BOOK REVIEWS

Politics in African Education Clive Harber. Macmillan, 198Y. London-Basingstoke, 202pp.

Though the blurb on the back of this book tells us that Chve Harber, ‘offers sympathetic insights into the problems facing African governments in their desire to provide in schools, the political knowledge, skills and values necessary to equip the new generation for nationhood and citizenship it seems (on evidence given to the author from the publisher) that one such government-Malawi-objects to what is written about its Young Pioneers (which. in fact, is research reported by Harber on the possible link between their activities and the suppression of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the mid-1970s) and has promptly banned both book and author from entering the country.

Which is a pity, for Malawians will miss the opportunity to read an interesting and unique study that attempts to relate ideas of political education and socialization to educational developments in a selected number of African countries south of the Sahara.

The chief value of the book lies in what Dr Harber has pulled together: previously published essays on such issues as the ‘modernizing role of formal education; the conflict between authoritarian and democratic forms of school organization; and the development of political attitudes via state education. Each essay is well referenced, though a longer opening chapter handling the theoretical issues (and surprisingly nothing on the relationship of schooling and the production of elites) with reference to the individual country studies that come later would have strengthened the overall structure of the book.

The second section-a review of published research on politics in African education -surveys studies from a range of countries.

Though political events in Liberia, Mozambique. Namibia, and South Africa may give much of the research a dated feel, students of political education will find the material an invaluable starting point for further study. Again, each country study is well referenced.

Recent moves towards two-party democracies in many of the countries referred to in this book indicate the importance for educators to see that schooling prepares the way for such change and that the education system itself, with itsovert and hiddencurricular, reflect and incufcate the political values required for such change to be effective and long-standing.

It is easy in a study of this kind which attempts to cover a lot of ground to complain about what has been left out: the relationship of gender to education, the importance of religion. particularl~~ Islam, as a force for political socialization, and the nature of political education in the non-formal sector, are three areas this particular reviewer would like to have seen tackled in a book of this kind.

But this is a very personal book reflecting Clive Harbcr’s interests and travels and as such as an indispensable guide to students and practitioners interested in the heady

relationship of political education and African national development.

As Dr Harber says, ‘political research involves asking controversial questions on sensitive issues’. Malawi, take note!

DAVID STEPHENS University of Sussex

Education in Hong Kong Pre-1841 to 1941: Fact and Opinion: Anthony Sweeting. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong. 1990, HK$210 (US$27).

This book may truly be described as a magnum opus, both literally and figuratively. It is the product of some 1.5 years’ work, and has over SfKf pages. It is a major contribution to the study of education in Hong Kong, and will also take its place in the broader literature on education in British and other colonies.

One attractive feature of the book immediately becomes apparent with a flick through the pages. As well as presenting much of his own analysis. Sweeting has located and reproduced a rich variety of ‘raw materials’. These include photographs, maps, advertisements and cartoons, a handwritten despatch from an early Governor, and pages from school magazines, textbooks, annual reports, examinations and school timetables. The book also contains oral history, presented in the form of transcripts of interviews with selected informants. In providing this material, Sweeting invites readers to become their own historians. They can gain the real flavour of contemporary events and patterns from analysis of evidence rather than merely relying on secondary interpretation.

Although the historical period covered by the book is indicated in the title, it perhaps requires some clarification. The bulk of the book covers the century following the British colonization of the island of Hong in 1841. One hundred years later, in 1941. the territory found itself colonized by the Japanese. The Japanese occupation did not last long. but it was a major watershed in the history of Hong Kong and from the historian’s viewpoint is a convenient cut- off mark.

The book also covers the pre-colonial period. ‘The territory of Hong Kong was by stages expanded during the 19th century. Thus for Hong Kong Island, the pre-colonial period means the era before 1841. For the Kowlon Peninsula it means the era before 1860, and for the New Territoriesit means the era before 1898. Sweetingnotes that there is a great temptation to treat the pre-colonial time as one simple, unchanging ‘situation’, unworthy of serious study or respect. Some commentators, he points out, have not only succumed to this temptation but have advanced a contemptuous myth not dissimilar to the ‘Dark Continent’

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portrait ofprc-colonial Africa. Analysis is handicapped by a paucity of detailed information. but Sweeting draw,5 on what he can find to sketch an evolution which is valuable in its own right and which sets the stage for analysis of the colonial period.

Each chapter of the book I\ divided into three sections entitled Commentary. Chronicle and Evidence. Sweeting indicates (p. 12) that ‘the Commentary aims to inform and thereby facilitate dialogue between the reader and the evidence, often by suggesting questions rather than by pontificating about answers’. The Chronicle\ present chronological data about developments in formal and informal education in Hong Kong; and the Evidence sections are the chief repositories of the documentary material. This framework is logical and easy to follow (though it would have hecn helpful for the list ot contents to indicate the pages on which each section commences).

Of additional value to those concerned with wider pictures is the occasional refercncc to dctcrmining. parallel or contrasting events outside Hong Kong. The pre-colonial chapter ot course contains cxtensivc discussion of education in Chlna. Chapter 3. which is entitled ‘Variations on a Missionary Theme’ includes reference to the education \ystcms of the missionaries’ home countries and thus to the ideas and preconceptions which the missionaries brought with them. A subsequent section notes the influence on [long Kong of Indian education policies, e.g. on access to education and on the use of vernaculars; and at various points the hook highlights the waays in which Hong Kong developments fitted broader colonial education policies.

In the opening chapter. Swjeeting comments on shortcomings in the existing literature on history of education in Hong Kong. There has been an overall paucity of material, and some works arc shallow and lacking in rigour. For example. at least one readily available work wrongly claims that no schools existed in pre-colonial Hong Kong; and another readily available work on language policies prcscnts a misleading account by painting only a partial picture of politics and practices. The extent of Swceting’s painstaking work which rectifies these weak- nesscs is evident not only in his main text but also in the footnotes which elaborate on that text and which provide cxtensivc bibliographic refcrcnccs.

Howcvcr. 1 fear that some readers will find this book somewhat daunting in its organization. scale and language. The list of contents of this SOO-page work show9 division into just five chapters, and cvcn the so-called Introduction (which comprises Chapter I) has X6 pages. Swecting doe\ explain why he feels it inappropriate to divide some of hi\ material into shorter segments (see e.g. pp. 195-h). Yet while hc has his justification. 1 fear that the monilithic nature of the work will put off many of the rcadera that Swecting would like to reach.

With regard to language and style. the author has clearly taken great pleasure in crafting his sentcnccx and paragraphs. with results that approach artistry. This has a prohlcmatic side, however, for Sweeting has made few concessions for readers who arc not native spcakersireadcrs of English. To select just three examples of vocabulary from the opening pagca, the very first sentence refers to an ‘elephantine g,estation period’. Readers then have to battle with a ‘pointillist technique’ (p. 13) and and ‘apposite peroration’ (p, I-1). Pcrsonnally. I would very much want the book to be read by the educational admirii.strator\ and teachers of Hong Kong; but I wonder how many have sufficient English language facility and will pcl-Gst in

reading the book. Neverthclcss. those who do have the neccsaary tacility

and persistence will find their efforts amply rewarded. The early pages of the book refer to a study by the missionary- educator-historian. E. J. Eitel, who in IX9691 published a document entitled ‘Materials for a History of Education in Hong Kong’. Eitel’s work has been much quoted, and ovel- the decades has formed a bayis for many subsequent stud&. Swccting’s work may be considered of even greater stature. It is a major milestone in the development ot the litcraturc. and is greatly to be welcomed.

Equity and Effkiency? School Management in an International Context: Lynn Davies. Falmcr Press, 1900.

This is a stimulating and often controversial book which I shall certainly he recommending to my students. It aims ‘to use considerations of divisions such as gender and race to force a reexamination of conceptions of school manag~cment and the important issues surrounding it’ (p. 7). It is difficult to write a hook which i< genuinely international in perspective, but this one is successfully wide-ranging in its choice of examples. although perhaps there is rather too much refcrcncc to the IJ.K.

There is a good summary of a dauntin_r range of issues and strategies relating to equity in the traditional areas of race and gender. The analysis is interesting and thought- provoking, and operates from a clear value position on many of the issues. I should have liked the author to have extended the discussion to certain other equity issues which a~-c important in many developing country contexts. In particular. there is relatively little in the hook about equal trcatmcnt for different rel(gious groups. or about equity across the ability range, although there is a chapter relating to the ‘mcntalimanual divide‘.

School management is considered very much at the policy Icvcl. Davies is unimpressed by what she calls the ‘tcchnic,ll~rationII’ ‘ ‘ approach to management, and the ‘cxpcrt mentality’ associated wjith it. because of the resulting erosion of goodwill. She rightly regards the teachers as key determinants of both equity and efficiency. and pays a great deal of attention to teacher culture, including consideration of teacher deviance. There is Its\ stress on pupil motivation: it could be argued that teaching and learning styles (competitive. collaborative, or ind- vidualized) arc a fundamental management i\\ue. lndecd the book rather skirts round what is perhaps the most important policy question of all~whcther the main function of education is grrc&~, or lrcrrnirr~.

It is central to Davies’ argument that ‘school management should bc seen against a backcloth of apparent dilemmas between demands of equity and efficiency’ (p. 197). She concludes that a strategy on equal rights. both for teacher\ and for learners. can lead to an organization which is more cffcctive and efficient, thus resolving the dilemma. She argues that equity leads to satisfaction. Her requirement that rights must be matched by responsibilities is laudable. but some aspects of her suggested ‘Bill of Rights’ (p. 193) \ccm unrealistic. Man) of those involved directly in the management of schools will in practice be concerned firstly with survival. and secondly with emuring that their school