Resumen de Réformer l’Empire: éducation de base et développement en Afrique coloniale française (1945–1956)
- English
After the Second World War, the French colonial administration undertook about 15 experiments in fundamental education in several villages of West and Equatorial Africa. Carried out by small teams of experts, including Africans, their aims were to raise the living standards of rural and often isolated communities, to improve hygiene and nutrition conditions, and to promote new agricultural and farming techniques. From a political viewpoint, the objective was to re-legitimise the civilising mission of colonialism by showing the commitment of French authorities towards the “well-being” of native African populations. By the mid-1950s, however, all projects were interrupted, due to technical, financial, and political constraints. Drawing on national, colonial, and African archives, this article sheds light on this still little-known history. It first highlights the international context in which these projects took place, particularly the role of Unesco in forging the concept of fundamental education. Second, the article analyses the daily work provided by colonial experts in the field. Special attention is given to the wide range of activities that were carried out (literacy and medical campaigns, technical training sessions, farming experiments, etc.), the roles of African staff, and local populations’ reception. The article also examines the institutional machinery set up by colonial authorities, both in the metropole and overseas, in an attempt to define a “French paradigm” in fundamental education and to showcase their efforts within international fora. Third, problems that led the French administration to abandon those kinds of experiments in the mid-1950s are investigated in detail. Against the background of decolonisation, direct interventionism in overseas territories was indeed replaced by bilateral “development aid” programmes, which became part of a comprehensive strategy aimed at strengthening the geopolitical position of France in post-independence Africa. By highlighting post-war French attempts at reforming the empire through fundamental education, the article thus provides new and original insights into the history of development in Africa as well as into the interconnections between internationalism and empire in the late colonial period.
- français
Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, l’administration coloniale française entreprend une série d’expériences d’éducation de base dans plusieurs villages d’Afrique occidentale et équatoriale. Menées par de petites équipes d’experts, incluant également des Africains, celles-ci ont pour objectif d’élever rapidement les niveaux de vie des populations locales, notamment dans les régions rurales et les plus isolées. Les champs d’action sont vastes, allant de la lutte contre l’analphabétisme à la diffusion de nouvelles normes sanitaires, en passant par la promotion de techniques agricoles et d’élevage considérées comme modernes. Basé sur une riche documentation provenant d’archives nationales, coloniales, et africaines, cet article analyse la mise en place et le déroulement quotidien de ces projets, ainsi que les raisons qui expliquent leur soudain abandon vers le milieu des années 1950. Il montre également comment les autorités coloniales françaises utilisent l’éducation de base pour certifier sur la scène nationale et internationale leur engagement vis-à-vis du “bien-être” des populations africaines, et plus particulièrement l’adéquation de leurs politiques avec l’agenda développementaliste élaboré par l’Unesco. Attentive tant aux réalités du terrain qu’aux complexes interactions savantes et politiques qui se tissent avec les instances onusiennes, cette étude permet donc d’amener de nouveaux éclairages sur l’histoire de l’éducation en Afrique pendant la période coloniale tardive.
