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Fra05


Françafrique and Britishafrica: a (relevant) comparison in education knowledge transfers around independences (1950s-1970s) 
Convenors:
Jean-Luc Martineau (INALCO (CESSMA))
Ellen Vea Rosnes (VID Specialized University)
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Format:
Panel
Stream:
'Françafrique'
Location:
Room 1139
Sessions:
Wednesday 8 June, -
Time zone: Europe/Berlin

Short Abstract:

The field of education in former French colonies at independence is a relevant entry to analyse the influence networks that made Françafrique. However, it seems to us just as important to compare the French and British spheres of influences. A comparative perspective highlights both specificities.

Long Abstract:

School structures condition children or adolescents and induce the behavior of communities, social groups or specific professional environments to which they belong. In colonial contexts, the school system was dominated by the transfers of know-how, experiences and policies from colonial metropolises. In a post-independence context, bilateral and multilateral structures such as UN organizations continued this transfer of know-how from the Global North to the Global South. The great number of educational scientists in colonial administrations who became technical advisers to UNESCO or UNICEF is one indication to this. The field of education is a key entry for the analysis of the networks that made Françafrique.

It seems just as important to compare different spheres of influences. British Africa was also a laboratory of transfers in educational matters with political and economic consequences. African elites (politicians, doctors, academics, craftsmen and students) retained in general a privileged link with former colonizers. They were trained in institutions designed by advisers influenced by old metropolitan systems, and perpetuated with cooperation agreements (curriculum, diplomas, methods, language of instruction, bibliographical references, materials and machines…).

Through a comparison, we call into question the idea that educational knowledge transfers and its consequences in Françafrique and British Africa were as straightforward as some research has indicated. Were school systems in French-speaking Africa closer to those of the old metropolis and more likely to lead to the drifts of French-Africanism? Were school systems of English-speaking Africa more detached from the British model and more suited to post-independence nationalist demands?

Accepted papers:

Session 1 Wednesday 8 June, 2022, -