The University in Africa and Democratic Citizenship

M. Luescher-Mamashela

Description

Whether and how higher education in Africa contributes to democratisation beyond producing the professionals that are necessary for developing and sustaining a modern political system, remains an unresolved question. This report, then, represents an attempt to address the question of whether there are university specific mechanisms or pathways by which higher education contributes to the development of democratic attitudes and behaviours among students, and how these mechanisms operate and relate to politics both on and off campus. The research contained in this report shows that the potential of a university to act as training ground for democratic citizenship is best realised by supporting students' exercise of democratic leadership on campus. This, in turn, develops and fosters democratic leadership in civil society. Thus, the university's response to student political activity, student representation in university governance and other aspects of extra-curricular student life needs to be examined for ways in which African universities can instil and support democratic values and practices. Encouraging and facilitating student leadership in various forms of on-campus political activity and in a range of student organisations emerges as one of the most promising ways in which African universities can act as training grounds for democratic citizenship. The project on which this report is based forms part of a larger study on Higher Education and Democracy in Africa, undertaken by the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA). HERANA is coordinated by the Centre for Higher Education Transformation in South Africa.

Sujets

• Education

Informations

• Publié par: African Minds
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781920355708
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N A N D D E M O C R A C Y

THE UNIVERSIT Y IN AFRICA ANDDEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP The university in Africa and democratic citizenship Hothouse or training ground?

LUESCHER-MAMASHELA , KIIRU, MAT TES & OTHERS

Thierry M Luescher-Mamashela with Sam Kiiru, Robert Mattes, Angolwisye Mwollo-ntallima, Njuguna Ng’ethe & Michelle Romo

THE UNIVERSITY IN AfRIcA ANd dEmocRATIc cITIzENSHIp Hothouse or Training Ground?

Report on Student Surveys conducted at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Thierry M Luescher-Mamashela withSam Kiiru, Robert Mattes, Angolwisye Mwollo-ntallima, Njuguna Ng’ethe and Michelle Romo

Published by the Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET), House Vincent, First Floor, 10 Brodie Road, Wynberg Mews, Wynberg, 7800 Telephone: [phone] | Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] | www.chet.org.za

© CHET 2011

ISBN 978–1-920355–67–8

Ebooks: Ebrary 978-1-920355-68-5 MyiLibrary 978-1-920355-69-2 Adobe Digital Edition 978-1-920355-70-8 ePub 978-1-920355-71-5

Produced by COMPRESS.dsl | www.compressdsl.com

Cover illustration by Raymond Oberholzer

Distributed by African Minds 4 Eccleston Place, Somerset West, 7130, South Africa [e-mail] www.africanminds.co.za

For orders from outside Africa: African Books Collective PO Box 721, Oxford OX1 9EN, UK [e-mail] www.africanbookscollective.com

Contents

Acknowledgements The Project Group

Executive Summary

CHAPTER 1:HERANA Higher Education and Democracy: The Student Governance Surveys 1.1 Project overview

1.2 Analytical framework of the study

1.3 Research questions

1.4 Survey design and methods

1.5 Overview of the report

CHAPTER 2:Background and Context: Three Countries, Universities and Student Bodies 2.1 Governance in Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania in international comparison

2.2 Democracy in Kenya, the University of Nairobi and student politics

2.3 Democracy in South Africa, the University of Cape Town and student politics 2.4 Democracy in Tanzania, the University of Dar es Salaam and student politics 2.5 Profile of the three student bodies

CHAPTER 3:Students’ Demand for Democracy and Freedom 3.1 Introduction

3.2 Awareness of ‘democracy’

3.3 Preference for democracy over other regime types

3.4 Demand for political freedoms

3.5 Students as committed democrats?

3.6 Summary and conclusion

v vii

ix

1 1 3 12 14 19

21 21 22 26 30 33

43 43 43 49 54 56 60

iii

iv

CHAPTER 4:Students’ Perception of the Supply of Democracy and Democratic Consolidation 4.1 Introduction

4.2 Perception of the current regime

4.3 Has multiparty democracy supplied more political freedoms? 4.4 Students as transformative democrats? 4.5 Summary and conclusion

CHAPTER 5:Students’ Political Engagement and Behaviour 5.1 Students’ cognitive engagement with politics

5.2 Students’ political participation

5.3 Students as active citizens?

5.4 Summary and conclusion

CHAPTER 6:Student Politics and the University: Implications and Recommendations 6.1 Overview of the findings

6.2 Enhancing the university’s training ground potential

References Appendices

63 63 64 69 72 81

83 83 91 97 102

105 105 106

112 117

Acknowledgements

1

In the past two decades, many African nations embarked on transitions to democracy, putting into place key political institutions that allow for competitive multi-party elections and liberalising the public realm. In order for democracy to consolidate, however, not only appropriate political institutions are needed; democracy requires democrats to be sustainable. To what extent and how higher education in Africa makes a contribution to democratic citizenship development has remained an open question.

It took a consultation and discussion period of almost three years between the Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET), senior researchers and the US Partnership for Higher Education in Africa to establish the Higher Education Research and Advocacy 1 Network in Africa (HERANA). Credit must be given to the US Partnership for supporting such a complex and potentially controversial project – and one which would not easily have been funded by a single foundation. Having on board the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Kresge Foundation contributed to the credibility of the project amongst higher education leaders and academics. A special word of thanks must go to Dr John Butler-Adam (Ford), who ‘steered’ the Partnership in this project, and to Dr Claudia Frittelli (Carnegie), who participated actively throughout.

The capacity-building component of HERANA is the Higher Education Masters in Africa, run jointly between the universities of the Western Cape, Makerere and Oslo, with students from eight African countries. The Masters programme is funded by the NOMA programme of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) with Ms Tove Kivil a constant source of support.

We must acknowledge the fortuitous coincidence of HERANA andUniversity World News starting at almost the same time.University World News, with its 30 000 readers, around 14 000 of whom subscribe to the Africa edition, has been a source of information for our project and a distribution resource.

For the purpose of this study, Afrobarometer methodology has been adapted and certain Afrobarometer data used in comparative analyses. We are grateful to the Afrobarometer for availing these to us.

We also acknowledge the comments received by various critical reviewers on parts or the full draft of this report.

For a description of the various HERANA project components, participants and publications, visit the website at http://www.chet.org.za/ programmes/herana/.

v