Transfer and re-contextualization of life skills education: Case studies from Uganda

• In Event: Life skills education for youth: Critical perspectives

Proposal

This presentation examines how life skills education is adapted and re-contextualized by two NGOs in Uganda operating programs with origins outside of the region. The first case tells the story of youth from the United States who transferred and adapted educational theories and practices to Uganda leading to the creation of a contextually specific model for entrepreneurship education. The second case outlines the re-contextualization and evolution of a Colombian education-for-development program by a Ugandan NGO. Each organization approached the adaptation process under unique circumstances, yet neither operates in a vacuum. The introduction of life skills to Uganda—a post-colonial, low-income nation—is inevitably complicated by the legacy of colonial education and the hegemonic influence of international educational policy agendas in an era of globalization. The result is an exploration of the complex web that connects globalization and post-colonialism to the transfer and re-contextualization of life skills education.

Author

• Joseph Lample, Kimanya Ngeyo Foundation for Science and Education