The Education Exchange, Africa

In this episode, Ann opens up about how her own life experiences inspired the creation of a school that puts wellbeing for both staff and students at its heart. She talks honestly about her upbringing and how it shaped her strong belief that wellbeing has to come first if we want real learning to happen.

In this episode, Mopati shares his journey through leadership and why he believes it’s so important to start developing leadership skills from a young age. With the advantage of an international education, he’s gained a global perspective that he’s now using to help shape the next generation of young African leaders.

Andrea is deeply committed to serving disadvantaged learners, particularly women, girls, and young cancer patients. Through her initiative, Twende Education For All (TEFA), she has successfully led the way in highlighting the need for all people to continue learning throughout their lives, regardless of their personal circumstances.  By empowering vulnerable individuals with education, mentorship, and skills development, she has successfully demonstrated how important lifelong learning is for everybody. Andrea's inspirational work has recently been recognised by the Zambian Education Authorities with an award for Educational Excellence.

In this episode Dr. Kwabenah Tandoh talks about his experiences being a Headteacher and how this has influenced his views on educational leadership.

Kijika is a thinker and philosopher around educational matters in Africa. This fascinating conversation delves into ideas contained in his book “Rethinking the African Philosophy of Education” and outlines a different way of reimagining how we educate the youth of Sub-Saharan Africa.
 

Lerato is an Early Childhood Educator with experience in the classroom and designing learning online. She passionately believes in the power of communities working together to boost children’s communication skills and social and emotional learning. 

Nomusa is a Foundation Stage teacher with a belief in igniting the passion in teachers to really bring the profession to life. She ties this to the importance of maintaining a healthy and positive mindset for teachers.
 

Nkumbu is a teacher in Lusaka with a particular interest in involving teachers in designing curricula. In this podcast we talk through her experiences and thoughts around curriculum design.
 

Chilipo has risen up through the leadership ranks in education and now occupies a pioneering role as Senior Teacher responsible for leading the community, a role that has seen his school grow in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Not only is he an outstanding leader but he is also a coach and mentor for other teachers. In this podcast we chat about his journey and his unique set of skills that has seen him become one of the most respected educators in Malawi.

Leadership positions in top African schools are often occupied by expatriate teachers. Why is there this bias and is it changing? Mthulisi and Dave discuss senior level recruitment in schools against the background of Mthulisi’s experiences in Africa and in the UK.