Hitting, missing, and in between: a typology of the impact of western education on the non‐western world

Abstract

In this article I describe a number of ways in which non‐western cultures have adopted and used western educational approaches, forming an illustrative typology of these adaptations. I provide an illustration(s) of each category in the typology, briefly presenting the history of the category, detailing its modern state, and discussing selected aspects of the effectiveness of a particular educational system. Efficacy is discussed along the following indicators for the country(ies) exemplified in a given category: (1) literacy rates in the general population, (2) standing of the country's students as exemplified by results of international comparison studies, and (3) perceived standing of higher‐education graduates of a given educational system as judged by the international labour market or commented on by the international community.

Acknowledgement

I am thankful to Ms. Robyn Rissman for her editorial assistance.

Notes

1. South Africa: isiZulu, Sepedi, xiTsonga, Setswana, Sesotho, Tshivenda, isiSwati, IsiXhosa, isiNdebele, Nama, Afrikaans, !Xun, and Kwedam; Botswana: Setswana; Namibia: Oshikwanyama, Rukwangali, Oshindonga, Otjiherero, Rugciriku, Silozi, Thimbukushi, Khoekhoegowab, Ju/'hoansi (a San language); Zambia: Icibemba, Silozi, ciNyanja, Chitonga, Kiikaonde, Lunda, Luvale; Uganda: Luganda, Alur, Dhopadhola. Runyankole, Runyoro; Lesotho: Sesotho; Ghana: Eυe, Gonja, Akua Pem, Twi; Malawi: Cichewa.

2. The general market income category (or sector) wherein certain types of income and the means of their generation are unregulated or only loosely regulated by the institutions of society, in a legal and social environment in which similar activities are regulated. In developing countries up to 60% of the labour force works in the informal sector.

3. Compare that with the population of the US (∼300mln), where ∼7.5% of GDP is spent on education.

4. For an excellent analysis of primary education in India, see Robin Alexander's book Culture and Pedagogy (Alexander, 2000).

5. Note that Hindi is a vernacular language for many Indians; here, however, it is separated into a separate category due to its national status.

6. Competition at the nation's most prestigious engineering schools (the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) with its multiple campuses spread around the country, e.g., Madras/Chennai, Kharagpur, Mumbai, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati, Roorkee) is such that it is estimated that, on average, there are fifty applications for each place.

7. ∼20% to 35% of the Indian Institute of Technology's graduates.

8. One of the most distinctive features of the Arab world in general and its system of education in particular is that Classical Arabic co‐exists with national vernaculars (e.g., Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian). Whereas all education in all Arab states is carried out in the former, the latter languages are that of mass media, oral exchanges, and leisure (Haeri, 2000).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elena L. Grigorenko

Preparation of this article was supported by Grant 5 R21 TW006764‐02 (PI: Grigorenko) from the Fogarty Program, as administered by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. Grantees undertaking such projects are encouraged to express their professional judgment freely. Therefore, this article does not necessarily reflect the position or policies of the National Institutes of Health, and no official endorsement should be inferred.