What Was the Purpose of Francophone Education?
It is undergoing significant transformations as a result of globalization, as described in the post-modern or post-truth (post-truth) periods of the twenty-first century. All types of education come first among the primary and most effective ways that the global powers and actors, who are the architects of this dizzying pace of changes, use while constructing new sociocultural and ecopolitical orders. When we look back in history, education has been the most essential tool in achieving similar large-scale transformations in previous centuries. In the transition process from imperialism to socialism, from socialism to capitalism, and from capitalism to globalism, we are going through a design process in the context of the philosophy of how a human should be built-in education systems in the 21st century. Because education is not just a phenomenon limited to specific places in a certain period of life, on the contrary, it is an inclusive process that continues in every area and every moment of life. As a result, nations and supra-state organizations, unions, and organizations that seek to mold societies and brilliant minds have agreed that education is a highly effective soft power in international relations over time. When a holistic evaluation is made, this situation emerges as a crucial case. In addition to supranational organizations like the UN, EU, OECD, and UNICEF, national agencies like the US Agency for International Development, Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC), and private institutions like Ford, RAND Corporation, and the Rockefeller Foundation, CFR conducts serious education research and allocates large budgets for training reports. In a previous study, Ethiopia's general promotion of the country and the education system, I present my analysis report upon examining in detail that the Anglo-Saxon culture was exemplary for an education system that influences.
In this article, I will share my analysis and evaluations with you through examples of the education system shaped under the influence of Francophone culture. First and first, I'd like to quickly discuss my educational background, as my first interaction with the French educational system occurred at Profilo high school, which was founded by businessman Jak Kamhi. I began to learn about French culture in high school, when I studied French. Various sports contests and cultural activities were held with other French high schools at various times. We had a lot of teachers during my high school years. We learnt different disciplines from each of them, but my French instructor, who holds a special place in my heart, had exceptional intellectual, artistic, and knowledge, as well as extensive experience. Our teacher, Idil, made a significant contribution to the infrastructure of foreign education in that period and subsequent periods through his dedicated efforts. I'd like to take this chance to express my gratitude to him. Thanks to the solid linguistic infrastructure developed in high school, I was also able to complete my undergraduate study in French. Now, instead of focusing on the positive or negative aspects of the local or personal education process, let's look at the big picture. A completely different picture emerges, as we can see. For many years, European intellectual thinkers have admitted how France has ruined the education of generations, particularly in former African colonial territories, in order to achieve various strategic goals, such as spreading the French language, establishing its culture, and strengthening its hegemony. Alyson says: Historians generally agree that World War I, a century after it ended, was a case of imperialism. But the winners at that time wanted to enjoy their victory.
The Treaty of Versailles was written only in the languages of the winners, in French and English. Losing Germany could not do much to say anything about the conditions either. The winners explained it this way: Bad dog lost their colony and had to lick the dirt off the ground. The Alsace-Lorraine region returned to France. France also wanted the Saar region and the coal mines but had to settle for fifteen years from these mines. Germany's humiliation led to another world war only twenty years later. But France also felt some embarrassment. Can you see why? Answer: For the first time, Quelle Horreur! (This means, "How terrible! Let's punish some children in Africa.") The French enjoyed undisputed dominance in European diplomacy by that time. French was the official language of treaties, as well as the court language of Russia throughout the nineteenth century.
In Search of Francophonie!..
The French were in decline, and the American Century had begun. But, unlike all other nations, France considered that retaining its national language and expanding it throughout the Francophonie zone was vital to its spirit. The United Nations' choice of two "official" languages, English and French, reflects France's passion in promoting its language. Of course, such things do not happen in diplomacy, and the arm bending was not done by Germany. Despite France's repressive linguistic nationalist attitudes and efforts, the French language was fading on the global arena, and it would face new threats in the future. This presented an opportunity for France to be recognized as a world language, although it is spoken in the halls of Mali rather than Moscow. French aid provided primary funding for schools in France's former African colonies, and France used this base ruthlessly. In the 1980s, he insisted that students be taught French. Ericka A. Albaugh, a scholar of this period, writes: "[France's] French-only education policy in African schools was non-negotiable even after the independence of its colonies. France has consistently provided resources, technical assistance, and teachers to assist this effort. "(one)
In 1985, 11,000 French teachers were sent to Africa with aid funds to support French education. But it wasn't working; the number of fluent French speakers in the former colonies continued to decline. Children in Africa were taught French that they didn't comprehend, therefore they didn't pick up any new knowledge or lessons. It was obvious to everyone except the French government that it wasn't functioning. High school teachers had "little room left for teaching French in the arts and sciences," according to an American psychologist from West Africa, because students' poor performance in these areas was due to their limited command of the foreign language. Education in the mother tongue should come first and stay first, and then a foreign language should be taught." (2)
Paris eventually realized she had shot herself in the foot, although it was too late. This approach of spreading the French proved ineffective! Children should be educated in their mother tongue first, as educators have urged for decades. Educators argued that teaching French in this way was impossible; otherwise, using the methods would complicate things further. It was an unrealistic fantasy to see the French language becoming the "mother tongue" of the colonial colonies.
Following the traumatic events of 1989 and 1990, France abruptly adopted a mother tongue policy. "A clear compromise on the place of Indigenous languages in education is actually a way of making it simpler for African students to learn French," Albaugh argues. This remnant of French colonialism had a profound impact on the former colonies. A UNESCO report published after sixteen years listed the five countries with the lowest adult literacy rates in the world. All five were former French colonies in Africa, and the official language was French. (3)
This is an example of how educational aid was used to serve the French state's colonial goals and interests. It demonstrates how national interests infiltrate the aid industry in an unseen but profound way. 11,000 French teachers were paid by French "aid" to make education in their former colonies worse.
When you look at the data on whether education quality is better or worse in the ex-colonial countries mentioned in discussions about the consequences of French education aid, you'll see that there's a lot of incorrect data and many academic studies. For the sake of their colonial goals, the so-called guardians of the French language have squandered generations of children who spent many years in Africa. Because the purpose was different, the African people used France as a tool for a sustainable and systematic colony education within the lost generations, passing years and disappearing dreams.In Africa and other regions where they established educational institutions, France maintained the same understanding. Within the Francophone education systems, they were subjected to a separate colony by brain-draining those they perceived as culturally akin to themselves and as intelligent. In short, France had developed a system that sifted through people, pushing out what it considered "rotten" and utilizing it to destabilize and prevent these regions from prospering while using what they considered "solid" in their own interests, assuring the continuation of their colonial ambitions. But those subjected to the screening system, such as rotten or solid, were not fruits but humans.
In an attempt to teach humanity a lesson in civilisation at every opportunity in the diplomatic arenas, France promotes viewpoints such as assisting to develop "underdeveloped countries" (ones colonized by France) through education in order to conceal its colonial past. In the past and today, concrete scientific data reveals that France has always worked toward its own development and the continuation of its colonial rule. Because France is well aware of the source of its wealth, it has always taken the risk of causing regional crises and fighting in order not to lose it.
"Developed countries are not interested in the development of the rest of the world."
—Yash Tandon, Uganda's longtime trade negotiator, from his book "Trade Is War."
The concept of owning the entire world and managing people from a single location was not new. Power centers and empires have had such a vision since ancient times, especially when Christianity was the official state religion. These visions were brought to life through a variety of methods. Occupation policies appear first in this list, but with modernity, the nature of the occupation has transformed, and new war strategies such as "cultural occupation," "economic occupation," and "political occupation" have emerged, described as a White Man's responsibility and essentially defined as primitive and savage(4 [1] With the awakening of the third world countries from their dogmatic sleep, these occupation policies, which aimed to civilize the geographies, began to show themselves in various ways by changing the cover. By creating a new class that would represent the values of the West in the countries targeted to be occupied, the policies of cultural occupation were continued through the "artificial elite class".(Marx's Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Law, Istanbul 1997)
When we look at the design processes in the education systems of the countries from a different perspective in the context of the power struggles of international relations within the framework of a post-positivist approach, the great states that have hemonia manipulate the education systems of the countries they want to dominate, both with soft power elements and by using economic and other sanction opportunities in the education systems of less developed countries. It prevents the effective and efficient use of human resources by creating.
In general, it can be observed in many countries in the African continent, where colonialism has been intensely experienced, which still has a deep impact in many sociocultural and ecopolitical areas. When we critically discussed the data in the research I published on the Ethiopian example with an inductive approach, it was concluded that the inadequate country's education systems accelerated the brain drain, increased the presence of international private schools in foreign countries, thus providing continuity to the influence, lobbying and steering powers of these countries, as well as forming a hereditary basis. In comparing the two types of research I have carried out on the understanding of education, Francophone or Anglo- Saxon can be clearly concluded that sustainable, systematic colonization and its continuity is achieved through education systems, based on the available data and source information.
Such a definition is also made by the westerners and has a purely ideological character devoid of epistemological basis. Especially Hegel's Philosophy of History and Marx's comments on Hegel's Philosophy can be referred to as the starting point of the notion of the White Man's duties.
Although there are changes in the means and methods of the colonial order, there are not many changes in essence when it comes to today. The efforts of the power groups that want to establish hegemony in the world in order to realize these missions have led to a series of developments and transformations in a wide range of issues from politics to economy, from technology to security. All of the developments and transformations in all these areas were conceptualized under the title of globalization, and it was planned to turn the world into a small village. The notion of globalization, which serves to camouflage the dreams of various power groups to establish hegemony globally, legitimizes the business of managing the international money flow by an elite minority. It also led to the gradual breaking of the ties of belonging of the nation-state's citizens to their state. There was an axis shift in the center of control over money flow and credit circulation in coordination with this process. Such an axis shift made the economic consequences of globalization more tangible.
In the works of Vilfredo Pareto, one of the leading figures of the classical elitism concept, the rise and fall of the elite reveals that keeping the education systems under control, in accordance with the colonialism background and subconsciousness mentioned above, with a justification, is a vital social management tool. In this context, underdeveloped countries in Africa or developing countries in other continents are very likely to have similar education systems.
When we examine Ethiopia's eco-political problems and solutions in the last 30 years, it emerges as a region where many hegemonic states struggle for power and interests, with its important geostrategic position in Africa. Problems in the education system and external cultural dependencies in this area are among the most critical obstacles to the solution of the issues and the increase in the country's welfare. The world finds the opportunity to transform and change every field, from economy to consumption habits, technology, taste to clothing, concepts to thought forms, and education opportunities. Many world countries are governed by systems that change in short periods and with unconventional systems. This situation also prevents him from understanding the global mind and educational imperialism he is exposed to. Education has globality that is difficult to notice because it covers a long process and is not directly exposed. The forces and brands that carry out education on a global scale offer new post-modern identities and thought-forms against the identity and traditions of nations. This post-modern global person manifests himself in forms such as international programs, certificate programs, and values education.
Turkey's historical, scientific, cultural, and philosophical background allows it to develop a program that will defend and develop nations with their distinct identities while also incorporating universal human values. A new perspective on education can help Turkey establish a powerful education brand and model that conveys the country's universal message. To the benefit of all humanity and the Turkish education system, an education program that ensures man's connection with man, man with his Creator, man with things, and man with nature through authentic existence, correct knowledge, and a valid methodology can be offered. Otherwise, IB, IGCSE, ABITUR, MATURA, PEARSON, etc., we are faced with programs presented as a universal form that can negatively shape our future as a bottom wave that transforms it into a post-modern new global colonial system.
Resources
State Building and Multilingual Education in Africa, Ericka A. Albaugh. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2014.
When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf, by Harlan Lane. Random House, New York, 1984.
Global Monitoring Report on Education for All, UNESCO, 2006, page 203. Large inscription next to the table "First learning in mother tongue has cognitive, psychological and pedagogical advantages." The statement is included.
Hegel, Philosophy of History I, ter: Yusuf Kaplan, Külliyat Pub., Istanbul 2016.
Hegel, Philosophy of History II, ter: Doğan Barış Kılınç, Nota Bene Pub., Istanbul 2019.
Max Beer, Hegel's Philosophy and Marx's Understanding of History, Köprü Books Pub., Istanbul 2017.
Sasha Alyson colonialism.org/ sacrificing education on the altar of francophonie
Marx's Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Law, Istanbul 1997
Pareto, V. The Rise and Fall of the Elite A Conceptual Practice of Sociology, trans. Merve Z. Dogan. Ankara: East-West Publications. 2010
Duran, 2020HU 2020
Güneyli, Milim Analysis Ethiopian Foreign Policy and Education System Review