Forthcoming

Cultural Diversity and Education in Cameroon: Challenges and Opportunities

Authors

  • Núria Llevot Universidad de Lleida
  • Dieudonné Beau Céjour Kamkou Universidad de Lleida
  • Mari Paz López Universidad de Lleida
  • Olga Bernad Universidad de Lleida
  • Àngels Torrelles Universidad de Lleida
  • Álfonso Revilla Universidad de Zaragoza
  • Magdalena Acosta Hernández Universidad de Lleida
  • Oscar Kem-mekah Kadzue Universidad de Yaoundé I (Camerún)
  • Marisé Astudillo Universidad de Lleida

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15257/ehquidad.2025.0009

Keywords:

Interculturality, Cameroonian school, intercultural management, linguistic diversity, gender perspective

Abstract

This work is the result of cooperation, research and inter-university transfer, carried out thanks to a grant awarded in 2023 by the Office of Development and Cooperation (ODEC) of the University of Lleida to the annual call for development cooperation projects. This collaboration is not recent, as the faculties of Education of the universities of Yaoundé I (Cameroon) and Lleida (Spain) have been working together for more than ten years with the ultimate goal of improving the training of their students, future teachers and social educators.

Specifically, empirical qualitative work has been carried out with thirty-two young Cameroonians who are studying for their bachelor’s or doctoral degrees in both Spain and Cameroon. As the project is much broader, this article reflects on how the Cameroonian school of the 21st century should be a real space for multicultural encounters, and focuses on such aspects as coexistence, respect for differences, inclusion, the gender perspective, the management of the diversity of ethnic groups, etc. At the same time, it does not ignore that it is necessary to promote cooperation and mutual knowledge of both educational contexts.

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Author Biographies

Núria Llevot, Universidad de Lleida

Núria Llevot Calvet. Associate Professor in the Department of Education Sciences at the University of Lleida (Serra Hunter Programme). Her lines of research focus on intercultural mediation and education, religious diversity, ethnic minorities and Europe-Africa cooperation. She has carried out research stays in universities such as Quebec, Montreal, Paris, Rome, etc. She has published articles in journals, book chapters and books. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Research Institute ‘INDEST’ and of the Research Group GR-ASE ‘Educational and Social Analysis’ of the UdL. She is also a member of several national and international education and research networks, such as GIER (Interuniversity Group of Rural Education), RIDE (International Network of Education Law) and RIBETER (Ibero-American Network of Education in Rural Territories).



Dieudonné Beau Céjour Kamkou, Universidad de Lleida

Dieudonné Beau Céjour Kamkou is a PhD student in the Education, Society and Quality of Life programme at the University of Lleida. His research focuses on the children of foreign immigrants and addresses issues related to the socio-educational, cultural and labour inclusion of this group, among other aspects. He is a member of RIDE (International Network of Education Law) and collaborates in projects of the GR-ASE Research Group ‘Educational and Social Analysis'

 

Mari Paz López, Universidad de Lleida

Mari Paz López Teulón is a Permanent Collaborating Doctoral Professor in the Department of Educational Sciences at the University of Lleida. Director of the Department (2019-2023). From 2023, Coordinator of the Degree in Social Education. Her lines of research focus on intercultural education, community action, sociocultural animation and Africa-Europe cooperation. She has worked as a development worker in Equatorial Guinea and Morocco: primary school teacher in rural contexts, adult literacy promoter and social educator in centres for single mothers and minors in situations of social exclusion. She has published articles in various journals and collections. Member of the Research Institute ‘INDEST’ and the Research Group GR-ASE ‘Educational and Social Analysis’ of the UdL. He is also a member of the research team of the Chair of Socioeconomic Studies and depopulation of the rural territory of Lleida. In addition, she is a member of several national and international education networks, such as RIDE (International Network of Education Law), GIER (Inter-university Group of Rural Education) and ANRIE (Sociocultural Animators of Spain)

Olga Bernad, Universidad de Lleida

Olga Bernad Cavero is a lecturer in the Department of Educational Sciences at the University of Lleida. Her main lines of research focus on the school-family-environment relationship, participation of foreign families, cultural and religious diversity. She has carried out research and training stays in universities such as Montreal, Rome and Bologna. She has published articles, book chapters and books. She is a member of the Research Group GR-ASE ‘Educational and Social Analysis’ and of the Research Institute INDEST ‘Institute for Social and Territorial Development’ of the UdL. She is also a member of the research team of the Chair of Socioeconomic Studies and depopulation of the rural territory of Lleida. In addition, she is a member of several national and international education and research networks, such as RIDE (International Network of Education Law), GIER (Interuniversity Group of Rural Education) and RIBETER (Ibero-American Network of Education in Rural Territorie

 

Àngels Torrelles, Universidad de Lleida

Àngels Torrelles Montanuy holds a PhD in Education, Society and Quality of Life in the Department of Geography and Sociology at the University of Lleida. She is a substitute lecturer in the Department of Education Sciences at the University of Lleida. She has taught in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zaragoza. She is also territorial coordinator of the Project Education 360: a full-time education, and collaborator of the Chair of socio-economic studies and depopulation of the rural territory of Lleida. She has experience in the field of development cooperation and Education for Global Citizenship. Her lines of research focus on intercultural education, coexistence and cultural diversity. She has published articles, book chapters and books. She is a member of the Research Group GR-ASE ‘Educational and Social Analysis’ of the UdL. She is also a member of the International Network on the Right to Education (RIDE).

Álfonso Revilla, Universidad de Zaragoza

Alfonso Revilla Carrasco holds a degree in Education from the University of Zaragoza and in Fine Arts from the Complutense University of Madrid. He holds a Master's degree in Advanced Studies in Art History and a Master's degree in Museums: education and communication and a PhD in didactics of African art. He has made international stays in Coimbra, St. Petersburg and Ivory Coast. And national stays at the universities of Lleida, Valladolid and Cordoba. He maintains several lines of research in didactics of black-African art and ABP in plastic education. He is a member of the research group of the Government of Aragon S50_17 R ARG

Magdalena Acosta Hernández, Universidad de Lleida

Magui Acosta Hernández is a student of the PhD programme in Education, Society and Family at the University of Lleida and a member of the research group GRA-SE ‘Educational and Social Analysis’. More specifically, her studies focus on the fields of education, family, school climate and intercultural climate. Previously, she has studied a degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of Oviedo and a master's degree in Psychopedagogy at the University of Lleida. She also carries out other work in the field of interculturality and diversity, forming part of the International Network on the Right to Education (RIDE

Oscar Kem-mekah Kadzue , Universidad de Yaoundé I (Camerún)

Oscar Kem-mekah Kadzue holds a PhD in Hispanic philology, specialising in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language (ELE), from the University of Lleida. He is a lecturer in Spanish didactics at the Ecole Normale Supérieure of the University of Yaoundé I. He has spent time teaching at the University of Barcelona and the University of La Rioja. His lines of research focus on intercultural education and methodological and technological innovations in the ELE classroom. He is also the author of the novel ‘No hay país para negros’ (published by Círculo rojo in 2018 and by Wanafrica in 2019). He is a member of the Association for the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language (ASELE), a founding member of the Association for the Promotion of Interculturality and Spanish and Cameroonian Languages (APILEC) and of the (Afro)Hispanic library. La Afroeleteca/L'Afroelethèque. He is also a member of the International Network for Research in Education Law (RIIDE) and president of RIIDE-Cameroon. Since his stay in Lleida until today, he collaborates with the Research Group on Educational and Social Analysis (GrASE) of the UdL.

Marisé Astudillo, Universidad de Lleida

Marisé Astudillo Pombo is a lecturer in the Department of Education Sciences at the University of Lleida. Her lines of research focus on art, art education and cooperation. She has carried out research stays in universities, museums and archives in Italy and France, among others. She has published articles in journals and has illustrated several publications. She is a member of the Research Group ‘Art and Culture of the Modern Era’ (ACEM) at the UdL. Representative of the Faculty of Education, Psychology and Social Work (FEPTS) in the Culture Commission of the UdL. Since 2014 she has been leading a cooperative work project FEPTS - AFANOC-Lleida (Association of family and friends of children with cancer in Catalonia)

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Published

2024-11-03

How to Cite

Llevot Calvet, N. ., Kamkou, D. B. C., López Teulón, M. P., Bernad Cavero, O., Torrelles Montanuy, Àngels, Revilla Carrasco, Álfonso, Acosta Hernández, M., Kem-mekah Kadzue , O. ., & Astudillo Pombo, M. (2024). Cultural Diversity and Education in Cameroon: Challenges and Opportunities. EHQUIDAD. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WELFARE AND SOCIAL WORK POLICIES. https://doi.org/10.15257/ehquidad.2025.0009

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