Adaptation Education Policy In British Tropical Africa In The Interwar Years

During the interwar years, British colonial administration carried out the policy of "Indirect Rule". In education field, based on the reports of Phelps-Stokes commission, it advocated the implementation of adaptation education reform, which fully embodied in the white paper of 1925. Such kind of educational policy exerted a tremendous influence to the development of education in Africa during that period.The paper consists of four parts.Part one is about the theoretical bases and political background of adaptation education policy. Influenced by the theory of social evolution and culture relativity, British colonists carried out the policy of "Indirect Rule" and tried to find out a proper education for Africans.Part two describes the two Phelps-Stokes commission reports, which are the backdrop of adaptation education policy, the white paper in 1925 and its subsidiary language memorandum.In the third part, it illustrates the application of adaptation education policy in primary and secondary schools of British Colonies.In the last part, it analyzes the causes of the formation of this education policy and reasons for its failure.