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Robert Serpell was raised by English parents in London, and studied psychology and philosophy at Oxford. He is a naturalized citizen of Zambia, where he has lived most of his adult life. His doctoral research on children’s perception and learning was undertaken at the newly established University of Zambia, where he later served as Head of Psychology, Professor, Director of African Studies, and Vice-Chancellor. His introductory text, Culture’s influence on behaviour appeared in 1976, and his 14-year study of life journeys in an African society was published as The significance of schooling (1993). In the 1990s he was Director of Applied Developmental Psychology at UMBC in Baltimore and co-PI of a 5-year study with Baker and Sonnenschein, Becoming literate in the city (2005). In 2014 he co-edited with Marfo Child development in Africa: views from inside. He has also (co)authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Robert Serpell was raised by English parents in London, and studied psychology and philosophy at Oxford. He is a naturalized citizen of Zambia, where he has lived most of his adult life. His doctoral research on children’s perception and learning was undertaken at the newly established University of Zambia, where he later served as Head of Psychology, Professor, Director of African Studies, and... More