EDUCATION - The African Mirror

May

2023

It’s important to rethink the purpose of university education – a philosopher of education explains why

MOST philosophers of education or philosophically inclined scholars of education in the past century and a half would agree with the claim that, ideally, education should be the practice of freedom. That is, it ought to cultivate the ability to intelligently decide how we want to shape our lives. The aim of education should be to foster human autonomy. Author PEDRO TABENSKY, Director, Allan Gray Centre for Leadership Ethics, Rhodes University I’m thinking here of a diverse array of scholars. Among them are some of the most influential philosophers of education and educational theorists of the 20th century: the American…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Remote teaching in Nigeria and South Africa got a COVID wake-up call – how to capitalise on it

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITIES had to deal with many anxieties and uncertainties during the early days of the COVID pandemic. One of these was how to move all of their teaching online. For some, the process was fairly simple as they had already been offering blended online and in-person lessons. Authors MPHO-ENTLE PULENG MODISE, Lecturer, University of South Africa GEESJE VAN DEN BERG, Commonwealth of Learning Chair in ODL for Teacher Education and Full Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, University of South Africa But many were caught on the wrong foot. We wanted to know how the pandemic had affected training…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Kids and screen time – an expert offers advice for parents and teachers

EDUCATION

HOW much time did your child spend looking at a screen today? The answer likely depends on how old they are, what grade they’re in at school and what rules you have in place at home about screen time. But the reality is that for children and adolescents growing up as “digital natives”, it is almost impossible to imagine life without screens of some sort. Author CATHERINE DRAPER, Associate Professor, University of the Witwatersrand Devices like cellphones, laptops and tablets have become ubiquitous as tools for entertainment and education in most parts of the world. This has led parents, guardians,…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Curious Kids: How are planets created?

EDUCATION

CURIOUS Kids is a series for children in which we ask experts to answer questions from kids. How are planets created? - (Saba, 6, Kenya) Thanks for asking such an interesting question, Saba. When you talk about planets you’re probably thinking of the planets in our solar system – the ones orbiting (circling around) our sun. There are eight of these planets. One of them is where you and I live: Earth. The others are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Author DANIEL CUNNAMA, Science Engagement Astronomer, South African Astronomical Observatory, South African Astronomical Observatory There are many,…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

ChatGPT is the push higher education needs to rethink assessment

EDUCATION

SIOUX MCKENNA, DAN DIXON, DANIEL OPPENHEIMER, MARGARET BLACKIE and SAM ILLINGWORTH THE COVID-19 pandemic was a shock to higher education systems everywhere. But while some changes, like moving lectures online, were relatively easy to make, assessment posed a much bigger challenge. Assessment can take many forms, from essays to exams to experiments and more. Many institutions and individual academics essentially outsourced the assessment process to software. They increased their use of programs like Turnitin to check for matched wording in students’ assignments. And for closed-book, timed tests they used tools such as Proctorio, which monitors a student’s computer or phone…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Tanzania has ditched school rankings. It should replace them with something more useful

EDUCATION

WHILE announcing the results of the 2022 Certificate of Secondary School Examination, Tanzania’s National Examination Council did not provide school rankings for the first time in decades. School rankings have been announced for national primary and secondary school exams every year since the early 1990s. The rankings have become the main national talking point and students and parents often use them to determine school choices. Author SIMON NGALOMBA, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, SARChI in Higher Education and Human Development Research Group, University of the Free State Explaining the decision, education minister Professor Adolf Mkenda said the examination council had decided in…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Teachers change lives – but what makes a great teacher?

EDUCATION

EXCELLENT teachers can change our lives. Researchers have shown that good teachers encourage us to think critically, reflect and learn across disciplines. These are all skills that can set us up for life. Author ZAYD WAGHID, Associate professor, Cape Peninsula University of Technology I have had the privilege of being taught by a few brilliant teachers in my life, and I have also observed teaching excellence at the numerous schools I have visited over the years as an education academic. Those who stand out are devoted, imaginative, motivated and motivating, and eager to overcome challenging conditions to make a positive…

Feb

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO/BIRD STORY AGENCY

This edtech startup is helping rural schools overcome tech integration barriers in classrooms

EDUCATION

AT a chief's camp in Lokichogio, North West Kenya, various school children have gathered to observe microorganisms with pocket-size foldable microscopes. This is the first time these children are seeing and using microscopes. Barely 30 km from the South Sudan border, this semi-arid area inhabited by pastoral communities usually has limited access to learning innovations. "Since access to microscopes in this region is difficult, we introduced these foldable microscopes which can fit in pockets. The children can go to the fields with them," explained Patrick Njoroge, co-founder of Edutab. Edutab Africa is an edtech startup founded in 2018 to provide…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

George Magoha was a force for better education in Kenya. But he had his flaws

EDUCATION

THE death of former Kenyan education minister Professor George Magoha, 71, closes a vibrant chapter in education policymaking and leadership. It was a chapter marked by an unmatched commitment to educational reforms but equally coloured by controversy and missteps. Magoha was the cabinet secretary for education from 2019 to 2022. He also served as the chairman of the Kenya National Examinations Council from 2016 to 2019. He was forceful and uncompromising, both under President Uhuru Kenyatta and during the transition to William Ruto. Author ISHMAEL MUNENE, Professor of Research, Foundations & Higher Education, Northern Arizona University His impact is unmistakable…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

ChatGPT: our study shows AI can produce academic papers good enough for journals – just as some ban it

EDUCATION

SOME of the world’s biggest academic journal publishers have banned or curbed their authors from using the advanced chatbot, ChatGPT. Because the bot uses information from the internet to produce highly readable answers to questions, the publishers are worried that inaccurate or plagiarised work could enter the pages of academic literature. Authors BRIAN LUCEY, Professor of International Finance and Commodities, Trinity College Dublin MICHAEL DOWLING, Professor of Finance, Dublin City University Several researchers have already listed the chatbot as a co-author on academic studies, and some publishers have moved to ban this practice. But the editor-in-chief of Science, one of…