The Cultural Context Of Adaptation Western Education In East-Africa: Paradoxons And Missing Links

Abstract

Education can play a significant role in strengthening poor countries, it is not questionable why has it a central role in government programs. But there is a less visible and less well-known paradox that contributes to education, including western knowledge, like ICT failures, and its causes are deeply embedded in the complex historical and socio-cultural context of the countries. In Eastern Africa, traditions are still part of everyday life. One of the most prominent elements of this is the content and meaning of learning, the centers of knowledge and the ways in which it is acquired, whose traditions are quite different from the Western-style education imported from outside. In this way, ICT for example is another tool for marginalization groups that are even more difficult to pass through the technology gap. The emphasis in the modern education system has been rearranged from cultural, human and social content to science and technology. According to the official education policy there is a need for more financial resources for technology-based disciplines and education than for human subjects, while these still providing many part of the identity. The study discusses the dilemma of the cultural context as a missing intermediary element, based on observations made on the spot in the light of individual and community opinions, in the light of the interpretation of their own situation. I am conducting my research as a cultural anthropologist and a teacher that research based mainly on fieldwork, what provides impartiality independent of professionalism. It can be stated that traditions should not be seen as an obstacle to formal education, but rather as a challenge to be solved.