Children's Agency and Development in African Societies

Description

This book focuses on African childhood and youth within the context of development and socialization where children are expected to be moulded in the image of adults. In many African societies children are generally held as passive bearers of the demands of adults, regardless of the fact that they are often exposed to a multitude of challenges that originate from the capriciousness of those adults. However, buoyed by international conventions and national legislations that offer them greater protection, and the ubiquitous internet that exposes them to childhood and youth experiences elsewhere, many of them are increasingly becoming assertive in homes, schools, and communities as well as re-invigorating their survival and self-preservation instincts. It is in this regard that this book, through the various chapters, engages with their competencies, skills and creativity to respond to experiential challenges as independent migrants or ones under coercion working in city streets and markets or cocoa farms or juggling work and schooling in pursuit of some education. Confronted with their parents' and siblings' health predicaments and the inadequacies of state and familial care, or urgent negotiation of their sexualities, they demonstrate incredible resilience. Similarly, their perceptiveness is demonstrated in a unique appreciation of politics and its actors and a capacity to assume responsibilities beyond their chronological age. Thus while highlighting some of the challenges confronting African children, the book provides gripping evidence of how they resiliently negotiate those challenges.

Sujets

• Social sciences
• Childhood studies
• Sociology
• Children's Studies

Informations

• Publié par: CODESRIA
• Date de parution: 19 juillet 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782869787377
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Children’s Agency and Development in African Societies

La capacité d’agir et le développement des enfants dans les sociétés africaines

This book is a product of the CODESRIA Child and Youth Studies Institute.

Ce livre est issu de l’institut d’études sur l’enfance et la jeunesse du CODESRIA.

Children’s Agency and Development in African Societies

La capacité d’agir et le développement des enfants dans les sociétés africaines

Edited by / Sous la direction de

Yaw OfosuKusi

Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa DAKAR

©CODESRIA 2017 Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop, Angle Canal IV BP 3304 Dakar, 18524, Senegal Website: www.codesria.org ISBN: 9782869787186

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission from CODESRIA.

Typesetting: Alpha Ousmane Dia Cover Design: Ibrahima Fofana

Distributed in Africa by CODESRIA Distributed elsewhere by African Books Collective, Oxford, UK Website: www.africanbookscollective.com

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is an independent organisation whose principal objectives are to facilitate research, promote researchbased publishing and create multiple forums geared towards the exchange of views and information among African researchers. All these are aimed at reducing the fragmentation of research in the continent through the creation of thematic research networks that cut across linguistic and regional boundaries.

CODESRIA publishesAfrica Development, the longest standing Africa based social science journal;Afrika Zamani, a journal of history; theAfrican Sociological Review; the African Journal of International Affairs;Africa Review of Booksand theJournal of Higher Education in Africa. The Council also copublishes theAfrica Media Review;Identity, Culture and Politics: An Afro-Asian Dialogue;The African Anthropologist, Journal of African Tranformation, Method(e)s: African Review of Social Sciences Methodology,the and Afro- Arab Selections for Social Sciences. The results of its research and other activities are also disseminated through its Working Paper Series, Green Book Series, Monograph Series, Book Series, Policy Briefs and the CODESRIA Bulletin. Select CODESRIA publications are also accessible online at www.codesria.org.

CODESRIA would like to express its gratitude to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the Danish Agency for International Development (DANIDA), the Rockefeller Foundation, the Open Society Foundations (OSFs), TrustAfrica, UNESCO, the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), Andrew Mellon Foundation, and the Government of Senegal for supporting its research, training and publication programmes.

Contents / Sommaire

About the Authors / Les auteursvii ......................................................................................................................................

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Introduction: Children’s Agency and Development in African Societies

Yaw Ofosu-Kusi1 .....................................................................................................................................................................................

Establishing a Foothold in the Informal Economy: Children’s Dreams, Agency and Street Life in Ghana

Yaw Ofosu-Kusi15 .................................................................................................................................................................................

Child Fosterage Dynamics in Selected Markets in Lagos State, Nigeria

Adediran Daniel Ikuomola33 ..................................................................................................................................................

Educational Challenges Facing Children in Cocoa Plantations in Ondo State, Nigeria

Musediq Olufemi Lawal49 .........................................................................................................................................................

Childhood Sexualities in Africa: Agency and Vulnerability

Deevia Bhana65 ......................................................................................................................................................................................

Application of ‘Theatre for Development’ in the Promotion of Youth Agency in HIV Prevention in Zomba City, Malawi Catherine Mayesero Makhumula77 .................................................................................................................................

Building Resilience in Childheaded Households: An Exploration of the Integrated Community Homebased Care Model in Maseru District, Lesotho

Ts’epang Florence Manyeli93 ......................................................................................................................................................

Children’s Perception of the Images of Kenya’s Principal Political Leaders

Mokua Ombati107 ..............................................................................................................................................................................

A Study of Children’s Participation in School Management in Cameroon

Tete Jesinta Lebsonga123 ................................................................................................................................................................

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Children’s Assembly as a Strategy for Children’s Active Participation in Kenyan Society Pamela M. Y. Ngugi137 .................................................................................................................................................................

Étude comparative de la formation du schéma corporel à travers le conflit sociocognitif chez des « Enfants du monde de diamant » de Banalia et des « Enfants gardiens de la forêt » de Mambasa en RDC

Edmond Mokuinena Bomfie151 ..........................................................................................................................................

Les enjeux théoriques et sociaux de la modélisation du comportement environnemental à travers l’éducation relative à l’environnement: cas de l’élève du primaire en Côte d’Ivoire

Kabran Aristide Djane161 ...........................................................................................................................................................

Expériences de vie migratoire et capacités d’agir des enfants: cas des aides ménagères mineures dans la ville de Sikasso au Mali

Bra-Amba Dolo177 .............................................................................................................................................................................

Les causes du décrochage scolaire des enfants et leur réorientation au Bénin

Sandra Elvyre Loumedjinon189 ............................................................................................................................................

Impact de l’incarcération d’un parent sur la vie de l’enfant au Cameroun

Hippolyte Héli Abanda197 .........................................................................................................................................................

Conclusion: Agency, Realities and the Future of African Childhoods

Yaw Ofosu-Kusi209 ............................................................................................................................................................................

Index215 ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

About the Authors / Les auteurs

Yaw OfosuKusiis Associate Professor of Social Studies and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. He obtained his doctorate degree in Applied Social Studies from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. Hisresearch interest is primarily in urban childhood and the informal economy, with specific attention given to child migration, street life and labour, and children’s agency. He is also a member of the editorial board of Childhood, the journal of global child research, and has varied teaching experience from universities in Ghana, Switzerland and Germany. Among his most recent works are: ‘Dreams, expectations and experiential realities of street children in Accra, Ghana’, inNarrating (Hi)Stories in West Africa(Berlin: Lit Verlag 2015), and ‘Neoliberalism and housing provision in Accra, Ghana: The illogic of an overliberalised housing market’, inSelected Themes in African Development Studies(New York: Springer 2014).

Deevia Bhanais the DST/NRF South African Research Chair (SARChl) in Gender and Childhood Sexuality at the University of KwaZuluNatal. She has published widely in the field of gender, childhood sexuality and schooling. Her most recent work isChildhood Sexuality and AIDS Education: The Price of Innocence(Routledge, 2016)

Adediran Daniel Ikuomolaholds a doctorate degree in Sociology and is currently a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Adekunle Ajasin University, Nigeria. His primary research interest cuts across issues on youth and deviance, with emphasis on lifestyle and selfcontrol theories. His work has appeared in Peace and Conflict Review; Arts and Humanities; Culture and Development, and Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). He is a recipient of the prestigious American Council of Learned Society and African Humanities Programme (ACLS/AHP) postdoctoral award in 2013 and the NorthWest University, PotchefstroomSouth Africa postdoctoral fellowship in 2014. Some of his current works are:The Nigerian Civil War of 1967 and the Stigmatization of Children Born of Rape Victims in Edo State, Nigeria(2009); Womanhood and the Media: Nigeria and the Arab World(2011).

viii

Children’s Agency and Development in African Societies

Pamela M.Y. Ngugia senior lecturer in the Department of Kiswahili at is Kenyatta University – Kenya. She did her bachelors and masters studies at the University of Nairobi and thereafter joined the University of Vienna Austria for doctoral studies. She has interests in children’s literature studies, translation and sociolinguistics and has written books for children. She has contributed articles to both English and Kiswahili journals.

Mokua Ombati is a trained sociologist and anthropologist affiliated to the Department of Anthropology and Human Ecology of Moi University, Kenya. He is also an adjunct lecturer in the School of Arts and Social Sciences of Maasai Mara University, Kenya. His research interests centre in the areas of indigenous knowledge systems, security and peace, gender, children and youth, and social stratification.

Ts’epang Florence Manyeliis both an academic and professional social worker. She holds M.A in Social Work (Social Development and Planning) from the University of Port Elizabeth, now Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa. She is currently a lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Social Work at the National University of Lesotho. Her social work and academic pursuits focus on social justice for children and vulnerable people at the micro, mezzo and macro levels through involvement in humanitarian operations and participation in seminars and conferences. Her areas of expertise and interest are project management, counseling, community development, social security and child welfare.

Musediq Olufemi Lawalholds a doctorate degree in Sociology and Anthropology from University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is currently a Senior Research Officer at the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria. His teaching and research areas include Cultural Anthropology, Health, Social Problem, Environment, Population and Development.

Catherine Mayesero Makhumulais currently enrolled as a doctoral candidate in the Department of Drama at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She holds an MA in International Performance Research from the University of Warwick, UK and the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. She is also a lecturer in theatre arts in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Chancellor College, University of Malawi. She has been involved in many community projects that use theatre as a way of interrogating social problems, with specific regard to youth and health. Her research interests are in Theatre for Development and Performance Studies.

Tete Jesinta Lebsonga holds bachelors and masters degrees in Sociology of Development from the University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon. As a serial rape survivor, she is actively engaged in the prevention of genderbased violence,

About the Authors / Les auteurs

ix

particularly rape and incest. She currently works as an independent consultant and trainer in the field of Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health; The Prevention of Sex Based Violence in Primary Schools, under the auspices of the German International Cooperation for Development (GIZ), and the National Network of Aunties Associations (RENATA).

Sandra Elvyre Loumedjinontitulaire, en 2002, d’un diplôme d’Ingénieur en est Gestion de l’Environnement de L’Ecole Polytechnique Universitaire de L’Université d’Abomey Calavi au Bénin et en 2006 d’un Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies Option Environnement et Développement dans la même Université. Depuis 2015, elle est doctorante en Economie des Ressources Naturelles à l’Ecole Doctorales de l’Université de Parakou. Actuellement, elle le poste d’Experte en Suivi Evaluation du Programme Omi Delta de la Coopération des Pays Bas (SNV) au Bénin.

Hippolyte Héli Abanda a une Maîtrise sur mesure en Sciences de l’éducation, équivalent du Master, obtenue à l’Université Laval au Québec et a travaillé surPolitiques éducatives et genre au Cameroun : inscription des filles dans les filières industrielles. Il est actuellement Professeur des lycées et Doctorant avec pour sujet :Colonialité du savoir et du pouvoir dans les études féministes en Afrique. Une étude déconstructionniste du phallogocentrisme à la lecture de L’Aventure Ambiguë de Cheikh Hamidou Kane. Ses activités de recherche portent sur la problématique du genre en Afrique et au Cameroun en particulier avec un point d’honneur sur la citoyenneté et l’autonomie des femmes. Il est Directeur de l’ONG le Relais EnfantsParents du Cameroun qui œuvre pour le maintien des liens parentaux entre les détenuses et leurs enfants à travers un accompagnement psycho social.

Edmond Mokuinema Bomfieest professeur au Département de Sociologie de l’Université de Kisangani (RDC). Plusieurs fois lauréat et personne ressource aux activités du CODESRIA, il est un ancien Chef de Département de Sociologie, ViceDoyen honoraire chargé de l’Enseignement à la Faculté des Sciences Sociales, Administratives et Politiques, Doyen honoraire à la Faculté de Droit et actuellement Directeur du CRIDE (Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires pour le Développement et l’Education). Ses intérêts de travail portent sur les mouvements sociaux (religieux, identitaires), la gouvernance de l’eau en Afrique Centrale et le travail des enfants dans les zones de conflits armés.

BraAmba Dolo est Psychopédagogue de formation initiale. En entamant sa carrière dans les ONG, il est vite allé à la diversification des expériences tout en alliant travail et formations. Ainsi, il découvre le travail social, notamment dans l’administration pénitentiaire, la consultation privée, l’enseignement secondaire et supérieur privé et la recherche. Dans le même temps, il passe un master professionnel en Management de projet, un DEA en Décentralisation de l’Éducation, un Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) de l’Université de