The Roles of Higher Education in the Democratization of Politics in Africa: Survey Reports from HERANA

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dc.contributor.authorMattes, Robert
dc.contributor.authorLuescher-Mamashela, Thierry M
dc.date.accessioned2017-12-15T09:47:05Z
dc.date.available2017-12-15T09:47:05Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractAgainst the theory on the nexus of higher education and citizenship, this article brings together the main findings and conclusions of three related studies with African mass publics, parliamentarians from African legislatures, and students from three African flagship universities, conducted by the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA). The article shows that higher education provides advantages in various measures of democratic citizenship and leadership. It plays important roles with regard to access to political information, information gathering skills, and levels of political knowledge; the ability to offer opinions and critical perspectives on politics and the economy; and levels of democratic values and democratic action. Moreover, university-educated MPs seem to make much better sense of the unique complexities of legislatures and their multiple competing functions than their less educated peers. This might reflect the knowledge and analytic skills acquired through higher education, the fact that universities are themselves highly complex institutions that they needed to negotiate as students, and the finding that students acquire extensive organisational leadership experience while at university. In light of this, the article suggests that higher education can play a crucial role in the democratisation of politics in Africa by developing “institution-builders” for state and civil society.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMattes, R., & Luescher-Mamashela, T. M. (2012). The Roles of Higher Education in the Democratization of Politics in Africa: Survey Reports from HERANA. <i>Journal of Higher Education in Africa</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26732en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMattes, Robert, and Thierry M Luescher-Mamashela "The Roles of Higher Education in the Democratization of Politics in Africa: Survey Reports from HERANA." <i>Journal of Higher Education in Africa</i> (2012) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26732en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMattes, R. & Luescher-Mamashela, T. M. (2012). The Roles of Higher Education in the Democratization of Politics in Africa: Survey Reports from HERANA. Journal of Higher Education in Africa, 10(1): 139-170.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0851-7762en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Mattes, Robert AU - Luescher-Mamashela, Thierry M AB - Against the theory on the nexus of higher education and citizenship, this article brings together the main findings and conclusions of three related studies with African mass publics, parliamentarians from African legislatures, and students from three African flagship universities, conducted by the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA). The article shows that higher education provides advantages in various measures of democratic citizenship and leadership. It plays important roles with regard to access to political information, information gathering skills, and levels of political knowledge; the ability to offer opinions and critical perspectives on politics and the economy; and levels of democratic values and democratic action. Moreover, university-educated MPs seem to make much better sense of the unique complexities of legislatures and their multiple competing functions than their less educated peers. This might reflect the knowledge and analytic skills acquired through higher education, the fact that universities are themselves highly complex institutions that they needed to negotiate as students, and the finding that students acquire extensive organisational leadership experience while at university. In light of this, the article suggests that higher education can play a crucial role in the democratisation of politics in Africa by developing “institution-builders” for state and civil society. DA - 2012 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - Journal of Higher Education in Africa LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2012 SM - 0851-7762 T1 - The Roles of Higher Education in the Democratization of Politics in Africa: Survey Reports from HERANA TI - The Roles of Higher Education in the Democratization of Politics in Africa: Survey Reports from HERANA UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26732 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/26732
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMattes R, Luescher-Mamashela TM. The Roles of Higher Education in the Democratization of Politics in Africa: Survey Reports from HERANA. Journal of Higher Education in Africa. 2012; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26732.en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisherCODESRIAen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Political Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceJournal of Higher Education in Africaen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.codesria.org/spip.php?rubrique54
dc.titleThe Roles of Higher Education in the Democratization of Politics in Africa: Survey Reports from HERANAen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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