Unintended consequences of modernization theory on university students and graduates in Zambia

Fumbani Mphande; Isaac Kabelenga

doi:10.35782/JCPP.2020.1.04

Fumbani Mphande Lecturer and Head of Department for the Faculty of Education, University of Africa
Isaac Kabelenga PhD Lecturer at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zambia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35782/JCPP.2020.1.04

Keywords: unintended consequences, modernization theory, tertiary education, Zambia, ethnography

Abstract

This ethnographic study explores the unintended consequences of the modernization theory on university students and graduates in Zambia. The study involved 40 participants from the University of Zambia, observed over periods of 9 to 14 years. The study has established that modernization theory has got further-reaching consequences on the participants and the whole Zambian society than what has been documented in the available literature. Whilst some of the consequences are not detrimental to the participants, most of the consequences seem to have negative effects on the Zambian society both in the short term and in the future. Policy implications on how to reverse the negative consequences of modernization theory on university students and graduates in Zambia have also be informed by the findings of the study.