Centre for African Studies
Room 11.13
ESS Building
University of Leeds
LS2 9JT
Impact of African Perspectives Sessions
The African Perspective sessions were delivered by four African post-graduate students to eight
Year 8 classes, a total of 220 pupils.
The African Perspectives sessions consisted of two1 hour lessons broken down as follows:
Lesson 1 – A 1 hour session focused on questioning the pupil’s perceptions of Africa
using a self correcting true / false quiz.
Lesson 2 – A 1 hour session focused on exploring the inequality between Africa and
Europe using a diamond ranking activity.
The impact of these sessions on the pupils was evaluated through pre-view and re-view
questionnaires designed to identify changes in perceptions about Africa.
Question 1 – focused on words pupils though best described Africa
Question 2 – focused on images pupils thought best represented what Africa looked like
Question 3 – focused on what the pupils thought African people were like
Question 4 – focused on the pupil’s perceptions of what life is like in Africa
Question 5 – focused on the pupil’s support for development assistance
Evaluation Results
Question 1 – Data was available from three of the eight Year 8 classes, a total of 59 pre-view /
re-view responses (about 27% of the total number of pupils).
Question 2 - Data was available from three of the eight Year 8 classes, a total of 60 pre-view /
re-view responses (about 27% of the total number of pupils).
Question 3 – Data was available from all eight of the Year 8 classes, a total of 137 pre-view / review responses (about 62% of the total number of pupils).
Question 4 – Data was available from all eight of the Year 8 classes, a total of 143 pre-view / review responses (about 65% of the total number of pupils).
Question 5 – Data was available from all eight of the Year 8 classes, a total of 140 pre-view / review responses (about 64% of the total number of pupils).
Over 70% of the pupils were unable to respond to questions 1 and 2 as they did not appear to
have access to the words and images. About 35% of responses to questions 3, 4 and 5 had to
be discarded because they were incomplete in one or more of the sections.
Question 1 – Which three words do you think best describe Africa?
Wealthy
Cool
Thirsty
Primitive
Advanced
Rainy
Arid
Welcoming
Boring
Aggressive
Friendly
Lively
Freezing
Dull
Unpleasant Dangerous
Harmless
Scorching
Dark
Bright
Staving
Deprived
Results
Words Year 8
45
40
35
Number
30
25
Pre-view
Re-view
20
15
10
D
ar
D
ep k
riv
ed
P
rim
iti
ve
S Du
co ll
rc
hi
ng
S
ta
rv
in
g
T
hi
rs
ty
B
or
in
g
F
re
ez
in
g
C
oo
l
R
ai
ny
B
rig
ht
Li
v
H ely
ar
m
le
ss
F
rie
nd
ly
W
e
al
th
A
y
dv
an
ce
W
d
e
lc
o
m
in
g
0
A
gg Ari
re d
ss
iv
U
e
np
le
as
a
D
nt
an
ge
ro
us
5
The most popular words in the pre-view were Deprived, Scorching, Starving and Arid,
accounting for 60% of all responses. This indicates the pupils had a very negative view of
Africa.
The most popular words in the re-view were Scorching, Friendly, Welcoming and Lively,
accounting for 58% of all responses. This indicates the African post-graduate students had a
positive impact on the pupil’s views about how to describe Africa.
A subjective value was placed on each of the words to calculate the extent of the change in
views.
+3
Wealthy
Advanced
+2
Welcoming
Friendly
Lively
Harmless
<- POSITIVE / NEGATIVE ->
+1
0
-1
Bright
Boring
Staving
Cool
Freezing
Thirsty
Rainy
Dull
Arid
Scorching
-2
Aggressive
Unpleasant
Dangerous
Dark
-3
Deprived
Primitive
On average each pupil became more positive by 3.75 points. This value though was different for
the three classes examined.
8AL – 4.04 points per pupil
8DT – 1.62 points per pupil
8 SH – 4.65 points per pupil
Question 2 – Which three images best show what you think Africa looks like?
1
2
3
7
8
9
4
5
10
6
12
11
Results
Year 8 Images
60
50
N
um
ber
40
Pre-view
30
Re-view
20
10
0
9
11
6
2
12
10
1
5
3
8
4
7
The most popular images in the pre-view were 4, 3 and 1 accounting for 44% of all responses.
This indicates the pupils had a very negative view of Africa.
Images 4, 3 and 1 were still popular in the re-view and accounted for 27% of all responses. The
choice of images 6, 2 and 10 increased from 1% to 13% of all responses indicating some
positive change in how pupils view what Africa looks like.
A subjective value was placed on each of the images to calculate the extent of the change in
views.
+3
+2
9 and 11
2 and 6
<- POSITIVE / NEGATIVE ->
+1
-1
12 and 10
1 and 5
-2
-3
3 and 8
4 and 7
On average each pupil became more positive by 1.47 points. This value though was different for
the three classes examined.
8AL – 1.23 points per pupil
8DT – 0.56 points per pupil
8 SH – 2.36 points per pupil
Question 3 - What do you think African people are like?
…
…
…
…
…
Poor
Lazy
Sad
Boring
Sick
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Rich
Hard Working
Happy
Interesting
Healthy
Response
There was a perception that African people are poor in the
pre-view (no responses indicating an awareness of any rich
African people).
What do you think African people are like?
100
Number
80
60
Pre-view
40
Re-view
20
0
1
2
3
4
5
Poor to Rich
In the re-view there was a shift in perception from Poor to
Rich indicating some appreciation that not all African people
are poor.
There was a general appreciation that African people work
hard in the pre-view but there were a few negative responses.
What do you think African people are like?
120
Number
100
80
Pre-view
60
Re-view
40
The re-view showed no significant difference in perception.
20
0
1
2
3
4
5
Lazy to Hard Working
What do you think African people are like?
60
Number
50
40
Pre-view
30
In the pre-view the pupils thought that African people were
generally sad (a minority of the responses indicating they
thought African people were happy).
Re-view
20
In the re-view there was a movement from Sad to Happy
indicating a more positive perception of African people.
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
Sad to Happy
What do you think African people are like?
In the pre-view the pupils generally thought that African
people were generally more interesting than boring.
60
Number
50
40
Series 1
30
Series2
20
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
There was a shift towards African people being more
interesting in the re-view. This could be a result of the
student’s presentations or the content of the sessions.
Boring to Interesting
What do you think African people are l ike?
In the pre-view the pupils generally thought that African
people were more sickly than healthy.
60
Number
50
40
Pre-view
30
Re-view
20
10
0
1
2
3
Sick to Healthy
4
5
In the re-view there was a shift in perception from Sick to
Healthy indicating a greater appreciation that Africans were
healthier than they first thought.
The degree of attitudinal change varied between classes. The most significant changes in
attitude were observed in 8SH, 8CB, 8DM, 8DT and 8AL, all were very much more positive
about Africans after the sessions with the post-graduate students. The changes in attitude were
much less pronounced in 8SB and 8TU and a negative attitudinal change was observed with
8FC.
Question 4 - Which of the following do you agree / disagree with?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
There is little food in Africa
…
…
There are no TVs in Africa
…
…
Africa is a dangerous place to live
…
…
There are many skyscrapers in Africa …
…
People in Africa use mobile phones
…
…
Don’t
Know
…
…
…
…
…
Agree
…
…
…
…
…
Strongly
Agree
…
…
…
…
…
Response
Generally the pupils thought that there was little food in Africa
(over 82% agreeing with the statement and only 7%
disagreeing with the statement in the pre-view).
Number
There is little food in Africa
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pre-view
Re-view
Strongly Disagree Don’t
Disagree
Know
Agree
Strongly
Agree
There are no TVs in Africa
60.0
Number
50.0
40.0
Pre-view
30.0
Re-view
For some of the pupils this perception was changed by the
African Perspectives sessions. In the re-view those agreeing
decreased to 29% and those disagreeing increased to 43%.
0.0
Strongly
Disagree
Don’t
Know
Strongly
Agree
In the pre-view more pupils agreed or agreed strongly than
disagreed with the statement that Africa is a dangerous place
but 40% were undecided.
Africa is a dangerous place to live
60
Number
50
40
Pre-view
30
Re-view
20
10
0
Strongly Disagree Don’t
Disagree
Know
Agree
Strongly
Agree
70
60
50
40
Pre-view
30
Re-view
This perception changed slightly as a result of the African
Perspectives sessions. The percentage of pupils agreeing with
the statement increased to 25%.
20
10
0
Strongly Disagree Don’t
Disagree
Know
Agree
Strongly
Agree
This statement resulted in the greatest change in perception of
Africa amongst the pupils.
People in Africa use mobile phones
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pre-view
Re-view
Strongly Disagree Don’t
Disagree
Know
Agree
Strongly
Agree
After the African Perspectives sessions there was a shift from
agreement to disagreement (43% disagreeing with the
statement) indicating the perception of some pupils of Africa
had become more positive.
In the pre-view 69% of the pupils disagreed or disagreed
strongly and only 4% agreed or agreed strongly indicating a
perception of Africa which is more rural than urban.
There are many skyscrapers in Africa
Number
In the pre-view 49% of pupils agreed or agreed strongly with
the statement and only 30% disagreed of disagreed strongly
indicating more pupils perceived an Africa without a TV media
network.
20.0
10.0
Number
In the re-view the percentage of pupils agreeing with the
statement decreased to 52% and those disagreeing increasing
to 27% indicating some change in the perception of a ‘starving’
Africa.
In the preview 60% of the pupils disagreed or strongly
disagreed with statement. In the re-view 86% agreed or
strongly agreed with the statement.
Question 5 - How important do you think the following are?
Buying fairly traded products from Africa
Supporting charities that work in Africa
Going on holiday to Africa countries
Volunteering to help African people
Finding out more about Africa
Very
…
…
…
…
…
Fairly
…
…
…
…
…
Little
…
…
…
…
…
Maybe
…
…
…
…
…
Not at All
…
…
…
…
…
Response
There was very little change in how important pupils thought it
was to buy fair trade products from Africa.
Buying fairly traded products from Africa
100
Number
80
60
Pre-view
40
Re-view
20
Over 90% of pupils thought that it was Very of Fairly
Important to buy fair trade products from Africa both in the
pre-view and re-view.
0
Very
Fairly
Little
Maybe
Not
How Im portant
There was very little change in how important pupils thought it
was to support charities that work in Africa.
Supporting Charities that work in Africa
120
Number
100
80
Pre-view
60
Re-view
40
20
Over 90% of pupils thought that it was Very of Fairly Important
to support charities that work in Africa both in the pre-view
and re-view.
0
Very
Fairly
Little
Maybe
Not
How Im portant
Opinion was divided over how important pupils thought it was
to go on holiday to Africa but there was very little change I
their views.
Going on holiday to African countries
60
Number
50
40
Pre-view
30
Re-view
20
10
Generally the pupils thought it less important to go on holiday
to Africa.
0
Very
Fairly
Little
Maybe
Not
How Im portant
There was very little change in how important pupils thought it
was to volunteer to help African people.
Volunteering to help African people
70
60
Number
50
40
Pre-view
30
Re-view
20
10
0
Very
Fairly
Little
Maybe
Not
Over 85% of pupils thought that it was Very of Fairly Important
to volunteer to help African people both in the pre-view and
re-view.
How Im portant
There was a slight increase in how important pupils thought it
was to find out more about Africa.
Finding out more about Africa
50
Number
40
30
Pre-view
20
Re-view
10
0
Very
Fairly
Little
Maybe
How Im portant
Not
The percentage of pupils thinking that it is Very Important to
find out more about Africa increased from 11% to 19%
between the pre-view and re-view.
Conclusions
The African Perspectives sessions achieved the following:
1. Pupils chose more positive words in the re-view to describe what they thought best
described Africa - Friendly, Welcoming and Lively rather than Deprived Starving and
Arid.
2. Pupils still chose images that portrayed negative perceptions of Africa in the re-view,
such as straw huts and exotic dancers, but their choices also included more positive
images such as city landscapes and urban living.
3. Pupils had more positive perceptions of African people after the sessions with the postgraduate students. They realised that not all Africans are poor, that they are generally
hard working and happier, more interesting and healthier than they first thought.
4. After the sessions the pupils had an appreciation that Africa is not as food deficient, as
rural, as dangerous and as technologically deficient as they first thought.
5. Pupils didn’t show any greater support for buying fair trade goods, supporting charities or
volunteering to help African people, but, these initiatives were already seen as very
important in the pre-view. There was though a slight increase in the importance pupils
placed on finding out more about Africa.
Questions 1, 2 and 3 showed that there was some variation in the degree of attitudinal change
between classes. Whether this was due to the nature of the class, in terms of behaviour or
ability, or the effectiveness of the African post-graduate student to deliver the sessions is
unknown.
Richard Borowski
LUCAS Schools Project Coordinator