Explain the relationship between Adult Education and community development.?

Answer 1

The qualitative data from the research indicated that there are connections between active citizenship, development education and adult and community education, and that active citizenship could be fostered through development education. However, many of the interviewees across all the sectors were clear that other outcomes from development education are also of value to the learner and should not be limited to what they perceived to be a 'thin' State definition of citizenship. In other words, many saw connections between the three practices within the critical/justice tradition as evidenced in the following quote from a research participant:

"So if you put the three things together, if development education can awaken people's whole notion that what we do has an impact on people across the globe and we have a role to play in trying to help people to attain a better standard of living through adult/community education then active citizenship flows out of that - the three of them together can rub off each other. You can come to any one first but if you can link all three together and if they can be part of the same equation or the same approach then it is a very powerful force for good".

The outcomes of development education identified by and for adult learners from the research include: learning to learn; research and problem-solving skills; intercultural communication; increased confidence and sense of agency; collective empowerment; critical analysis; leadership; and active citizenship amongst others. These echo the strategic competences that the European Union calls to be fostered through lifelong learning.

Many interviewees from both the development education and adult and community education sectors perceived development education to 'fit' best into community education and adult basic education provision. The features that research participants said were shared by these three types of provision are Freirean methodologies, flexible provision, learner-defined content, community development, critical analysis and individual and collective empowerment. The potential for development education to foster social justice agendas at home as much as abroad was considered particularly relevant to community education and adult basic education. The following quote from a research participant emphasises the relationship between community education and development education:

"If there's a chance of helping people or facilitating them to make connections between their life and issues at a global level, it's in literacy and community education that it's going to occur because a) you can get at [Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC)] level 3 or 4; and b) it is about pursuing a very specific educational programme but in the early stages they're exploring themselves - there's an opportunity".

Existing curriculum opportunities for integrating development education

Those interviewed for the research indicated that integrating development education into adult and community education would be a worthwhile venture, albeit requiring a great deal of consultation across the adult and community education sector. The qualitative data indicated that development education in adult and community education should not be an add-on. It should be integrated across provision through themes and case studies and dedicated development education programmes should also be developed. The data indicated that an argument should be made as to how development education can help educators achieve existing aims.

Qualitative data showed that the types of programmes and courses into which development education could be embedded are diverse, including community development, social studies and social care, personal effectiveness, intercultural studies, politics, history and geography. There was consensus that development education might not fit into every programme but that providers should look to see where it would fit most appropriately.

Into practice: Examples of integration

The smaller qualitative case studies conducted for the research and presented in the research report gave examples of adult and community education that had integrated development education into programmes for adult learners. These case studies included life skills training for former drug users, an adult basic education group, a women's leadership programme, a course on gender and development, and an adult educators' training programme. Data used to compile the case studies included tutor feedback and learner evaluations. Each of the case studies involved development education, which was situated within a justice/critical tradition.

It was clear that the nature of the provision in the case studies allowed both learners and facilitators to co-direct the learning, enhancing engagement for both parties. For instance, the women's leadership course learners chose to work towards stated learning outcomes through an exploration of the global nature of violence against women, and the lack of human rights for women globally. It was clear that when the provision is flexible enough for learners to state their needs or interests and those needs and interests are connected to development education themes, it can result in achievements well beyond those originally scoped.

For instance, a key theme arising from the cases was that taking a critical global dimension to the learning broadened the world of participants that, in turn, resulted in an increased sense of agency for them. For instance, the learners in the adult basic education case study constituted the participants in the learners' focus group for the research and made the following statements about the impact of development education on their lives:

"More knowledge made me feel more powerful" (learner focus group participant A).

"I felt as though I could talk about things with my family or friends without feeling stupid" (leaner focus group participant B).

According to tutors consulted in the case studies, this agency fostered confidence, assisted engagement in the learning process and led to participants taking action to address both local and global issues. The learners themselves brainstormed most of the forms of active citizenship carried out across the case study groups. According to evaluations carried out for the programmes spotlighted in the case studies, development education also fostered participants' insight into their own lives and communities, developed self-esteem and increased interest in the skills elements of the programmes. To demonstrate this, below is one tutor's summarised observation of her learners in a life skills programme for former drug users, and their feedback from a participatory evaluation done with them at the end of the programme:

"Given their own drug use, they could understand the connections and consequences [of the drug trade in other countries] very clearly. They could understand why there might be poverty, violence and devastation in (for example) Colombia and Afghanistan. Trying to get off drugs, to lead a healthier, happier and less anti-social lifestyle was a big step towards active citizenship. Taking responsibility for their lives and families was a way of becoming active, engaged members of society. The skills practised by the participants in the course included literacy, social skills, listening skills, problem-solving, thinking and reflecting, discussion, decision-making and time management".

It was evident from the case studies that an exploration of global issues, injustice and inequality using development education methodologies can have wide-ranging and transformative impacts on adult learners. Overall, the research concluded that there is latent potential in the adult and community education sector to integrate development education in an embedded fashion.

Conclusion

For development educators or organisations that would like to begin to focus on supporting adult and community education providers to engage adult learners in development education this research provides a number of recommendations set out in Table 4.

The ideas, findings and recommendations presented here are a small part of a much larger research report. Interested readers should go to http://www.aontas.com to download a full copy of the report. The hope is that this article has assisted development educators to see the potential for them to encourage and support development education in adult and community education provision in Ireland and has provided advice as how it could be done. The article also aimed to show that integrating a critical development education in adult and community education can help to hold a space for adult learning which fosters critical awareness, analysis and active global citizenship for learners.

Table 4. Recommendations for integrating development education into adult and community education

• Lobby vocational education committees (VECs) to present development education to their constituencies as a possible consideration for the next education plan for the VEC area;
• At local level, contact your community education facilitator or adult literacy organiser or local area-based partnership to see if they are interested in promoting or integrating development education themes in their work;
• Identify local champions of development education, such as expert practitioners or innovative projects, and promote them to the VEC or adult and community education providers in your area;
• Identify where the responsibility for continuing professional development (CPD) is held in your local VEC and lobby those stakeholders to integrate development education and critical analysis into their training programmes;
• Bring your ideas about integrating development education into adult and community education to the Irish Development Education Association (IDEA) and see what is happening at a national level; and
• If you have a third level provider locally that trains adult and community educators ask if they integrate development education into that training and promote its value in training for adult and community educators.

References

Andreotti, V (2006) 'Soft versus critical global citizenship education' in Policy & Practice: A Development Education Review, Issue 3, pp. 40-51.

AONTAS, Community Education: AONTAS Policy Series,Dublin, 2000.

AONTAS (2004) Community Education 2004, AONTAS, Dublin.

Baptiste, I (2001) 'Educating Lone Wolves: pedagogical Implications of Human Capital Theory' in Adult Education Quarterly, Vol. 51, 3, pp. 184-201.

Bîrzéa, C, Kerr, D, Mikkelsen, R, Froumin, I, Losito, B, Pol, M & Sardoc, M (2004) All European Study on Policies for Education for Democratic Citizenship, Council of Europe, www.coe.int.

Ceccini, M (2003) 'Active Citizenship, Adult Learning and Active Citizenship, Lifelong Learning and Active Citizenship', keynote speech at the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) Conference, Cyprus.