international - Bergische Universität Wuppertal

104
hoW are things in zambia?
eduCAtion in A
GLobAL Context
‘Living and learning in Zam-
bia’ is the title of a project
dedicated to the examination
of Zambian education. What
challenges and opportunities
does it present for teachers
and students? What factors
determine the success or failure
of education in a developing
country like Zambia?
Since 2008 Prof. Dr. Maria
Anna Kreienbaum and Dr. Katja
Gramelt from UW’s School
of Education (Faculty of Educational
and Social Sciences)
have held seminars on these
and related topics. Their goal
is to introduce a global context
of education and cultural
encounter into the teaching
program. As well as constituting
a focal point of their own
research, the project provides
students with active research
experience.
14 dAys in AnotHer
WorLd
The project confronts stu-
dents with everyday life in
Zambia, as well as with the
structure of Zambian education
and its practical issues
and problems. Supported by
grants from the Society of
Friends and Benefactors of
the University of Wuppertal,
the Faculty of Humanities
Student Committee, and the
German Protestant overseas
Development Service (among
others), seven UW students
spent two weeks doing field
research on the project. The
group visited village and municipal
schools in Zambia,
as well as single sex boarding
schools, coeducational
schools, and schools with
special needs sections, and
was invited to the University
of Zambia, the David Livingstone
College of Education,
and UNICEF. The program
was completed by visits to
other social and public institutions
including hospitals,
community centers, church
groups, and aid organizations.
interCuLturAL CoM-
PetenCe tHrouGH
PersonAL exPerienCe
For future teachers it was
a unique experience to en-
counter the educational sys-
tem of a developing country
like Zambia at first hand. It
deepened their sensibility for
the educational challenges
facing Africa, and gave them
a new perspective on European
and German systems of
education. All those who took
part in the visit agreed that it
was an enriching experience
to venture beyond Europe
and the university framework
and look at the practical application
of what they had
learned. For the students the
trip represented a major step
toward intercultural competence
– an aspect of key importance
for their future profession.
MotiVAtion For
FurtHer reseArCH
A number of students from
the Zambia project have written
their examination theses
in this area, for example on
the Zambian educational system,
the (increasingly questioned)
effectiveness of external
development aid, and
the role of sports within the
framework of social development
measures. Excerpts are
to be published in a volume
of essays with contributions
from German and Zambian
authors. The project area
has, to date, been little researched,
and participants
are in dialogue with other academics
working in this field
with a view to establishing an
interdisciplinary network for
exchange of information and
the fostering of research into
Zambia, its people and the
social and educational challenges
it faces.
Living and learning
in Zambia project
k www.sambia.
uni-wuppertal.de
Prof. Dr. Maria Anna
Kreienbaum
University of Wuppertal
Faculty of Educational
and Social Sciences
Department of School
Theory and General Didactics
Gauss Str. 20
42119 Wuppertal
Tel. +49 (0)202 439-3328
E-mail kreienbaum@
uni-wuppertal.de
k www.theorie-schule.
uni-wuppertal.de/
105
05_UW_INTERNATIoNAL