Inside Education and Nigeria in 1960s : July 5, 2016
Gertrude Cotter interviews Dr. Stephen O’Brien; School of Education, UCC
Irish in the Global World series: Gertrude Cotter Mrs. June Barry; lived in Nigeria during 1960s [Part of Irish in the Global World series]
Audio Link: https://soundcloud.com/user-89946576/steve-o-brien-and-june-barry-5-july-2016
Summary: Dr. Stephen O’Brien reviews his recent pedagogy-focused published work on learning power, personal learning, learning success, and learning identity. O’Brien says he wanted to write a book about education against a narrow view of education as “skills-based”. O’Brien believes education is much more curious, complex, and tells his story from these four different angles at different types of schools, including the ethos of “belonging” at a Mayfield primary school. June Barry discusses teaching art in Nigeria during the 1960s as a volunteer and says “community” and “social justice” in her Yorkshire-based personal background influenced her decision to become a development worker. Barry also details the Bi-Afro War’s horrible effects on the Igbo people as well as the implications of imperialism and colonialism on Africa.