Monday, August 12, 2019
The Dynamic Geography of Global Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1
The Dynamic Geography of Global Work - Essay Example Cost of production encompasses other factors such as cost of labor, raw materials, and overhead costs. The second broad category of factors is the market. Initially, Apple manufactured most of its products in America. Today, the company manufactures most of its products overseas. Steve Jobs clarified to President Obama that jobs were not going back to US. The case clearly reveals the changing geography of business. It justifies that claim that America has changed from provision of goods to provision of services (Thier, 2012). Whereas about 10% of Americans work in manufacturing in industries, the rest work in service industries such as Walmart. Successful global operations of Apple have made be among the best companies in the world that people admire. Apple maintained that the shift to overseas the only option. Business organizations would opt to set their manufacturing firms in areas that minimize costs of production. China and India are the latest targets for American industries. Costs and accessibility of raw materials play critical roles in determining the final cost of a product (Garside, 2013). As a result, Apple could be operating in China because of availability of raw materials at a considerably low cost. In addition, cost of labor also matters. China could be having ready man power for the Apple industry. Steve Jobs explained that cheap labor could not be the only reason for the shift of Apple to China. He cited economies of scale in manufacturing facilities and human resources as the some of the reasons for the decision. It takes many months to mobilize contractual engineers and takes a short time to do that in China (Thier, 2012). Apples Executives also highlighted that it takes a lot of tine to construct manufacturing units in America. An individual only needs 15 days to construct a new production line to accommodate a new design. Despite the fact that iphones are made
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5
Safety - Essay Example Before ignition process likewise, it is important that all the personnel on the site should be well acquainted by the attached FMEA. FMEA provides for systematic and qualitative tool, typically created from a spreadsheet during the testing, to assist the personnel anticipate what can go wrong with the process, and then to develop plans to mitigate various risk of failure. It is important to point out that all the debris from the test site must all be cleaned up before setup. Despite the distance, they should always ensure they wear protective gear for both their ears and eyes. This ensures that they are protected at all time with the sound and any unforeseen eye direct infection. However, all these are only done after a 10-12 second countdown to ignition has been in place to ensure every at the site is attentive. The testing is procedural to ensure safety at all times and whenever ignition is not in place, the rocket must be covered by a cap and all materials will be stored safely af ter are disassembled by the in-charge at the site. Likewise, Subscription to all Smart Monitoring System is also provided. All chemical materials containers and must be easily stored and transport availed to and from the test area. Connected to this is the fact that the ventilation system & emergency light must be provided based on site size. Nonetheless, instances misfire are common during testing. In case of such, the first thing to do is to close the remote bottle opener and immediately put off the main power supply. This procedure is important as it ensures deactivation of the closed solenoid. After successfully doing this, it is important to give an allowance of about 70 seconds before anyone can approach the rocket motor housing. Safety before and after the ignition is of importance since if the assumption is made and some of the safety precautions are ignored, it may be risky to the operators and likewise losses may be incurred unnecessarily. When the process
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Walmart change proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Walmart change proposal - Essay Example So, if I were to intervene, I would give suggestions on the changes that need to be effected in order to resolve these problems. First, the company needs to comply with the wage laws. It should stop exploiting its workers, but pay them at least a minimum wage of $10 per hour. Besides, the company should improve occupational health to the workers. Anyone who works as a seamstress or fabric cutters should be given high quality protective devices like gloves (Ingram; Yue & Rao, 2010). Moreover, the management should not discriminate on employees based on racial prejudices. Lastly, the company should soften its stance and allow its work force to form unions and improve communication with them. So, by supporting outfits like Organization United for Respect (OUR) Wal-Mart, the company would be doing a great thing. I believe that if these changes are properly implemented, the company would have to build a cordial relationship between the management and employees. Thus, it would be in the right path for regaining its reputation, growing and accomplishing its goals. Employee-welfare needs to be reconsidered because they constitute a very significant component of the organization. Without motivating them, nothing can be
Friday, August 9, 2019
Small Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Small Business - Essay Example The major advantages are that a franchisee is able to establish and operate a well established business in a new area where the whole marketing system inputs and guidelines are provided by the franchisor on a continuous basis. The franchisee is able to start business with a relatively small initial investment that has prospects of good return with immediate effects. The recurrent training and proven marketing strategies provided by the franchisor boost the confidence of the franchisee and help him to expand his business significantly. The main limitations are the loss of independence in running the business as one wants and restriction in the operational area comprising mainly of the goods and services that can be sold in specific areas. Other conditions like the restrictions on resale of franchisee rights and the individual advertising efforts are hurdles that restrict further scope for the franchisee. The main advantages of franchisor are that they are able to expand their business and spread them in wider areas of operation in a relatively short time and with reduced capital cost. By facilitating goods and services to the franchisee, the franchisor is relieved of the pressures of day today operation and therefore is better able to focus on his core business and developing network activities and franchisee support programs and strategies. The major aspect is that he is able to control the appearance and operation of the franchisee outlets as per his standards, thereby help maintain the credibility and high standard of his brands. The limitations of the potential franchisor are that it needs to keep updated with the training and strategies for its franchisee to meet the emerging challenges of the advancing technologies. Though the profit margins are considerably reduced but the widening network of franchisee, selected judiciously, help increase the overall profit with considerably less stress. Another major limitation is that expanding in foreign
Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4
Marketing - Essay Example CLASS NUMBER: â⬠¦4â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦. TITLE/TOPIC OF ASSIGNMENT: â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Marketing 100 Situational Analysisâ⬠¦/Target Market Identification Report and Collage â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦.â⬠¦.. Please read the following and sign where indicated DECLARATION: I/We declare the attached assignment is my/our own work and has not previously been submitted for assessment. This work complies with Curtin College rules concerning plagiarism and academic misconduct. [Refer to the Policy library on www.curtincollege.edu.au for full details on our Plagiarism and Student Misconduct polices.] I/We have retained a copy of this assignment for my own records. Signed: ____Wang Jue__________________________________________ Date___10 December 2010___________ This document is current at 31/08/2010. Page 1 of 1 1.0 Situation Analysis 1.1 Current Marketing Mix 1.1.1 Current Product Sunsilk Co-Creations-Addictive Brill iant Shine Shampoo is one of new Sunsilkââ¬â¢s Co-creations hair care line products. It consists of chemical as well as natural ingredients. The ingredients of the shampoo were chosen to achieve healthy shine, to co-create Sunsilkââ¬â¢s most advanced Addictive Brilliant Shine formulation for healthy hair that dazzles with shine (Unilever in Australia, 2011). Therefore, consumers benefit from buying a product in the form of healthy hair and ââ¬Å"brilliant shineâ⬠. The company has teamed up with Jamal Hammadi from LA hair dresser to Hollywood stars and famous for his natural approach to achieve healthy shine (Unilever in Australia, 2011). It has inherent to all Sunsilk products cambered package, so customers can easily identify the shampoo as Sunsilkââ¬â¢s product. The bottle has red color and a big symbolic sign ââ¬Å"!â⬠on the front. The package developed by Brown Inc. (Brown Inc. 2011) makes product look modern and even hi-tech. This features distinct the pro duct from other shampoos and attract customers at the same time. Sunsilk Co-Creations-Addictive Brilliant Shine Shampoo is a part of hair care complex consisting of the shampoo and conditioner. Therefore, customers are given reason to by the shampoo together with the conditioner. The main targeted groups of customers are females between 16 to 40 with middle and high income level. Other groups of customers also might buy the product. Sunsilk Shampoo might be classified as staple goods because customers can use it regularly although they easily switch to another similar shampoo if the one is absent. Therefore, the shampoo is a star product of Unileverââ¬â¢s new product line. Its modern, professional and high-tech. It has original features that attract customers however; people can easily identify one of Sunsilkââ¬â¢s products. Customers can use it regularly although they easily switch to another similar shampoo if the one is absent. 1.1.2 Current Pricing The shampoo market is hi gh-competitive. There are many brands but in fact the most of them are owned by a few corporations such as Unilever, Procter&Gamble and Schwarzkopf. Sunsilk brand belongs to Unilever, the second biggest shampoo market company in the world. Unilever (2011) claims to practice value-based pricing. This means that the price is set based on the value a customer receives using the product. The primary importance of this kind of pricing is to encourage demand through setting the price according to customers feeling of the real value of the
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Discuss the uses of recombinant DNA technology with respect to Essay
Discuss the uses of recombinant DNA technology with respect to medicine - Essay Example From a medical viewpoint, recombinant DNA technology can have immense potential. For example, many diseases are caused by the lack of certain genes or faulty protein production which leads to impaired functioning of important biochemical pathways. By using recombinant DNA technology to complement those defects and producing the lacking protein it is possible to effectively treat these diseases. An extremely successful example of this particular use is the case of insulin production for the treatment of diabetes. Previously, insulin for treatment used to be isolated from bovine sources, by extracting the pancreatic tissue and purifying insulin from here. However, two major problems are immediately obvious: first, this is extremely labor-intensive, yields are low and therefore it becomes expensive and quantities are limiting, thus treatment becomes an expensive option. Second, due to the exquisite specificity of our immune systems, the bovine protein is immediately differentiated from the human and this could lead to rejection by our immune system. Recombinant DNA using the human gene would solve this problem as the gene and therefore protein would be the human variety and would not be rejected. Second, since cloning is most often done in bacteria which have short doubling times, the massive amplification of the gene and therefore the protein leads to cheaper bulk production and lowers costs. Insulin therefore has become far more available for treatment with the advent of recombinant DNA technology. Growth hormone has also been successfully used this way. Another application of this technology is in the production of vaccines. Historically, the identification of antigens and the production of vaccines against them has been a laborious task. It involved purifying various protein components from viruses or bacteria after culturing them, and testing them in animal subjects to determine their antigenicity. The major problems there were, first, the difficulty in purifying those microbial toxins due to contamination, low concentrations etc., and furthermore, viruses and certain bacteria, like Mycobacterium, are obligate parasites and cannot be grown in vitro cultures in order to purify their components. By cloning their genes via PCR amplification and cloning into bacterial expression hosts, we can circumvent these issues and skip past the rate-limiting step of purification since cloning produces proteins in bulk. This strategy has been used with some success for many viruses, including the HBV virus. (Medscape). However this is not without its own problems when one looks at the evolution of viral antigens and the rate of mutation and development of new strains. Nevertheless DNA technology has speeded up the development of vaccines to a point where we now hold a sporting chance against these diseases. The technology is also used in the field of diagnostics. PCR and other DNA technology techniques are used to determine if people are carriers of cystic fibrosis genes, Huntington's disease gene and to help in gene therapy for these diseases. PCR and DNA
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Education policies Essay Example for Free
Education policies Essay Education is so important in any given society. For this reason, it forms a major part of any governmentââ¬â¢s plans. The plans that any government wishes to implement as regards their education system is determined by existing policies. Factors which influence formulation of policies form the subject of this discussion. For orderly presentation, the essay is divided into three chapters namely the introduction, the main body and conclusion. The introduction gives definitions of key terms used in the essay as well as conceptual frame work, the main body outlines and discusses major factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving their independence and lastly the conclusion draws a summary of the essay. 1. 1 Statement of essay purpose This essay aims at discussing the factors which influenced education policies in African countries after their achievement of independence. The essay will outline these factors and later give a detailed discussion of each factor. 1. 2 Definitions of terms In order to make this discussion meaningful, it is imperative that definitions of key terms that are involved are done. The key terms involved in the discussion are education, policy and independence. The definitions of the terms are as given below Education. According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Culture Organisation (1975:1), education is defined as ââ¬Å"organised and sustained communication designed to bring about learningâ⬠Thus education in this context involves a lifelong process by which an individual is incorporated into the group and made capable of behaving in the ways expected by the society for an individual of a particular age, sex or status. Education can take place formally, non formally and informally. However, in this context the emphasis is on formal education. Policyà A policy is defined as a deliberate plan of action which is put in place to guide decisions and achieve intended outcomes. Policies differ from rules or laws. Rules or laws are established to compel or prohibit certain behaviours while policies guide actions towards desired goals. This discussion, however, focuses on education policies. Bartlett and Burton (2012:134), define an education policy as the ââ¬Å"rafts of laws and initiatives that determine the shape and functioning of educational systems at both national and local levels. Therefore, education policies give direction to the functioning of an education system. Independence This is defined as the freedom from being governed or ruled by another country. African countries in this discussion acquired the freedom to rule themselves from colonial mast 1. 3 Conceptual Framework Blackmore (1999), states that there are three models of policy making namely popular participation, decree and delegation models. This discussion will refer to these three models in outlining and discussing the factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving their independence. These models are discussed in detail below. (a) Popular Participation Policy making model. (b) In this model, everybody is given an opportunity to contribute to the formulation of policies. People in African countries were given opportunities to make suggestions on changes to make to the education system. For example, Zambiaââ¬â¢s educational reforms of 1977. (c) Decree Policy Making Model In this model, the head of state makes pronouncements on the direction to be followed in a given education system. (d) Delegation Policy Making Model This involves appointing a commission to review the education system of a given country. For example the Onide Commission was appointed to review the education system of Kenya in 1963. Policies are made with respect to the findings of the commission. CHAPTER TWO 2. 0 Main Body This chapter outlines and discusses the major factors that influenced education policies in African countries after achieving independence. These factors are as given and discussed below. Education for Economic Development The consideration given to education as an important vehicle for economic development is one of the factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving independence. Investment in formal education was considered as an essential precondition for economic growth. African countries learnt lessons from developed countries that a high basic platform of education was a catalyst to rapid economic development. There was a belief among developing countries that the modernisation, industrialisation and wealth of developed countries were the direct consequence of their educational systems. Coombs (1970) argues that during the 1960s education in developing countries was regarded as a sort of intellectual yeast which would ferment and transform pre industrial societies by promoting knowledge, skills and attitudes which were favourable to economic and social development. Therefore, education policies in African countries after the achievement of independence were directed at promoting education pro vision expansion in order to achieve meaningful development. In fact an argument is advanced by Anderson (1965), that analysis of evidence from major developed countries such as Britain, France, United States of America and Russia that in general terms, a thresh hold male literacy rate of 40 percent was required before there be any significant take off of economic development. To this end, African countries directed their policies on education after attaining independence towards increased access to education in order to reach the required thresh hold of literacy. Therefore, in the 1950s and 1960s, demand and plans for investment in formal education by African countries increased. Education was regarded to be a principal weapon in achieving economic growth. To this end rapid quantitative expansion of the education system became the order of the day in newly independent African countries. Man power Shortages. After attaining independence, African countries were confronted with shortage of manpower in various sectors of the economy. As a result of this scenario, they experienced economic stagnation. Man power shortages were heavily felt in technical and managerial fields. Thus, education policies in most African countries were directed towards resolving the man power shortages experienced. This situation was evident from what obtained in Kenya. As Eshiwani (1993:26), observes ââ¬Ëââ¬â¢at independence in 1963, Kenya found herself with a high shortage of skilled manpower to run the economy. In order to solve this problem, a commission was appointed to advise the government on the formulation and interpretation of national educational policies. â⬠Therefore, it can be stated that man power planning in newly independent countries of Africa gave a direction to the formulation of education policies. Consequently, the governments of newly independent countries of Africa saw it paramount to expand the education systems of their countries in order to produce more graduates from the education system that would fill the manpower gaps which were experienced in various sectors of the economy. Most technical and managerial jobs at independence in most African countries were occupied by foreigners. Therefore, the aim of most African governments was to decolonise the education systems, produce more output from secondary and higher education so that manpower to participate in national development could be realised. Fafunwa (1974), Contends that education development in African countries like Nigeria was treated as a national emergency for the reason of curbing manpower shortages in crucial areas of the economy. In order to meet the requirements of manpower in various sectors of the economy, the policies of African countries after independence were directed at increasing school enrolments, especially at the post primary level. Rapid expansion of secondary and higher education was considered as a pre requisite for sustainable economic growth. Enhancing education as a basic human right Newly independent African countries were confronted with a task of providing to every child their basic, essential right to education. The kind education that was to be provided was supposed to be relevant to the child in his or her African setting. For this reason, most newly African countries had massive capital and recurrent budgets towards the financing of primary education for all. The provision of education especially at elementary level to citizens of newly independent African countries was prompted by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights in which education is enshrined as a basic human right. As Bishop (1989:1), postulates, ââ¬Å"Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. â⬠Therefore, from the foregoing, newly independent African countries were compelled to provide education especially primary education on the grounds of human justice and equity. The newly independent African countries were supposed to consider primary education as the birth right of every child. This was due to the fact that education was seen as an effective way to give all children regardless of sex or family background an equal start in life. Furthermore, the leadership of newly independent African countries considered education to be the great equaliser that would help to narrow the wide disparities which were apparent in conditions of living in rural and urban communities. Before the attainment of independence, education in most African countries was a preserve for the elite. In order to correct this, African leaders made radical changes to their education systems to make them more accommodative to everyone. As Carmody (1994:23), contends ââ¬Å"As in most African countries, from the early days Africaââ¬â¢s leaders viewed education as a powerful, often the most powerful vehicle for social transformation. Thus, as the UNIP government assumed power, among its immediate priorities were the elimination of racial segregation in schools and expansion of education provision. Tuition and boarding fees were abolished. â⬠A point was also made by Bishop (1989), which in the days of the 1950s and 1960s massive expansion of education provision was regarded as the best means available for rooting out old prejudices and socio economic injustices. Therefore, education was regarded as basic human right which everyone needed to enjoy as provided in the foregoing arguments. In the pursuit of providing universal primary education, newly African countries set for themselves benchmarks. For example, the Addis Ababa conference on the development of education in Africa held in 1961 recommended that primary education was to be universal, compulsory and free by 1980. The conference further recommended that secondary education was to be provided to 30 percent of the children who completed primary school. Similarly, the conference of Arab states which met in Tripoli in 1966 also set 1980 as the target date for achieving universal primary education. To this end, it can be argued that one of the factors that influenced the formulation of education policies of African countries after achieving independence was related to the consideration that education was a basic human right which every citizen of a given country was supposed to enjoy . Hence, massive investment in the provision of education was undertaken by African countries after attaining independence in order to promote the achievement of universal primary education. As Court and Kinyanjui (1978:14), comment on the provision of Universal Primary Education in Tanzania. ââ¬Å"President Nyerere had the choice of expanding the number of classes at grades V to VII so that those children entering primary education received seven years of schooling instead of fourâ⬠. It can be concluded from the foregoing statement that the decision was arrived at because it enabled finances to be spent on the provision of 7 years of education to one child which helped him or her to become a useful member of society. African countries aimed at improving the access to education by increasing the number of school places which was facilitated by expanding already existing schools as well as construction of new schools in different parts of their countries. Promotion of Modernisation. African countries formulated their education policies with respect to the purpose of attaining modernisation. In order to influence modernisation in their countries, there was massive investment in education. This was a result of the belief that schooling would assist in the inculcation of modern ideas and attitudes. Bishop (1989), postulate that evidence seemed to indicate that schooling influenced the development of modern traits and ideas. To this end, schooling had some impact on modernisation. This was manifestated in higher levels of modernity among urban people and lower modernity among rural people. Consequently, many African leaders in newly independent countries felt modernisation of attitudes and behaviours was an important pre requisite for their countriesââ¬â¢ development. According to Carmody (1994), education should socialise a nationââ¬â¢s population into modern values, attitudes and personalities. For this reason there was more emphasis on the expansion of education systems in newly independent African countries in order to enhance the access levels. Increased access to education meant increased modernity levels within a given country. In studies which were conducted be Inkeles and Smith (1974), indicate that education was the single most variable for modernisation. The studies indicate that each year of schooling improved a personââ¬â¢s score on their modernity scale by about 2 points. Education was also very effective in the development of positive attitudes and values. For this reason, formulation of education policies in newly independent African countries was influenced by the idea of modernisation. Modernisation was to be attained by every citizen in the newly independent African countries through education. Ensuring Citizensââ¬â¢ Political Participation The citizensââ¬â¢ participation in political affairs of their countries could be seen as one of the major factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving independence. Political participation of citizens of a particular country was linked to the notion of modernisation. This was due to the fact that knowledge was regarded as power. For this reason, many political leaders of African drafted educational policies which were responsive to the promotion of political participation of citizens in nation matters. This was highly evident in the content of education which was offered to the citizens . Again this could only be realised through the wide spread of education in African countries which most leaders promoted through the expansion of the education system. Cowan (1965), stressed that any political principle which governed education policy in independent African countries was supposed to regard as a top priority the provision of an education that would establish the most vigorous form of self government and independence. Therefore, extending schooling to a larger population would make more people politically and socially conscious and more active in the process of nation building. Thus, if equal political rights were to be enjoyed by everyone then everyone ought to have at least an adequate primary school education to participate more fully in the political process of their country. Promotion of Social Equality and Removal of Divisions The attainment of social equality is among the major factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving independence. Education was regarded as an instrument of social equality which was critical in the upbringing of social responsibility. Therefore, education policies which were put in place by African countries after attainment of independence were directed towards the promotion of social equality within their countries. Consequently, more and more school places were created in most parts of African countries to bring about the issue of equality within their countries in the provision of education services. Equality in the provision of education was called for as it ensured that child was provided with varied and challenging opportunities for collective activities and corporate social services. Furthermore, Eshiwani (1993), points out that the promotion of social equality in the formulation of education policies in African countries after achieving independence helped young people to acquire positive attitudes of mutual respect which enabled them to live together in harmony and to make a positive contribution to the national life. This contribution to national life was not supposed to be extended to every part of the country, hence the need of social equality in the provision of education. Respect and Development of Cultural Heritage The formulation of education policies in African countries after achieving independence was influenced by the need for promoting respect and development of cultural heritage. Education policies were directed towards the promotion of respect, fostering and developing the rich cultures which African countries have. For this reason, policy formulation as regards this situation was clearly addressed in the content of education which African countries were to provide to their people. The content of education was adapted to the culture of the people in any particular African country. In support of this assertion, Eshiwani (1993), states that the commission which was assigned to review Kenyaââ¬â¢s education system in 1963 recommended that Kenyan schools were to respect the cultural traditions of the people of the country, both as expressed in social institutions and relationships. Similarly, Damachi et al (1978), reports that education policies in African countries after attainment of independence were influenced by the need to enhance every aspect of human development which included the promotion of cultural heritage. Consequently, African countries were to state clearly their language of instruction in their education system both at lower and higher levels. This was done with the sole aim of promoting the preservation of cultural heritage and national unity. To this end the education policies which most African countries drafted after the attainment of independence were geared towards learners understanding of past and present cultural values and their valid place in contemporary society. Education for Self Reliance The education policies of African countries were influenced by the need for the curriculum offered to respond to the attainment of self reliance. Thus the recipients of such education were supposed to engage themselves in self employing activities. The curriculum of African countries emphasized practical subjects in order to ensure the acquisition of self reliance by learners. It was realised that the kind of education which was offered in some countries in Africa was too bookish and academic. The education system in most African countries separated manual work from learning. Thus theory was separated from practice. This situation further alienated young people from their societies. Therefore, education reforms in most African countries were inevitable so as reverse this trend. As Bishop (1989:116), reports ââ¬Å"By the mid 1950s it was being argued once again that schooling should be reformed principally through curriculum reform to include more practical and vocational studiesââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ Similarly, Carmody (1994), reports that Zambiaââ¬â¢s First National Development Plan pointed to the need for increasingly relating secondary education to the needs of the country by diversifying the secondary school syllabus into technical and commercial fields and giving a new place to agriculture. Therefore, it can be pointed out that education policies in African countries were supposed to address the concept of self reliance. Academic schooling was to be placed side by side with technical and vocational training in African countries. Improvement of Education Efficiency The education policies of most African countries after achieving independence were influenced by the need of improving the efficiency of the education systems. In education systems of African countries, it was felt that there was no correlation between inputs and out puts as well as between costs and returns. Education policies were centred on the need of making the systems of education to be more efficient. That is, the education systems were supposed to achieve their output at the lowest cost and also get the greatest return for a given cost. According to Bishop (1989), most education systems in African countries after achieving independence were inefficient, particularly at secondary and higher levels. The inputs such as expenditure per student or teacher training did not seem to have the effects on test scores which educators anticipated. Therefore, education policies were designed in a manner that would make the education systems in newly independent African countries to be more efficient. Additionally, education in many African countries was dysfunctional. It relied heavily on rote learning and led to an inappropriate reverence for paper qualifications. Furthermore, most curricular in African countries were irrelevant to pupilsââ¬â¢ future lives and created an imbalance with many school leavers unemployed. Consequently, African countries formulated policies which were aimed at addressing the challenges which were faced in education systems. Education as a means of fostering international consciousness Education policies in African countries were influenced by the need to foster international consciousness in learners. Education policies as complimented by the content of education provided to learners was supposed to ensure that positive attitudes towards other countries as well as the international community were upheld. This was emphasized because no country existed as an island. Each country depended on others for its prosperity. Therefore, it was essential that learners were provided with education that would instil international consciousness for the purpose of promoting cooperation among countries. CHAPTER THREE. 3. 0 CONCLUSION Education policies in African countries after their achievement of independence were influenced by a number of factors. Some of the major factors which influenced education policies in African countries included manpower shortages, recognition of education as a basic human right, consideration of education as a tool for development, modernisation, improving education efficiency, need for citizensââ¬â¢ political participation, and promotion of international consciousness among learners as well as self reliance. Changes in education policies were inevitable due to the fact that African countries experienced change in government. A change in government is associated with an ideological shift, thus aspects of the education system in a given countryà will be in a continual state of reformation. Hence, changes occurred in education aspects such as content, teaching methodologies, assessment and structure. REFERENCES. Anderson, C. A (1974), Education and Development Re considered, Newyork: praeger Publishers. Bartlett, S and Burton, D (2012), Introduction to Education Studies, Los Angeles: Sage Publishers. Bishop, G (1989), Alternative Strategies for Education, London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Carmody, B (1994), The Evolution of Education in Zambia, Lusaka: Book World Publishers. Coombs, P. H (1970), The Need for a New Strategy of Education Development, Paris: UNESCO. Court, D and Kinyanjui, K, K (1978), Development Policy and Education Opportunity: The Experience of Tanzania and Kenya, Paris: Macmillan. Cowan, J. O (1965), Education and National Building in Africa, London: Macmillan Damachi, U. G, Routh, G and Abdel, R. A (1978), Development Paths in Africa and China, London and Basingstoke: Macmillan. Eshiwani, G. S (1993), Education in Kenya since Independence, Nairobi: East African Education Publishers Fafunwa, A. B (1974), History of Education in Nigeria, London: Macmillan Press. Inkeles, A and Smith, D (1974), Becoming Modern, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)