Dr. Hanaan Balala

A Commitment to Transformation through Education: Teaching Social Sciences in 21st Century Africa

In an ideal world African nations would enjoy equal socio-economic wealth and political stability as their European counterparts. We would have egalitarian leaders and our societies would reflect such egalitarianism. Our education systems would nurture the entire being of the student and inspire them to be intelligent, creative and conscientious human beings who contribute to the welfare of their societies in recognition that the welfare of the whole is inextricably linked to their own. In light of this, what follows are my thoughts on how students should learn the social science disciplines.

Theory Grounded in Reality.
Effective learning must be such that it is grounded in reality today and what we envision our future to be. This is absolutely essential if we are to live up to delivering a just in time education to our students. The failed model of education teaches theory that is out of mode, out dated and ill suited for our reality today, let alone our future. The just in case theory we are heaped with is seldom put into practice because it is a theory based on the past whilst we are galloping into the future. Among the most important skills I learnt at the University of Oxford were those of critical thinking and analysis and the most valuable experiences I gained arose from the regular interaction with brilliant faculty and fellow colleagues who invariably shaped my thinking and left an indelible mark on my being. It was not the information, even though there was an extensive amount of it, that made much difference to my learning experience, and it was commonly understood by most of us at Oxford that we existed in a bubble and one day we would have to “return to reality”. It is thus that I urge a learning experience that grounds theory in reality.
In teaching politics we must not only teach our students the theory of democracy but also question its relevance to the African context whilst contemplating its application to best suit our unique circumstances. Consider the examples of Dr. Mahathir Mohammed of Malaysia, Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore or Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum of Dubai. In teaching criminology we must acknowledge that the crises in our societies are often breeding grounds for youth delinquencies and crimes. To punish the criminal on a strict judgement of breaking the law whilst ignoring the socio-economic and political contexts often leads to a miscarriage of justice. Crime in African (and other) societies are partly fuelled by the anger and frustration resulting from failed leadership, poor governance, and broken social contracts. Yet, criminals are often most harshly punished in these broken societies. In the 21st Century, the educational curriculum must address the reality of life on the ground in African states across the continent, and inspire students to create effective solutions that address the issues we face.

Furthermore, the curriculum must include exposure to practice or practitioners. When I was tutoring law at Oxford, I routinely took my students to the courts on st. Aldate’s to witness a case hearing. On one occasion we visited the police station right across from the courts where the officer on duty obliged my students by answering their questions about law enforcement. Likewise, when I taught entrepreneurship, I would invite local entrepreneurs as guest speakers or, occasionally, I would take my students to the Entrepreneurship Centre at the Said Business School for an event open to the public. Many of them found these experiences invaluable. In teaching politics or governance, I would invite leaders our youth can look up to as role models to speak and engage with them. In teaching criminology I would invite experienced professors from jurisdictions most successful in dealing with crime in society, rehabilitative practices and reform of prison populations. Oxford University uses such exposure effectively in educating its students.

Solution Oriented Teaching
Learning must focus not so much on the problem but on the solution. Focusing on the problem magnifies the problem and is a part of what is debilitating Africa. In our teaching we must discuss the current issues facing our societies (I like to avoid the label “problems”) and understand that these issues are simply bouncing off positions that lead us to solutions. The problem and the solution are never separate, but simply different faces of the same coin. In understanding the problem, one can also discover or create effective solutions and the solution we require today may differ from that required by the next generation. Therefore, in teaching a solution oriented curriculum, we are equipping our youth with the ability to effectively analyse the issues we face and create appropriate solutions as required by their respective contexts and time frame. For instance, In teaching sociology or criminology, I would structure the topics to revolve around key issues and then focus the class on finding solutions that serve both our present contexts and envisioned future. A student centred learning approach would entail discussing the issues in class and the students, individually or in groups, being tasked with finding or creating effective solutions.

Value Based
A good education must be value based. I imagine a learning experience of leadership based on integrity, that of governance based on egalitarianism and civic virtues, entrepreneurship on social responsibility and criminology based on human dignity. I imagine students encouraged to identify themselves as human beings first, before any gender, race, religion, nationality or other identity.

Shared Learning Experiences
Effective learning experiences are often shared, not just between peers within the learning environment but also between the educator and the student. To me, an effective learning experience must involve a genuine connection between the educator and the student for it is this connection that forms the foundation for authentic and effective learning experiences. In my experience, the receptivity of what is taught, examined or discussed within this paradigm of connection is far greater than that within a disaffected atmosphere where the educator is simply dispensing wisdom or interacting with the students from a removed position. This is, perhaps, why such connections are often positively transformative both to the students and educators. It has been my experience that a genuine learning experience involves the educator learning along with the students. In any class I teach, I spend the first few sessions connecting with the students, learning as much about them as they are willing to share and creating a safe space in our class for open discussion and genuine exchange of perspectives and ideas. As my students realise I have their best learning interest at heart, their self-expression and curiosity gets ignited and they are more willing to participate and take charge of their learning experiences.

Contextualisation
A fundamental aspect of crafting a unique learning experience for the social sciences disciplines must involve appropriate contextualisation of the subject matters at hand to Africa in all its diversity and variety. Such contextualisation is three fold; firstly at the Africa level, secondly at the national level and thirdly at the individual level. For, whilst common threads exist throughout Africa and Africa as a whole has its context, each nation state also has its unique context that requires acknowledgement and consideration in effectively addressing the issues covered in the subject matter within each discipline. For instance, the politics and economics of Botswana is necessarily different from that of Kenya and the teaching of politics and economics within the context of Africa as a whole will also have to acknowledge and consider the differences and nuances in the contexts of Botswana and Kenya, respectively.
Yet even within Kenya, a middle-class city context will differ from that of a person living and aspiring to work in a rural community doing equally valuable work as the individual in the city. Though such contextualisation may sound like a tall order to accomplish, this is where solution oriented learning and project based assessments come in to address the issues faced variously, be they at the Africa level, national level or at the individual/community level.

In closing, it deserves mention that I would teach my designated disciplines to evoke questions rather than to provide definite or correct answers. In fact, I would focus on a learning experience that teaches students how to ask intelligent questions, because very often the quality of the questions determines the quality and efficacy of the answers. I would also teach the entire curriculum such that it is fun and engaging so as to pique the interest of the student in as creative a manner as I can. There is no definite method to achieve this, but it will fall on the creative capacities of the educator/s to apply this with finesse.

I conceptualise this learning approach as delivering a REAL Education to our students where REAL also stands for RELEVANT, EFFECTIVE, APPLICABLE and LIVING.

Hanaan Balala

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