Conclusions and Recommendations: Local Languages and Knowledge for Sustainable Development

Abstract

In recent decades, most Sub-Saharan African countries have instituted educational reforms, particularly the development of new curricula; however, implementation has not always been suited to the reality, even if the policies were well thought out. Development aid support from international institutions and international development agencies has not prioritized local languages as languages of instruction. Moreover, contextual and material supports are likely to have poor outcomes when implemented in a foreign language. There is a large body of evidence referenced throughout this book confirming that educational reforms in developing countries have rarely been effectively implemented and have often failed to achieve their objectives. Many mistakes in African implementation get repeated because governments model their changes on previous, faulty changes. Cumulative and comparative research knowledge and experiences could be used to describe the successes and failures of implementation and contribute to improvements in new efforts. As discussed in my previous book (Babaci-Wilhite, 2014), the focus in curriculum changes has been on the reforms and not on the implementation process, therefore there is an urgent need to give the process more attention so that methods can be developed to address them.