Empowering through Education

Steve Sharra is a Malawian teacher, teacher educator and education policy analyst. He holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Teaching and Educational Policy from Michigan State University, a Master of Arts degree in English Education from the University of Iowa, a journalism certificate from the University of Malawi Polytechnic, and a primary school teaching certificate from Lilongwe Teachers College. Steve has teaching and research interests in curriculum theory, educational policy, evidence-informed decision making, public policy, social theory, and Pan-Africanist studies. He has researched and published on decolonizing knowledge and knowledge production, teaching and teacher education, Pan-Africanism, global social justice, uMunthu (uBuntu) epistemology, and peace studies.

Steve is a member of the Malawi Civil Society National Reference Group for the United Nations Spotlight Initiative on ending violence against women and girls, and he is also a member of the Malawi team for the Knowledge Information Exchange (KIX) Regional Education Hub for Eastern, Southern and West Africa. Steve is an author of an award-winning children’s novel, Fleeing the War, and former President of the Malawi Writers Union. He is an Honorary Fellow in Writing in the University of Iowa International Writing program, and an alumnus of the Programme for African Leadership at the London School of Economics. He has managed girls’ education programmes, teacher professional development, and school improvement projects in Malawi. He has taught at the Catholic University of Malawi, University of Botswana, University of Iowa, Michigan State University, and Baker College of Owosso (Michigan). Based in Lilongwe, Malawi, Steve blogs at Afrika Aphukira and tweets at @stevesharra.