Abstract

Book ReviewsRobert Serpell, The Significance of Schooling. Life-Journeys in an African Society (Cam bridge : Cambridge University Press, 1993), 345 pp. Hardcover $59.95 SAGE Publications, Inc.1997DOI: 10.1177/002190969703200317 Mwizenge S. Tembo Department of Sociology Bridgewater College Bridgewater, Virginia, 22812, U.S.A. As modem influences penetrate all remote comers of the world, the contemporary universal view is that if you introduce formal schooling to any group of rural people, they will learn to read and write. The knowledge and skills learnt through so many years of school will enable graduates to improve their personal lives, families, and contribute to nation building by working in the modem sector of the economy in manufacturing, agriculture, and other professions. In "The Significance of Schooling: Life-Joumeys in African Society," Robert Serpell explores the impact of schooling on a rural community in Africa. The book explores some of the most troubling issues regarding the status of schooling in a typical rural African or other Third World countries. On the basis of data from the study, Serpell argues that it is erroneous to assume that all individuals who have, for example attended seven years of formal schooling any where in the world, acquire certain amounts of quantifiable