PhD Thesis
 

PhD Thesis Title: The Politics of Education between Empire, Independence and International Development: Kenya, 1952-1976

PhD Supervisor: Aidan Russell 

Alexander’s doctoral research examines the politics of education in Kenya between 1952 and 1976, tracing how education was influenced by the interplay of late colonial governance, nationalist state-building and emerging international development agendas. It explores the consequences of the Mau Mau Emergency, the ambitions and tensions surrounding Africanisation after independence and Kenya’s engagement with international organisations such as UNESCO.  Paying particular attention to the individuals who drove debates and decisions, and drawing on archival research in Paris, London and Nairobi, the study investigates how education became a site of negotiation and political contestation across local, national and international levels amid wider decolonisation and the Cold War.
 

PROFILE
 

Alexander Howells is a PhD researcher in International History and Politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute. His academic work bridges the history of decolonisation with contemporary debates on international organisations and education governance. Before joining the Institute, he worked at the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning in Hamburg, where he coordinated policy dialogues, global workshops and research on lifelong learning and inclusion.
 

Areas of expertise
 

• Postcolonial and Cold War history

• History of education in Africa

• UNESCO and multilateral cooperation

• Global governance of education

• Lifelong learning and education policy
   

Selected publications and Works
 

• National Qualifications Frameworks as a Policy Instrument for Lifelong Learning in Ghana, Malaysia and Serbia (2020)

• Advancing Learning Cities: Lifelong learning and the creation of a learning society (2021)