Exploring literacy and growth: An analysis of three communities of readers in urban Senegal

This paper consists of two parts. The first part reviews how the arguments supporting literacy education have changed over the last five decades. Although there has been a shift in emphasis from economic to socio-cultural and personal dimensions, literacy is still considered mainly as an instrument for economic growth and poverty alleviation. The second part presents a case study of three different establishments which provide reading materials in urban Senegal. The analysis indicates that people are more likely to practise reading when they have access to materials which genuinely interest them. These materials are not necessarily about development or livelihood—themes often judged as ‘appropriate’ for socio-economic growth by policy makers and practitioners. People read stories and history books for their own pleasure – rather than out of a sense of duty – to transcend the mundane routine of their daily lives. This ‘reading for pleasure’ aspect needs to be taken more account of in literacy education.     

Is changing teaching practice the mission impossible? A case study of continuing professional development for primary school teachers in Senegal

This paper reports on research into a continuing professional development (CPD) project, Projet de Renforcement de l’Enseignement des Mathématiques, des Sciences et de la Technologie (PREMST) [Strengthening Mathematics, Science, and Technologies in Education Project]. The literature review reveals few examples of CPD changing the teaching practices of teachers, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. By using the cases of five teachers, this research seeks to understand the complexities of pedagogical change. The research found that PREMST has helped teachers envision how teaching should be conducted, but it has not necessarily brought a positive change in the learning of pupils because it has not changed how teachers think about teaching. Given the difficulties involved in pedagogical change, emphasising specific skills may have been the necessary and practical first step, but changing these teaching practices is not enough. The research found that teachers still paid little attention to the learning of individual pupils. The research concludes that the recently initiated practice of lesson study shows considerable potential to build on what has already been achieved.     

Reliability of the new environmental paradigm for analysing the environmental attitudes of Senegalese pupils in the context of conservation education projects

The New Environmental Paradigm scale for children was developed and validated in Western nations but has seldom been applied in non-western countries. The aim of the current study is to examine the scale’s validity for schoolchildren in Senegal. The study was conducted in three regions of Senegal in November and December 2015, and a total 782 schoolchildren with an average age of 13 years participated. We used Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis to assess the consistency of the scale. The principal component analysis was used to reveal the different potential dimensions of our data-set. Given the low internal consistency of the scale and the unexpected responses to certain items, the scale seems to be rather unreliable for the investigated population. This difference could be caused by specific cultural features encompassing strong religious beliefs, different understandings of the place of humankind in nature, and weak awareness of humans’ impact on the natural world.     

Scaling up sexuality education in Senegal: integrating family life education into the national curriculum

In Senegal, school-based sexuality education has evolved over 20 years from family life education (FLE) pilot projects into cross-curricular subjects located within the national curriculum of primary and secondary schools. We conducted a literature review and semi-structured interviews to gather information regarding the scale and nature of FLE scale-up. Data were analysed using the ExpandNet/WHO framework, conceptualising scale-up from a systems perspective as composed of interrelated elements and strategic choices. Key enabling factors that facilitated the scale-up of FLE included (1) programme clarity, relevance and credibility; (2) programme adaptability to young people’s evolving sexual and reproductive health priorities; (3) the engagement of a strong and credible resource team comprising government and civil society agencies; (4) a favourable policy environment; and (5) deliberate strategic choices for horizontal and vertical scale-up. Barriers included sociocultural conservatism that creates resistance to content areas deemed to be culturally sensitive, resulting in partial scale-up in terms of content and coverage, as well as structural barriers that make it difficult to find space in the curriculum to deliver the full programme. Lessons learned from Senegal’s experience can strengthen efforts to scale-up school-based sexuality education programmes in other culturally conservative low- and middle-income countries.     

Mapping the Health Communication Infrastructure in Rural Senegal: an Assessment to Support Cervical Cancer Screening

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of women's cancer deaths in Senegal, but few medical personnel are trained to perform cervical cancer screening. In rural areas, the situation is worse. To remedy this, a collaborative of researchers and stakeholders trained local health-care workers in cervical cancer screening through the “training-of-trainers” method. However, lack of cancer screening knowledge, barriers, and a hard-to-reach population may jeopardize the collaborative's efforts. The purpose of this study is to map the health communication infrastructure by applying communication infrastructure theory to assess general health and cancer screening knowledge, as well as attitudes and barriers toward screening. Results from focus groups and interviews show that women have minimal knowledge of cervical cancer. Moreover, health workers report detrimental attitudes in menopausal women. Our findings identified routes for information dissemination and attitude change including community radio and local health talks.     

Distinction,integration and identity: Motivations for local language literacy in Senegalese communities

Successful adult literacy and basic education programs are notoriously difficult to achieve. One reason for this has to do with how the question, “literacy for what?” is answered for a given program. All too frequently, the answer to that question is shaped more by the goals of the literacy provider than it is by learners’ own goals and desires.     

Inclusion of all in the neighbourhood school and student well-being in Senegal from the perspective of a practicing pedagogue

The education system in Senegal has become more democratic and has adopted international policies for inclusive education after decades of normative and selective practices. Advances are being made for recognising individual student needs in school facilities, pedagogy and teaching practices. This article draws on the first-hand knowledge of the context in Senegal by a current inspector and prior teacher in inclusive practices in Senegal, as well as a purposive review of relevant studies and reports. Current needs for development are identified and discussed, including the structuring of physical settings adapted to special needs learning, interaction with families, as well as communication about disabilities in local communities to reduce social stigma. Building on a review of the current context and needs, the article underscores that it is necessary to move away from superficial symptom identification. Instead, what is needed are changes in teaching and learning practices, as well as in socio-cultural and physical learning environments, to accommodate special needs students. Finally, necessary rethinking of the professional development of teaching staff in Senegal is called for. The inspiration for this development is closely tied to pedagogical responsibility, ethically based care, and the desire teachers have for succeeding in didactic action.     

Science and religion on the blackboard: exploring schoolmasters’ beliefs and practices in Senegal

This article treats the various forms of adjustment between scientific and religious discourses at school. It aims to analyse the beliefs and practices of schoolmasters and to explore how the oppositions between the ‘dominant’ discourses of Western science and those of religion are addressed in secondary education in Senegal. The analysis leans on the Actor-Network-Theory and the concept of ‘apparatus’ from Foucault. The article shows that, in the secular Republic of Senegal, contradictory messages on some sensitive issues are conveyed to pupils, in the classroom, by the official schoolmaster himself. The schoolmasters, whatever their religion, teach for religion in public schools (in a devotional sense); they do not teach about religion (in an academic sense). An ‘enrolment’ work is in progress in the official schools whereby pupils adhere to the ‘true’ religious discourse, challenged by the ‘true’ scientific discourse. The schoolmasters do not want to exclude the official curriculum but wish to teach religious knowledge. The State cannot limit each discourse to its own sphere of relevance and fails to impose its criteria on some actors who prefer those offered by their own religious networks. A Senegalese ‘national religious apparatus’ produces effects on schoolmasters’ educational practices and curriculum.     

Understanding transnational political involvement among Senegalese migrants: The role of acculturation preferences and perceived discrimination

In political debates, migrants’ political involvement in their countries of origin and successful adaptation to receiving countries are often portrayed as incompatible. We address this concern by examining the links between acculturation preferences, perceived discrimination, and migrants’ transnational political involvement in their country of origin. In line with collective action research, a cross-sectional questionnaire study (N = 84) among Senegalese migrants in Paris (France) and Geneva (Switzerland) examined three pathways to transnational political involvement (motivations and actual behaviour). Perceived discrimination, the grievances pathway, was positively related to both transnational motivations (but only when desire to adopt the receiving culture was low) and political behaviour in Senegal. Desire to adopt the culture of the receiving society as an acculturation preference, the embeddedness pathway, was also positively linked to transnational motivations and political behaviour. Finally, desire to maintain the culture of origin as an acculturation preference—the collective identification pathway—was unrelated to transnational political involvement. These findings underscore the compatibility of transnational political involvement in countries of origin and adaptation to receiving societies. We discuss the pivotal role of political psychology in bringing together acculturation psychology and transnationalism studies.