Dr Philip R. Christensen
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After 12 years in Southern Africa, and having been based in South Africa since 1996, on June 9, 1997, I opened my new South Africa office. Its primary focus is human resource development. How can the full potential of this region's people be released so that they can take their rightful place on the world's stage? The challenge is daunting, but far from impossible. In fact, I believe that some day the rest of the world will turn to South Africa for social, educational and business models. The African Renaissance is attainable. It is something that not just Africa, but the entire world, needs. And South Africa has an evident leadership role to play in this drama. To do so, however, it will have to overcome the many barriers that have cut off this continent from its destiny, as well as the special obstacles that are the legacy of apartheid. In particular, far more effective ways of educating and training South Africans - as students and teachers, as workers and managers - must be developed, and developed quickly.

My mission is to work in partnership with individuals and organisations to develop effective strategies for reform in Southern Africa, to build bridges between international best practices and local realities, and to guide the effective implementation of those strategies.

In an era of global competition, South Africa's great potential in human and natural resources is hamstrung by the lingering effects of years of old-style management and training practices. It ranks only 52nd out of 53 countries in a world competitiveness survey of skills and productivity. This fact is explained in large measure by this country's human resource development ranking: 46th. Until its investment in its people is raised, not only in quantity but, even more important, in quality, South Africa cannot become a true world-class player. I will be helping companies develop and implement the new management and training strategies required by this challenge.

In the private sector, I have proposed new approaches to adult basic education and training (ABET) for a major South African corporation. I have assisted a local start-up company with its strategic planning. I am actively pursuing the commercial implications of using the Internet for education and training. And I am exploring the possibility of establishing a new training business based on principles of instructional systems design for an emerging information technology company.

In the education sector, I will be working directly with schools and government agencies in the design and implementation of new approaches to providing quality education for all South Africans. No country on this continent has successfully managed the transition from a colonial, elite, high-quality educational system to a democratic, mass, high-quality system. Attempts simply to expand the old systems, to teach everyone in the same ways that only a few were once taught, have ended in tragic failure. Available resources simply have not been adequate. Consequently, standards have plummeted. What is required if South Africa is to avoid the same fate is new approaches to designing and delivering instruction. Much ground-breaking work has already been done here along precisely these lines. But much remains to be accomplished, not only in refining the vision but especially in implementing it. This is where I am focusing my contribution. One of my special interests is the role of educational technology, especially computers and the media, in this process.

Finally, I will continue my links with the international community, seeking ways to bring foreign aid and expertise to bear more effectively in service to Southern Africa. I will also represent selected overseas companies and organisations looking for ways to make effective contributions to this part of the world. My most recent projects have included the second phase of a study of the impact of donor assistance on the reform of educational systems in Southern Africa, a needs assessment of professional development for South African educationists, an exploration of parallels between tertiary-level training approaches in the United States and South Africa, and a proposal for a US-based NGO for donor funding in support of historically disadvantaged institutions of higher education.


This site has been on the Web since May, 1997. It was last updated May 26, 1998.

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since March 21, 1998

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