Phase 1:- draft Research Report

Prepared by Xolelwa Kashe-Katiya

March 2012

Background

The African Union declared 2006-2015, the Second Decade of Education for Africa, based on its “vision of an integrated, peaceful and prosperous Africa, driven by its own people to take its rightful place in the global community and the knowledge economy”. With the international emphasis on the integral role of culture in development, the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015 and UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, there is a need to develop and implement strategies that will produce the rounded human resources required to realise this vision.

To address this need, the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, University of Witwatersrand, Goethe Institute and the African Chapter of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies and the Arterial Network scoped a project that seeks to:

1. 
   Research the current state of arts education (primary, secondary, tertiary and non-formal) in Africa and evaluate it against normative international and African policy documents on arts education and
   
2. 
   To devise generic arts education policy proposals and strategies for adaptation and implementation by African countries depending on their respective conditions
   

By the end of this project, arts education policies that speak to, and are appropriate to the varying conditions of the continent may be developed, while seeking to address the imperatives of human rights, innovative skills, cultural identity and diversity as well as the creative economy and development. Due to limited resources, the project partners resolved to have preliminary research conducted on a small scale and this would entail desktop review of literature that is readily available and also input from experts that are drawn from the five regions of Africa. The information contained in this report, is thus informed by the preliminary findings and may inform the scope of the bigger project. The Challenge of Education in Africa

1. 
   Learning to know, that is acquiring the instruments of understanding;
   
2. 
   Learning to do, so as to be able to act creatively on one’s environment;
   
3. 
   Learning to live together so as to participate and cooperate with other people in all human activities; and
   
4. 
   Learning to be an essential progression which proceeds from the previous three¹.
   

An evaluation of the first Decade of Education for Africa (1997 – 2006) revealed that most of the goals set in the Decade Plan of Action have not yet been achieved, in spite of the efforts made by African Union (AU) Member States. In recognition of the importance of education in Africa, the sixth ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union launched a Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006 - 2015), and the Framework for Action for adoption by African Ministers of Education. The challenges of the first Decade were that the Plan of Action was only adopted two years after the launch of the decade. Secondly, there was a lack of ownership by African stakeholders, and there was insufficient publicity to promote it across the continent. Another major challenge was very little support from major international agencies and other development partners. Africa-specific programmes during the period, displayed no evidence for linkages with the First Decade of Education in Africa, these were instead developed independently, and at national level.

According to the Draft Action Plan for the Second Decade of Education in Africa, education is a sector whose performance affects and determines the magnitude of development in Africa. It is the most important means we have at our disposal to develop human resources, impart appropriate skills, knowledge and attitudes. It is argued that education forms the basis for developing innovation, science and technology in order to harness resources, industrialise, and participate in the global knowledge economy. It is also the basis for Africa to take its rightful place in the global community. Education is said to also be the means through which Africa will entrench a culture of peace, gender equality and also positive African values.

One of the most important facets of the Second Decade of Education for Africa is Gender and Culture, the goal being the reduction of gender disparities and ensuring quality, while enriching the system with positive aspects of African cultures, from early childhood development to higher education, and also through non-formal and lifelong learning. The need to re-establish the linkage between education and culture is said to be recognised at the highest level of the African Union. In terms of the Action Plan for the Second Decade for Education in Africa (2010), culture is the way of life, providing a system of knowledge and values that serve as an effective foundation for learning processes and social interactions. This linkage between culture and education thus releases synergies that can widen the range of options for individuals and societies to meet the challenges of the 21^st century and enable them to participate effectively in the global economy.

During the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal in 2000, 164 governments pledged to achieve Education for All (EFA) and identified six goals to be met by 2015. The regional framework for Sub-Saharan Africa envisioned the resurgence of a vibrant Africa, rich in its cultural diversity, history, languages and arts, standing united to end its marginalization in world progress and development. For the African region, education would prepare people to take control of their own destiny, liberating them from dependency and endowing them with initiative, creativity, critical thinking, enterprise, democratic values, pride and appreciation of diversity.

1. 
   Creativity – creativity that relies on artistic activities which need to be made available for all and not just the few privileged elite.
   
2. 
   Cultural and artistic tradition – emphasis here is on the use of readily available natural resources. For example, in manufacture of musical instruments.
   
3. 
   Multicultural Societies – for the promotion of the convergence of cultural borrowing and culturally hybrid forms that can lead to the emergence of new and universally significant art forms.
   
4. 
   Interdisciplinarity – this enables commensurability between the arts and science, it is also important for the development of all-rounders. For example visual arts can used to explore chemistry or even anatomy.
   

In terms of teaching the arts in schools, it was stated that arts education should be included in the core curriculum of the formal education. For this to happen, however, it is important to build a bridge between the learners and their home environments. In this regard, the tendency by teachers to focus on European models was strongly criticised. The principle of outcomes based education was also promoted by the participants in Tsitsikama, however, it was also emphasised that outcomes must be clearly formulated and monitored to ensure that they met. Non-formal arts education that tends to be vocationally directed was listed as being most important in the African context as many young people have little or no access to the formal schooling system.

Furthermore it was also noted that there is an overwhelming majority of Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) that are operating in the non-formal arts education sector in Africa and these were identified as an essential stakeholder in encouraging synergies between formal and non-formal arts education. Cooperation between political and economic organisations such as ECOWAS and SADC were deemed to be instrumental in shared programmes and the carrying out of joint arts educational programmes. This conference thus recommended that research be conducted so as to gather information on current practices in different countries. These will then inform the drafting of practical guidelines for curriculum preparation. In addition to this, it was recommended that centres of excellence be identified to deal with specific areas of the arts. Finally it was recommended that public events be organised so as to promote arts education in Africa.

The creation of a network or a worldwide collaboration led by UNESCO was also recommended at the meeting. This would ensure collaboration with existing global initiatives. UNESCO leadership was to also ensure that funds from diverse sources are allocated towards the programme and finally the partnership would be formed between interested bodies from all around the world. The Tsitsikama conference was then followed up by the ‘Approaches to Arts Education in Southern Africa’ conference in Lake Chivero in Zimbabwe in 2002. Then the ‘Finding Feet’ workshop in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2003 took place to take the discussion further.

More meetings took place in Brazil, Jordan, Fiji and also Finland, these lay the foundation for the World Conference of Arts Education in Lisbon, Portugal. The Lisbon Conference was held in May 2006 and it set the tone for a more global intervention on arts education. It was at this conference that an important theoretical and practical framework, the UNESCO Road Map for Arts Education, was developed. The Road Map provided guidance for advancing the qualitative development and growth of arts education globally. The Road Map, a document resulting from wide consultation and debates was presented to the 1st World Conference on Arts Education (Lisbon, 2006). As a result of further input the Road Map was upgraded and in 2007 distributed to Member States for their input.

The UNESCO Road Map

The aim of the Road Map for arts education is to explore the role of arts education in meeting the need for creativity and cultural awareness in the 21^st century. It places emphasis on strategies required to promote arts education in the broader learning environment. It was thus designed to provide a common understanding of the importance of arts education in improving the quality of education, the Road Map proposes steps required to promote arts education. One of the key questions that the roadmap sought to address was whether arts education is for only a gifted few or for all members of society. The Road Map recognises that culture and the arts are essential components of a comprehensive education that leads to the full development of the individual.

Arts education is thus viewed as a basic human right for all learners as declared in the universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Arts Education, according to the Road Map is important for the development of individual capabilities. This can be achieved by introducing artistic processes, while incorporating elements of local cultures into education. Arts Education is said to equip learners with skills that enable them to express themselves; critically evaluate the world around them and also actively engage in aspects of human existence. These skills are creativity; flexibility; adaptability and Innovation. In terms of this document, quality of education is defined as that which is learner-centred: relevant to the learners while promoting universal values; education that is equitable in terms of access, outcomes and ensures inclusion, rather than exclusion.

In term of the Road Map, the diversity of cultures contributes to the heritage of human civilisations and the knowledge of cultural practices strengthens both personal and collective identities. Though arts education cultural awareness is fostered and knowledge is transmitted through to future generations. The non-inclusion of aspects of cultural practise in the education system can be said to be a major contributor to the loss of both tangible and intangible aspects of cultures around the world. One of the key concepts that are related to arts education that were identified in the Road Map is the identification of the arts fields. However, it was emphasised that lists of arts fields are to be viewed as pragmatic categorisation that are continuously evolving and never exclusive. In addition to this, it was highlighted that any approach to arts education must always be viewed as the point of departure.

Strategies for effective and meaningful Arts Education, according to the Road Map entail giving teachers and Artists access to materials and the training they need. In addition to this, partnerships are encouraged between government ministries, community organisations and other stakeholders. In terms of training, primary school teachers must be provided with the necessary training to enable them to utilise the arts in teaching. For example, songs can be used to for complex definitions, and can be especially useful in teaching mathematical concepts. On the other hand, artists could be given the opportunity to improve on their pedagogical skills. With regard to partnerships, it is proposed that the ministries responsible for both culture and education have joint responsibility for arts education. Such partnerships are important for creating synergies and enable the formation of joint policies and budgets. The most important aspect of these partnerships, however, is the placement of arts education at the centre and not the margins of the curriculum.

Within a year of the launch of the Road Map, a survey document was distributed through UNESCO National Commissions to the 193 Member States in order to monitor the extent to which the Road Map was being implemented. Ultimately, in the year before the 2nd Conference in Seoul, Korea in 2010, the percentage of those states that had responded to the survey document had reached 47%. These distributed as follows:

• 
  17% were from Africa
  
• 
  14% from Arab States²
  
• 
  17% from the Asia and the Pacific regions,
  
• 
  36% from Europe and North America and
  
• 
  9% from Latin America and the Caribbean.
  

1. 
   African submissions are made to the UNESCO meeting in Korea in May 2010, and that interested parties are kept abreast of developments;
   
2. 
   A database is created of individuals and organizations willing to be a part of the network/campaign;
   
3. 
   Communication tools are set up for ongoing interaction of the above group;
   
4. 
   Mapping of the sector takes place, and this information is passed on to Arterial Network in order to be made accessible to all;
   
5. 
   Arterial Network and other relevant bodies are engaged as partners;
   
6. 
   Proposals around a structure for the network are presented to all interested parties at the November 2010 Conference; these should include due consideration for representativity, accessibility through language, interdisciplinarity etc;
   
7. 
   Country members are encouraged to lobby for/spearhead the simultaneous development of national networks for arts education and transformation to deal with local issues, and to contribute further to the strength of the African Alliance for Arts Education and Transformation.
   

At the 2010 conference in Seoul, the report on the survey results on the implementation of the Road Map for Arts Education was presented. The largest number of respondents came from Europe and North America (with 36 respondent countries). Only 18 out of the 54 African countries responded to the Road Map³. In terms of UNESCO sub-regions, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan and Algeria were counted as Arab states and so information collected from these countries with regards to the Road Map is not reflected as being of African origin. Based on the respondents’ input, the survey recommendations highlighted the need to expand the scope of arts education to other populations outside of schools, and if possible to general members of society. In addition to this, recommendations were made for the enlargement of arts education to encompass its socio-cultural dimensions. Lastly, the diversity of standards and values with regard to arts education were to be recognised.

On the first day of the Seoul conference (25 May 2010), group discussions took place for each of the five UNESCO regional groups. The objective was to discuss issues related to arts education and the implementation of the Road Map within each region. The discussions were in terms of regional priorities and specificities. In the Africa group participants included practitioners, experts and government officials, the group was moderated by Prof. Mzobanzi Mzobz Mboya (South Africa). The African region discussion highlighted problems of implementing arts education in the region, some of which are related to the overall education challenges on the continent. Competing development demands in the region were also identified as a major challenge. Some participants stressed that the issue of arts education needed to be addressed with African eyes, with an African mind, in order to make it relevant for the region. The idea that teachers needed to be consulted to elaborate policies was met with a strong consensus.

The Arab States regional discussion on the other hand was moderated by Joe Kreidi (UNESCO Beirut). The difficulties raised by this group concerned the organisational problems between formal and non-formal education systems (in community centers). According to the conference report, the participants further highlighted that the means of funding available vary greatly depending on the country. However, in the report it is argued that civil society is more active and its endeavours do compensate for the weaknesses of the formal system especially with regards to therapeutic activities that are carried out in countries with refugees and displaced populations. It was noted, however, that no research exists at university level to address the specific needs of the region and encourage better training of teachers in artistic fields while increasing awareness of the arts among the young, who are free of ideological differences.

There were some similarities between Africa and the Arab region in terms of the challenges of implementing arts education, these did not emerge in the other three regions. The Asia and the Pacific discussion (moderated by Gwang-Jo Kim of UNESCO Bangkok) raised issues of research and networking in relation to arts education. The Europe and North America group (moderated by Christine Merkel of the German National Commission for UNESCO) identified two major developments in the region since Lisbon, the continuing growth of more effective and productive cooperation between the different ministries and stakeholders in arts education, with a view to strengthen evidence-based policy and practice. Finally, for the Latin American and the Caribbean region (moderated by Olga Olaya Parra of Colombia), discussed the fact that teachers do not have specific training in arts education was the most pressing issue. The, however, was a key common thread across all conference discussions⁴.

In the aftermath of the 2^nd World conference on Arts Education, NEPAD compiled a report stating that it was critical that African Union (AU) member states to seriously take seriously the practicality of implementation of arts education and making it an intrinsic part of the curriculum at schools. In the report it was noted that numerous conferences have been attended and from a theoretical level, it is supposed that there is convergence of opinions on the need to introduce arts education as a concrete educational discipline. The report further recommended that , as much as arts education involves formal and informal education, governments were better positioned to begin to implement arts education in Africa. According to the report, this is because governments are strategically placed to mobilise learners, procure the relevant resources and infuse the necessary training for arts education teachers. A key concern that was raised, however, was the lack of an active engagement with the UNESCO Road map by African countries.

To realise the project objectives, the partners agreed to commission research in each of the African regions and in each country to determine the institutional, legislative and policy status of arts education. The project will also evaluate the awareness and adoption of, and the status of the UNESCO Road Map on arts education in Africa. Finally, a mapping exercise to determine the number and distribution of institutions (schools and tertiary) offering arts education will be conducted. It is envisaged that the research findings will then be evaluated and measured against international, African and regional policy statements regarding arts education. Based on this process, recommendations (policy, infrastructure, human capacity, funding, etc.) will be made as to how to advance the existing situation.

A key challenge to this initiative has been limited funding and resources, as a result some improvisation with regard to planned activities had to take place. For example, to evaluate the institutional, legislative and policy status of arts education, a basic enquiry into the status quo was made through the circulation of a number of questions to individuals who are placed in strategic locations across the continent. The sampling in this regard was not scientific but rather informed by accessibility and willingness to respond by people in their private capacities. Some key input was received from Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ghana. Informants were from participants of a British Council leadership programme, Interaction and their input is discussed in the initial findings section. This can be considered to be a snap-shot at the current situation in the respective countries.

A Panel of Experts was appointed as means of augmenting the sources of information. A call that was made through the Arterial Network newsletter led to the appointment of experts from South Africa, Benin, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Nigeria. They represent a broad spectrum of sectors as they have backgrounds in Music, Cultural Heritage, Theatre, Dance, Fine Art, Film, as well as inter-sectoral discipline such as Gender and also Education. These individuals possess a good knowledge of the arts, arts education policies as well as practices (informal and also formal) in their countries or region. During the initial period of the project, the Panel has been consulted only via electronic channels. There is currently no remuneration for time spent consulting, and inclusion in the Panel of Experts is in an honorary capacity.