For various economic and political reasons, many African countries lag behind the rest of the industrialised world in scientific and medical research and development. However, the presence of intellectual islands scattered across the continent gives hope that this is only a transient situation on the cusp of undergoing a profound and beneficial change. For this reason, the Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa was established to catalyse and contribute to this needed evolution. Its mission is to contribute to Africa’s economic advancement and sustainability through science research, education and innovation. This book provides a selection of papers from the Advancement of Science in Africa’s third annual conference. The conference was held under the overarching theme of ‘science research and education in Africa’, with several important sub-themes, including but not limited to: improving health research and disease surveillance education; epidemic diseases with high mortality; promoting women’s interest in science careers; fostering youth development with science education. The collection illustrates how although the chapter contributors come from various countries and universities, representing their own academic research, they all share a common interest in advancing science research and education in Africa.

School Science Practical Work in Africa presents the scope of research and practice of science practical work in African schools. It brings together prominent science educators and researchers from Africa to share their experience and findings on pedagogical innovations and research-informed practices on school science practical work. The book highlights trends and patterns in the enactment and role of practical work across African countries. Practical work is regarded as intrinsic to science teaching and learning and the form of practical work that is strongly advocated is inquiry-based learning, which signals a definite paradigm shift from the traditional teacher-dominated to a learner-centered approach. The book provides empirical research on approaches to practical work, contextual factors in the enactment of practical work, and professional development in teaching practical work. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of science education and educational policy.

"This book comes at a time when Africa is attempting to reinvigorate itself, putting itself on a path for continued stability and economic growth. These reformations have been more pronounced in the educational system, as educational institutions in Africa try to find new ways of making themselves more relevant and repositioning themselves to respond to numerous problems confronting the continent. The book tackles wide-ranging and topical issues that include the decolonisation of education, the implications of COVID-19 on institutions of higher learning, pandemic discourse and education in Africa, gender issues in education, indigenous knowledge systems, transnational education (TNE) partnerships and distance learning issues. This book is a timely contribution that includes views from seasoned scholars from different parts of the continent, such as Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Kenya, as well as the African Diaspora such as Germany and the United Kingdom. The book will be a useful resource for educators, policymakers and students in various sub-fields related to education"--

This volume represents research done at various levels of collaboration, including international, continent-wide, regional and national, in the fields of medical sciences, public health, science policy, science education, agriculture and economic aspects of science. Specific areas covered here include the manufacture of vaccines in Africa, preventing oral cancer in Nigeria, and decreasing the disparity of childhood cancer globally. Contributions also discuss the prevention of HIV/AIDS and cancer in sub-Sahara Africa, early diagnosis of sarcoidosis, tertiary care of children and teens with type 1 diabetes in Africa, detecting obesity as a maternal perinatal and neonatal risk factor, and improving sanitation and health practices.

Young scientists are a powerful resource for change and sustainable development, as they drive innovation and knowledge creation. However, comparable findings on young scientists in various countries, especially in Africa and developing regions, are generally sparse. Therefore, empirical knowledge on the state of early-career scientists is critical in order to address current challenges faced by those scientists in Africa. This book reports on the main findings of a three-and-a-half-year international project in order to assist its readers in better understanding the African research system in general, and more specifically its young scientists. The first part of the book provides background on the state of science in Africa, and bibliometric findings concerning Africa’s scientific production and networks, for the period 2005 to 2015. The second part of the book combines the findings of a large-scale, quantitative survey and more than 200 qualitative interviews to provide a detailed profile of young scientists and the barriers they face in terms of five aspects of their careers: research output; funding; mobility; collaboration; and mentoring. In each case, field and gender differences are also taken into account. The last part of the book comprises conclusions and recommendations to relevant policy- and decision-makers on desirable changes to current research systems in Africa.

This book gives a voice to debates surrounding social science research ethics in Africa and brings them together in a coherent form to assist readers in being at the forefront of the discussions. The book gives an overview of the importance of research ethics in social sciences, as well as articulating the African influence on the subject matter. Subsequently it looks into specific frameworks and tools that researchers can apply in the process of doing research. Last but not least it also takes an in-depth look at traditional ethical issues pertaining to research in social sciences, through the lens of the African continent. This is the first book on social science research ethics in an African context and an indispensable resource for researchers, students, policy makers and research institutions in or interested in African research ethics.

Maringe ought to be commended for putting together an invaluable contribution to our understanding of research into a complex education system in South Africa. This volume provides a useful foundation to the current state of education quality in South Africa including the impact of interventions. It also brings to the fore challenges still facing education transformation. The evidence presented which, taken together, lays out a coherent view of how improvements could be made. Albert Chanee Head of Planning, Gauteng Department of Education For too long the weight of educational scholarship produced in South Africa has been limited to that simple and standard form called the literature review. Now, for the first time, education researchers are provided with an African-based text on the concepts and methods of conducting systematic reviews. In this exceptional work of editorship, Felix Maringe brings together some of the leading researchers on South African education to model and demonstrate how to review a significant body of research on a chosen topic which is adjudicated strictly on the basis of the quality and efficacy of the evidence in hand. I have no doubt that this remarkable book will become a standard reference for educational researchers in and beyond the African continent. It will also lift the quality of educational inquiry by equipping a new generation of scholars with the capacity for doing evidence-based research that compels the attention of policymakers, planners and practitioners alike. Prof Jonathan Jansen Stellenbosch University

African Studies, contrary to some accounts, is not a separate continent in the world of American higher education. Its intellectual borders touch those of economics, literature, history, philosophy, and art; its history is the story of the world, both ancient and modern. This is the clear conclusion of Africa and the Disciplines, a book that addresses the question: Why should Africa be studied in the American university? This question was put to distinguished scholars in the social sciences and humanities, prominent Africanists who are also leaders in their various disciplines. Their responses make a strong and enlightening case for the importance of research on Africa to the academy. Paul Collier's essay, for example, shows how studies of African economies have clarified our understanding of the small open economies, and contributed to the theory of repressed inflation and to a number of areas in microeconomics as well. Art historian Suzanne Blier uses the terms and concepts that her discipline has applied to Africa to analyze the habits of mind and social practice of her own field. Christopher L. Miller describes the confounding and enriching impact of Africa on European and American literary theory. Political scientist Richard Sklar outlines Africa's contributions to the study of political modernization, pluralism, and rational choice. These essays, together with others from scholars in history, anthropology, philosophy, and comparative literature, attest to the influence of African research throughout the curriculum. For many, knowledge from Africa seems distant and exotic. These powerful essays suggest the contrary: that such knowledge has shaped the way in which scholars in various disciplines understand their worlds. Eloquent testimony to Africa's necessary place in the mainstream of American education, this book should alter the academy's understanding of the significance of African research, its definition of core and periphery in human knowledge. "These essays are at once exceptionally thoughtful and remarkably comprehensive. Not only do they offer an unusually interesting overview of African studies; they are also striking for the depth and freshness of their insights. This is the sort of volume from which both seasoned regional experts and students stand to learn an enormous amount."—John Comaroff, University of Chicago "These essays provide an important perspective on the evolution of African studies and offer insights into what Africa can mean for the different humanistic and social science disciplines. Many show in ingenious and subtle ways the enormous potential that the study of Africa has for confounding the main tenets of established fields. One could only hope that the strictures expressed here would be taken to heart in the scholarly world."—Robert L. Tignor, Princeton University

"Many countries all over the world are struggling to achieve for all. As part of such effort, they have strategized to provide universal primary education which normally refers to the enrollment of all school age children in primary schools, namely achieving one hundred percent of the net enrollment. While such efforts have been realized in many developing countries, it is a major challenge in most developing countries, especially in Africa following the attainment of independence. This book focuses on the influence of donor agencies in setting for the development of education in Africa leading to the preliminary interventions by different African English countries through the provision of free primary education. It is noted that most of the countries which introduced fee remission through free primary education experienced massive enrollments as many children from disadvantaged groups took advantage of the policy intervention to send their children to school. However, the push for it came to be identified with increasing deterioration in the quality of primary education right from the provision of physical facilities, teaching and learning materials, deployment of teachers, performance and transition from primary to secondary education. The quality of infrastructure and teaching and learning materials were in a deplorable state, especially in the rural areas, where such enrollments were well above the official recommended number of pupils per classroom. It proceeds to provide an interesting and easy to read accounts of the development of universal primary education in selected countries analyzing successes and challenges. Among the key challenges identified in the implementation of the UPE policy include; the lack of adequate planning, financing, inadequate infrastructure, and the HIV/AIDS scourge. On the basis of the above challenges, it is important that policy measures are put in place to improve the quality of primary education in many countries"--

What are the benefits and risks for Africa's participation in the globalisation nexus? Remapping Africa in the Global Spaceis a visionary and interdisciplinary volume that restores Africa's image using a multidisciplinary lens. It incorporates disciplines such as sociology, education, global studies, economics, development studies, political science and philosophy to explore and theorise Africa's reality in the global space and to deconstruct the misperceptions and narratives that often infantilise Africa's internal and international relations. The contributions to this volume are a hybrid of both 'outsider' and 'insider' perspectives that create a balanced critical discourse that can provide 'standard' paradigms that can adequately explain, predict, or prevent Africa's current misperceptions and myths about the African 'crisis' and 'failure'status. The authors provide a holistic, and perhaps, anticolonial and anti-hegemonic perspective that can benefit a wide spectrum of academics, scholars, students, development agents, policy makers in both governmental and non-governmental organisations and engage some alternative analyses and possibilities for socio-politico and economic advancement in Africa. The book provides up-to-date scholarly research on continental trends on various subjects and concerns of paramount importance to globalisation and development in Africa.