b o o k on t h e environment widely d i s t r i b u t e d

8. Senegal

-

one experimental a r e a f o r t h e f i r s t wo y e a t s o f t h e p r o j e c t

-

n a t i o n a l seminar on m a t e r i a l development proposed 9. Tchad

-

³ experimental zones, i n v o l v i n g 24 t e a c h e r s

-

p r o d u c t i o n of materials on p r a c t i c a l a c t i v i t i e s , r e a d i n g and h i s t o r y i n t e g r a t i n g environmental i s s u e s

11

Case

Studies of Curriculum Innovations in Western Africa 1

All that can be said from the above summary is that the project is going according to plan in most of the participating countries. What is not known is the extent to which what is reported matches the real achievements and going-on in the school system.

To summarize the di~cussion on innovations aimed at curriculum enrichment, the situation seems to be one in which the subject of the innovation (e.g. national languages, population, the environment) is itself socially desirable. The same can be said of the objectives, which are innovations in that they seek to integrate new dimensions (new areas of human concern) into the curriculum. In the countries used for illustration in this paper, the whole idea of systematic development of educational content, methods and materials is equally innovative.

The innovations have built in several other desirable characteristics, like the "Etats gln6raux" to decide on key educational issues, like teacher involvenent, and like the practice of piloting. In a number of cases, the problemhas been that. of going beyond the pilot phase.. In . some . other cases, awareness-taising has not been quite successful.

. '

I~NOVATIONS AIMED AT DIVERSIFICATION OF CONTENT

. .

. .

Diversification is another appro&h to curriculum enrichmeit. T n the examples discussed in the foregoing section, the emphasis was on integrating new,areas of societal concern to the curriculum. In this section, the

. emphasis will be on broadening the experience of learners through exposure to a .wider ^' variety of disciplines. . Both approaches deal with more

' - comprehensivenes~ in the c u r t i c u l ~ ; but when the: one. seeksto add "new . .

dimensions' to ex:isting disciplines,. the other seeks to expose the learner to ',.

. .

- a wider variety o f a1ready:existing disciplines.

. . .

~. . .

: '

^{'~icje~ia is:}

^{a gbbd}

example .of ..innovative. attempts at. c u r r i c u l ~ diversification.. This is. shown i n its new secondary educatian progr?mmef. . ' .

. . . w h i c h has t w o components : the-junior. secondary ("both academic and pre- ' .

vocational") and the senior secondary("comprehensive~

...

^!'a tore curriculum designed to- broaden pupils' knowledge, and outlook").

, .

. .

I , '

. . .

-

^In pri?ciple, f ~ o m the 1982-83 academic year, Nigeria's' junior secondary

. .

' curriculum content. was to 5e as foll~ws:~' . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . .

. core subject6 re-vocational:~~jects . .

Mathematics Introductory technology

English Local crafts

2 Nigerian languages Home economics Integrated science Business studies Social studies

Creative Arts

Practical agriculture

on-vocational

Electives Religious Instruction

Physical and health education Arabic 2 Pre-vocational subjects French

In practice, the picture has been different,

for

a number of reasons.

The take-off date of 1982-1983 was not observed in most parts of the Nigerian Federation. Since "flexibility" is a characteristic of the system, this was not a serious problem.

I t i s n o t c l e a r however i f .the v a r i a t i o n s i n l e v e l of implementation t h a t have s i n c e been observed have a n y t h i n g t o do w i t h t h e need f o r f l e x i b i l i t y . P r a c t i c a l a g r i c u l t u r e and c r e a t i v e a r t s ( b o t h not q u i t e i n n o v a t i v e a d d i t i o n s ) a r e s t i l l . t o become c o r e s u b j e c t s i n a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n of N i g e r i a n s c h o o l s . The t e a c h i n g of two Nigerian languages has a l s o been a problem. I t h a s not been e a s y t o r e c r u i t q u a l i f i e d t e a . c h e r s of t h e t h r e e major N i g e r i a n languages, e s p e c i a l . l y i n s i t u a t i o n s i n which t h e s e have been t a u g h t a s second languages.

i n t r o d u c t o r y technology h a s perhaps been t h e most problematic a r e a of i n n o v a t i o n i n t h e N i g e r i a n j u n i o r secondary school c u r r i c u l u m . There was t h e c o n c e p t i o n of t e c h n o l o g y i t s e l f , . which equated it ( i n p r a c t i c e , a t l e a s t ) w i t h t h e t r a d i t i o n a l woodwork and metal v ~ r k of c o n v e n t i o n a l t e c h n i c a l - v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n o f o l d , i n s t e a d crl: l i n k i n g Pt more c l o s e l y w i t h t r a d i t i o n a l t e c h n o l o g i e s . Equipment was o r d e r a d from E a s t e r n Europe and dumped i n s c h o o l s where it was l e f t a t t h e mercy of t h e elements. There w e r e no workshops and no t e a c h e r s i n t h e s c h o o l s . Worse s t i l l , a v a i l a b l e t r a i n e d vocati0na.l t e a c h e . r s w e r e n o t employed i n t h e school system, a s t h e economic problems of t h e . 1980s ;and 1990s b a d l y a f f e c t e d t h e f i n a n c i n g of e d u c a t i o n . . , . . . .

A 3.992 s u r v e y o f t h e s u b j e c t r e v e a l e d t h a t 90% of 231,000 j u n i o r secondary s c h o o l s t u d e n t s sampledl were r e g i f l t e r e d f o r i n t r o d u c t o r y technology, 6 2 % o f . . t h e 6 5 6 t e a c h e r s a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e s u b j e c t i n . t h e s c h o o l s were c o n s i d e r e d q u a l i f i e d - t o t e a c h it, .possessing t h e r e q u i s i t e t e c h n i c a l and p r o f e s s i o n a l p a l i f i c a t i o n a . Only 20% of t h e s c h o o l s were " f u l l y eqciiped" f o r t b e s u b j e c t , . w h i l e i n . o n l y 32% o f .cas.es wa5 t h e equipment " f u l l y i n s t a l l e d " .

F a i l u r e t o i n s t a l equipment w a n dun t o a v a r i e t y of r e a s o n s : .'no funds' [ 2 0 % ) ,

* n o workshop' ( 3 0 % ) . ' n o e l e c t r i c power' (39%), 'no s e c u r i t y providcd"118%) and ' o t h e r r e a s o n s ' ( 4 4 % ) . The equipment @ c o n s i s t e d of a v a r i e t y of h i g h l y p r i z e d ite:ms which w e r e a t t r a c t i v e t o t h i e v e s and 2 6 % of t h e s c h o o l s had been u r g l e d a t t h e t h e of t h e , survey.. Some ^47% a f a v a i l e l e equipment were ' n o t u s e d ' ( i n t e a c h i n g and l e a r n i n g ) w h i l e 42%.'was. e s t i m a t e d . t o .be ' p a r t l y us~ed', T h e s t u d y i n f a c t concluded . t h a t :

. . . .

"a s"i&ati.on i n which a li t t i e 1 1 3 s ~ ;than 5 0 % of t h e equipmknt aye

.~

n o t u s e d f o r t e a c h i n g i n a d i s ~ j p l i p ~ e t h a t is p y e - v o c a t i o n a 2 i n n a t u r e and whose c u r r i c u l u m .is s k i l l - b a s & is most i n a p p r o p r i a t e . ^{. .}

and unbecoming fbr whatever ^~. rea!;onsl' ^{; . ~ . .}

. . . . .

There were no t e a c h e r s i n 25% of

the

c a s e s o f imn-use of a v a i l a b l e m a t e r i a l s , no e 1 e c t r : i c p o w e r (44%) a n d n o s p a r e p a r t s ( 2 6 5 ) . I t can e a s i l y b e see'n, t h e r e f o r e , w h y t h e r e is

-"over

50% e m p h a s i s o n t h e o r y assessment...

less. t h a n a d e q u a t e f o r . a : p r a c t i c e - b a s e d . pt-e-vocationtil cdis:ipLine." . '

. . ^, . . . .

.

. . . . . A t t h e skniof secondary l e v e l , t h e .N.igerian secondary school l:.urrie~lum

"envi.sages. t h e i n c l u s i o n of t e c h n i c a l , commeqcial an'd o t h e r vocational. c o u r s e s i n o r d e r t o make s c h o o l l e a v e r s immediately employable", w i t h t h e f o l l o w i n g a s t h @ recommended s u b j e c t s :

Couunercial Typing Shorthand

~ c c o u n t s / ~ o o k - k e e p i n g Commerce

C a t e r i n g Tai Loring Dressmaking

I n s t i t u t i o n a l housing Laundry and dry-cleaning

H a i r d r e s s i n g and beauty c a r e Shoe-making and r e p a i r

F i s h i n g

Technology A g r i c u l t u r e Woodwork Metalwork

T e c h n i c a l drawing