A F R I C A With a Focus on the Countries of: Ghana Nigeria South Africa: Tanzania Zimbabwe

Comparisons

Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria all have a similar system of education. The system consists of Pre-Primary, Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary levels of education. - Pre-Primary: Pre-school - Primary: Elementary - Secondary: High School - Tertiary: Higher education institutions However, even though the levels of education are similar, the number of years, evaluations, and testing required to complete each level varies within each country. Education

Government Views of ARTS Education Our research shows that the government is involved with the funding and the development of a better education for these five countries; yet, they are not focused on the integration of arts with education. Every year the largest portion of the government's funding goes towards education alone. According to recent articles, the government tends to see art as "a waste of time" and "demonic."

Non Government Sponsored Arts Integration We found that the governments tend to not support arts in education but there are an abundance of arts organizations outside of the schools. This is how the traditional art forms are preserved. Arts organizations within each country: : Zimbabwe- The National Gallery in Harare Ghana- Kingy Mensah Percussions Tanzania-Tanzania House of Talent South Africa- Artscape Nigeria- Visual Arts Society of Nigeria

AFRICA is so rich and diverse in it's culture with countless traditions, values, and lifestyles. Customs vary from one country to another, but even within each individual country many distinct cultures can be found. CULTURECULTURE

ART is also a major part of the African culture. Much of the art influence comes from religion, beliefs, tribal traditions, and comes in the forms of music, dance, sculptures, masks, jewelry and paintings. Each country has its own influence in the arts and specific mediums for art, however the high regard and admiration for art remains the same. RELIGION has always been a central part of the lives of the people of Africa. Within Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, and Nigeria the main religions are Christianity and Islam, but traditional religions have endured and still play a major role. The idea of sacrifice, ancestral spirits, passages from childhood to adulthood, life after death and family are all shared among these countries but the perception, depth and regard for each vary. EDUCATION is highly regarded in Africa. All countries try to establish schools and curriculums that strengthen the education, enrollment, learning, and teaching of the students. Educational requirements and learning for both teachers and students vary within each country, but ultimately the main goal is to enhance the educational system and ultimately uplift Africa.

Contrasts

Specialty Art Schools Two of the countries, Nigeria and Ghana, generally do not have special art schools but art organizations are available through the communities. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania have more specific schools that promote the arts. However, they do not have as much of an abundance of social arts organizations.

We found during our discussion that the five African nations had more commonalities than differences. This is the reason that there are four comparison slides as opposed to one contrasting slide. The only major difference was the way art is taught in specialized schools outside of arts organizations. We also found that most of the countries did not have much information available about teacher training, specifically in the arts.

Interesting Comparisons We found it interesting that most of the countries required students to attend schools with similar structures (Primary, Secondary etc.) but that some were required to attend for a different number of years. We were also surprised that all of the countries value art significantly, though some provide more specialized art schools and some are more arts organization oriented. It was also interesting to find that even though the religions vary between some of the countries, they all view art similarly outside of government.