Infrastructure in Africa

Infrastructure in Africa
Author: Ncube, Mthuli
Publisher: Policy Press
Total Pages: 720
Release: 2017-03-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1447326636

This book presents a comprehensive account and analysis of the current state of infrastructure in Africa with an unprecedented level of detail. Covering nearly twenty specific topical issues for the ongoing development of African infrastructure--including the economic and political aspects of infrastructure development, financing and the mobilization of domestic resources, and the potential for social inclusion--the volume explicitly challenges current policy, practice, and thinking in this area.

The Future of Work in Africa

The Future of Work in Africa
Author: Jieun Choi
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2020-06-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464814457

The Future of Work in Africa focuses on the key themes of creating productive jobs and addressing the needs of those left behind. It highlights how global trends, especially the adoption of digital technologies, may change the nature of work in Sub-Saharan Africa by creating new opportunities and challenges. It argues that, contrary to global fears of worker displacement by new technologies, African countries can develop an inclusive future of work, with opportunities for lower-skilled workers. Harnessing these opportunities is, however, contingent on implementing policies and making productive investments in four main areas. These are enabling inclusive digital technologies; building human capital for a young, rapidly growing, and largely low-skilled labor force; increasing the productivity of informal workers and enterprises; and extending social protection coverage to mitigate the risks associated with disruptions to labor markets. This companion report to the World Bank’s World Development Report 2019 concludes with important policy questions that should guide future research, whose findings could lead to more inclusive growth for African nations.

Critical Perspectives of Educational Technology in Africa

Critical Perspectives of Educational Technology in Africa
Author: Bellarmine A. Ezumah
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2020-10-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030537285

This book is a critical-cultural evaluation of educational technology adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa, including projects such as the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child). It presents efficient ways of improving education delivery among low-income communities through designing and implementing congruent educational technologies that incorporate social and cultural proclivities. Ezumah defines technology with regards to pedagogy, and seeks to debunk the assumption that educational technology consists only of digital and interactive options. Additionally, she argues for a narrative paradigm shift aimed at validating analog technologies as equally capable of providing necessary and desired educational objectives and outcomes for communities who cannot afford the digital alternatives. By comparing African educational systems in precolonial, colonial, and post-colonial times and incorporating the history of technology transfers from the Global North to South, the book highlights cultural imperialism, development theory, neocolonialism, and hegemonic tendencies.

Space Supporting Africa

Space Supporting Africa
Author: Annette Froehlich
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2020-12-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030617807

​This book addresses the need to support decision-makers across Africa by promoting awareness of the importance of space technologies and data to African development through the presentation of existing examples where space supports education and healthcare, and by making recommendations for further roll-out of these efforts. This is necessary because of the enduring misconception that space-related research and expenditure competes with other, more pressing, needs on the continent, when in truth space can play a major role in meeting these needs. Accordingly, the book unpacks the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 and the critical needs they address in the African context. Secondly, it provides an analysis of the African higher education landscape and considers the network of higher education-related SDGs, their targets, and their indicators. Africa’s own development plan, Agenda 2063, is also explored. The African higher education landscape is then assessed by way of three models – the Space-Education Equation (SEE), the Benefits to Education by Space Transection (BEST), and the Enhanced Education for Sustainable Development Access and Success (EESDAS) model. The critical role of educational technologies and e-learning in bridging the educational access and success gap is appraised, as is the role of the space sector, and its technologies, applications, and data in African higher education. Finally, it explores e-health and provides an analysis of pertinent technologies required by e-health, past and present, and the opportunities and challenges it presents. Space technology can play a critical role in eliminating the barriers that are currently preventing e-health from playing a more significant role in a developing region such as sub-Saharan Africa.

Teaching and Learning with Digital Technologies in Higher Education Institutions in Africa

Teaching and Learning with Digital Technologies in Higher Education Institutions in Africa
Author: Admire Mare
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2022-12-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 100080268X

This book critically examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated digital innovation within higher education using case studies from Africa. Imagining a future for post-pandemic higher education, it analyses the challenges and opportunities of remote teaching and learning. The book explores the structural barriers around access to higher education and how these were reconfigured and amplified by technology-dependent teaching and learning. Case studies from countries across Africa provide unique insights into the challenges experienced by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining examples of emergent pedagogies such as online, mobile and social media-enhanced teaching, and blended learning. The chapters consider online assessment and teacher professional development, critically examining some of the benefits and structural challenges of digital technology integration in the context of pre-existing education disparities (such as students and teachers living in poverty-stricken and highly unequal societies). Offering invaluable insights into higher education in Africa, the book will be essential reading for researchers, scholars, and students in the fields of higher education study, digital education and educational technology, and African and comparative education. It will also be of interest to higher education managers and policymakers.

Embedding Space in African Society

Embedding Space in African Society
Author: Annette Froehlich
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2019-05-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030060403

This book provides a detailed insight into how space and its applications are embedded, and can be further embedded, into African society in support of the SDGs, while taking into account the specific features, needs, and diversity of that society. Contributions drawn from across the continent and further afield provide analyses of the particular social situations in a variety of different African countries and regions, and highlight areas where space applications support the SDGs, and where they can further do so. The chapters cover a wide array of relevant and timely topics including basic needs like water quality, education, and capacity building, as well as financial, security, and legal aspects, together with facets of space technologies and infrastructure in Africa. Embedding Space in African Society will be of great interest to students and professionals in sustainable development, governance, and space studies.

The Impact of School Infrastructure on Learning

The Impact of School Infrastructure on Learning
Author: Peter Barrett
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 71
Release: 2019-02-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1464813787

'The Impact of School Infrastructure on Learning: A Synthesis of the Evidence provides an excellent literature review of the resources that explore the areas of focus for improved student learning, particularly the aspiration for “accessible, well-built, child-centered, synergetic and fully realized learning environments.†? Written in a style which is both clear and accessible, it is a practical reference for senior government officials and professionals involved in the planning and design of educational facilities, as well as for educators and school leaders. --Yuri Belfali, Head of Division, Early Childhood and Schools, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills This is an important and welcome addition to the surprisingly small, evidence base on the impacts of school infrastructure given the capital investment involved. It will provide policy makers, practitioners, and those who are about to commission a new build with an important and comprehensive point of reference. The emphasis on safe and healthy spaces for teaching and learning is particularly welcome. --Harry Daniels, Professor of Education, Department of Education, Oxford University, UK This report offers a useful library of recent research to support the, connection between facility quality and student outcomes. At the same time, it also points to the unmet need for research to provide verifiable and reliable information on this connection. With such evidence, decisionmakers will be better positioned to accurately balance the allocation of limited resources among the multiple competing dimensions of school policy, including the construction and maintenance of the school facility. --David Lever, K-12 Facility Planner, Former Executive Director of the Interagency Committee on School Construction, Maryland Many planners and designers are seeking a succinct body of research defining both the issues surrounding the global planning of facilities as well as the educational outcomes based on the quality of the space provided. The authors have finally brought that body of evidence together in this well-structured report. The case for better educational facilities is clearly defined and resources are succinctly identified to stimulate the dialogue to come. We should all join this conversation to further the process of globally enhancing learning-environment quality! --David Schrader, AIA, Educational Facility Planner and Designer, Former Chairman of the Board of Directors, Association for Learning Environments (A4LE)