An investigation into the empowerment and suppression of voice in North-South higher education partnerships

Abstract

The development of higher education in the global South has been hailed as a solution to positively transform southern developing economies. Northern countries with developed economies have been partnering with the South for decades to assist in building higher education capacity and infrastructure. Tourism education is one area of focus for some of these partnerships, as the tourism industry has experienced exponential growth in the South, promising opportunities of employment and economic development. Research focusing on higher education partnerships highlights both the advantages of these partnerships such as capacity building and economic development, but also stresses the challenges which include continued dependency on the North. The literature speaks to the lack of research and critical analysis on North-South partnerships and the fact that partnership research in the African context is practically non-existent. This study focusses on an international partnership between academic institutions, communities and NGO’s from Canada, Ghana and Tanzania. This complex partnership provided an opportunity to examine its structure, the participants’ perception of power and culture and their ability or willingness to express themselves within this partnership. The results of this study will help to advise future partnership practices and to support potential policy modifications to facilitate the voice of all partners, challenging the existing power structures, which are creating the existing imbalances in the relationships.