Eminent Scholars and Famous
Persons
On this page we post brief resumes of African
scholars and other personalities who have made or are making a significant
contribution to the development of education in Africa.
See also brief profiles of African Ministers of
Education
Brief Profile of
Professor Colin
N. Power
| Professor
Colin N.
Power, B. Sc., Dip.Ed., B.Ed. (Hons), Ph.D., FACE,
ARACI; UNESCO Deputy Director-General for Education (January 1999 - April 2000); Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO
(1989 - 1988). |
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Colin Power was Assistant Director-General for Education at
UNESCO from 1989 to 1988. In January 1999, he was promoted to Deputy
Director-General in recognition of the outstanding contributions made
to education and UNESCO and the role he has played in the most senior
education post within the UN system. For 11 years he was responsible for the overall policy and management of the entire
Education Programme of
UNESCO. He retired from UNESCO in April 2000.
Professor Power has had a long and
distinguished career in education, and is best known academically for
his research on science education and on teaching processes, and
internationally for advancing education for all throughout life, to
reform of education systems and the status of teachers. As such, he
has worked very closely with most of the World's Ministers of
Education and major intergovernmental and non-intergovernmental
organizations involved in human development. As deputy
Director-General of UNESCO he frequently deputized the
Director-General and assumed a high level of responsibility within
UNESCO and the UN system.
Dr. Power began his career teaching science and mathematics in
secondary schools and then assumed responsibility for research,
curriculum and planning in the Department of Education, Queensland,
Australia. Subsequently, he became a senior lecturer in education at
the University of Queensland (1967-1978), completing his Ph.D. in
science education in 1971. In 1973-4 he was awarded a Senior Fulbright
Award and served as Visiting Professor at the University of Illinois,
Stanford University and University of Missouri. In 1978, he was
appointed as Professor of Education at Flinders University for the
South Australia. Until his departure in 1988, he played a leading role
in the development of the research and teaching programmes of the
University, in formulation and implementation of state and national
education policies in Australia, serving frequently as a consultant
for UNESCO, OECD, Commonwealth Secretariat, SEMAMEO, assisting
Ministers of Education in Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Papua New
Guinea and Italy in reform of secondary education. In 1981, he was a
Visiting Professor at the University of London, East Anglia, and
University of Stockholm.
Professor Power is author or co-author
of 13 books and over 200 published works on education, including major
contributions to science education, reform of secondary and higher
education, evaluation and transitions in education.
Dr. Power has also always played an active role in professional
associations and the community. Before joining UNESCO, he served as
President of the Australian Association of research in Education
(1980-1981), and as Vice-President of the Commonwealth Association of
Science, Technology and Mathematics Educators; the International
Council of Science Education Associations; and the South Pacific
Association for Teacher Education. At UNESCO, he worked closely with
over 120 international education NGOs (e.g., Educational
International, IAU, ICSU, ICAE) and with over 100 bilateral and
multilateral agencies (e.g., UNICEF, UNDP, ILO, WHO, World Bank).
Professor Power remains a passionate advocate of the right of every
person to education, emphasizing that "quality education directed
to the full development of the human personality is a global public
good, the key to peace, development, social cohesion and democracy in
the 21st century".
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