Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Discourses/3. Kenya: Challenging Negative Perceptions around the ‘African Child’

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Children’s Self-determination in the Context of Early Childhood Education and Services

Abstract

Contemporary childhood studies have portrayed the ‘African child’ as one who is vulnerable and disadvantaged. The developing world construct is a ‘western’ preconceived label, which shapes a universal deprived position for Africans. Nonetheless, this dichotomy is not representative of most African childhoods, which are comfortable and remain unveiled.

The chapter argues that there is need to restructure the African childhood outlook, drawing from their perspectives. A critical analysis will concern the discourses of the ‘African child’ produced by the universal childhood theories, the African childhood accounts and also the current economic and social positions of Africa. The conclusion contends that the African childhood constructions should be re-assessed through ethnography and robust education, for emancipation. This supports the UN Convention rights of the Child’s recognition of children’s right of self-determination.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ackers, J., & Hardman, F. (2012). Reforming teacher education in East Africa: Moving beyond the ‘Teacher-centered’ versus ‘Child-centered’ debate. Triennial on education and training in Africa. Tunis: Association for the Development of Education in Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adeyemi, M., & Adeyinka, A. (2002). Some key issues in African traditional education. Revue Des Sciences de L’Education de McGill, 37, 223–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Africa Economic Outlook. (2014). Global value chains and Africa industrialisation. In Engaging play. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Available from: www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/.

    Google Scholar 

  • African Child Policy Forum (ACPF). (2014). Moving from rhetoric to accountability. Available from: www.africanchildforum.org. In Engaging play. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • African Development Bank. (2011). The middle of the pyramid: Dynamics of the Middleclass in Africa. www.afdb.org. Accessed on 16 Feb 2018.

  • African Studies Centre-Leiden. (2015). Children in Africa. Available from. www.ascleiden.nl. Accessed 20 Mar 2017.

  • Alanen, L., Brooker, E., & Mayall, B. (2015). Childhood with Bourdieu: Studies in childhood and youth. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, R. (2008). Towards dialogic thinking: Rethinking classroom talk. London: Dialogos.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Jazeera. (2014). Why Nigeria failed to contain Boko Haram. Available from: www.aljazeera.com. In Engaging play. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andre, G., & Hilgers, M. (2015). Childhood in Africa between local powers and global hierchies. London: Palgrave Macmillan publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • BBC. (2014). Kenya’ economy grows by 25% after recalculation. Available from: www.bbc.co.uk/news/business. Accessed 20 Mar 2017.

  • BBC. (2015). This world: Outbreak-the truth about Ebola. Available from: www.bbc.com. Accessed 1 Apr 2017.

  • Benoite, L. A. (2013). An overview of the Kenyan education system: Issues and obstacles to learning. Available from: http://nmfkenya.org/index.php/stories/item/15-simple-blog-post-5. Accessed 20 Mar 2017.

  • Cheney, K. (2010). Deconstruction childhood vulnerability. An introduction childhood in Africa. Childhood in Africa, an Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(1), 1–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chimamanda, N. A. (2009). The danger of a single story. Available from: www.ted.com. Accessed 14 Nov 2016.

  • Clifford, J. (1988). The predicament of culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, R. (1994). Building people’s strengths. Netherlands: Bernard Van leer Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corrado, E. W. (2014). Discover fulfilled living: How to attain success, health and happiness. London: Spiffing Covers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corsaro, A. W. (2011). The sociology of childhood. London: Sage publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. (2006). Planet of slums. London: Verso Books.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dietz-Uhler, B., & Muller, A. (1998). Effects of social identity and threat on self esteem and group attributions. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 2, 24–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diop, B. B. (2014). Africa beyond the mirror. Oxford: Ayiebia Clarke publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P., & Macedo, D. (1993). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillian, F. (1993). Intergroup attributions in minimal groups: Journal of social psychology, Vol 134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, A., & Gordon, D. L. (2001). Understanding contemporary Africa. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helfrich, H. (1999). Beyond the dilemma of cross-cultural psychology: Resolving the tension between etic and emic approaches. Culture & Psychology, 5(2), 131–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holden, C. (2005). Educating for Europe; the knowledge and understanding of British children. Education Journal, 32, 39–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holloway, W., Lucey, H., & Phoenix, A. (2007). Social psychology. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as practice of freedom. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibbott, R. (2014). Ujamaa, the hidden story of Tanzania’s socialist village. London: Crossroads Women Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF 2013) World Economy Survey; Sub- Saharan Africa. www.elibrary.imf.org. Accessed Oct 2014.

  • Jackson, A. L., Sullivan, A. L., & Hodge, N. C. (1993). Stereotypes effects on attributions, predictions and evaluations: No two social judgments are alike. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 69–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, A., & James, A. (2001). Childhood: Toward a theory of continuity and change. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 575, 25–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, A., & Prout, A. (1997). Constructing and re-constructing childhood. London: Falmer Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, A., Jenks, C., & Prout, A. (2002). Theorizing childhood. London: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassam, Y. (1995). Julius Nyerere. Paris: UNESCO Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenyatta, J. (1965). Facing Mount Kenya. New York: Vintage Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilbride, P. (2010). A cultural and gender perspective on marginal children on the street of Kenya. Childhood in Africa, an Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(1), 38–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 465–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langdridge, D., & Taylor, S. (2007). Critical readings in social psychology. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maathai, W. (2009). The challenge for Africa. London: Arrow Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandela, N. (1994). Long walk to freedom: The autobiography of Nelson Mandela. London: Brown Book Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mansilla, V. B., & Gardner, H. (2007). From teaching globalisation to nurturing global consciousness. University Press of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazrui, A. (2000). A preliminary critique of a TV series by Henry Louis Gate Jr. Black Scholar, 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLeod, S. A. (2008). Simply psychology. Available from: www.simplypsychology.org. Accessed 20 Mar 2017.

  • Meinck, F., Cluver, L. D., Boyes, M. E., & Mhlongo, L. E. (2015). Risk and protective factors for physical and sexual abuse of children and adolescent in Africa: A review and implications for practice. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 16, 81–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mercer, N. (2000). Words and minds: How we use language to think together. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Msafiri Magazine. (2014). 10 African heroes. Available from: www.msafirimag.com. Accessed 26 Nov 2016.

  • NHS. (2014). Ebola virus disease; an overview. Available from: www.nhs.uk. Accessed 2 Apr 2017.

  • Njoya, T. M. (2008). The crisis of explosive masculinity. Men for the Equality of Men and Women (MEW). Nairobi: Karen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Njoya, M. W. (2015). History: My true story: www.youtube.com. Accessed 30 Oct 2015.

  • Njoya, T. M. (2017). WE the people: Thinking heavenly acting Kenyanly. Nairobi: Word Alive Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nwomonoh, J. (1998). Education and development in Africa: A contemporary survey. London: International Scholars Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Onimode, B. (2009). A future for Africa: Beyond the politics of adjustment. London: Earth Scan publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascal, Z. G. (2008). The coming revolution in Africa. Wilson Quarterly, 50–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, D., & Schweisfurth, M. (2007). Comparative education and international education. London: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pillay, J. (2014). Advancement of children’s rights in Africa: A social justice frame work for school psychologist. School Psychology International, 35, 225–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poncian, J. (2015). The persistence of western negative perception about Africa: Factoring the role of Africans. Journal of African Studies and Development, 7, 72–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R. J. (2007). Who are the bright children? The cultural context of being and acting intelligent. Educational Researcher, 36(3), 148–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Good Child Report. (2015). The children’s society: www.childrensociety.org.uk. Accessed 16 Feb 2018.

  • The Guardian. (2014). BBC: ‘We have a ‘duty’ to make the Rwandan genocide documentary. Available from: www.theguardian.com. Accessed 02 Apr 2017.

  • The Telegraph. (2015). The Rwanda untold story, BBC 2: Review-intense. Available from: www.telegraph.co.uk. Accessed 2 Apr 2015.

  • Thiong’o, N. (1983). Homecoming; essays on African and Caribbean literature culture and politics. New York: Lawrence Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twum-Danso, I. (2013). Children’s perceptions of physical punishment in Ghana and the implications for the children’s rights. Childhood, 20, 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2015). Early childhood care and education. Available from: www.unesco.org. Accessed 13 Mar 2017.

  • United Nations. (1989). United Nations convection on rights of children. Available from: http://www.unicef.org/crc/. Accessed 20 Feb 2014.

  • Woods, P. (2006). Inside schools, ethnography in education research. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Middlesex University, London, UK

    Evelyn Wandia Corrado & Leena Helavaara Robertson

Authors
  1. Evelyn Wandia Corrado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Leena Helavaara Robertson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Evelyn Wandia Corrado .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health and Society, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK

    Federico Farini

  2. School of Health and Education, Middlesex University, London, UK

    Angela Scollan

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Corrado, E.W., Helavaara Robertson, L. (2019). Discourses/3. Kenya: Challenging Negative Perceptions around the ‘African Child’. In: Farini, F., Scollan, A. (eds) Children’s Self-determination in the Context of Early Childhood Education and Services. International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development, vol 25. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14556-9_12

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14556-9_12

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-14555-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-14556-9

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation