Where one ends, the other begins: An African-feminist interrogation of the discourses and realities of Social Change and Reproduction through education

Despite extensive scholarship demonstrating that education alone cannot achieve systemic change without broader social and economic reforms, international development agencies and policymakers continue to present it as a panacea for poverty reduction, gender equality, and economic mobility. This paper strengthens critiques of education's positioning as a primary driver of social transformation in development discourse by revealing how such framings neglect both the structural conditions that constrain education's impact and the complex relationships between education, power, and inequality. Through empirical research from Cameroon and Ghana, the authors demonstrate how education not only fails to fulfil its promised empowerment of women and people with disabilities but can actually reinforce their marginalisation. The paper distinguishes itself from conventional critiques that focus primarily on education quality issues by applying African-feminist perspectives to challenge the fundamental neoliberal assumptions that emphasise individual empowerment while ignoring systemic forces of social reproduction. By integrating insights from social reproduction theory and African-feminist thought, the authors establish that even high-quality education cannot guarantee social change given the deep-rooted influences of colonial histories and neocolonial presents. This work advances critical debates on education and development by advocating for decolonial frameworks that provide more nuanced, contextually grounded, and decolonial approaches to understanding education's role in social transformation. • Findings from Cameroon and Ghana show neoliberal, individualistic views of empowerment tend to reproduce inequality or fail to address it. • This paper applies African-feminist critique and foregrounds overlooked relational barriers and collective transformation needs. • Findings also demonstrate the interdependency of women's empowerment and how relational dynamics constrain it despite educational gains. • Ghana disability vocational education analysis reveals exclusion persists, reinforcing the need for structural transformation.