Constructing Education as Human Capital in a Transitional Society: A Case Study of Somaliland's Education Reconstruction

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to critically examine Somaliland's post-conflict education reconstruction. The work includes documentary analysis of the Somaliland Education Policy. The authors also draw on the National Teacher Education Policy and the Somaliland National Education Development Plan. The analysis of these documents is primarily informed by discourse analysis theory developed by Fairclough. It is argued that the policy text analyses indicate and favour an enterprise-oriented education ideology. This emphasises competitiveness in market environments both nationally and individually. Educational ideologies are closely related to political ideologies. The authors argue that since the collapse of the socialist government of Somalia in 1990, Somaliland has developed a new political ideology strongly informed by neo-liberal views. This research attributes the development of new education and political ideologies to the significant local-national and global interactions between the local education stakeholders, the Somaliland diaspora community and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) that support the education sector.