Edward Shizha

Higher Education at the Crossroads

Higher education in Zimbabwe has moved from a small elite system to a mass system in the last thirty years. At independence in 1980 there was only one university whose total enrollment was 2000 fulltime students but to date there are 8 public and four private universities with a total enrollment of more than 42,000 full time students. There are several polytechnics, teachers’ colleges and vocational schools. The numbers of black students in universities has increased from a mere 7 out of 100 students in 1958 to over 98% of the total university enrollment.

Challenges and barriers to services for immigrant seniors in Canada: "you are among others but you feel alone"

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore varied interrelated challenges and barriers experienced by immigrant seniors.Design/methodology/approach – Senior immigrants representing diverse ethnicities (Chinese, Afro Caribbean, Former Yugoslavian, Spanish) described their challenges, support needs, and barriers to service access. Service providers and policy makers from organizations serving immigrant seniors were interviewed to elicit their views on barriers to access and appropriateness of services for immigrant seniors. Qualitative methods were employed to enhance understanding of meanings, perceptions, beliefs, values, and behaviors of immigrant seniors, and investigate sensitive issues experienced by vulnerable groups. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic content analysis.Findings – Seniors reported financial and language difficulties, health problems, discrimination, family conflicts, and social isolation. Although most immigrant seniors appreciated the standard of living in Canada and the serv...

Impacts of a social support intervention for Somali and Sudanese refugees in Canada

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to design and pilot test a culturally tailored intervention that meets the support needs and preferences of two refugee groups.Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a multi‐method participatory research design and was conducted in two urban centres in western and central Canada. Support was delivered to Sudanese and Somali refugees (n=58), by trained peer and professional helpers, in face‐to‐face groups matched by gender and ethnicity and in telephone dyads. Participants completed three quantitative measures before (pre‐test) and following (post‐test) the intervention. Group interviews with refugee participants and individual interviews with peer and professional helpers conducted at post‐test, elicited qualitative data on perceived impacts and factors influencing impacts of the intervention. Service providers and policy influencers (n=22) were interviewed in groups about the implications of this intervention study for services, programs and policies.Findings ...

Neoliberal Globalisation, Science Education and African Indigenous Knowledges

The imposition of neoliberal globalisation and Eurocentric science education in Southern Africa raises questions on how African people develop their African humanity and sociability. Neoliberal globalisation has been imposed on African educational philosophies to determine curriculum developments and implementation, especially in science and technology. Neoliberal globalisation and indigenous knowledges are in a state of contestation. Indigenous knowledges have become colonial captives within science education that ignores indigenous philosophies as peripheral to contemporary society. If neoliberal globalisation marginalises indigenous African knowledges/sciences, how can African students and people reclaim indigenous sciences to act upon their natural world? Indigenous knowledges are known for their resilience and ability to describe, explain, predict and negotiate nature. Can African indigenous philosophies and ways of knowing survive the onslaught of neo-colonialism and globalisation?

Social support needs of Sudanese and Zimbabwean refugee new parents in Canada

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine support needs of African refugee new parents in Canada, and identifies support preferences that may enhance the mental health of refugee parents and children. Design/methodology/approach In all, 72 refugee new parents from Zimbabwe (n=36) and Sudan (n=36) participated in individual interviews. All had a child aged four months to five years born in Canada. Refugee new parents completed standardized measures on social support resources and support seeking as a coping strategy. Four group interviews (n=30) with refugee new parents were subsequently conducted. In addition, two group interviews (n=30) were held with service providers and policy influencers. Findings Separated from their traditional family and cultural supports, refugee new parents reported isolation and loneliness. They lacked support during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum and had limited interactions with people from similar cultural backgrounds. Refugees required support to access services and overcome barriers such as language, complex systems, and limited financial resources. Support preferences included emotional and information support from peers from their cultural community and culturally sensitive service providers. Research limitations/implications Psychometric evaluation of the quantitative measures with the two specific populations included in this study had not been conducted, although these measures have been used with ethnically diverse populations by other researchers. Practical implications The study findings can inform culturally appropriate health professional practice, program and policy development. Originality/value The study bridges gaps in research examining support needs and support intervention preferences of African refugee new parents.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the Curriculum

The school system in many regions of Africa does little to cater for the unique challenges to psychosocial adjustment and cultural identity development that students experience when they enter the school gate. Schools and the education system in general promote poor academic performance, low self-esteem, and high dropout rates for students who do not identify with the schools’ cultural capital.

Democratizing Education in Zambia: Sociohistorical Analyses

Education plays a vital role in social and democratic development, especially in “developing” countries. Most African nation-states are going through a transitional period of democratization. They are moving from tyrannical and autocratic rule that was practiced by most African leaders soon after leading their countries to political independence to a multiparty and tolerant political system. Zambia is one country that is currently undergoing democratization. Zambia gained its political independence from Great Britain on October 23, 1964. From independence until October 1991, it was under the authoritarian and autocratic rule of Kenneth Kaunda and the United National Independence Party (UNIP). However, since 1991, Zambia has moved into a politically functioning, but otherwise fragile democratic arrangement under the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) which still holds political power. In terms of tangible postcolonial economic development, Zambia, as Ihonvbere (2003) observes, is one component of Africa’s failed categories, and the country’s opportunity to prosper did not improve with the processes of democratization in the last 14 years or so. Despite these not-so-encouraging realities, though, the promise

Unhu/Ubuntu and Education for Reconciliation in Zimbabwe

The paper examines the concept, strengths and shortcomings, role and implementation of the reconciliation policy as Zimbabwe emerged from periods of conflict crisis soon after independence in the 1980s, and the current crisis in the 2000s and how the policy can be introduced in schools through „education for reconciliation‟. The authors argue that education can be used to cultivate reconciliation and national healing in the evidently „wounded‟ people of Zimbabwe who bear scars of colonial times and war, and the post-independence conflicts. Reconciliation through education for “diversity” and tolerance makes a compelling argument in so far as we understand how education shapes culture and cultivates values among a people. Education for reconciliation is perceived as a philosophy that promotes respect for human life and human dignity. The paper concludes that education is an instrument for the inculcation and promotion of the epistemic and ontological principles enshrined in the African philosophy of Ubuntu/unhu.

Are we there yet? Theorizing a Decolonizing Science Education for Development in Africa

The debate regarding the relationship between science and development, and the role of indigenous knowledges in Africa is very controversial. Arguments for or against the use of indigenous knowledge in science or regarding indigenous sciences are informed by what is perceived as the appropriateness or inappropriateness of indigenous perspectives and epistemologies in science education and development.

Gender and Access to Higher Education

Zimbabwe has one of the highest literacy rates in Sub- Saharan Africa. An examination of the statistics reveals that despite this achievement women fall behind the men in their literacy level. The report of the World Economic Forum (2010) shows that the literacy rates for women have increased from 86% in 2006 to 89% in 2010. The rates for the males however have remained static at 94% in the same period. At independence in 1980, the new and democratically elected government showed a commitment to widening access at all levels of education; primary, secondary and tertiary (Kariwo, 2007).