Education academics from across Africa gathered in Kenya last week to come up with solutions to help “decolonise” African research, which they say is comparatively underfunded and invisible next to evidence produced by academics from the global north.
Despite high quality research produced in Africa, data show that only a tiny fraction gets published in international journals, if at all. Much languishes as “gray literature,” which means it is not published in journals or books, including evaluation reports and working papers which are often unavailable online.
In addition, data show a clear funding gap between African education research organizations, which get far less money than those based in Europe and North America, even when they do much of the research.
About the author
Sophie Edwards
Sophie Edwards is a Devex Contributing Reporter covering global education, water and sanitation, and innovative financing, along with other topics. She has previously worked for NGOs, and the World Bank, and spent a number of years as a journalist for a regional newspaper in the U.K. She has a master's degree from the Institute of Development Studies and a bachelor's from Cambridge University.
