Education Research in Contexts of Fragile Peace: A Situational Analysis and Potential Interventions

• In Event: Education Sub Saharan Africa: Promoting the Visibility of Education Research in a Context of Fragile Peace

Proposal

This paper explores what is needed to enhance the field of education research in Africa and highlights urgent interventions required to achieve this goal. Specifically, it reports on the outputs and outcomes of the Enhancing Education Research in Africa (EERA) Project, an initiative supported by a consortium of funders: Echidna Giving, Imaginable Futures, and Jacobs Foundation.

Education research plays a crucial role in improving the quality of education systems. It provides the most effective means of assessing learning challenges, measuring outcomes, and informing education policies and practices from early childhood through to adult learning. Yet, in Africa, it is essential to note that education research continues to face numerous persistent challenges. First, compared to other regions, the field of education research in Africa is relatively immature in terms of contribution to global education knowledge production. Second, African education researchers and research institutions face unique challenges in accessing funding, conducting quality research, attending networking events and conferences. Finally, education research led from Africa is difficult to access, and is under-represented and underused in both academic circles and global education policy debates, despite its importance for shaping effective local education policies on the continent.

These challenges, among others, motivated the EERA project, which explored the essential components required to build a sustainable education research system in Africa. To do this, we adopted the field-building framework and used data collected through key informant interviews and group conversations to propose a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) assessment of the education research field. Additionally, we conducted co-creation workshops and stakeholders’ consultations to work out a series of interventions that require urgent attention.

Our results show that each of the five characteristics of the field-building framework, namely knowledge base, funding, agenda, infrastructure and actors, displays significant strengths, but also weaknesses. For instance, while an increasing volume of education research output is being observed (supported by international donors and private funders), resource constraints, limited coordination, and capacity limit the quality and usefulness of the research outputs. Moreover, the data reveal that a few countries lead the field and show a certain level of research supporting public infrastructure. This is the case in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

Finally, the co-creation workshop revealed the urgent interventions to enhance the field of education research. The most important interventions include developing African-led education research agendas, catalysing African funding for education research and training and professional development for education researchers, strengthening research and leadership capacity through Education Research Chairs and enhancing communications and community engagement in African education research.

Authors

• Laté Ayao Lawson, Education Sub-Saharan Africa

• Woulamé OUDJIM, Education Sub Saharan Africa