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Institute for African Development
Spring Symposium 2015
Conference sponsored by:
Institute for African Development
190 Uris Hall
Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853
t.607.255.5499 / 6849 f.607.254.5000
[email protected]
Co-sponsored by:
Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies
Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital:
Outcomes for Equality and Governance in Africa
April 17-18, 2015
Statler Hotel
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Symposium Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Development
Institute for African Development/Cambridge Scholars Publishing Book Series
he Institute for African Development (IAD) focuses Cornell University’s interests, research, and
outreach on the study of Africa. It also seeks to expand the depth and breadth of teaching on
Africa within the University community and to build a faculty and student constitutency that is
knowledgeable about issues of African development. IAD serves as a base for Cornell’s initiative of
strengthening the study of Africa, creating an enabling environment for the University to play a key
role in the creation of policies that influence the continent’s development.
Making creative contributions to development policy in Africa
Contributing to meaningful, contemporary studies of Africa and the world
T
Conference Abstract
I
n its 2014 African Economic Outlook Report, the African Development Bank observes that
generally Africa has made substantial progress recently in human development, as poverty levels
are falling, incomes are rising, and education and health indicators show considerable improvement.
The Human Development Index shows 1.5 percent annual growth, and fifteen countries are
considered to have medium to very high human development. However, in a significant number of
countries income inequality is still widening, and education and health indicators are deteriorating.
Thus the AfDB Report further observes that there is room for more progress in areas of inclusion,
gender equality, and environmental sustainability.
Clearly Africa needs to invest more in education and human capital development if its growth
is to be sustainable and to translate into improved living standards for all Africans. Investment in
education and human capital will also help improve African economic competitiveness in world
trade and thereby create jobs for Africans. Investments are needed not only in education but also
in infrastructure development, institution building, and good governance. The role of education
in reducing poverty, increasing economic competitiveness, and improving peace and stability,
however, cannot be overemphasized. The education of girls in particular has been linked to lower
fertility rates, lower maternal mortality rates, a reduction in the numbers of early marriages, and a
reduced rate of gender violence. Good governance (“the manner in which power is exercised in the
management of a country’s economic and social resources for development”) is an important factor
in eradicating poverty, creating employment, promoting equality, and encouraging adoption of
policies that support respect for human rights and improved livelihoods.
Against this backdrop, the 2015 Institute for African Development annual symposium will
examine education and the development of human capital in Africa, with emphasis on outcomes that
favor equality and good governance. We will strive to identify challenges facing the education sector
in Africa and analyze which policies support inclusive, sustainable development.
Inequality and ineffective policies are often blamed for the poor links between economic growth
and human development, but data shows that links between economic growth, inequality, and
human development are less robust than often assumed. A pattern of inclusive growth is essential to
poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa. The design and implementation of policies and institutions
conducive to inclusive growth require a better understanding of the relationships linking growth,
inequality, and poverty.
The symposium will critically examine strategies for ensuring that growth translates
into improved livelihoods for people and policies that build the capacity of youth and other
disadvantaged communities to enable participation in the economy. Realizing that the fight for the
eradication of poverty involves not only the government but civil society and the private sector as
well, it is hoped that the symposium will include the roles of these sectors in the discussions on these
topics. NEW from IAD/CSP
Problems, Promises, and Paradoxes of Aid:
Africa’s Experience
Editors Muna Ndulo and Nicolas van de Walle
This book is an anthology of essays contributing new scholarship
to the contemporary aid discourse. It provides an interdisciplinary
investigation of the role of aid in African development, compiling
the work of historians, political scientists, legal scholars, and
economists to examine where aid has failed and to offer new
perspectives on how aid can be made more effective.
To meet the needs of the communities they want to help,
donors should work through consultation and a measure of
recipient ownership. Donors need to understand context, to
protect human rights, and to be guided by principles of social and
environmental justice. Other suggested strategies for making aid
more effective include peer review, self-assessment, empowering
women, encouraging accountability, investing in agriculture,
helping smallholder subsistence farmers, introducing ethical and
professional standards for civil service, and raising the competence of civil servants.
IAD/CSP 2014, 377 pages, 978-1-4438-6745-0, 1-4438-6745-4
NEW from IAD/CSP
Towards Impact and Resilience:
Transformative Change through Agricultural Education and
Training in sub-Saharan Africa
Edited by Frans Swanepoel, Zenda Ofir, and Aldo Stroebel
This book focuses on clarifying the challenges, issues, and priorities
of Agricultural Education and Training (AET) in sub-Saharan Africa
and provides suggestions for practical solutions that can help
guide organisations interested in furthering AET for agricultural
development on the continent. The book discusses the African
context within which a transformed AET system needs to be located;
analyses African and international experiences that are relevant to
identified AET needs and challenges; dissects AET models that may
hold important lessons; and addresses the main critical issues that
will impact on AET in sub-Saharan Africa. The concluding chapter
synthesises the ideas, experiences, and evidence from the chapters
in order to highlight critical issues for success as well as possible
solutions. The book is uniquely positioned to add to a call to action on AET, to pull together stateof-the-art knowledge from within and outside sub-Saharan Africa, and to advance “out of the box”
thinking about the principles, values and character of AET for development, with an emphasis on
the models that can help to cultivate leaders and change-makers at all levels of the agricultural
sector.
IAD/CSP 2014, 546 pages, 978-1-4438-5680-5, 1-4438-5680-0
Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Development
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Development
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Education and the Development of Human Capital:
Outcomes for Equality and Governance in Africa
Friday, April 17, 2015 – ILR Conference Center Room 423
2:30 pm General Welcome
Muna Ndulo, Director, Institute for African Development; Elizabeth and Arthur Reich Director,
Berger International Legal Studies Program; Professor, Cornell Law School
3:00 pm–5:00 pm. Session 1: Education, Policy, Goals, and Achievements
Moderator: Dotsevi Sogah, Professor, Chemistry and Chemical Biology,
Cornell University
Cognitive Achievement Production in Madagascar: a Value-added Model Approach
David Sahn, International Professor of Economics in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the
Department of Economics, Cornell University
The Impracticalities of Pragmatic Education: The Disconnect between Top-Down Human CapitalBuilding Policies and Processes of Schooling
Jennifer Riggan, Associate Professor of International Studies, Acardia University
A Global Equalizer? Education and the Economic Convergence of Countries
Parfait Eloundou-Enyegue, Professor, Development Sociology, Cornell University; and Michael Tenikue,
Senior Research Fellow, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research
5:30 pm–6:30 pm: Keynote Address
Introduction of Keynote Speaker: Kifle Gebremedhin, Professor, Biological and
Environmental Engineering, Cornell University
Keynote Speaker
Teboho Moja
Clinical Professor of Higher Education
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education,
and Human Development
New York University
Reception will follow keynote address.
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Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Develop0ment
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Saturday, April 18, 2015 – ILR Conference Center 423
8:30 am–9 am: Breakfast (open to all)
9 am–11:30 am. Session 2: Higher Education, Skills, and Capacity Building
Moderator: Heike Michelsen, Director of Programming, Einaudi Center for International Studies,
Cornell University
The Significance of Doctoral Education and Training for Development in sub-Saharan Africa
Aldo Stroebel, Executive Director, National Research Foundation, South Africa; Visiting Fellow, IAD
Women, Science, and Higher Education in Ghana: Challenges, Outcomes, and Possibilities
Josephine Beoku-Betts, Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies, Center for Women, Gender and
Sexuality Studies, Florida Atlantic University
Higher Education and Gender in the Post-2015 Development Agenda: An Enabling Nexus for
Human Capabilities and Social Progress in Africa
N’dri Assie-Lumumba, Professor, Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University
11:30 am–11:45 am: Coffee/Tea Break
11:45 am–12:30 pm. Session 3: Development, Governance, and Education
Moderator: Ndunge Kiiti, Professor of Intercultural Studies, Houghton College
Who Bears Responsibility for Schooling in Rural Communities in post-Post-conflict Sierra Leone?
Susan Shepler, Associate Professor, School of International Service, American University
Education and Human Capital among Geographically Isolated Regions and Marginalized Groups
in Kenya
Serah Shani, Visiting Professor of Anthropology, Eastern University
12:30 pm–1:30 pm: Lunch
Bios of Speakers and Moderators
N’Dri T. Assie-Lumumba is a Professor at the Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell
University. She is also a member of four other Cornell graduate fields: Education; International
Development; International Agriculture and Rural Development; and the Cornell Institute of Public
Affairs (CIPA). She has a Ph.D. in Comparative Education (Economics and Sociology of Education)
from the University of Chicago. In 2006, she was elected a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and
Science. She has served as Director of Cornell’s Program on Gender and Global Change; and she is
Chercheur Associé at Centre de Recherches Architecturales et Urbaines, Université de Cocody in
Côte d’Ivoire as well as research affiliate in the Institute for Higher Education, Law and Governance
of the University of Houston (Texas). Her extensive publications include the authored and edited
books Cyberspace, Distance Learning, and Higher Education in Developing Countries; Higher Education
in Africa: Crises, Reforms, and Transformation; Women and Higher Education in Africa: Reconceptualizing
Gender-based Human Capabilities and Upgrading Human Rights to Knowledge; and the co-edited book
African Voices in Education.
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Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Development
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Saturday, April 18, 2015 continued
1:30–2:15 pm. Session 3 continued
The Education, Inclusion, and Development of Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Crucial Aspects
for Governance in Africa
Jace Pillay, Professor and South African Research Chair, Education and Care in Childhood
University of Johannesburg
Mis-educating the Nigerian Child: The Twin Crises of Public Primary and Secondary Education
joan Osa Oviawe, Visiting Scholar, Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University; Faculty
Fellow, Cornell Telluride House; Founder, Grace Development Initiatives
2:15 pm–4:15 pm. Session 4: Education, Outcomes, and Innovation
Moderator: joan Osa Oviawe, Visiting Scholar, Africana Studies and Research Center
Education, Development, and Aspirations in Kenya
Elisabeth King, Associate Professor, International Education & Politics, Steinhardt School of Culture,
Education, and Human Development, New York University
How Does Education Influence the Relationship Between Religion and Innovation in Africa?
John Osiri, Clinical Professor in Entrepreneurship and International Business, Washington State University;
Founder, Unleash Group
An Agricultural Education and Skills Improvement Framework to Support Agricultural
Transformation in Africa
Frans Swanepoel, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, University of Western Cape,
South Africa
Free Primary Education and Education Outcomes in Benin
Gbetonmasse Somasse, Ph.D. Candidate, Economics, Clark University
4:15 pm–4:30 pm. Closing: Kifle Gebremedhin
Professor, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University
Josephine Beoku-Betts is a Professor at the Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies,
Florida Atlantic University. Previously she was on the faculty of Women’s Studies and Sociology
at the University of Georgia. Her current research is on women’s peace movements and post-war
reconstruction in Sierra Leone and Liberia. She is co-editor of Women and Education in Sub-Saharan
Africa: Power, Opportunities, and Constraints (1998) and several articles and book chapters in feminist
and other scholarly journals. She was formerly co-regional editor for Women’s Studies International
Forum, and co-Book Review Editor for Gender and Society. She is currently the co-President-elect for
the RC32 Committee (Women and Society) of the International Sociological Association. Dr. BeokuBetts received the 2015 SWS Feminist Activism Award from Sociologists for Women in Society.
Parfait Eloundou-Enyegue is Professor of Development Sociology at Cornell University. He has a
Ph.D. in Demography and Rural Sociology from Pennsylvania State University. Prior to coming to
Cornell he was a Research consultant with the RAND Corporation. His research focuses on three
areas: the Sociology of Education, Social Change, and the Demography of Inequality. He has studied
the socio-economic consequences of demographic transitions in sub-Saharan Africa, especially
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Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Develop0ment
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital
how these transitions impact schooling, gender inequality, and socioeconomic inequality. He has
numerous articles published in journals including the Journal of Children and Poverty, Demography,
Demographic Research, and Comparative Education Research. He is currently working on a book titled
The Lion’s Share: Between Emergence and Divergence in Africa.
Kifle Gebremedhin is a professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering,
Cornell University, and Chair of the Advisory Board for the Institute for African Development. He
is an elected Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and
a member the American Society of Civil Engineers, the National Frame Builders Association, the
Institute of Biological Engineering, and various honor societies. He has published over 190 refereed
journal articles and research technical publications and has made numerous invited presentations
nationally and internationally.
Heike Michelsen is Director of Programming at the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies,
Cornell University. She coordinates the Einaudi Center’s programmatic involvement in the Foreign
Policy Initiative and provides support to faculty and students with funding for international
activities. Previously she worked at the International Service for National Agricultural Research, a
center of CGIAR. Since 1996, she has been the leader of ISNAR’s University in national agricultural
research study in Africa and has worked with a group of scientists on linking research organizations
and stakeholders in a changing environment. She has an MSc and PhD in Economics from the
University of Hohenheim, Germany.
Ndunge Kiiti is Professor of Intercultural Studies at Houghton College. She has a master’s degree
from Wheaton College (through Daystar University in Nairobi) and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.
She also serves as adjunct professor at the Emory University Department of Global Health, Rollins
School of Public Health, and frequently lectures on international health, policy and gender issues,
HIV/AIDS in Africa, and the impact of health and HIV/AIDS on development. She has served as
Director of Partnership Development for Africa and Latin America with MAP International, an
organization that addresses total health care issues and makes a difference in the lives of millions in
Africa and Latin America.
Elisabeth King is Associate Professor of International Education and Politics, Steinhardt School
of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. As a political scientist,
she is working on issues related to conflict, peacebuilding, and development in sub-Saharan
Africa. Her recent projects examine how education, youth programs, and community-driven
development interventions work (or not) for people in the global South. She has published a book
titled From Classrooms to Conflict in Rwanda (Cambridge University Press, 2014), which earned
her the Outstanding Canadians Leadership Award from the Ontario History and Social Science
Teachers Association. Dr. King has received grants from the United States Institute for Peace, the
United Nations Development Program, the Folke Bernadotte Academy, and Columbia University’s
Earth Clinic. She has a PhD in political science from the University of Toronto and was previously
a postdoctoral research fellow at Columbia University’s Centre for the Study of Development
Strategies as well as a fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs.
Muna Ndulo (LLB, Zambia, Harvard; D. Phil, Oxford), Professor of Law; Elizabeth and Arthur
Reich Director of the Berger International Legal Studies Program; and Director of the Institute for
African Development at Cornell University, is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of
constitution-making, governance, human rights, and foreign direct investment. He is also Honorary
Professor of Law at the University of Cape Town and Extra Ordinary Professor of Law at the Free
State University, South Africa. He has extensive international and UN experience, having served as
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Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Development
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Legal Officer in the International Law Branch of the UN Commission on International Trade Law
and as Political and Legal Adviser with UN Missions in South Africa, East Timor, Kosovo, and
Afghanistan. He has been a consultant to the African Development Bank, the UN Development
Program, the National Democratic Institute, the U.S. Institute for Peace, and the International
Development Law Organization. He was a consultant to the Kenya Constitutional Process (2010),
the Zimbabwe Constitutional Process (1999), and the Somalia Constitutional Process (2012). He is
founder of the Southern African Institute for Public Policy and Research and serves on the Board
of Directors of the African Association of International Law; on the Advisory Committee, Human
Rights Watch; and as Chairperson of Gender Links, a South African NGO. He has published 17
books and over 90 articles in academic journals. He is a frequent commentator in newspaper articles
and has regularly been interviewed on African affairs by the BBC and Voice of America.
joan Osa Oviawe is Executive Director of the Grace Foundation and a policy and development
specialist with over seven years of community development and cross-cultural collaborative
experience. She has a strong background in designing and monitoring programs that help facilitate
healthy and vibrant communities. In addition, she is visionary professional with a strong legislative
advocacy background in Community and International development. Her career focuses on
sustainable development and harnessing the innate abilities of the less privileged around the world
for positive change. She works in collaborative learning and holistic development where indigenous
knowledge and ways of knowing are taken into account and validated.
Teboho Moja is a Clinical Professor of Higher Education at the Steinhardt School of Culture,
Education, and Human Development, New York University. She has authored articles on higher
education reform issues in areas such as the governance of higher education, policy processes, and
the impact of globalization on higher education. She is co-author of a book on educational changes
that have taken place in South Africa since the first democratic elections of 1994. Dr. Moja has
held key positions at several South African universities, including chair of the Board of Trustees,
University of South Africa. In 2010 she was appointed Visiting Professor at the University of Oslo
(Norway) and the University of Tampere (Finland). She was instrumental in setting up the Center
for Higher Education Transformation (CHET) in South Africa to monitor and stimulate debate
on change. She serves on the boards of international bodies such as the UNESCO Institute for
International Education Planning and the World Education Market. She teaches Current Research in
Higher Education, International Perspectives on Reform, and Globalization and Higher Education.
She has been a policy researcher and policy analyst for higher education in South Africa, where
she was appointed by Nelson Mandela as Executive Director and Commissioner to the National
Commission on Higher Education. The Commission produced a national report that provided a
framework for higher education reform in South Africa. Before coming to NYU, Teboho Moja served
as a Special Advisor to the Minister of Education.
John Kalu Osiri is Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship and International Business at Washington
State University. He is founder of the ‘Unleash’ Group and an international educator, author,
entrepreneur, speaker, and mentor. His research is concerned with product development and
commercialization of innovation. He earned a Baccalaureate degree in Chemistry from Grambling
State University, and a Ph.D. in Bio-Analytical Chemistry (with an emphasis on biotechnological
research) from Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge. His Post-Doctorate in Entrepreneurship and
International Business was completed at The University of Florida-Gainesville. His primary work is
in building businesses and assisting struggling communities.
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Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Develop0ment
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Jace Pillay is Professor and South African Research Chair of Education and Care in Childhood
at the University of Johannesburg. He was previously Vice Dean, Faculty of Education at UJ. He
subsequently accepted a post as the head of school psychological services in the government
sector. Later he took up community and educational psychology. He has a Masters in Educational
Psychology from the University of Witwatersrand and degrees in Counseling Psychology and
Human Resource Management from Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) and the Damelin School
of Management, respectively. In 2001–2004, he was Associate Professor and Chair of Educational
Psychology at RAU. He has published in peer-reviewed journals including the International Journal
on Learning, the South African Journal of Education, Education as Change, School Psychology International,
and the South African Journal of Psychology.
Jennifer Riggan is an Associate Professor of International Studies in the Department of Historical and
Political Studies at Arcadia University. She is a political anthropologist whose research addresses
issues including nationalism, citizenship, state formation, militarism, development, and education
in Africa. She has published on the changing relationship between citizenship and nationalism
and the relationship between militarization, education and development. She is the author of a
forthcoming book, The Struggling State: Mass Militarization and the Reeducation of Eritrea. Her research
has been funded by a Fulbright research fellowship, a Social Science Research Council International
Fellowship, and a Spencer/National Academy of Education Postdoctoral Fellowship.
David E. Sahn is an International Professor of Economics in the Division of Nutritional Sciences
and the Department of Economics at Cornell University. He has a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Michigan. His main
academic interest is analyzing the determinants of, and solutions to poverty, food insecurity,
malnutrition, and disease in developing countries. Before coming to Cornell, Professor Sahn was
an Economist at the World Bank, and prior to that, a Research Fellow at IFPRI. He has worked with
international organizations such as OECD and UN agencies including UNICEF, UNDP, the Food
and Agricultural Organization, and the World Health Organization in Asia, Africa, and Eastern
Europe. He has published over 110 peer-reviewed books, chapters, and journal articles on issues of
poverty, inequality, education, health, and related policy. This literature includes research focused
on the impact of economic policy on household welfare, such as his widely cited books Structural
Adjustment Reconsidered (Cambridge University Press) and Economic Reform and the Poor in Africa
(Oxford University Press), as well as numerous other publications.
Serah Shani is a Visiting Professor of Anthropology at Eastern University in Pennsylvania. She has
a Ph.D. from Columbia University and was previously a lecturer in African Studies at the Center for
International and Area Studies at Yale University. Her areas of academic research interest include
globalization, migration, transnationalism, political anthropology, Africa and the African diaspora,
anthropology, anthropology and education, race and ethnicity studies, and ethnographic research.
Susan Shepler is Assistant Professor in the School of International Service at American University.
She holds a Ph.D. in social and cultural studies in education and an MA in mathematics from the
University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests include youth and conflict, reintegration of
former child soldiers, post-conflict reconstruction, refugees, education and economic development,
NGOs and globalization, transitional justice, and childhood studies. In addition to her academic
work, Dr. Shepler has conducted research for UNICEF, the IRC, and Search for Common Ground.
Her work has appeared in The Journal of Modern African Studies, Africa Today, Anthropology Today, and
the Journal of Human Rights. Her book on the reintegration of former child soldiers in Sierra Leone,
Childhood Deployed, was published by NYU Press in June 2014.
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Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Development
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Dotsevi Sogah is Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University and a longstanding member of the IAD Advisory Board. He has Ph.D. from UCLA. After a number of years
as a researcher with DuPont, he joined the Chemistry Department of Cornell in 1991. He has
authored numerous scientific publications, including reviews and book chapters, and many U.S.
and European patents. He has served on numerous U.S. Government Advisory Boards and Panels,
including the National Research Council Panel on U.S. Foreign Policy for Science & Technology
and the Panel on the U.S. Office of Naval Research Opportunities in Chemistry. He has served on
the Dean’s Advisory Committee, the Physical Sciences Fellowships Board, and the President’s Task
Force on Strategic Planning.
Gbetonmasse Somasse is a Ph.D. Candidate in Economics at Clark University and was recently
selected by the International Economic Association to present a paper to the Young African Scholars
Program. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin and a Master’s
from the National School of Statistics and Applied Economics (ENSEA) in Abidjan, Nigeria. Mr.
Somasse has recently worked for the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the UN Development
Program. His research focuses primarily on education’s effects on inequality in sub-Saharan Africa.
Aldo Stroebel is Executive Director of International Relations and Collaboration at the National
Research Foundation, South Africa; and Affiliated Associate Professor at the Centre for Sustainable
Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension, University of the Free State. He specializes in
agriculture and rural development focusing on smallholder farming systems in Africa. He is a
former Director of International Academic Programmes at UFS. He researched his PhD at UFS and at
Cornell University. He is the author/co-author of more than 80 journal articles and publications. He
was previously Programme Coordinator of the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) at
the University of Pretoria directing the establishment of economic development models in Botswana,
Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. He was recently elected as one of
20 Founding Members of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS). His most recent
publication, with Frans Swanepoel, is the book Towards Impact and Resilience: Transformative Change in
and through Agricultural Education and Training in sub-Saharan Africa (Cambridge Scholars 2014).
Frans Swanepoel is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science, and
Technology (CREST) and Deputy-Director of the African Doctoral Academy (ADA) at Stellenbosch
University, South Africa. Formerly he was Senior Director of Research Development and Professor
of Sustainable Agriculture at the University of the Free State, South Africa. He holds a PhD in
Animal Breeding. He has served as Dean of Agriculture at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa,
where he is now an Adjunct Professor; he is also Professor and Director of postgraduate studies in
Agriculture and Rural Development at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He serves on the
Board of the South African Agricultural Research Council. In 2008–09, he was a Fulbright Visiting
Fellow at the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD). He is
a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and has recently been appointed Panel Chair
of a national consensus study to revitalise agricultural education and training. He is the author/ coauthor of more than 150 journal articles, monographs, reports, and book chapters. He specializes in
African smallholder agriculture, research and innovation management, agricultural education and
training, and capacity development.
Michel Tenikue is a senior Research Fellow at Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research
(formerly CEPS/INSTEAD). He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Namur
(Belgium). His research focuses on Development Economics with an emphasis on the economics of
education and on informal institutions such as savings and insurance groups. He has designed and
implemented impact studies in sub-Saharan Africa and in India.
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Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Develop0ment
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Institute for African Development - Additional Activities
Seminars
Throughout the academic year, IAD sponsors a
series of weekly seminars on current issues affecting Africa. The seminars, as well as the annual
symposia, are designed to bring awareness to the
wider community of the panoply of critical issues confronting Africa, to help shape debate, to
influence policy direction, and to help stem the
tide of simplification and misconception pervasive in commentaries relating to Africa.
Special Speaker Series
The IAD Special Speaker Series brings to Cornell
eminent persons, leading politicians, scholars,
diplomats and representatives of international
organizations who contribute to the intellectual and scholarly environment by lecturing on
global issues with an African focus.
Distinguished Africanist Scholar Program
IAD collaborates with other Cornell departments
and units to host renowned scholars to participate in the IAD Distinguished Africanst Scholar
Program. While at Cornell, the Scholar gives a
public presentation that provides new perspectives on contemporary African issues and challenges. In addition, the Scholar participates in
one or more classes as appropriate for his or her
broad span of competence and experience.
Visiting Scholars Program
The Visiting Scholars Program makes it possible
for scholars working on African issues to undertake research utilizing Cornell’s vast libraries
and research facilities while at the same time
contributing to the richness of IAD’s programs
and publications.
Outreach Program
As New York’s land grant institution, Cornell
University has a mission “to extend the riches
of science for the benefit of all, with a special
emphasis on responsibility to the community in
the form of research and extension serving public needs.” In adherence to this mandate, IAD
created an Outreach program that offers teacher
training, current events lectures and a speaker’s
bureau. IAD has also developed a website offering online resources for teachers, with scholarly
publications and links to other sites.
Graduate Funding
IAD offers a Tuition Fellowship geared specifically to African students and available only to
citizens of African countries. African students
accepted to graduate study at Cornell are
nominated to IAD for a tuition fellowship by the
Director of Graduate Studies of each student’s
department. The students come from a wide
range of academic disciplines and backgrounds
including international development, education, agriculture, policy studies, law, nutrition,
economics, and management. These students
come with outstanding records of academic
achievement and proven leadership abilities.
The fellowship award covers tuition only, is
granted for one year, and is not renewable or
extandable. Applications should be directed to
the Director of Admissions, Cornell Graduate
School, Caldwell Hall, Ithaca NY 14853.
Publications
The Institute for African Development publishes
books through the IAD/Cambridge Scholars
Publishing Book Series as well as occasional
papers, conference proceedings, and newsletters.
The Occasional Paper series is a biannual publication of multi-disciplinary, policy-oriented
articles in all fields of African studies relevant
to development. Manuscripts are peer-reviewed
on the basis of scholarship, extent of original
research, rigor of analysis, and significance /
relevance to issues affecting Africa.
The annual symposium brings awareness to the
wider community of critical issues confronting
Africa while at the same time helping to shape
debate and influence policy direction. Conference proceedings are published as a book series
by Cambridge Scholars and other publishers.
Africa Notes, the newsletter of the Institute,
is published four times a year and is available
online. It can also be ordered by writing to us at
[email protected].
8
Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Development
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Education and the Development of Human Capital
Symposium Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Development
Institute for African Development/Cambridge Scholars Publishing Book Series
he Institute for African Development (IAD) focuses Cornell University’s interests, research, and
outreach on the study of Africa. It also seeks to expand the depth and breadth of teaching on
Africa within the University community and to build a faculty and student constitutency that is
knowledgeable about issues of African development. IAD serves as a base for Cornell’s initiative of
strengthening the study of Africa, creating an enabling environment for the University to play a key
role in the creation of policies that influence the continent’s development.
Making creative contributions to development policy in Africa
Contributing to meaningful, contemporary studies of Africa and the world
T
Conference Abstract
I
n its 2014 African Economic Outlook Report, the African Development Bank observes that
generally Africa has made substantial progress recently in human development, as poverty levels
are falling, incomes are rising, and education and health indicators show considerable improvement.
The Human Development Index shows 1.5 percent annual growth, and fifteen countries are
considered to have medium to very high human development. However, in a significant number of
countries income inequality is still widening, and education and health indicators are deteriorating.
Thus the AfDB Report further observes that there is room for more progress in areas of inclusion,
gender equality, and environmental sustainability.
Clearly Africa needs to invest more in education and human capital development if its growth
is to be sustainable and to translate into improved living standards for all Africans. Investment in
education and human capital will also help improve African economic competitiveness in world
trade and thereby create jobs for Africans. Investments are needed not only in education but also
in infrastructure development, institution building, and good governance. The role of education
in reducing poverty, increasing economic competitiveness, and improving peace and stability,
however, cannot be overemphasized. The education of girls in particular has been linked to lower
fertility rates, lower maternal mortality rates, a reduction in the numbers of early marriages, and a
reduced rate of gender violence. Good governance (“the manner in which power is exercised in the
management of a country’s economic and social resources for development”) is an important factor
in eradicating poverty, creating employment, promoting equality, and encouraging adoption of
policies that support respect for human rights and improved livelihoods.
Against this backdrop, the 2015 Institute for African Development annual symposium will
examine education and the development of human capital in Africa, with emphasis on outcomes that
favor equality and good governance. We will strive to identify challenges facing the education sector
in Africa and analyze which policies support inclusive, sustainable development.
Inequality and ineffective policies are often blamed for the poor links between economic growth
and human development, but data shows that links between economic growth, inequality, and
human development are less robust than often assumed. A pattern of inclusive growth is essential to
poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa. The design and implementation of policies and institutions
conducive to inclusive growth require a better understanding of the relationships linking growth,
inequality, and poverty.
The symposium will critically examine strategies for ensuring that growth translates
into improved livelihoods for people and policies that build the capacity of youth and other
disadvantaged communities to enable participation in the economy. Realizing that the fight for the
eradication of poverty involves not only the government but civil society and the private sector as
well, it is hoped that the symposium will include the roles of these sectors in the discussions on these
topics. NEW from IAD/CSP
Problems, Promises, and Paradoxes of Aid:
Africa’s Experience
Editors Muna Ndulo and Nicolas van de Walle
This book is an anthology of essays contributing new scholarship
to the contemporary aid discourse. It provides an interdisciplinary
investigation of the role of aid in African development, compiling
the work of historians, political scientists, legal scholars, and
economists to examine where aid has failed and to offer new
perspectives on how aid can be made more effective.
To meet the needs of the communities they want to help,
donors should work through consultation and a measure of
recipient ownership. Donors need to understand context, to
protect human rights, and to be guided by principles of social and
environmental justice. Other suggested strategies for making aid
more effective include peer review, self-assessment, empowering
women, encouraging accountability, investing in agriculture,
helping smallholder subsistence farmers, introducing ethical and
professional standards for civil service, and raising the competence of civil servants.
IAD/CSP 2014, 377 pages, 978-1-4438-6745-0, 1-4438-6745-4
NEW from IAD/CSP
Towards Impact and Resilience:
Transformative Change through Agricultural Education and
Training in sub-Saharan Africa
Edited by Frans Swanepoel, Zenda Ofir, and Aldo Stroebel
This book focuses on clarifying the challenges, issues, and priorities
of Agricultural Education and Training (AET) in sub-Saharan Africa
and provides suggestions for practical solutions that can help
guide organisations interested in furthering AET for agricultural
development on the continent. The book discusses the African
context within which a transformed AET system needs to be located;
analyses African and international experiences that are relevant to
identified AET needs and challenges; dissects AET models that may
hold important lessons; and addresses the main critical issues that
will impact on AET in sub-Saharan Africa. The concluding chapter
synthesises the ideas, experiences, and evidence from the chapters
in order to highlight critical issues for success as well as possible
solutions. The book is uniquely positioned to add to a call to action on AET, to pull together stateof-the-art knowledge from within and outside sub-Saharan Africa, and to advance “out of the box”
thinking about the principles, values and character of AET for development, with an emphasis on
the models that can help to cultivate leaders and change-makers at all levels of the agricultural
sector.
IAD/CSP 2014, 546 pages, 978-1-4438-5680-5, 1-4438-5680-0
Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Development
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Sponsored by the Cornell Institute for African Development
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Institute for African Development
Spring Symposium 2015
Conference sponsored by:
Institute for African Development
190 Uris Hall
Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853
t.607.255.5499 / 6849 f.607.254.5000
[email protected]
Co-sponsored by:
Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies
Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University
http://iad.einaudi.cornell.edu/
Education and the Development of Human Capital:
Outcomes for Equality and Governance in Africa
April 17-18, 2015
Statler Hotel