Young Peoples Perceptions of Africa Richard Borowski Leeds

Young People’s Perceptions of Africa Richard Borowski Leeds University Centre for African Studies

‘Without intervention infants are liable to accept uncritically the bias and discrimination they see around them. Stereotypes promoted in advertisements and stories of war, famine and disaster in the media further distort perceptions. At the same time, the influence of parents and peer group pressure may also serve to confirm negative views. From here racism and all its attendant evils are only a short step away. ’ Dr Stephen Scoffham ‘Young Children’s Perceptions of the World’ Teaching Young Children, 1999

African Voices Recruitment LUCAS recruits MA and Ph. D students from Africa. The students come from a wide range of African countries but mainly from English speaking regions of the continent. They are recruited from across the University and study a broad range of courses such as Development Studies, Education, TESOL, Economics and Finance, Communication Studies, Sociology, Public Health and even Chemical & Civil Engineering.

African Voices Training The African students recruited to the project have a very different experience of schools - ‘chalk and talk’ lessons and classrooms with little technology. To prepare them to deliver lessons in UK schools they are provided with a course of training about the UK school system, active learning methodology, teaching strategies and classroom management and lesson planning.

African Voices Delivery The activity programmes delivered by the African post-graduate students consist of a mixture of activities: • Generic activities about Africa, such as true/false quizzes, diamond rankings and role plays • Focused country profiles and workshops on contemporary themes developed by the students • Cultural activities such as stories, music and dancing and games

African Voices Research The impact of the African students on pupil perceptions of Africa and African peoples has been researched using, Africa maps, pupil questionnaires and focus group discussions. Changes in pupil perceptions of Africa have been identified by comparing the results obtained prior to and following the sessions delivered by the African students. The reasons for these changes were explored during the focus group interviews with pupils.

Graphic Perceptions

Linguistic Perceptions 49. 5% 46. 4% 42. 9% 63. 3% 28. 4% 44. 6% 37. 5% 40. 2% 36. 7% 27. 5%

Visual Perceptions East African Elephants 44. 7% Traffic in Windhoek, Namibia 52. 9% 38. 4% Camel train, Sahara desert Traditional rural housing, Ghana Nairobi city skyline, Kenya Shanty town dwellings, Southern Africa 34. 0% Oil storage tanks, Nigeria Table mountain, South Africa Sad Children with bowls, East Africa 27. 7% Zulu dancers, South Africa 38. 3% Gold mining, Southern Africa 73. 2% 39. 9% Tea pickers, East Africa 66. 0% 58. 0%

Perceptions of Africans

Perceptions of Africa

Perceptions of Development

Initial Perceptions Focus Group Responses ‘When you see Red Nose Day you see loads of pictures of people starving’ ‘I thought it was like what you see on the news – straw huts and fighting’ ‘I used to think that Africa was primitive and deprived because the media focuses on the worst part’ ‘Everybody focuses on the poor parts of Africa – anybody who has not been there thinks it’s quite poor’ (Year 5/6 pupils)

Changes in Perceptions Focus Group Responses ‘I thought there would be no rich people there but they have diamond mines and big houses. ’ ‘I didn’t know they had cars, I thought they had to walk. ’ ‘I learnt that there are wealthy people in Africa as well’ ‘That there are over 1000 languages in Africa’ ‘I was surprised to find out there are 53 independent countries’ ‘I didn’t know that there are lots of really tall skyscrapers’ ‘I didn’t know that there was that much technology in Africa’ (Year 5/6 pupils)

Impact of African Students Role Models The students challenged the stereotypical view of an African – highly educated, relatively wealthy and articulate Personal Bond The students became a ‘real’ person that the pupils could relate to and value what they had to say Active Learning Active learning approaches encouraged discussion, critical analysis and peer group interaction New Information The students were a source of new information about Africa and presented a different perspective of the continent

Research Analysis Initial Perceptions Pupils attending schools in more affluent areas were more likely to be positive than pupils from less affluent areas The presence of BME pupils and curriculum initiative promoting greater global awareness had a positive but minor influence External Influences TV programmes, news reports, films about Africa and NGO campaigns all contribute to a perception that Africans are poor, helpless and in need of Western charity African Students The African students had an equally positive impact on all schools regardless of their location

‘Without intervention infants are liable to accept uncritically the bias and discrimination they see around them. Stereotypes promoted in advertisements and stories of war, famine and disaster in the media further distort perceptions. At the same time, the influence of parents and peer group pressure may also serve to confirm negative views. From here racism and all its attendant evils are only a short step away. ’ Dr Stephen Scoffham ‘Young Children’s Perceptions of the World’ Teaching Young Children, 1999

Young People’s Perceptions of Africa Richard Borowski Leeds University Centre for African Studies