BOOK REVIEWSSocialism and Education: An Introduction By T. C. Gwarinda. Harare, CollegePress, New Directions in Education Series, 1985, 128 pp., Z$7.95 (p/b), ISBN0-86925-547-9.Socialism, Education and Development: A Challenge to Zimbabwe ByF, Chung andE. A. Ngara. Harare, Zimbabwe Publishing House, 1985,148 pp.,Z$6.50 (p/b), ISBN 0-949225-25-8.As Senator Culverwell, the Deputy Minister of Education, points out in hisForeword to Socialism and Education, for Zimbabwe to succeed in its task ofsocialist transformation, there needs to be widespread understanding of 'thesocialist thinkers and system with a view to resolving the dilemmas and thecontradictions that at present prevail amongst Third World nations like our own'(p. 6). It is indeed heartening that the desired debate is being brought out fordiscussion by Zimbabwean scholars from such a range of educational homes asthe University of Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Education and Gweru Teachers'College.Chung and Ngara divide their book into two parts; Part One, 'Aspects ofSocialism', contains six chapters. Chapter 1 offers broad answers to the question'What is Socialism?' and the next five explore such key aspects of socialist theoryas historical materialism and class, ideology, imperialism and colonialism, neo-colonialism and the relationship of culture to the task of socialist transformation.In all cases the purpose of the Chung and Ngara presentation is not to focus ontheory as theory but to create images of what Zimbabwe looks like when viewedfrom socialist perspectives. For example, the notion of class is exemplified inZimbabwean terms. Having been given Marx's analysis of how societies evolvedfrom feudalism to capitalism we are reminded that the rule of traditional chiefs inpre-colonial Zimbabwe was analogous to the stage of feudalism (pp. 17-18). Thebourgeois class in Zimbabwe is seen as being composed of a small powerful groupof international capitalists together with local capitalists. The petty bourgeoisieare very vividly portrayed:' This class includes the political and bureaucratic elite;the professional groups including managers, intellectuals, nurses, teachers andother educated personnel; small businessmen and traders; and elements of thepolice and army. The petty bourgeoisie is distinct from the bourgeoisie because itsmembers do not own or control the major means of production' (p. 21).We are reminded that the petty bourgeoisie 'may co-operate [sic] and supportthe capitalists', that, alternatively, others among them were 'the greatestsupporters of the struggle for independence and for liberation', and that they 'canbecome a parasitic class' and 'may develop the taste for capitalist consumerism bywasting money on prestige projects rather than on productive projects in the waythat capitalists would do' (ibid.). Through such sharply focused images we areinvited to see the complexities of the Zimbabwean situation. At best, the pettybourgeoisie can provide insight and energetic leadership for our transformation;at worst, they can lack even the capitalist virtues of initiative and productivity.To complete the picture of Zimbabwean social structure we are reminded ofthe comparatively small number of the workers, some 800,000 including over300,000 agricultural and domestic workers, and of the huge majority, some 80per cent of the population, who are rural peasants. References to Marx, Lenin and139140BOOK REVIEWSMao invite the careful reader to consider how their theories might have an impacton the particular circumstances of Zimbabwean class structure which has beendescribed.In their treatment of ideology the authors carefully develop the notion that'every action is the expression of an ideology; there is no action which isideologically neutral' (p. 32) and they give clear workings as to how thetransformation of society can be derailed by such counter-forces as neo-colonialism, nationalism, racism, regionalism, the empty use of slogans and theshallow building-up of leaders into demi-gods. This chapter ends with the words:'The mere adoption of socialism as an ideology does not mean automatic success,for socialism is not a declaration of faith. Socialism is a programme of actionresulting from a sound theoretical basis. If it is to work it must be implementedcorrectly and by people who are committed to its success' (pp. 37-8). I am able tocommend Chung and Ngara's book to teachers and students in Zimbabwe,precisely because the book successfully images their own view of socialism as a'programme of action'.This programme of action emerges in Part Two, entitled 'Education andDevelopment', comprising Chapters 7-11. Chapter 7 poses and seeks to answerthe question 'What is socialist education?' and is followed by three chaptersdealing with curriculum planning, education with production, and the role ofscience, the arts, research and higher education. Social transformation is theconstant theme and the values and actions to promote it are vividly imaged. Thebook is strong on the need for increased scientific and technological skills. AsMarx revealed through his analysis of praxis, only by such means can man takematerial control of his environment; and the short chapter on education withproduction gives a vision of the dimensions of achievement which should bemodelled in our ZIMFEP schools and eventually spread to all other schools. Sixdimensions are identified: the emphasis on science and technology; the integrationof theory with practice; the adoption of practical work as a potent methodology;the application of learning to reality; the importance of research at all levels; and,perhaps above all, the constant realization that the purpose of all thismanipulation of material things is not because the material things in themselveshave intrinsic value, rather that 'education with production is about developingpeople through interaction between thought and work' (p. 108). For me it is theway the book builds up this vision of people and their growing skills, this vision ofpeople and their awareness of their own powers and liberties, this vision that it isgrowth in these people-focused dimensions which actually constitutes a nation'sdevelopment, that is the book's most remarkable and valued achievement.In addition to its necessary technological and ideological dimensions,education must include experience of co-operation and community participation.It must be democratizing, not only through its availablity to all, but through theexperiences it offers and the decision-making and problem-solving procedures itpromotes. Knowledge, we are reminded, has its own potent psychology:The advance of natural science does more than transform people's environment andproductive capacity. It also has far-reaching effects on their ideology and world outlook.Knowledge of physics, chemistry, mathematics, human physiology and the plants liberatespeople from erroneous views about the universe and humanity. Such knowledge helpspeople realize they are not hopeless victims of the forces of nature and are in fact capable ofBOOK REVIEWS141overcoming or alleviating the effects of these forces. . . . people become more and moreconfident of their capacity to cope with disease, poverty and other concomitants ofunderdevelopment(p. 111).Curriculum planning should be democratized to include the active participationof teachers; research should be planned and co-ordinated and its findings widelypublicized; the arts must be promoted and given freedom so that they can fulfiltheir proper function 'because art shapes and sharpens our consciousness and ourperception of the world around us' (p. 115).The final chapter, on 'Socialism and Development', epitomizes what I findmost educationally attractive about the book. Socialism itself is treated asproblematic; it contains within it many dilemmas and contradictions, each ofwhich has to be weighed up and considered in the particular circumstances ofZimbabwe, The fundamental dilemma is that socialism perceives that it isthrough control of his material world that man evolves both his consciousness andthe quality of his life. How, then, does a new socialist nation deal with suchrealities as the efficiency of local infrastructural development both in the past andat present being dependent in no small measure on local capital initiative? Or thatmultinationals, anathemas in themselves, through the greater efficiency they mayhave at their command, may be more productive and may, therefore, in somecases, have greater transformational potential than state enterprises? And what ofour use of aid, which we need to develop our human skills and productivity, butwhich so often is managed in ways that increase the debt of Third Worldcountries and thus prolong their dependent relations with developed economies?Political dilemmas are also explored: What is the proper balance between centraldirection and decentralized initiatives? What are the characteristics and dangersof a mass party, of a vanguard party and of a one-party system? What also are thedangers of bureaucratic and even of totalitarian control? No simplistic answers tothese dilemmas are offered by the writers. Rather they imply faith in the humancapacity to develop skills in judgement and rationality and they remind us that'scientific socialism is very much based on the analysis of social forces within asociety, combined with a pragmatic strategy for the implementation of socialistgoals as was done by Lenin' (p. 131).What I perceive as the strengths of Chung and Ngara's book I see as theweaknesses of Gwarinda's. Whereas Chung and Ngara are open and two-sided intheir presentation of problematic issues, Gwarinda tends to be doctrinaire. For,example, Chung and Ngara present us with examples of the differences betweenvanguard parties such as the Chinese Communist Party and Frelimo and massparties such as Chama Cha Mapinduzi and ZANU(PF) (pp. 146-7). Theimplication is that for these writers there is no single, best solution. The flavour ofGwarinda's approach is away from pragmatism; rather, all action must bedictated by ideology. There are more imperatives to follow: we are told that asocialist curriculum 'cannot accommodate religion' (p. 19); that existentialism isinimical to socialism (p. 22); that the colonial education system 'must ... beentirely changed not merely transformed' (p. 104); that 'unless the Party isproperly re-constituted in accordance with its stated Marxist-Leninist ideology,the likelihood of socialist revolution remains nebulous' (p. 106); that' "Africansocialism" is a sham; it is based on wrong analysis of society and romantic notionsof the future' (p. 112); and that the success of the revolution in Cuba was because142BOOK REVIEWSof 'the correct conception of socialist revolution' (p. 92), All this will no doubtappeal to some readers as a truer diagnosis of what is needed, but to me it looksthe vision of the better world which is the source of the powerful appeal of Marx'sideas. In the place of faith in man's capacity to improve himself, there is theimperative of conformity with prescriptions of higher authority, and theoppressive threat of coercion (which, we recall, it was the business of therevolution to remove) lurks as an ominous presence.Yet the book has its own strengths: classes in Zimbabwe are concretelypresented; the analogy of the Rozvi dynasty using the Mwari movement in muchthe same way as feudal dynasties used the notion of divine right for purposes oflegitimation (p. 33) struck this reviewer as being the kind of applied Marxistanalysis which will convey potent meanings in Zimbabwean classrooms. Ofequal potency is the story told of the 'embourgeoisement' of African perceptionsthrough such educational institutions as Domboshava and Tsholotsho in the1920s, Luveve, Chibero and Gweru Teachers' College in 1960s, and such elitemission schools as St Ignatius, St Francis Xavier (Kutama) and Bernard Mzeki(p. 102). The presentation of this history is lucid and economical and Gwarinda'sinterpretation that the small scale of institutional provision for Blacks wascontrived to perpetuate subordination within a White system scrupulously fits thefacts. Gwarinda clearly thinks that Zimbabwe would do well to follow Cuba'sexample of revolutionary mass education much more closely and his chapter onthe Cuban example gives the kind of detailed information on which much fruitfuldiscussion can be based. The twelve-page glossary of socialist and Marxist termsand the direct treatment of such Marxist concepts as base, superstructure, theevolution of society, and praxis are handled with the kind of clarity whichteachers and students will find accessible and useful.In one important sense Gwarinda seems to me to have done education adisservice. To expose the closed nature of such professions as medicine, the lawand accountancy and to further develop the insight that the effect of the rules ofexclusion which these professions are able to adopt in fact operates to the financialand material advantage of the members themselves seems entirely appropriate; atransformed society will have to find ways to eliminate or at least to mitigate suchblatant exercise of privilege. But to apply the same analysis to the teachingprofession is surely inappropriate. Firstly, teachers in practically all counties arenot organized as a profession; they do not make their own rules of exclusion; entryis determined by the state and is organized on a mass scale. Teachers do notdetermine their own conditions, and their bargaining power is weak. Throughoutthe world they are thought of as a service Š frequently they are part of the civilservice Š and, like other groups of employees, they have trade unions. They donot seem to fit in with the other groups of whom membership of the profession isseen as a means 'to secure freedom from extraneous social duties' and as 'astrategy for advancing and defending a relatively privileged position' (p. 72).Moreover, Gwarinda seems to have missed an opportunity to give teachers-in-training some badly needed insights into qualitative dimensions of their socialrole. If the word 'professionalism' carries negative connotations, then a writerdoes not have to go too far to seek an alternative term. Hoyle and McCormickdeveloped the notion of teacher 'professionality'.1 The notion covers such aspects'E. Hoyle and R. McCormick, Innovation, the School and the Teacher (Milton Keynes, OpenUniv. Press, 1976).BOOK REVIEWS143as the need for the teacher to be in touch with theoretical developments and thefindings of research, Ms need for ongoing training and the further development ofprofessional skills, the assumption that the teacher will be deeply andimaginatively committed to the well-being and intellectual development of his"pupils, and that in his work he will display a capacity to take decisions and togenerate innovation. Professionality perceived in such ways is of great relevanceto teachers in Zimbabwe where so much is expected of their capacity to be activeagents in the process of social transformation.The different orientations and emphasis of these two books, by Chung andNgara and by Gwarieda, bode well for the debate to which Senator Culverwelllooks forward. Moreover, Gwarinda's book is one title in a new series 'NewDirections in Education' put out by College Press. If the series is to achieveinternational recognition, standards of printing and proof-reading will need to beimproved, but, for the moment, this new initiative is to be applauded. Additionaltitles in the series are already available and will no doubt be reviewed in futureissues of Zambezia.University of ZimbabweT. J. E. BOURDILLONHistoric Buildings of Harare (1890-1940) By Peter Jackson. Harare, QuestPublishing, 1986, x, 134 pp., Z$25.50 (h/b), Z$ 16.96 (p/b), ISBN 0-908306-02-4(h/b) 0-908306-03-2 (p/b).The Hon. Enos Chikowore, Minister of Local Government, Rural and UrbanDevelopment, sums up the achievments of this book in the foreword when hestates that it is 'a significant venture in exposing, explaining and assessing theunique architectural heritage of Harare* (p. ix). One hopes that he is expressing anofficial view in recognizing that old buildings can and should be integrated intofuture urban plans. Ivan Fielden, a former City Architect, echoes these sentimentsby stating that 'positive change is so much more than just indiscriminatereplacement' (ibid.). Peter Jackson provides here a practical and sensitiveapproach to the conservation and appreciation of Harare's old buildings.Three main objectives can be identified. Firstly, through the use of copiousphotographs and sketches, Peter Jackson tries to instruct the reader on 'how to seewhat is there'. This is very closely tied to the second objective which concerns theunderstanding of 'how it came to be as it is', and in order to do this he goes beyondsimple illustration and comments on the historical background, architecturalstyles of the time and the personal idiosyncrasies of the architects. The thirdobjective relates to the development of a coherent strategy for conservation.The book can be divided into two mam sections: the background, historicaland architectural, and the detailed descriptions of selected buildings. The firstsection begins with a historical summary .of the period 1890-1940, which,although brief, is sufficient to provide the framework for the outline of thearchitectural development. The old photographs of the settlement from the kopjeare fascinating, especially given the clear labelling of identifiable buildings andfeatures relevant to the settlement's development. Unfortunately, the same cannot