Shaping African Education : A Comparative Analysis of Foreign Influence and Pan-African Reflection in Ethiopia and Ghana

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines the influence of the US and China on African education systems through a comparative case study of Ethiopia and Ghana. By drawing on policy transfer theory, dependency theory, and postcolonial theory particularly Pan-Africanism, it explores how education policies and structures reflect foreign engagement and the extent to which African agency and Pan-Africanism shape national education. The study constructs and analyses seven indicators including language of instruction, textbook authorship, ministerial backgrounds, funding sources, and foreign institutional presence, to examine foreign influence through dependency or self-reliance. Ethiopia and Ghana are selected using a most-different systems design due to their distinct colonial histories and diplomatic relations. The findings indicate that while both countries reflect elements of dependency and policy transfer aligned with the US and China, there are also signs of efforts toward educational sovereignty and self-reliance. This research contributes to the literature on foreign influence, African agency, and global power dynamics in education by highlighting the complex relations between foreign influence and local agency in shaping Africa’s educational sector.