The Education Exchange, Africa

In this episode, we explore Caroline’s extensive experience and learning in Early Childhood from her work on the ground, collaborating with Educators, Parents, Caregivers and Policy Makers. We dig into what her experience has taught her about the key ingredients of authenticity and attachment, and how we can empower not only the workforce, but policy makers and also parents to embrace these day to day, and in long term planning for improved, research-informed policies, practices and processes. Caroline also shares her current research interests around how we can infuse curricula and Early Childhood practice with climate-aware approaches, to build solid early childhood foundations, making positive investments in the future. 

Dr. Mona Kiani has an impressive breadth of experience in education, having taught at a range of schools in different contexts. Her company, Educate with Purpose, is aimed at providing schools with the tools and knowledge to explore their own contexts and in doing so, provide an education for their students that has a true purpose in the preparation of students for an exciting global future where problem solving, contextualisation and collaboration are key to success.  
 

Early Childhood Education is being increasingly recognised as a powerful tool for children across the globe, and exploring what can be achieved during this important phase of development, and how communities go about this, falls on the shoulders of academics such as Professor Seth Oppong, from the University of Botswana. With a background in Psychology, and wide ranging research interests, Professor Oppong is well placed to open this topic for listeners across Africa and beyond. During this episode of Turning Point, Professor Oppong is interviewed by Joanna Marriott, as he unpacks the key priorities for Early Childhood Development (ECD) professionals, and considers the centrality of championing culture in classrooms and strategies that educators, NGOs, decision makers and Governments could use to unpack the latent potential of this phase of learning and ‘supercharge’ Foundational Literacy and Numeracy across the continent. Join them, to see what part you can play in this journey.
 

Our own personal stories influence our ideas of the power of education, but also the shortfalls in its deliverance. It is either one of these reasons that people go into teaching (because it is not for the money!) In this podcast Jess King speaks with Mayake Lamberte and uncovers Maya’s personal story of how education has impacted her life, from her time as a Burundian refugee in Zambia, to teaching in an international school in Rwanda, and now as she thinks about what comes next as she embarks on a career outside of the classroom. 
 

In this episode, David and Peter explore leadership in schools, what it currently looks like and what it needs to look like for a school to be effective and successful. Peter’s three decades in leadership are drawn on to identify what makes leadership in schools effective.

The idea of experiential learning is an idea which is progressive in any educational context. It is also not a way of learning that is familiar to many parents of school-going children in Africa. In this podcast David, Andy and Busola explore the concept of experiential learning and discuss some of Busola’s experiences with regards to this exciting take on learning.

Becoming a teacher at one of the most prestigious International Schools has, for Chilipo Gunda, been a journey through a broad range of education styles. Today Chilipo is one of the emerging leaders in education within Malawi, having taken on leading roles within his current school, and now looking outwardly in the hopes of having a wider impact on students who have similar experiences to his. In this podcast we discuss the merits of being educated in Africa, what this has meant to him and what it brings to anyone who has spent time learning on the African continent.

In this episode David Marriott speaks with Dr. Mthulisi Matshakaile. This podcast explores the nature of education in Sub-Saharan Africa as it currently stands, and seeks to understand the direction schools need to take to properly prepare children for the future that they will face in an African / Global context. The concept of decolonising schools and understanding education as something that needs to be contextually relevant is also touched on as part of the wider discussion on decolonising the whole system.

In today’s podcast David and Andy speak with Ann Rowley Morton who is the Principal of Pinelands North Primary School in Cape Town. After a visit to PNPS in December 2022, it was clear that this school is outstanding. Not only does it present outstanding opportunities for children to grow and develop, but it also stands out amongst others as a real leader in progressive educational practice. 
This podcast will explore the reasons why PNPS is like it is, and how it got to be like this.