Review
?A case study of how educational policy was formulated in pre-independence Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), this volume focuses on the several official commissions that made recommendations concerning education during the British colonial period. The basic argument is that the commissions were a means of the British and White minority interests to maintain control over education and to ensure that the content and pedagogy of the schools was consistent with colonial interests. The author argues that education policies were a significant contributing factor to the unrest that eventually resulted in the downfall of the white minority regime and the emergence of an independent Zimbabwe. Although the commission reports that constitute the core of this research are significant, it would have been very useful to consider other elements in the development of educational policy and practice. This book constitutes one part of a complex web of relationships. As such, it does not provide the full picture, but it is a useful contribution to the development of a history of African education. Because of its highly specialized nature, this volume is recommended only for those concerned with African education at the graduate level.?-Choice
Book Description
This pioneering study argues that the bitter civil war that thrust Zimbabwe into international headlines from 1966 to 1979 had its roots in the reports issued by the colonial commissions of inquiry into education. As the author explains, these commissions and the reports they issued, which reinforced separate educational systems for African and white students, reached far beyond educational policy in their effects. His work is based on original documents and materials that have not appeared in print before--most of which were only recently declassified by the government of Zimbabwe.
