This study is predominantly concerned with two African\ud
states, The Gambia on the West Coast and Malawi in the East\ud
Central Region. Both had been dependencies within the British\ud
Empire and while they shared a common colonial heritage, the\ud
overall experience was not identical and their respective\ud
educational administrative structures mirrored the\ud
dissimilarities.\ud
Commencing with the Colonial Office in London, aspects\ud
that are relevant to the British Colonial Administrative\ud
System are examined: in particular, the basic philosophy and\ud
personnel of the Home Civil Service; the fundamental economic\ud
thought underlying administration of the Empire; and the unique,\ud
if somewhat eccentric recruitment apparatus for coloniel\ud
service administrators and technical staff, as developed by\ud
Major _Purse. In the field, decision-making in educational\ud
matters was influenced,often indirectly but nonetheless\ud
profoundly, by individual Africans and people of African\ud
descent, and examples from both parts of the continent andelsewhere\ud
receive consideration; sometimes within the context\ud
of the contemporary social environment.\ud
In the account of the establishment of the Education\ud
Departments in The Gambia and Malawi reasons, motives and\ud
difficulties are described and certain basic differences\ud
between the two systems receive comment. The conceptual\ud
framework within which, and the theoretical foundations upon\ud
which, educational administration in general and decisionmaking\ud
in particular operate receive close attention with\ud
special reference to modern theories germane to the hypothesis.\ud
From non-governmental and governmental archives the\ud
decision-making process, with the inter-play of individual\ud
factors and mild intrigue, is developed and analysed.\ud
The gulf between theory and practice, as revealed in the\ud
material, reinforces the contention of the hypothesis. The\ud
structured investigation of the theme terminates about 1945\ud
but in the conclusions certain later events and developments\ud
are outlined by way of indicating the dynamic nature of the\ud
topic and its interrelationship with non-predictable outcomes