The effect of pre-colonial ethnic institutions and European influences on contemporary education in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Date

Authors

Walters, Leone
Chisadza, Carolyn
Clance, M.W. (Matthew)

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Routledge

Abstract

Present-day education outcomes in Africa cannot independently be attributed to pre-colonial ethnic institutions, exposure to historical missionary activity or colonial rule. It is instead the complementarity or contention between these European influences and pre-colonial ethnic institutions such as political centralisation that result in education outcomes we observe today. Using geolocated DHS literacy outcomes for thirteen sub-Saharan African countries, our findings suggest pre-colonial political centralisation and European influences have heterogeneous effects on contemporary literacy, depending on the interaction between these institutions. This paper contributes to debates on colonial and pre-colonial ethnic influences on African development, moving beyond country-level analysis.

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Keywords

Africa, Colonial rule, Missionaries, Ethnic institutions, Literacy, Education, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), SDG-04: Quality education

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG-04:Quality Education

Citation

Leoné Walters, Carolyn Chisadza & Matthew Clance (2023) The Effect of Pre-Colonial Ethnic Institutions and European Influences on Contemporary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, The Journal of Development Studies, 59:10, 1469-1490, DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2023.2222211.