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Pitfalls of postcolonial education and child policies in Africa

With 70 per cent of people under the age of 30, more than 450 million children and adolescents under the age of 18, including approximately 150 million children under the age of 5, Africa is the ‘youngest’ continent. Research on children and childhoods in Africa has rarely addressed post- and decolonial issues. Contrasting the common picture of Africa as backward, disaster ridden continent, this chapter outlines how the situation of children and the characteristics of childhood in Africa are influenced by postcolonial power and childhood policies. It concentrates on three aspects. On the one hand, it discusses the changes that follow the establishment of schools according to Western patterns. Secondly, the debate on the appropriateness and implementation of children's rights, especially with regard to particularly marginalized groups of children in precarious living conditions. Thirdly, the relationship between children and adults and their limitations and opportunities to play an equal and participatory role in their societies is considered.