The Purpose of Schooling and the Culture within. A case study of the Public and Islamic Learning System from Senegal.

Abstract

This thesis explores perspectives on the purpose of the public and the Islamic learning system in Senegal, by comparing the governmental presentation of the purpose with the perceived purpose of the learning systems by households. Drawing on perspectives from world culture theory and post-colonialism, the thesis shows how both learning systems are historically situated, and it became clear that both government policy and reforms and the participant’s understandings are influenced by several forces, both from the past and the present. The colonial past of the country continues to play a significant role for the understanding of the purpose of the learning systems at village level. In addition, the institutionalization of the “right to development” and the “right to education through the Education For All goals and framework, as well as through the Millennium Development Goals are pivotal for the understanding for the place and purpose of both the public and the Islamic learning system in Senegal. The analysis is based on a qualitative field study in a coastal village in Senegal. The aim of the field study was to provide a platform for expression of the point of view of parents, and an increased understanding of how they perceive and maneuver within their educational reality.