The impact of Western Education on the extended family system : an urban Zambian example

This dissertation is concerned with changes in the traditional extended family system in Zambia.The primary aim of this study was to assess how far the process of family individuation has taken place in the Zambian extended family, as a result of the influence of western education. The data were collected in four different residential communities representing Low-Density, Council Rental, Site and Service and a Squatter Settlement currently being up-graded. Data and information were collected using an interview schedule, which was administered to heads of households.
Theories of modernisation assume that western education is a main mechanism which helps Africans in adopting new values. However, this assumption does not appear to-have been borne out by findings of this study. Moreover, the data show that the nuclear family is not the only family type that exists in the urban Zambian society, and that extended family obligations are still fulfilled by the majority of Zambians, including the western educated. Having identified some of the major aspects of family change, the study suggests areas for possible policy changes as well as for future research in this aspect social life.