The Educational Research Network in East and Southern Africa (ERNESA) is a network of twelve national education research associations that are based in Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. ERNESA was officially registered as an independent Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in 1992. Its headquarters are in Gaborone, Botswana.
Mission statement
ERNESA's goals are articulated in its mission statement which assigns the network to "revitalize education and training in Africa in general, and in Eastern and Southern Africa in particular. ERNESA seeks to contribute to the enhancement of a culture where the development of education and training systems is informed by research and other forms of analytic work. While recognizing the utilitarian value of applied research, ERNESA equally values basic research and strives to contribute to the development of knowledge, and theoretical, conceptual, and analytical paradigms that emerge from indigenous and endogenous contexts. In pursuance of this mission, ERNESA will remain conscious of, and responsive to, the emerging global influences, challenges, opportunities and threats."
Objectives
In accordance with its mission statement, ERNESA activities are guided by the following objectives:
- to develop educational research capacity in the region;
- to develop national and regional capacities for using research and other forms of analytic work to inform policy development and management;
- to bridge the communication gap between researchers, policy makers and practitioners, and to promote their collaboration in using research to inform policy and practice;
- to effectively disseminate research findings inside and outside the region;
- to coordinate educational research and to provide forums for debating issues in educational research;
- to promote collaboration among researchers;
- to provide technical support to Ministries of Education, other education institutions and international agencies in the region.
Key activities and progress
Key ERNESA activities include research, training, the development of a database of research abstracts, involvement in sector analysis, and an array of collaborative activities with selected partners.
-- Research
The following research projects are currently underway:
Africa policy dialogue project
This research project aims to: (i) stimulate the interfacing of education policy formulation with research; (ii) enhance national capacities in policy research and policy analysis; (iii) promote collaboration between researchers and policy makers; (iv) enhance the researchers' skills in policy analysis; and (v) reinforce the research capacities of Ministries of Education, especially within the planning and research departments. Four chapters are involved in this research project: Botswana Educational Research Association (BERA), Lesotho Educational Research Association (LERA), Swaziland Educational Research Association (SERA) and Zimbabwe Educational Research Association (ZERA). All the areas investigated under this project are jointly selected by the ERNESA chapters and the Ministries of Education. Research teams comprise members of the national chapters and staff of the Ministries of Education. Participating Ministry staff is drawn mostly from the planning and research departments.
Education and the environment
This project is undertaken as part of a program to reform the curriculum and incorporate the environment as one of the themes to be mainstreamed in regular school subjects. Participating countries are Namibia, Swaziland and Uganda.
The impact of nonformal education programs
Four ERNESA chapters will assess the impact of non-formal basic education programs offered in Lesotho, Ethiopia, Uganda and Namibia. The evaluation will establish the degree of diversification of non-formal education programs and suggest strategies for further and more effective diversification.
Provision of quality basic education for marginalized groups through out-of-school delivery systems
This project will be undertaken in Botswana as a joint effort between ERNESA, UNICEF, UNESCO and the Department of Non-Formal Education (DNFE). Although Botswana has the capacity to offer universal access to nine years of basic education, 10% of eligible learners coming mainly from marginalized communities are still not enrolled in school. Hence, Botswana still falls short of attaining the Education For All (EFA) goal. This project will attempt to contribute to the development of national strategies for attaining EFA. The research team comprises staff from the DNFE and university-based researchers collaborating closely with the ERNESA Secretariat.
-- Training
One of ERNESA's strategies to develop research capacity in the region is to avail itself of existing capacities to conduct its own research. By raising research funds and providing the necessary technical support, ERNESA helps to reduce the erosion of research capacities that often ensues through disuse. Within this strategy, explicit effort is made to facilitate skill transfer by teaming up experienced with less experienced. Skill transfer is also facilitated by bringing together researchers of different backgrounds and strengths such as Ministry-based and university-based researchers.
In addition to direct practice and skill transfer, the development of research capacity is reinforced through research methodology training. Until recently, the focus has been on Qualitative Research Methods. In November 1997, ERNESA launched the first short course in Policy Research and Policy Analysis. Researchers and policy makers are the target audience of this course. The course aims to bridge the skills, knowledge, and communication gap between these two constituencies.
Training in Information Dissemination and Information Brokerage will start in 1999 with the same trainees that attended the November 1997 course. The course is intended to guide researchers in presenting their findings in ways that are most appropriate to a wide variety of readers.
ERNESA also runs an annual two-week course for researchers and documentalists in Educational Information Science and Network Organization. This training focuses on bridging the communication gap between researchers and documentalists. For documentalists, the objective is to strengthen their ability to read and abstract research reports in a manner that is comprehensible to practitioners. For researchers, the objective is to present research reports in a manner that will facilitate the work of documentalists.
A training workshop for researchers and documentalists was held for the first time in Gaborone in June 1997. The 1997 course hosted participants from Botswana, Ethiopia, Namibia, Swaziland, Uganda and Gambia. Participants from Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia attended the 1998 course. Another course is planned in 1999.
-- Development of a database of research abstracts
The development of a database of abstracts is a practical follow-up activity of the joint training for researchers and documentalists. All ERNESA sponsored studies are abstracted. At the national level, each chapter develops its database from a carefully selected body of studies. Thus far, the Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Lesotho, Uganda, and Swaziland chapters are making noticeable progress under this activity.
-- Involvement in sector analysis
By collaborating with the ADEA Working Group on Education Sector Analysis (WGESA), ERNESA chapters are gaining exposure to sector analysis. The national chapters have participated in the training seminars offered by WGESA and in analytical work conducted by the working group. In 1997 the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Educational Research Association (ZERA) participated in the review of education sector studies in Zimbabwe. During 1998/99 the Lesotho Educational Research Association (LERA) will support the review of education sector studies in Lesotho. It is expected that the Mozambique Educational Research Group (MERG) will also support the forthcoming review of education sector studies in Mozambique.
Mmansetsa Marope
Director,
Educational Research Network
in East and Southern Africa (ERNESA)
* ERNESA has launched the first issue of the ERNESA Newsletter.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. P.T.M. Marope
ERNESA Regional Coordinator
NDB Building, The Main Mall
Private Bag 00343
Gaborone, BOTSWANA
Tel.: 267/580963 - Fax: 267/580965
E-mail: ERNESA@noka.ub.bw
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