Contemporary Voices from the Margin

Traditionally American educators and communities have looked to Europe and Asia for ideas forrethinking and reforming education for America's diverse children. This book Contemporary Voices fromthe Margin: African Educators on African and American Education brings together new voices of diverseAfrican-born teacher educators and Africanist scholars who share personal experiences as well as researchbasedperspectives about education in Africa and America that will be valuable to rethinking and reformingeducation for America's struggling schools. The book is a comprehensive work of experienced educatorsand scholars in the field of teacher education and African Studies. The editors of the book invited a diversegroup of African-born teacher educators and scholars from different countries of Africa who teach in theU.S. The contributors share a common African experience but they are geographically diverse in countriesof origin and research. Their knowledge about African communal living as well as colonial powers andimperialism as they operated in various African countries enables them to compare and contrast variouseducational models and practices including traditional ones. They are also diverse in their fields of specialization but have expertise in multiculturaleducation urban education and culturally responsive pedagogy that have become the focus of U.S. discourses in public education and teacherpreparationprograms. Given that these scholars were born or socialized and educated in as well as taught schools and colleges in their respectiveAfrican countries before settling in the United States they bring a wealth of experience and insights into what it means to successfully educate childrenand youth.The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 examines African processes and practices of education both formal and informal as contributing authorsshare perspectives about African indigenous education including cultural socialization and formal western-type education and organization of schools.Part 2 focuses on patterns and structures of formal western-type education in selected African countries. Part 3 explores cross-cultural perspectives onAmerican education. The contributors provide chapters of stimulating and rich perspectives that will engage the discourse on rethinking and reformingeducation and schooling for America's diverse students.