South-south collaboration : Cuban teachers in Jamaica and Namibia

Abstract

Cuba has concentrated more than most developing countries on building a sound educational system, and as a result, it has been able to collaborate with other countries in their efforts to improve educational planning and practice. Based on recent research in the field, this paper examines the work of Cuban teachers in schools and sports programmes in Jamaica and Namibia. It carries out a qualitative analysis, from a postcolonial perspective, of the significance of this programme which is viewed as an example of South-South collaboration. Participant decolonizing countries benefit from Cuba’s contribution to building their teaching capacity, and Cuba in turn benefits from developing the linguistic and professional expertise of its educators through this internationalist work. The article contributes to a multi-level style of comparative education analysis based on micro-level qualitative fieldwork within a framework that compares cross-cultural issues and national policies.