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This paper discusses the contributions to this special issue in the context of the African Renaissance and the subsequent need to re-define educational development from a multilingual, multicultural and pan-African perspective. Each contribution offers a different angle to the discussion: a critique of Arabization in Morocco, with questions about whether a new medium of instruction policy will prioritize people's own languages or French; an analysis of urban attitudes in Angola toward a new education policy providing for six mother tongues to be used in lower primary; a description of the challenges for stakeholders in the Seychelles to recognize that Seselwa, a creole, can be an acceptable medium of instruction; and an assessment of the opportunities and limitations in South Africa of classroom trans-languaging between African languages and English. A stronger voice needs to emerge on behalf of African languages and ways of knowing.

The PanAfrican Research Agenda on the Pedagogical Integration of information and communication technology (ICT; PanAf) research project was initiated in 2006 to support initiatives in African countries to integrate ICT into teaching and learning through the frequent collection and analysis of data on ICT usage. The article examines the congruence between the intended and implemented ICT curricula in six African countries (Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa) that participated in the study. Data obtained from the PanAf observatory (at www.observatoiretic.org) on these countries' use of ICT in education revealed that the national curricula documents (intended curricula) and teachers' classroom practices (implemented curricula) both emphasize ICT as the subject of learning rather than as a means of learning.

Medical education in Africa is in desperate need of reforms, evident in widespread diseases, and an inability to mobilise and train the required medical workforce to deal with these health issues. However, the exponential rise in the use of mobile technologies due to the spread of the Internet and increased telecommunication networks offer an opportunity for the transformation of medical education and practice through the deployment of mobile devices as a medium for learning and conveying health care services to the remote and resource-constrained locations of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This paper reviewed articles on the affordances of m-learning for distributed medical education in SSA published between 2010-2018. Results from 18 articles identified in the review revealed a slow-paced ascendancy of practice and research in the field; it further exposed competing priorities, infrastructural deficit, and chronic workforce shortages as the bane of m-learning implementation in the subregion. This paper makes recommendations that will enhance the growth of mobile-based distance medical education and practice in SSA.

Open Research has the potential to advance the scientific process by improving the transparency, rigour, scope and reach of research, but choosing to experiment with Open Research carries with it a set of ideological, legal, technical and operational considerations. Researchers, especially those in resource-constrained situations, may not be aware of the complex interrelations between these different domains of open practice, the additional resources required, or how Open Research can support traditional research practices. Using the Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D) project as an example, this paper attempts to demonstrate the interrelation between ideological, legal, technical and operational openness; the resources that conducting Open Research requires; and the benefits of an iterative, strategic approach to one's own Open Research practice. In this paper we discuss the value of a critical approach towards Open Research to ensure better coherence between "open" ideology (embodied in strategic intention) and "open" practice (the everyday operationalisation of open principles). [This paper was presented at the "Open Education Consortium Global Conference," Krakow, Poland, April 12-14, 2016.]

In this paper, an attempt was made to locate the role of internationalisation in African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is argued that comprehensive international, intercultural, and global dimensions in the affairs of African tertiary institutions provide for a more nuanced and diversified higher education landscape. Through a desk study approach, dwelling mainly on existing literature, the paper examines the issues of internationalisation from the perspectives of diversity and inclusion, as well as the roles of the relevant key players within those institutions to practically deliver internationalisation strategies that will put the institution on a global pedestal while remaining locally and regionally relevant. More importantly, strategies for achieving comprehensive internationalisation are discussed drawing inferences from literature and documentary sources. The interrogation of these sources in relation to the expectations of the current and future HEIs to remain socially relevant and sustainable is carried out. HEIs in Africa must contribute to socio-economic change and engage with their quad-helix and eco-system partners to ensure that high end skills training, knowledge production, entrepreneurship and innovation are accelerated. In so doing, African HEIs must embrace diversity in its fullness including welcoming differences in gender, race, culture, nationality and providing platforms of engagement that allow for inclusion, and breaking silos to allow for a nuanced agenda of internationalisation.

Purpose: This paper aims to understand the development track of skills mismatch research and discover the hidden internal connections between literature. Design/methodology/approach: The authors gathered data through scientometric quantitative analysis using CiteSpace. Specifically, this article applied basic analysis, journal cocitation analysis (JCA), author cocitation analysis (ACA) and document cocitation analysis (DCA), cluster analysis, citation burstness detection, scientific research cooperation analysis and coconcurrence analysis of keywords of 3,125 documents from Web of Science core collections for the period 2000-2020. Findings: Through the document cocitation analysis and the keywords' co-occurrence, this article identifies influential scholars, documents, research institutions, journals and research hotspots in research on the skills mismatch phenomenon. The results showed that the publications had ballooned, and the phenomenon has become an interdisciplinary research subject. The USA and Finland remain the main contributors, which is attributed to their high-yield institutions such as the University of Helsinki, the University of Witwatersrand, the University of Washington and so on. While the African continent lacks research on skills mismatch even with the continent's effort to overcome such a crucial issue. The paper presents an in-depth analysis of skills and educational mismatch issues to better understand the evolutionary trajectory of the collective knowledge over the past 20 years and highlight the areas of active pursuit. Research limitations/implications: The authors only used Web of Science core collection to collect data; however, they can added Scopus indexed database as well to extend the research trends and explore more new research hot topics to solve the skills mismatch phenomenon. Originality/value: The scientometric analysis is of great significance for identifying the potential relationship between the literature and investigating the knowledge evolution of skills mismatch research. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Labor Organization and the World Health Organization are the giants who are mostly concerned of the mismatch skills phenomenon. Researchers can refer to this study to understand the status quo, gaps and research trends to deal with the skills mismatch issue.

The world (Africa in particular) is in a progressive state of environmental crisis, caused by global warming, loss of biodiversity, human overpopulation, pollution, massive deforestation and desertification, urbanization and many other environmental problems and risk factors. For several commentators and theorists, part of the solution resides in the provision of pertinent and adequate education, including environmental education. The present paper briefly examines the history of environmental education, internationally and in South Africa, and some of its most prominent current trends and issues, before critiquing its general orientation. Arguing against what appears to lie at the heart of environmental education and literacy, namely anthropocentrism (ideas like "education for sustainable development"), the paper urges a radical rethinking of its central concerns and modus operandi, in terms of facilitating learning for the natural environment. In other words, in order to live up to its promise of contributing towards life beyond the twenty-first century, such learning must include the realization that nature matters in and for itself. "The architecture of moral status (adapted from Horsthemke, 1993)" is appended. (Contains 4 footnotes.)

Web-based technology has proven itself indispensable in education, especially in distance education and in developing countries. Technological advances and the COVID-19 pandemic have forced higher education institutions to be innovative in delivering education in their countries. This article seeks to demonstrate the role and value of e-portfolios as an alternative teaching and learning tool in distance education and the online environment, especially in developing countries. A systematic review of peer-reviewed academic studies of e-portfolios between 2010 and 2020 was conducted. A total of 18 papers were selected according to the inclusion criteria. The review shows that the use of e-portfolios is still a relatively new trend in developing countries. The study also revealed that e-portfolios can infuse important skills such as self-directed learning, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. These results have the potential to help institutions to creatively design appropriate support tools and strategies alongside the implementation of e-portfolios in their contexts.

Inclusive education is a key strategy in addressing the needs of children with autism and other developmental disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa, who rarely access specialist care or quality education. We aimed to systematically review qualitative research on stakeholder experiences, attitudes and perspectives on inclusive education for pupils with developmental disabilities in mainstream schools in sub-Saharan Africa. We searched five databases and selected relevant studies through a two-stage screening process. We synthesised the papers identified through template analysis of the Results and Discussion sections, guided by the" Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research." Thirty-two publications met the inclusion criteria. The studies were conducted in seven countries and explored the experiences of pupils with developmental disabilities, parents, peers without developmental disabilities and teachers. Multiple barriers (e.g. unclear policies, insufficient training and support for teachers) and opportunities (e.g. teachers' commitment to inclusion, collaboration between teachers, the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs)) for implementing inclusive education for pupils with developmental disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa were identified, occurring across national and community contexts and school, classroom and individual teacher levels. To effectively implement inclusive education for pupils with developmental disabilities, teachers need access to appropriate training, resources and support. Governments can capitalise on motivated teachers and the relevant work of NGOs.

This paper compares the mixed-methods evaluation findings of the ukuFUNda Virtual School (UVS) with evaluations of three different mobile learning (m-learning) programmes in Africa: the information and communication technologies for rural education (ICT4RED); the Kenya Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) study and the Nokia Mobile Mathematics (MoMath) evaluation. The comparison applies a conceptual model based on m-learning affordances and configurations (Strigel & Pouezevara, 2012), as well as on uptake, use, and responses by program beneficiaries; and on stakeholder learning. The findings show varied successes across all four programs and highlight important lessons for stakeholders with particular reference to scaling up of m-learning interventions in an African context.

The term "globalization" does more than represent a set of material (and ideological) processes that have impacts on education and schooling. Additionally, "globalization" operates as a conceptual lens or set of interventions, which is significantly impacting academic discourses in Education and in other disciplines. Not only has "Globalization and Education" (G&E) emerged as a new, trans-disciplinary field of Educational Studies, insights from this field and globalization studies more directly have impacted many other fields of Education. This paper summarizes major impacts of globalization on education and maps out a "first-wave" G&E discourse by analyzing a small set of key texts published around the turn of the century. The paper distills key uses of globalization from this "first-wave" G&E and more recent correctives to clarify the potential applications for--and implications of the "lens" of--globalization for educational scholarship. (Contains 9 footnotes.)

Cross-border higher education (CBHE) has taken centre stage in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). There has been increased trade in higher education services among member states of the SADC. This has necessitated regional regulatory cooperation in quality assurance and accreditation. SADC has established the Southern African Quality Assurance Network as a regional network of external quality assurance agencies. This paper presents a framework that can be used to enhance regulatory cooperation within the Network on quality assurance in higher education with special focus on CBHE. The paper identifies the main areas of focus as people mobility, institutional and programme mobility, accreditation and registration and recognition of academic credentials. Proposed mechanisms for regulatory cooperation include regional credit accumulation and transfer system, regional qualifications framework, framework for accreditation and registration of foreign providers and framework for recognition of academic credentials.

This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of scientific research on renewable energy in Africa, a rapidly growing field driven by the need for sustainable and accessible energy solutions. It highlights Africa's role as a hub for renewable energy innovation, with local researchers collaborating with global institutions to address the continent's unique energy challenges. This synergy is enhancing energy access in African communities and contributing to the global advancement of renewable technologies. The study meticulously examines 3,109 scientific publications from the Scopus database, spanning from 1979 to 2022. It analyzes the evolution, geographical distribution, and impact of these publications, with a focus on international collaborations and scientific output. Findings indicate that South Africa leads in productivity with 962 publications and hosts the top affiliating institutions in this domain. The study also reveals an exponential increase in renewable energy research, particularly from South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom, emphasizing the need for more collaborative efforts and knowledge exchange globally. This analysis provides critical insights into the current landscape of renewable energy research and pinpoints areas ripe for further exploration and development in this vital sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the impact of COVID-19 on office space in Johannesburg. This study further explores the role of changing work practices in the office sector in South Africa because of the pandemic and its impact on future office space use planning and management. Design/methodology/approach: To understand the footprints that the COVID-19 pandemic has left on the office space market in Johannesburg, this study uses semi-structured interviews, which were administered to corporate office users, and a thematic analysis was adopted to understand the views, perspectives and expectations of office users. Findings: The study showed that space users perceive COVID-19-induced remote working as having benefits, opportunities and challenges. A notable shift in office space utilization has emerged, with employees increasingly opting for roles that permit remote work. This newfound flexibility, accommodating both on-site and remote work, often makes working from home more appealing than traditional office environments that may no longer align with users' preferences for office spaces. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to Johannesburg, South Africa, and may not apply to other African markets. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted, and analysis and results were deduced; this may be considered a limitation of this study. Practical implications: The pandemic's impact has brought about irreversible changes, compelling policymakers and business leaders to strategize and prepare. This proactive stance aims to prevent avoidable challenges for employees and companies during future pandemics. A thoughtful approach to the post-pandemic world can usher positive changes in the office and property sector. This includes the coexistence of both remote work and on-site working models. Originality/value: This paper provides valuable insight into some of the outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa that are essential for future office space use planning and management. The insights from this study extend the literature and provide novel knowledge based on an office sector in the "global south." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper profiles research on housing policy in Africa and evaluates its scale and quality. Using databases developed from Scopus, we reviewed papers on housing policy research from 1989 to 2018, in Africa and in South Africa in particular. We found a steady increase in the number of papers. The disciplines that have contributed most are geography, health-related disciplines, planning, development studies and economics, in that order, and there has been a shift towards disciplines with a more applied focus. Most researchers had not been involved in housing policy research for very long, apart from some in South Africa. We did not find strong research links between the rest of Africa and South Africa. A large proportion of researchers in the rest of Africa were affiliated to institutions outside Africa, unlike South Africa, which had more local affiliation. We argue that, despite room for improvement, it is understandable that the research mainly reflects the housing reality on the ground rather than analysing it theoretically, given the need to draw African governments' notice to the continent's severe housing problems and the need to develop implementable African housing policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss a perennial question in the field of music teacher education: is school music education better served with generalist or specialist teachers? To answer this question, we discuss the educational policy reforms implemented in two African countries, Uganda and South Africa, and in Spain as well. We also discuss how teacher education is implemented in these countries--in the case of Spain, in the lights of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)--in what refers music teacher education and its professional development. From this policy analysis at curriculum and teacher education levels, we raise implications for teacher preparation and subsequent professional development of music generalist and specialist teachers. In our conclusion, we deduce that students may be well served with either generalist or specialist music teachers as long as they are prepared to move content forward, to meet contemporary global student needs.

This paper describes a decolonial perspective on material agency in the context of STEM education and application. Using the framework of generative STEM, we engaged in case studies with African, African American, South American, and Native American educational communities. This research shows that understanding material agency based on Indigenous knowledge systems can open a rich source of research and education content. Using a suite of simulations, Culturally Situated Design Tools, we apply this body of research to the classroom. One important theoretical conclusion is the contrast to a "content agnostic" position. A generative framework instead offers a robust blend of user agency and instructional guidance. The outcomes indicate statistically significant and notable improvement for STEM skills and interests. We conclude with a contrast to the quantum epistemology approach to posthumanism. We show that the Indigenous material agency framework in generative STEM is a better fit to decolonial aspirations, and that it offers a more transformative vision for the potential role of STEM in transitioning from an extractive to a generative economy.

Access to education is a significant determinant in future success, not only for a country but equally for individuals. Higher Education (HE) thus is an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals and vital in supporting African development. Despite this, there is often a lack of access to HE in many parts of Africa, distance education can subsequently play an important role in increasing access to education by providing materials online. Even though institutions such as the University of South Africa, a provider of Open Distance Learning (ODL), can open access to HE for many marginalised and peripheral communities, we cannot separate access to ODL education from the debate of access to ICTs. Students in urban areas have a significantly different educational experience to students with poor ICT access in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. This paper explores the nature of access to ICT and how this affects students' ability to access HE.

Many scholars in the field of migration and xenophobia have consistently examined various levels and expressions of xenophobic behavior within the South African context. They have contributed significantly to conceptualizing migration as inherently conflict-prone, often citing incidents categorized as xenophobia, Afrophobia, and color-blind xenophobia in both scholarly and public discussions. While ample scholarly evidence exists regarding factors that promote social cohesion between South Africans and African immigrants, as well as their implications for African continental integration, there is a notable dearth of scholarly attention on how Philoxenia, the concept of extending friendship or hospitality to strangers, can contribute to the project of African continental integration. Utilizing qualitative research methods and document analysis as a data collection technique, this paper reveals those certain aspects of the South African migration legislative framework exhibit Philoxenic characteristics. Moreover, the paper provides evidence of multiple economic sectors and communities in the country that demonstrate Philoxenia. The paper concludes that Philoxenia can serve as a catalyst towards achieving a united state of Africa, while "xenophobia", "Afrophobia", "Threats" to social cohesion", "colour-blind xenophobia" and "sibling fights or sibling bullying" are impediments to this long-term objective of the African Union. The paper recommends that, South Africa as one of Africa's dominant African immigrants' host state must come up with legislation that criminalizes the latter actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that xenophobia in South Africa is a result of intersecting historical, economic, and socio-political factors specific to the South African nationalist project embarked upon after independence. It will show how a confluence of the aforementioned factors in the country have, for the most part, contributed to an environment which is fertile for xenophobia and its expression through physical violence, especially towards other black Africans. This argument is significant because xenophobia is usually viewed from a resource scarcity perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, Africa has joined the rest of the world as an active participant in the Open Educational Resource (OER) movement with a number of home-grown and externally driven initiatives. These have the potential to make an immense contribution to teaching and learning in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, certain barriers prevent full participation. This paper reports on qualitative research that sought to investigate SSA's readiness to adopt OERs. This study involves three case studies based in higher education institutions involved in OER projects and located in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. Contrary to the popular belief, findings indicate that low technological levels in Africa do not necessarily impede the adoption of such educational technologies; the real challenges facing the readiness to adopt OERs appear to be related to socio-economic, cultural, institutional and national issues. This paper argues for a complete mind shift in how people perceive OERs. It also proposes raising awareness of OERs at all levels, involving institutions and government, versioning OERs for the African context and conducting more research on OER adoption. (Contains 2 tables and 6 notes.)

This paper is based on research done on intercultural communication at Greenmarket Square in the heart of Cape Town, South Africa. The Square is well known as a market for informal traders (mainly from other parts of Africa), local people and tourists from all over the world. Using originally collected discursive evidence from market traders, the particular focus of this paper is to show how two groups of traders in the market--South Africans and Africans from other countries, respectively--discursively construct each other. By taking a critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach to transcribed interviews conducted with traders from both groups, we were able to extract discursive constructions of "the Other", which revealed considerable intergroup stereotypes, intra-continental racism and xenophobia. The paper considers the causes of these discursive constructions, such as dominant ideologies, the dominant political discourses emanating from the South African state itself as argued by Neocosmos in 2008, and the spaces (real and imagined) in which these different actors find themselves.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world most affected by HIV & AIDS, accounting for two-thirds of the global burden of the pandemic. People with disabilities are regarded as a high-risk group for HIV but have been largely neglected in programmes of education, treatment and support. This paper examines the possibilities for a learning dialogue between the HIV & AIDS and disability movements in an African context. It draws on a three-country research study into HIV & AIDS and disability in Uganda, Zambia and South Africa. The research made use of multi-case study approach based on a range of data, including interviews, focus groups, site observations and documentary analysis. The paper presents a model for articulating learning across these social movements by describing best learning practices and examining struggle milestones in the HIV & AIDS and disability movements, as well as cross-cutting priorities that apply to both the AIDS and disability movements. Drawing on theories of social movement learning and intersectionality, it argues for the importance of crosscutting dialogue on a range of themes and in various formats between the two social movements. (Contains 1 figure.)

Purpose: This paper aims to present part of the work of an ongoing research project that is looking at socio- cultural and technological developments from a mobile technology convergence view; in order to show how culturally aware convergence developments in mobile technology can be adopted and employed for the betterment of society. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a scenario for a mobile technology enabled learning environment in support of the conventional learning approach with a focus on enabling parental involvement and contribution to the daily learning objectives of their children and hence enhancing a quality learning experience. It further critically discusses issues of interface design--at both the device and application levels--that will have an impact on the quality of e-learning, with a focus on mobile technology. Findings: The paper shows how interface design can positively enhance the quality defining characteristics of learning in an e-learning environment. Ways of achieving these characteristics of learning through effective e-learning are reported. This is done by addressing requirements for quality-learning through effective interface-design considerations, towards meeting the overall quality requirements of learning that should be intrinsic to a holistic e-learning environment. The value of human computer interaction and the critical factors of promoting productive interaction are addressed. Research limitations/implications: There are several factors affecting quality of e-learning as a tool and approach to flexible and independent learning. The advent and use of mobile technology has been investigated in this work from a socio-cultural and technological perspectives in two continents. The limitations lie in the depth of investigations and how far the findings can be applied to the diversity of learners. Practical implications: As the effects of cultures and the rapid technological advancements take toll on teaching and learning the findings reported in this paper have far reaching implications for learners from different cultures and also for attempts at bridging existing digital divide. Originality/value: The approach adopted in the research is unique by virtue of new findings and ideas presented. The paper highlights the opportunities for mobile devices and technology to play a role in the development of communities through technology aided learning (e-learning), with a focus on e-learning systems and technology requirements for delivering a quality learning experience. (Contains 1 figure.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to build a detailed description of the Global Seminar (GS) curricula model by exploring its on-the-ground participatory practices in America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Design/methodology/approach: Within a qualitative research design framework, the authors interviewed 20 faculty members from the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Italy, Australia, Sweden, Honduras, South Africa, Germany, Austria, and Denmark. They observed 11 class sessions; and analyzed available course documents. Findings: The GS model provides a broader notion of teaching and learning for sustainability that incorporates greening and education for sustainability into curricula. This participatory model proves the emerging shift towards a new paradigm of teaching and learning for sustainability in academia. Originality/value: This paper shows how academia can address sustainability through curricula models that promote a fundamental change to the dominant academic paradigm and challenge the existing understanding of sustainability in higher education. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)