Science Research And Education In Africa

For various economic and political reasons, many African countries lag behind the rest of the industrialised world in scientific and medical research and development. However, the presence of intellectual islands scattered across the continent gives hope that this is only a transient situation on the cusp of undergoing a profound and beneficial change. For this reason, the Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa was established to catalyse and contribute to this needed evolution. Its mission is to contribute to Africa’s economic advancement and sustainability through science research, education and innovation. This book provides a selection of papers from the Advancement of Science in Africa’s third annual conference. The conference was held under the overarching theme of ‘science research and education in Africa’, with several important sub-themes, including but not limited to: improving health research and disease surveillance education; epidemic diseases with high mortality; promoting women’s interest in science careers; fostering youth development with science education. The collection illustrates how although the chapter contributors come from various countries and universities, representing their own academic research, they all share a common interest in advancing science research and education in Africa.

Each volume in the 7-volume series The World of Science Education reviews research in a key region of the world. These regions include North America, South and Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe and Israel, North Africa and the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The focus of this Handbook is on research in science education in mostly former British colonies in Sub-Saharan Africa and the scholarship that most closely support this program. The reviews of the research situate what has been accomplished within a given field in Sub-Saharan Africa rather than an international context. The purpose therefore is to articulate and exhibit regional networks and trends that produced specific forms of science education. The thrust lies in identifying the roots of research programs and sketching trajectories – focusing the changing façade of problems and solutions within regional contexts. The approach allows readers to review what has been done and accomplished, what is missing and what might be done next.

This handbook provides information to help the policymaker or educator understand the research process in order to study problems and opportunities associated with the education of girls in Africa. In Africa, girls account for only 57% of the school-age population. They are more likely to drop out of school and to score lower on the examinations that determine their enrollment at postprimary levels. Research into the education of girls has the potential to improve their opportunities, and to raise the educational level of society in African countries. The purpose of research is outlined, and steps in planning a research project are defined. The discussion of the planning phase includes a discussion of sampling and sample size selection. Part III of this manual reviews the basic tools of the social science researcher. Literature reviews, techniques such as surveys and interviews, and qualitative research are described. A final section considers working with research findings and using the results. Appendixes present a sample research outline, an example data grid, and a list of some research instruments commonly used in the study of education of girls. Suggested readings are listed with each chapter. (Contains 36 figures, 50 tables, 33 illustrative boxes, and 104 references.) (SLD)

Much attention in late-developing countries is given to providing access to studies which allow school leavers to enter science and technology-related careers. This book reviews research related to the crucial dimension of epistemological access to the disciplines of import, which students need as much as institutional access in order to improve their chances of success. A significant feature of this collection's research studies is that their empirical bases are highly localised, covering areas such as research methods, access, curriculum, instruction and assessment, and the relevance of science and mathematics education in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia, Malawi, Ghana and Lesotho. It is the outcome of a doctoral research capacity-development project, the Graduate Studies in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education (GRASSMATE).

The low demonstrable effect of education research done in South Africa in particular – and Africa in general – continues to be a problem in scientific records in the educational sciences. This scholarly collected work addresses this obstacle and focuses on recommendations from scholars in different sectorial categories in the field of education. Scholars from a variety of sub-fields within the educational sciences reflect on this particular matter, revisiting the history of research and research outcomes and offering informed recommendations based on in-depth investigation and analysis of aspects of the various discourses within the relevant sub-fields. The scope of the content of this collected work centres on the issue of the lack of scientific records concerning the scientific raising of the impact of education research. The book aims at making a specific contribution to the educational sciences by stimulating scholarly discussion around how to increase the recording of the significance of educational research done in Africa, and in South Africa in particular, and to redirect the research agenda into the direction of making more impact. Impact is conceptualised to mean both scholarly impact (that is being cited and being used as foundation for theory building and for further research) and practical impact (that is improvement of practice, teaching and learning in education institutions at all levels).

School Science Practical Work in Africa presents the scope of research and practice of science practical work in African schools. It brings together prominent science educators and researchers from Africa to share their experience and findings on pedagogical innovations and research-informed practices on school science practical work. The book highlights trends and patterns in the enactment and role of practical work across African countries. Practical work is regarded as intrinsic to science teaching and learning and the form of practical work that is strongly advocated is inquiry-based learning, which signals a definite paradigm shift from the traditional teacher-dominated to a learner-centered approach. The book provides empirical research on approaches to practical work, contextual factors in the enactment of practical work, and professional development in teaching practical work. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of science education and educational policy.

This book analyzes Africa's current performance in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) research, as well as future trends. It looks at Africa's research performance over a decade, what it means for the continent's development and how it can benefit the growing number of young people who leave university each year looking for jobs. The book focuses on research output and citation impact, important indicators of the strength of a region's research enterprise. These indicators are correlated with the region's long-term development and important drivers of economic success. Moreover, research is a key ingredient for quality higher education. The research performance of these regions is compared to that of South Africa, Malaysia, and Vietnam; the latter two countries had a comparable research base to the SSA regions at the beginning of the period of analysis.