The College of Education has partnered the Patton College of Education of Ohio University to host the 2018 African Educational Research Network (AERN) summit on the theme “Educational Research and Sustainable Development in Africa”.
The African Educational Research Network (AERN) is a consortium of scholars from African and Western universities whose mission is to broaden the scope of understanding about the continent of Africa, and support through research pertaining to the people, products, and systems. The vision of AERN is to serve as a conduit for information sharing and means of improving access to education and opportunity in Africa and also serve as a major network of research in Africa. Current members of AERN are drawn from Ohio University, North Carolina State University, Makere University, Kenyatta University, the University of Manchester and the University of Ghana.
Addressing participants, Dr. Emmanuel Jean-Francois, chair of AERN, said the summit was to facilitate an academic forum for scholars and practitioners to discuss theories, methods, approaches, principles, research, practices, and policies related to education and sustainable development in Africa, as well as scholarship related to the African Diaspora.
Dr. Emmanuel Jean-Francois, AERN Chair (left) and Prof. Michael Tagoe, Acting Provost CoE addressing participants
Prof. Michael Tagoe, Acting Provost of the College of Education, delivered welcome remarks on behalf of Prof. Kwame Offei Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Student Affairs). He was hopeful that the summit would enable the sharing of research and ideas for education for development in Africa. Dr. Lorrna Jean Edmonds, Vice Provost for Global Affairs Studies at Ohio University, delivered the first keynote address on “A Higher Education Universal Policy Agenda for All of Us”. She spoke on the implications for the sustainability of humanity, from the perspective of higher education, noting that the collective goal for higher education institutions should be to graduate future leaders who are not only competent and connected, but who are cooperative and compassionate as they advance their ideas. Dr. Mathew R. Shaftel, Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Ohio University, spoke on “Community Building, Wellness and Education”. He drew on the wide variety of artistic forms and spoke on traditional and expanded roles of the arts in community building, sustainability, economic development, education and population health.
Dr. Lorrna Jean Edmonds and Dr. Mathew R. Shaftel, keynote speakers at the opening ceremony
Papers were presented on the sub-themes for the summit:
Scenes from the AERN Summit
Participants at AERN
As part of the summit, AERN presented a number of books on research methods in education and the social sciences to the University. Receiving the books on behalf of the University Librarian, Dr. Olive Adjah, Head, of Electronic Resources in the University of Ghana Library System, thanked the network for presenting the books, and gave the assurance that they will be put to good use and placed such that all students in the University will have easy access to them.
Presentation of books