The impact of the Mugabe education revolution on academic-practitioner collaborations in Zimbabwe

Set in the context of a country in urgent need of collaborative approaches to knowledge production for national reform and recovery, this paper draws attention to experiences from Zimbabwe that teach us about power relations in academic-practitioner collaborations. The paper argues that power is socially embedded and that society’s perception of both academics and practitioners shape the power hierarchies within their collaboration projects. The paper draws on personal reflections, as well as those from development practitioners and activists who have worked with academics on human rights-related projects. I outline how such collaborations provide opportunities to advance knowledge-driven agendas‚ policies and strategies necessary to help struggling economies such as Zimbabwe, all the while advancing sustainable development. I also draw attention to some of the challenges that arise from this work, particularly how power dynamics can compromise the projects’ efficiency and effectiveness.