ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the understandings and development of education in Africa. From a discussion of indigenous knowledge and schooling, the chapter moves on to examine seven key trends in African education since the independence of African nations from colonial rule in the 1960s: increasing access and enrolment in education, questions of quality in education, issues of language and literacy, the relationship between gender parity and equality in education, higher education, aid and education in Africa, and the role of education in conflict, reconciliation and reconstruction. The chapter concludes with a brief examination of the future of education on the continent and lessons that have been learnt.
