Zachary Mngo - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Zachary Mngo
Educational reform on a national scale often presents complexities due to the myriad perspectives... more Educational reform on a national scale often presents complexities due to the myriad perspectives of the stakeholders involved. Particularly in multicultural and multilingual societies, the distinct frames of reference can significantly impede compromise. One challenge is the change agents" occasional oversight of local nuances. In Cameroon, attempts at reform, especially at primary and secondary education levels, have been notably contentious since the country"s independence from France and Britain in 1960. The subsequent reunification of British Southern Cameroon and French Eastern Cameroon established an imperfect union, birthing two education and legal systems with distinct characteristics, difficult to harmonize. A comprehensive review of the literature indicates that resistance to educational reform is more deeply rooted in the dual colonial legacy than the vast diversity of ethnicities and languages. Notably, in 1960, Cameroon comprised over 279 ethnic groups and languages within a population of less than six million. In contemporary times, for a now-divided Cameroon, home to approximately twenty-four million residents, successful educational reform that addresses modern-day needs can only materialize if both decision-makers and citizens prioritize a Cameroonian identity over their Francophone or Anglophone affiliations. This shift is crucial given the prevailing sociopolitical challenges that not only complicate educational harmonization but also impede national integration and unity.
Problem Statement. The literature on education in Cameroon suggests that there is a deep-rooted h... more Problem Statement. The literature on education in Cameroon suggests that there is a deep-rooted history of resistance to educational reform and harmonization both at the K12 and higher education levels. Attempts by political and educational leaders to reform and harmonize the two very distinct systems of education, inherited from former colonizers (France/Britain), have failed in the past because of failure by policy makers to take care of the socio-cultural, professional, and academic demands of educational stakeholders—faculty, students, parents, and educational leaders. At the center of resistance has been the fear by Francophone and Anglophone students and faculty that their exchange program opportunities with French and Anglo-Saxon higher education institutions, respectively, could be compromised by the adoption of a pro-English or pro-French harmonized model. Nonetheless, the inability to reform and harmonize has led to endemic problems related to quality and difficulties of c...
© 2018 Zachary Y. Mngo and Agnes Y. Mngo. The opinions of general education secondary school teac... more © 2018 Zachary Y. Mngo and Agnes Y. Mngo. The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a pilot inclusive education program in the Northwest Region of Cameroon were sought. The findings reveal that most teachers in Cameroon still prefer separate special education institutions to inclusive ones. These conclusions contradict earlier research which showed that resistance to integrated classrooms was emanating from beliefs and customs. Teachers with some training on teaching students with disabilities and more experienced and highly educated teachers were more supportive of inclusive education indicating that resistance to the practice is linked to inadequate or complete lack of teachers\u27 preparedness. Younger, less experienced teachers with no training in special education indicated less enthusiasm regarding the benefits of inclusion, their ability to manage integrated classrooms, and teach students with disabilities. The implication...
The spread and influence of older European higher education models and the current Bologna Proces... more The spread and influence of older European higher education models and the current Bologna Process (BP) is strongly linked to its colonial and neocolonial hegemony. However, the 1999 convergence of European models under the umbrella of the BP reform has had implications beyond the colonial and neocolonial spheres, with its effects impacting even the well-established and reputable education systems of North America. Unlike the countries of Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia Pacific, and the United States did not have any reasons to embrace the BP models. However, they are indirectly affected by it. The international nature of academe, characterized by cooperation and exchanges, has made it impossible for United States tertiary education systems to avoid the effects of the European BP reform entirely. Student and faculty mobility, transferability of degrees, and joint and dual degree offerings have increased significantly as a result of the “external dimension” objectives of t...
College student‟s beliefs, values, and spirituality have become the focus of a major national res... more College student‟s beliefs, values, and spirituality have become the focus of a major national research project in recent years, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) housed at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and sponsored by a substantial grant from the John Templeton Foundation (HERI website). After a pilot survey conducted in 2003, the College Students' Beliefs and Values Survey (CSBV) was administered in the fall 2004 to 112,232 entering freshmen students of 236 colleges and universities in the United States, with a follow up sample of 15,000 of these students in spring 2007. As a nationally representative sample of institutions of higher education, the study included both quantitative and qualitative focus group interview approaches.
Universal Journal of Educational Research
European Educational Research Journal
This article traces the process of diffusion and transfer of the European Bologna Process reforms... more This article traces the process of diffusion and transfer of the European Bologna Process reforms in Africa’s national, sub-regional and regional contexts and examines factors that drive these processes. Considering that African countries are not official signatories but are aligning their systems of education to the BP, and in the absence of a coordinated effort and the use of digital technology to produce and present data that documents and maps out progress, tracing the diffusion process in this context is challenging, which is the reason for limited research in this area. Based on a review of existing literature, this article argues that in Africa, the dissemination and transfer of BP-related reforms started as individual projects by national governments as early as 2000 before metamorphosing into sub-regional and regional initiatives. The article identifies economic, political and discursive factors as well as the selective and silent processes that shaped Bologna transfer at t...
Annals of Social Sciences & Management studies
Education Research International
The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a... more The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a pilot inclusive education program in the Northwest Region of Cameroon were sought. The findings reveal that most teachers in Cameroon still prefer separate special education institutions to inclusive ones. These conclusions contradict earlier research which showed that resistance to integrated classrooms was emanating from beliefs and customs. Teachers with some training on teaching students with disabilities and more experienced and highly educated teachers were more supportive of inclusive education indicating that resistance to the practice is linked to inadequate or complete lack of teachers’ preparedness. Younger, less experienced teachers with no training in special education indicated less enthusiasm regarding the benefits of inclusion, their ability to manage integrated classrooms, and teach students with disabilities. The implication of these findings for future research, insti...
PSU Research Review
Purpose This paper aims to assess the “external dimension” goals of the Pan European Bologna refo... more Purpose This paper aims to assess the “external dimension” goals of the Pan European Bologna reform, almost 19 years after its launch. The influences of the reform on higher education in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific are investigated. The paper analyses the appeal of the 1999 Bologna Process (BP), which, arguably, symbolizes an effort to strengthen the hegemony of Western European education and influence, has for the first time gone beyond ex-colonial lines, including areas where Europe’s socio-political influence is not impactful. Design/methodology/approach This paper opted for an analytical review of the literature on the European higher education internationalization goals as stated in external dimension objectives of the Bologna Process reform. The literature search was complicated by the limited number of peer review articles focusing on the spread of the Bologna model beyond Europe. As a result, the inclusion criteria were flexible, and considerati...
Educational reform on a national scale often presents complexities due to the myriad perspectives... more Educational reform on a national scale often presents complexities due to the myriad perspectives of the stakeholders involved. Particularly in multicultural and multilingual societies, the distinct frames of reference can significantly impede compromise. One challenge is the change agents" occasional oversight of local nuances. In Cameroon, attempts at reform, especially at primary and secondary education levels, have been notably contentious since the country"s independence from France and Britain in 1960. The subsequent reunification of British Southern Cameroon and French Eastern Cameroon established an imperfect union, birthing two education and legal systems with distinct characteristics, difficult to harmonize. A comprehensive review of the literature indicates that resistance to educational reform is more deeply rooted in the dual colonial legacy than the vast diversity of ethnicities and languages. Notably, in 1960, Cameroon comprised over 279 ethnic groups and languages within a population of less than six million. In contemporary times, for a now-divided Cameroon, home to approximately twenty-four million residents, successful educational reform that addresses modern-day needs can only materialize if both decision-makers and citizens prioritize a Cameroonian identity over their Francophone or Anglophone affiliations. This shift is crucial given the prevailing sociopolitical challenges that not only complicate educational harmonization but also impede national integration and unity.
Problem Statement. The literature on education in Cameroon suggests that there is a deep-rooted h... more Problem Statement. The literature on education in Cameroon suggests that there is a deep-rooted history of resistance to educational reform and harmonization both at the K12 and higher education levels. Attempts by political and educational leaders to reform and harmonize the two very distinct systems of education, inherited from former colonizers (France/Britain), have failed in the past because of failure by policy makers to take care of the socio-cultural, professional, and academic demands of educational stakeholders—faculty, students, parents, and educational leaders. At the center of resistance has been the fear by Francophone and Anglophone students and faculty that their exchange program opportunities with French and Anglo-Saxon higher education institutions, respectively, could be compromised by the adoption of a pro-English or pro-French harmonized model. Nonetheless, the inability to reform and harmonize has led to endemic problems related to quality and difficulties of c...
© 2018 Zachary Y. Mngo and Agnes Y. Mngo. The opinions of general education secondary school teac... more © 2018 Zachary Y. Mngo and Agnes Y. Mngo. The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a pilot inclusive education program in the Northwest Region of Cameroon were sought. The findings reveal that most teachers in Cameroon still prefer separate special education institutions to inclusive ones. These conclusions contradict earlier research which showed that resistance to integrated classrooms was emanating from beliefs and customs. Teachers with some training on teaching students with disabilities and more experienced and highly educated teachers were more supportive of inclusive education indicating that resistance to the practice is linked to inadequate or complete lack of teachers\u27 preparedness. Younger, less experienced teachers with no training in special education indicated less enthusiasm regarding the benefits of inclusion, their ability to manage integrated classrooms, and teach students with disabilities. The implication...
The spread and influence of older European higher education models and the current Bologna Proces... more The spread and influence of older European higher education models and the current Bologna Process (BP) is strongly linked to its colonial and neocolonial hegemony. However, the 1999 convergence of European models under the umbrella of the BP reform has had implications beyond the colonial and neocolonial spheres, with its effects impacting even the well-established and reputable education systems of North America. Unlike the countries of Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia Pacific, and the United States did not have any reasons to embrace the BP models. However, they are indirectly affected by it. The international nature of academe, characterized by cooperation and exchanges, has made it impossible for United States tertiary education systems to avoid the effects of the European BP reform entirely. Student and faculty mobility, transferability of degrees, and joint and dual degree offerings have increased significantly as a result of the “external dimension” objectives of t...
College student‟s beliefs, values, and spirituality have become the focus of a major national res... more College student‟s beliefs, values, and spirituality have become the focus of a major national research project in recent years, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) housed at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and sponsored by a substantial grant from the John Templeton Foundation (HERI website). After a pilot survey conducted in 2003, the College Students' Beliefs and Values Survey (CSBV) was administered in the fall 2004 to 112,232 entering freshmen students of 236 colleges and universities in the United States, with a follow up sample of 15,000 of these students in spring 2007. As a nationally representative sample of institutions of higher education, the study included both quantitative and qualitative focus group interview approaches.
Universal Journal of Educational Research
European Educational Research Journal
This article traces the process of diffusion and transfer of the European Bologna Process reforms... more This article traces the process of diffusion and transfer of the European Bologna Process reforms in Africa’s national, sub-regional and regional contexts and examines factors that drive these processes. Considering that African countries are not official signatories but are aligning their systems of education to the BP, and in the absence of a coordinated effort and the use of digital technology to produce and present data that documents and maps out progress, tracing the diffusion process in this context is challenging, which is the reason for limited research in this area. Based on a review of existing literature, this article argues that in Africa, the dissemination and transfer of BP-related reforms started as individual projects by national governments as early as 2000 before metamorphosing into sub-regional and regional initiatives. The article identifies economic, political and discursive factors as well as the selective and silent processes that shaped Bologna transfer at t...
Annals of Social Sciences & Management studies
Education Research International
The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a... more The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a pilot inclusive education program in the Northwest Region of Cameroon were sought. The findings reveal that most teachers in Cameroon still prefer separate special education institutions to inclusive ones. These conclusions contradict earlier research which showed that resistance to integrated classrooms was emanating from beliefs and customs. Teachers with some training on teaching students with disabilities and more experienced and highly educated teachers were more supportive of inclusive education indicating that resistance to the practice is linked to inadequate or complete lack of teachers’ preparedness. Younger, less experienced teachers with no training in special education indicated less enthusiasm regarding the benefits of inclusion, their ability to manage integrated classrooms, and teach students with disabilities. The implication of these findings for future research, insti...
PSU Research Review
Purpose This paper aims to assess the “external dimension” goals of the Pan European Bologna refo... more Purpose This paper aims to assess the “external dimension” goals of the Pan European Bologna reform, almost 19 years after its launch. The influences of the reform on higher education in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific are investigated. The paper analyses the appeal of the 1999 Bologna Process (BP), which, arguably, symbolizes an effort to strengthen the hegemony of Western European education and influence, has for the first time gone beyond ex-colonial lines, including areas where Europe’s socio-political influence is not impactful. Design/methodology/approach This paper opted for an analytical review of the literature on the European higher education internationalization goals as stated in external dimension objectives of the Bologna Process reform. The literature search was complicated by the limited number of peer review articles focusing on the spread of the Bologna model beyond Europe. As a result, the inclusion criteria were flexible, and considerati...