Cultural framework for the development of science and technology in Africa

Culture is now known to be the basis for scientific and economic development. However, it is not yet clear how cultural issues can be integrated into the design of public policy for science and technology development. This study described a cultural framework within which culture is defined as modes of organizing social life. The modes of organizing social life include fatalism, hierarchy, egalitarianism, and individualism. Each of these modes was mapped onto different knowledge categories. The problem of scientific and technological development in Africa was attributed to a predominance of exclusive hierarchical and fatalistic cultural categories. In conclusion, it was suggested that the challenge of science and technology development in Africa would require a new institutional arrangement with appropriate cultural values and norms of behavior.