Overlooked and undervalued : a synthesis of ERNWACA [Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa] reviews on the state of educational research in West and Central Africa

ERNWACA"s first major activity was to produce state-of-the-art reviews of educational research in seven member countries: Togo, Sierra Leone, Mali, Ghana, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Benin. Altogether, these reviews uncovered 1,056 (mostly unpublished) studies, which have provided valuable insights about teachers and teaching, factors affecting pupil learning, local capacities for educational innovation, connections between education and work, characteristics of indigenous education and nonformal adult education, and the dynamics of community and household engagement in local schooling. This report synthesizes these state-of-the-art reviews, consolidating information from over 30 broad areas of research under six general themes: educational finance and administration; learning in formal educational systems; teachers and teaching; education and socioeconomic integration; nonformal and traditional education; and educational reform. The report also highlights recommendations for educational policy and practice that have emerged from ERNWACA"s reviews, and discusses the caveats of past research and directions for future research as indicated by the studies. In the final chapter, attention is devoted to ERNWACA"s role in capacity building and regional networking. A bibliography citing all 1,056 studies (memoirs, theses, government and donor reports, seminar papers, unpublished papers, and published manuscripts) is included. (Author abstract, modified)