Envisioning Societal Relevance of African Higher Education

• In Event: Transnational Perspectives on Higher Education: Examining Institutional Mission, Equity, Strategy, and Societal Relevance

Proposal

Introduction

Within the contexts of globalization, internationalization, technological transformations, and emerging societal needs and challenges, higher education institutions (HEIs) aspire and are expected to redefine their core functions of education, research and engagement. Proxy indicators of their societal relevance include their significant contributions to human development, innovation, economic growth and development, democratization, human rights, inclusion, social cohesion, the environment, and sustainability. Such frameworks explaining emerging HE functions as the entrepreneurial university model (Clark, 1998), Mode 2 knowledge production (Gibbons et al., 1994), Mode 3 (Barnnet, 2004; Carayannis & Campbell, 2006), and academic capitalism and the new economy (Slaughter & Rhoades, 2009) could serve as macro analytic lenses to interpret HE societal relevance (Author et al., 2023). These frameworks attest to the multiscalar, multifaceted and dynamic nature of emerging HE relevance.

However, scholarship on emerging HE societal relevance is far from being conclusive, especially so in the Global South, partly because of “the sparse literature on a range of development outcomes, with limited attention to some of the key themes of inclusion and sustainability” (Unterhalter & Howell, 2021, p. 9). Assessing its nature within the contexts of digital societies becomes a particular challenge to researchers and practitioners alike. Further problematization, operationalization and theorization that considers local knowledge systems and global dynamics could unravel the philosophical, theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic features of HE relevance in Africa. This study aspires to develop an African meta-theoretical framework of knowledge based on a mapping of theoretical strands from various indigenous knowledge systems, each contributing insights into the complex tapestry of African societies.

StudyTriggers and Drivers

Studying emerging HE societal relevance in Africa is significant and timely for a number of reasons. Firstly, African HE is mainly a colonial creation (Assie-Lumumba, 2006) and the primary mission of universities has been to generate and transmit ideology in service of colonial interests (Balsvik, 2005; Kom, 2005). The master-slave faculty-student relationships and dictating pedagogies (Dei et al., 2019; Kom, 2005; Nhemachena & Mawere, 2022) are rampant. Meaningful study of HE societal relevance needs to deconstruct these discursive productions.

Secondly, to meet the global 2030 SDGs and its 2063 centennial ambitions, the African Union (AU) currently works on intersecting development and education agendas and strategies. The AU considers HE as a bedrock sector to support Agenda 2063. Moreover, the AU embraces the spirits of Pan Africanism and African Renaissance to counter the legacies of colonialism. Strategic plan analysis also reveals how African universities are repositioning themselves to become more relevant to their spheres of influence (Author et al., 2021). This study stands at the heels of these development strategies and ambitions.

Thirdly, the post-Covid intensification of technology integration in African HE institutions (Bekele, 2021; Teferra, 2021) demonstrates the significance of this study. Specifically, strategic planning in African HE institutions identifies technology integration as one of the strategic pillars for improving quality and competitiveness (Author et al., 2021). Moreover, the success of African international university-society partnerships is partly affected by the further integration of technology (Author et al., 2021b). The AU and its member governments also consider technology integration as one of the strategic pillars for meeting the 2030 SDGs and the AU 2063 Agenda. Problematizing HE societal relevance within digitized learning and teaching spaces is thus warranted.

Finally, African knowledge systems have been excluded from university education and international publishing for decades (Amponsah & Babarinde, 2022; Author et al., 2023b). This study contributes to epistemic justice, for it draws on African knowledge systems to study the phenomenon. Consequently, we conjecture that the embodiment in curricula and pedagogy of African philosophical, theoretical, conceptual and methodological thinking (Haybano et al., 2021; Connell, 2007, 2017; Gutema, 2013; Verharen, 2013) is a critical component of HE relevance in the digital era.

Study Contributions and Questions

This study aims to develop an African meta-theoretical framework of knowledge based on a mapping of theoretical strands from various African knowledge systems. The study maps out multiple African epistemologies such as but not limited to Azande (Central Africa), Yoruba (Nigeria), Dogon (Mali), Dinka (Southern Sudan), Akan (Ghana), Zara Yacob and Andemta (Ethiopia), Bantu and Ubuntu (Southern Africa), and ancient Egyptian philosophies. The anticipated framework could meaningfully contribute to the landscaping of African epistemological terrains having direct implications for HE societal relevance. The overarching question that guides the study is, How could African epistemologies contribute to extant philosophical and theoretical explanations of the societal relevance of higher education? These specific questions guide the mapping of African epistemologies:
How do African epistemologies define knowledge?
How is knowledge produced and managed within African epistemologies?
How could these knowledge positions be mapped as a discursive field of diverse perspectives and relations to create a meta-theoretical framework of knowledge?
How could a meta-theoretical framework of knowledge inform reconceptualizations of African higher education relevance within the contexts of digital societies?

This original and novel work could have multifaceted contributions. Firstly, the anticipated framework could reveal the underlying theoretical and methodological features of African epistemologies, which could trigger their embodiment in curricula and pedagogy. African HE lacks critical scholarly engagements and hence could benefit from the integration of African theories of knowledge that demand and support truly engaging teaching and learning (Author et al., 2023a/b). Secondly, the framework could identify implications for making socially relevant and significant HE policies and strategic plans. Finally, the mapping methodology could also be adapted by researchers in their quest to develop, falsify and or validate theoretical frameworks relevant to their disciplines.

Methodology

The development of our mapping methodology will draw on mapping methodologies known in comparative and international education and the philosophy of the social sciences. Especially relevant are Gillespie et al.’s (2024) mapping of epistemological positions, Svejvig’s (2021) mapping of theories, Burrel and Morgan’s (1979) mapping of sociological paradigms, and Paulston’s (2009/1994) mapping of comparative education theories and paradigms. Deconstruction of epistemologies into structures and components (Svejvig, 2021), creation of categories (Rosch, 1978) and conceptual (re-)engineering (Eder et al., 2020) are the major strategies available for our conceptual mapping of African epistemologies.

Author

• Teklu Abate Bekele, The American University In Cairo