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The Palgrave Handbook of African Colonial and Postcolonial History pp 281–302Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Colonial Education

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Abstract

Duke Bryant offers an overview of the history of colonial education in Africa‚ discussing the early period of missionary education, the growing interest of the colonial state in the late nineteenth century, the predominance of ‘adapted’ education in the interwar period, the expansion and reform of the postwar era, and postcolonial legacies. She focuses in particular on African responses to and experiences of colonial education, relying on her original research on Senegal and on published accounts from across the continent. She views this history through the lens of African agency and ambivalence, arguing that although Africans shaped colonial education and the uses to which it could be put, its complicated legacies led colonial education to occupy an ambivalent position in African history.

I wish to thank the editors and copy-editors of this volume, whose diligent work has helped to make this a stronger chapter. I am also grateful to those who suggested pertinent primary sources and novels : Kathleen Sheldon, Gabeba Baderoon, Claire L. Dehon, Elena Vezzadini, Jennifer Sessions, Robert E. Smith, and Sara Berry.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of History, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA

    Kelly Duke Bryant

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  1. Kelly Duke Bryant
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. History Department, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA

    Martin S. Shanguhyia

  2. University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA

    Toyin Falola

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Bryant, K.D. (2018). Colonial Education. In: Shanguhyia, M., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Colonial and Postcolonial History. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59426-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59426-6_10

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