Senegal claimed political independence from France in 1960, and Leopold Sedhar Senghor became Senegal's first president. Even though Senegal was no longer a French colony, Senghor was determined to maintain the dominance of French culture and language in his country. However, pressure to give national languages more power and space, which had already started during French occupation, continued intensely after independence. Senghor's political adversaries as well as teacher and student unions, workers, and various activist groups roundly criticized Senghor's government for the language and education programs he chose for the Senegalese people. The issue of national languages thus became a major political issue in Senegal with a far-reaching and longstanding impact. This book is a comprehensive study on the current language policies and practices in Senegal. It illuminates the tension that has arisen from the enduring colonial legacies and their influences in postcolonial language policies in Senegal. It also highlights the need for vigorous policy change to recognize the Senegalese languages, especially in education, and how the preservation of these languages is critical to identity and culture issues. The book shows that it is important for the Senegalese people to retain their original local languages and how French and English are not simply the only languages needed for Senegal's success in the globalized economy. In addition to a detailed history with supporting facts and figures, this study also links socioeconomic, cultural, and political events in its analysis of the unstoppable rise of Wolof, which is posing a significant threat to the already-fragile local linguistic ecology. This book will be of interest to scholars in applied and social linguistics, African studies, and policy studies.

"Ce volume fait suite à celui consacré aux institutions et politiques publiques pendant les deux mandats présidentiels d'Abdoulaye Wade publié précédemment par le même éditeur. Il s'inscrit dans la continuité de la réflexion entreprise, depuis la fin des années 1980, sous la direction de Momar-Coumba Diop, pour documenter les trajectoires de l'État sénégalais et de ses relations avec la société. Cet ouvrage examine le rôle joué par Abdoulaye Wade à l'intérieur du "cycle senghorien" qui a dominé la vie du Sénégal depuis 1960. Il propose des outils d'analyse permettant de décrypter le projet hégémonique d'Abdoulaye Wade, en analysant aussi bien ses relations avec la confrérie mouride que les initiatives destinées à ramener la paix en Casamance. Dévoilant les logiques à l'oeuvre dans les syndicats, les partis politiques, les confréries religieuses, les mouvements citoyens, la presse, cet ouvrage collectif rend compte, sur la base de données inédites, des changements identifiés dans les systèmes de valeurs, les itinéraires et les protocoles d'enrichissement ou d'accumulation de pouvoir. Grâce à des approches novatrices, il aborde les recompositions qui s'expriment à travers la musique, les associations, les migrations internationales, la coopération sud-sud, les usages des TIC ou le football. Les livres consacrés au président Wade et à sa gouvernante sont également examinés avec attention et le rôle du griot dans le système de propagande officielle est analysé de manière originale. Ce volume aborde, ensuite, les réactions populaires aux défaillances ou aux dérives du pouvoir central, et les autres formes de résistance au régime du Sopi. Il insiste, enfin, sur le rôle des Assises nationales dans l'émergence et la consolidation du mouvement de contestation qui a mis un terme au régime d'Abdoulaye Wade. Cet ouvrage représente la première tentative d'envergure d'histoire économique, sociale et culturelle de la période considérée. Rédigé dans un style serein, il constitue, avec le précédent, un précieux outil de référence pour ceux qui s'intéressent, à des degrés divers, à la construction de l'avenir du Sénégal."--P. [4] of cover.

Former World Bank education specialist Bjorn Nordtveit argues in this groundbreaking study that a development project or policy should not be understood and analyzed as a linear system. Instead, he believes we should view it as a complex and dialectical organism. Basing his theories on post-development and complexity theories as well as New Institutional Economics, Nordtveit lays out a novel method of analyzing development – both on the ground and in the think-tank. Informed by detailed quotations from interviews with local people involved in a World Bank literacy project in Senegal, the author demonstrates how a project is entangled in the global economy, and how it constructs development through a discourse of gender equity, growth of the civil society, and promotion of the use of private provision of social services. Nordtveit’s new analytical methodology claims it is necessary for all development initiatives to first investigate whether the donors’ vision of development coincides with national – and local – notions of development. Only then can the holistic and complex interrelations between the project and all other development desires and services in the community be studied. Finally, the project’s cost effectiveness must be considered. The author also examines the strengths and weaknesses of ‘public-private partnerships’, which are being used ever more frequently by donor agencies to implement social services. Constructing Development is a tour de force. Going back and forth between the global and the local, it examines a World Bank women's literacy project in Senegal through a critical and integrated discussion of education and development, globalization, gender, civil society, and privatization. Nordtveit offers an insightful and innovative critique of development theory and practice, drawing on new authors and fields, such as Complexity Theory. His book is a must read across a number of fields including comparative and international education, adult education, gender studies, and economic development. Steven J. Klees, Former President, Comparative and International Education Society Harold R.W. Benjamin Professor of International and Comparative Education University of Maryland

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This volume highlights the proceedings of the two policy dialogue conferences held by the Working Group on Finance and Education (WGFE) in 2004. Part I of the document discusses the endemic crisis that higher educationhas been beset with since the outset of the post colonial period in Africa. It highlights the critical state of higher education systems in Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal by scrutinizing the causes, manifestations and consequences of the crisis to posit useful recommendations and possible solutions. Part II is a comprehensive review of the challenges facing the financing and planning of all levels and types ofeducation - from kindergarten to graduate school - in selected African countries. The papers reveal the sources and mechanisms of funding education in Africa, drawing attention to the experiences of communities confronted with new funding sources. A new trend, which consists of designing decade long educational development plans, has emerged and is rapidly expanding in numerous African countries. This experience is examined and shared by the authors. This book has contributions in both French and English.