Culture in Education and Development

There is increasing recognition of the important role culture plays in the framing and delivery of education and development in the South. Whether this is in the reciprocal and synergistic relationship between theory and practice or the links between research and policy, it is clear that at the heart of successful educational development is a recognition of the importance of culture. This book critically reviews the relationships of culture, education and development both from a theoretical and methodological perspective and also from the perspective of the teacher, researcher and policy maker on the ground. The importance of context is stressed throughout with a series of case studies of educational developments drawn from a range of national settings. Issues such as education and poverty elimination, local and global knowledge transfers, and the role and discourse of development assistance to education are examined from the perspective of culture and context. Of particular value to the education researcher and policy maker, whether working in the North or South, this book provides a timely reminder of the importance of culture in the development of education.

DAVID STEPHENS is Professor of International Education at the University of Brighton, and was until recently Professor of International Education at Oslo University College in Norway. For the past 30 years he has lectured and researched in international education in universities in east and west Africa and in the United Kingdom. His co-authored publications include Doing Educational Research in Developing Countries: qualitative strategies (Falmer Press, 1990), Questions of Quality: primary education and development (Longman, 1990) and Children as Partners for Health (Zed Books, 2000).