Research and Publications

Ali A. Abdi

Telephone: (780) 492 - 6819
FAX: (780) 492 - 2024
Email: aabdi@ualberta.ca

Areas of Interest

• Comparative and international education
• Citizenship and development education
• Cultural studies in education
• African philosophies of education
• Postcolonial studies in education

Current Research

• Education, political participation and governance in Sub-Saharan Africa
• African philosophies of education: Historical and contemporary analyses
• Education and develpoment in stateless Somalia
• Post-apartheid education and social development in post-apartheid South Africa
• Culture in international development education

  Books

• Abdi, Ali A., Shizha, Edward & Ellis, Lee (forthcoming). Citizenship education and social development in Zambia. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Kapoor, Dip (Eds.) (2008). Global perspectives on adult education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 284 pages.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Richardson, George (Eds.) (2008). Decolonizing democratic education: trans-disciplinary dialogues. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers. 220 pages.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Guo, Shibao (Eds.) (2008). Education and social development: global issues and analyses. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers. 262 pages.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Shultz, Lynette (Eds.) (2008). Educating for human rights and global citizenship. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. 256 pages.
• Abdi, Ali A., Puplampu, Korbla P. & Dei, George J.S. (Eds.) (January 2006). African Education and globalization: critical perspectives. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. 222 pages.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Cleghorn, Ailie (Eds.) (2005). Issues in African education: sociological perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 320 pages.
• Ghosh, Ratna & Abdi, Ali A. (2004). Education and the politics of difference: Canadian perspectives. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press. 200 pages.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2002). Culture, education and development in South Africa: Historical and contemporary perspectives. Westport, Conn. & London: Bergin & Garvey. 232 pages.

  Refereed Articles and Chapters

• Abdi, Ali A. (2008). Democratic development and prospects for citizenship education: theoretical perspectives on Sub-Saharan Africa. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, 39(2), 151-166.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2008). Citizenship and its discontents: educating for political and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. In M. Peters, A. Britton & H. Blee (Eds.), Global Citizenship Education: Philosophy, Theory and Pedagogy. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2008). Europe and African thought systems and philosophies of education: ‘re-culturing’ the trans-temporal discourses. Cultural Studies, 22(2), 309-327.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Kapoor, Dip (2008). Global perspectives on adult education: an introduction. In A. Abdi & D. Kapoor (Eds.), Global perspectives on adult education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Shizha, Edward & Abdi, Ali A. (2008). Globalization and indigenous knowledge: An African postcolonial theoretical analysis. In A. Abdi & D. Kapoor (Eds.), Global perspectives on adult education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Mhina, Christine & Abdi, Ali A. (2008). Mwalimu’s Mission: Julius Nyerere as (adult) educator and philosopher of community development. In A. Abdi & D. Kapoor (Eds.), Global perspectives on adult education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Richardson, George (2008). Decolonizing democratic education: an introduction. In A. Abdi & G. Richardson (Eds.), Decolonizing democratic education: trans-disciplinary dialogues. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
• Ghosh, Ratna, Abdi, Ali A. & Naseem, Ayaz (2008). Identity in colonial and postcolonial contexts: select discussions and analyses. In A. Abdi & G. Richardson (Eds.), Decolonizing democratic education: trans-disciplinary dialogues. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Naseem, Ayaz (2008). Globalization as an educational framework of convergence: globalizing the local and localizing the global. In A. Abdi & G. Richardson (Eds.), Decolonizing democratic education: trans-disciplinary dialogues. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2008). Democratic development and prospects for citizenship education: theoretical perspectives on Sub-Saharan Africa. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, 39(2), 151-166.
• Ali A. (2008). Democratic development and prospects for citizenship education: theoretical perspectives on Sub-Saharan Africa. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, 39(2), 151-166.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Guo, Shibao (2008). Education for social development: an introduction. In A. Abdi & S. Guo (Eds.), Education and social development: global issues and analyses. Rotterdam, Holland: Sense Publishers.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Shultz, Lynette (2008). Continuities of racism and inclusive citizenship: framing global citizenship and human rights education. In A. Abdi & S. Guo (Eds.), Education and social development: global issues and analyses. Rotterdam, Holland: Sense Publishers.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2008). From ‘education for all to education for none’: Somalia in the careless global village. In A. Abdi & S. Guo (Eds.), Education and social development: global issues and analyses. Rotterdam, Holland: Sense Publishers.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2007). Oral societies and colonial experiences: Sub-Saharan Africa and the de-facto power of the written word. International Education, 37(1), 42-59.
• Abdi, A. (2007). Global multiculturalism: Africa and the recasting of the philosophical and epistemological plateaus. Diaspora, Indigenous and Minority Education, 1 (4), 1-14.
• Abdi, Ali A. & Ellis, Lee (2007). Education and Zambia’s democratic development: reconstituting ‘something’ from the predatory project of neo-liberal globalization. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 53(3), 287-301.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2006). Eurocentric discourses and African philosophies and epistemologies of education: counter-hegemonic responses and analyses. International Education, 36(1), 15-31.
• Abdi, Ali A, Shizha, Edward & Bwalya, Ignatio (2006). Recasting postcolonial citizenship through civic education: Critical perspectives on Zambia. International Education, 35(2), 47-64.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2006). Culture of education, social development and globalization: historical and current analyses of Africa. In A. Abdi, K.P. Puplampu & G.J.S. Dei (Eds.), African Education and globalization: critical perspectives. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2006). African education and globalization: an introduction. In A. Abdi, K.P. Puplampu & G.J.S. Dei (Eds.), African Education and globalization: critical perspectives. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
• Abdi, Ali A., Ellis, Lee & Shizha, Edward (2005). Democratic development and the role of citizenship education in Sub-Saharan Africa with a case focus of Zambia. International Education Journal, 6(4), 454-466.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2005). At the mercy of informal learning: education and development in stateless Somalia. In A. Abdi & A. Cleghorn (Eds.), Issues in African education: sociological perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2005). African philosophies of education: counter-colonial criticisms. In A. Abdi & A. Cleghorn (Eds.), Issues in African education: sociological perspectives. New York: Plagrave macmillan.
• Shizha, Edward & Abdi, Ali A. (2005). Democratizing education in Zambia: socio-historical issues. In A. Abdi & A. Cleghorn (Eds.), Issues in African education: sociological perspectives. New York: Plagrave macmillan.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2005). Reflections on the long struggle for inclusion: The experiences of peoples of African origin. In W. Tettey & P. Puplampu (Eds.), Negotiating identity and Belonging: The African Diaspora in Canada. Calgary: University of Calgary Press.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2003). Apartheid and education in South Africa: select analyses. Western Journal of Black Studies, 27(2), 89-97.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2003). Reconstructing the Somali state: the promise (and possible pitfalls) of federalism. Horn of Africa Journal, XXI(I), 20-29.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2003). Dominant discourses and African philosophies of education: a postcolonial criticism. Journal of postcolonial education, 2(1), 23-38.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2003). Searching for development education in Africa: select perspectives on Somalia, South Africa and Nigeria. International Education Journal, 4(3) 192-200.

• Abdi, Ali A. (2002). Postcolonial education in South Africa: Problems and prospects for multicultural development. Journal of Postcolonial Education. 1(1), 9-26.

• Abdi, Ali A. (2001). Identity in the philosophies of Dewey and Freire: Select analyses. Journal of Educational Thought 35(2), 181-200.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2001). Qualitative methodology, the historical sociologist and oral societies: Re-assessing the reliability of remembered "facts" [30 paragraphs}. Forum: Qualitative sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal] 2(3). www.qualitative-research.net
• Abdi, Ali A. (2001). Integrated education and black development in post-apartheid South Africa: Critical analysis. Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education, 31(2), 229-244.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2000). Somalia at the mercy of "Little Leaguers": Some African countries perpetuating the continuing de-institutionalization of Somalia. Horn of Africa Journal, XVII:1-4, 1-18.
• Abdi, Ali A. (1999). Identity formations and deformations in South Africa: A historical and contemporary overview. Journal of Black Studies, 30:21, 147-163.
• Abdi, Ali A. (1999). Frantz Fanon and postcolonial realties: A temporal perspective. Wasafiri: Caribbean, African, Asian and Associated Literatures in English, Vol. 30, pp. 8-11.
• Abdi, Ali A. (1998). Education in Somalia: History, destruction and calls for reconstruction. Comparative Education, 34:3, 327-340.
• Abdi, Ali A. (1998). Economic liberalization and women's education: Prospects for post-apartheid South Africa. McGill Journal of Education, 33:1, 71-84.
• Abdi, Ali A. (1997). The rise and fall of Somali nationalism: From traditional society to fragile nationhood to post-state "Fiefdoms." Horn of Africa Journal, XV:1-4, 34-80.

 Reviews

• Abdi, Ali A. (2008). Review of: Learning and social difference: challenges for public education and critical pedagogy (2006) by C. Borg & P. Mayo. Paideusis: Journal of the Canadian Philosophy of Education Society, 17(1), 67-69.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2008). Review of: Democratic Schools: lessons in powerful education (2007), by M. Apple & J. Beane (Eds.). Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 53(3), 324-326.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2007). Review of: A history of African higher education from antiquity to the present: critical synthesis (2006) by Y. Lulat. Comparative Education Review, 51, 403-405.
• Abdi, A (2005). Review of: The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in multicultural education (2004) by Gloria Ladson-Billing and David Gilborn (Eds.). Intercultural Education (vol. 2), 425-426.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2004). Review of: The state, education and equity in post-apartheid South Africa: the impact of state policies (2002) by Enver Motala & John Rampallis (Eds). Intercultural education, 15(2), 227-228.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2004). Review of: Sustainable development and Learning: framing the issues (2003) by William Scott & Stephen Gough. Teachers College Record, 106, 2301-2304.
• Abdi, A. (2004). Review of: Comparative Education: continuing traditions, new challenges and new paradigms (2003), by Mark Bray. Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies, 9, 135-138.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2003). Review of: Impure acts: the practical politics of cultural studies (2000) by H. Giroux. Intercultural Education, 14(3), 331-333.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2003). Review of: Contested terrains and constructed categories: contemporary Africa in focus (2000) edited by G. Bond & N. Gibson. African Studies Review, 46(2), 113-114.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2003). Gramsci and education (2002) edited by C. Borg, J. Buttigieg & P. Mayo. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 22(5) 542-544.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2001). Gramsci, Freire and adult education: Possibilities for transformative action (1999), by Peter Mayo. Adult Education Quarterly, 51:3, 254-256.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2000). The criminalization of the state in Africa (1998), by J.F. Bayart et al. Canadian Journal of African Studies. 34:2, 454-456.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2000). Dialogic inquiry: Towards a sociocultural practice and theory of education (1999), by Gordon Wells. McGill Journal of Education, 35:1, 91-94.
• Abdi, Ali A. (2000). Unraveling Somalia: Race, violence and the legacy of slavery (1999), by Catherine Besteman. Africa Today, 47:1, 130-133.
• Abdi, Ali A. (1997). Anti-racism education: Theory and practice (1996), by George Dei. Canadian Journal of Education, 22:4, 472-474.
• Abdi, Ali A. (1997). Somalia: The missed opportunities (1994), by Mohamed Sahnoun. Horn of Africa Journal, XV:1-4, 148-153.

[Updated: November 17, 2008]