Module: EDU5112-20 Zambian Fieldwork with Reference to Education

Level: 5

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Tingtng Yuan

Module Tutor Contact Details: t.yuan@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

You must either take this module or EDU5113-20 Zambia: Policy, Power & Ideology with reference to Education as a required part of your award. The British South African Company (BSAC) who ruled Zambia (known as North Western and North Eastern Rhodesia) until 1924, believed there was little purpose in educating Africans as it would not contribute to the territory’s economic development. As a result, there was little attempt to educate the Zambia population until it established independence in 1964.

Despite sizable growth in post-colonial primary and secondary school enrolment, Zambia’s education system suffered greatly during the structural adjustment programmes that were imposed on the country in the 1980s. Today, provision is patchy with a marked difference between rural and urban areas and significant differences between private, government and community schools.

In this module, you will consider the conditions under which the Zambian education system has evolved and the role that global actors, such as the World Bank, have played in the process. You will consider the implications of the current arrangements, particularly with reference to social justice.

As with all modules examining international development contexts, the posititionality of the ‘researcher’ is a significant issue. As a result, the module will focus on pre-existing assumptions and values, and how these can impact on international contexts. Students will be required to consider the limitations of their own understanding and to adopt a relfex approach to the research process.

2.Outline syllabus

• Preparatory seminars

• Fieldwork

• Participant observation

• Interviewing

• Journaling/reflexivity

• Debrief

3.Teaching and learning activities

Key skills:

• Data collection in a foreign context/cultural sensitivity

• Mini-ethnographic research methods

• Critical thinking

• Constructing and evidencing an academic argument

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Journal entries indicative example (3 days equivalent or similar)

• % Weighting: 50%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Field report, including selected transcriptions of interview

• % Weighting: 50%

Assessment Item 3:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Completion of Field Trip

• % Weighting: Pass/Fail