To read this content please select one of the options below:

Positioning China’s Aid to Educational Development in Africa: Past, Present, and Post-2015

Post-Education-Forall and Sustainable Development Paradigm: Structural Changes with Diversifying Actors and Norms

ISBN: 978-1-78441-271-5, eISBN: 978-1-78441-270-8

Publication date: 17 June 2016

Abstract

This chapter aims to investigate and interpret China’s educational aid by analyzing its history, philosophies, and practices in Africa. The study is based on review and analysis of governmental documents, reports, academic papers, and news by Chinese and foreign scholars on China’s aid, particularly educational aid to Africa. The analysis unveils three transformations of China’s aid “from pro-ideology to de-ideology,” “from single area to multiple areas,” and “from pragmatic economy driven to sustainable and humane economy focused” in Africa. Meanwhile, it indicates a continuity of the philosophy of solidarity, morality, and reciprocity in China’s South-South cooperation with African educational development.

The analysis also shows China’s educational aid does not match well with the framework of the Western donors. China, under the FOCAC framework, is devoted to higher education cooperation, human resources training program, scholarship, and Chinese language education with African partners. With the growth of its economic and political influence, China will play multiple roles as the biggest developing country and as an active promoter and provider for South-South cooperation in the negotiation and construction of the post-2015 agenda. Nevertheless, we assume China will keep a pragmatic higher education cooperation with its developing country partners to inclusively link it with business, technology transfer, and people-to-people exchange.

This study delivers a comprehensive review and analysis of paradigm shift, philosophy, mechanism, and practice of China’s educational aid to Africa to fill up the literature gap in this field. It also timely presents China’s stance toward discussion on the post-2015 agenda.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgment

This chapter is extended based on the following paper: Niu (2013). The research has been supported by Ministry of Education in China(15JZD033), and is a part of a larger study of Cultural Cooperation and People-to-People Exchanges between China and Foreign Countries. The Ministry is not responsible for the views expressed in this chapter.

Citation

Niu, C. and Liu, J. (2016), "Positioning China’s Aid to Educational Development in Africa: Past, Present, and Post-2015", Post-Education-Forall and Sustainable Development Paradigm: Structural Changes with Diversifying Actors and Norms (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 29), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 269-299. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920140000029018

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016 Emerald Group Publishing Limited