A Political Economy of Adult Education in Comparative Perspective: A Critique of Mainstream Adult Education Models in Canada, Mexico and Tanzania (original) (raw)

A Political Economy of Adult Education in Comparative Perspective: Canada, Mexico, and Tanzania

Towards a transformative …, 1996

There are two striking features of mainstream adult education models. First, they are based on a conspicuous ideology of liberal individualism-although sometimes at the service of political legitimation and control. Second, for many teachers and policy makers adult education is an area apparently detached from the realm of values and devoid of ideological confrontations. This article reviews evidence from research on adult education and skill upgrading programs inspired by conventional, mainstream adult education in Tanzania, Mexico and the province of Alberta in Canada. Three mainstream adult education models are identified: a therapeutical model in Alberta, a recruitment model in Mexico and a forced modernization model in Tanzania. A central feature of all three models is the lack of a participatory rationale.

Flying Below the Radar? Critical Approaches to Adult Education

2009

Defining adult education is an impossible task. It is such a multivalent and amorphous field, comprising different traditions, that definitions are bound to be exclusive, often deliberately so. Some types of adult education take the form of "adult schooling" and simply provide adults with a "second chance". Other forms of adult education do not extend beyond the narrow remit of adult training and there are also forms of adult education which are run on a purely commercial basis with the market playing an important role here. There is however an often repressed tradition of adult learning with a broad "social purpose" dimension that extends beyond the restricted domain of welfarism. It often compels its practitioners to fly below the radar for a variety of reasons, depending on context: avoiding surveillance and possible co-optation by the mainstream system; remaining clandestine in those situations marked by extreme repression; keeping close to the grassroots; remaining a subaltern discourse. Rather than simply enable people to adapt to and re-integrate within the system, this type of adult education is intended to empower groups and individuals to confront the system with a view to changing it. It is often referred to as adult education for social transformationan educational engagement having a strong social justice orientation. It reflects an alternative vision of society. Similarly, much of the writing, in this regard, is about adult education not as it is now, as evinced by mainstream examples of "best practice," but as it should and can be. This writing often consists of case studies that provide excellent signposts indicating the way forward.

Canadian Adult Education: Still Moving

adulterc.org

Two of Canada's veteran adult educators have recently discussed what they claim as the "death" of the Canadian adult education movement. In this paper, we challenge this claim and provide evidence to show that adult education in Canada remains vigorous and vital, expanding in some areas and overall still deserving of being called a movement. Two of Canada's long-standing adult educators have recently contemplated what they claim as the "death" of the Canadian adult education movement. Specifically, they state, "in the span between the late 1920s and the mid-1990s, the Canadian adult education movement grew and flourished for a time but is now no more" (Selman & Selman, 2009, p. 15). We disagree. Certainly, since the demise of the Canadian Association for Adult Education in the 1980s, adult educators' influence on government policy-at both national and provincial levels-has waned and, despite the recent flurry of energy created by the Canadian Council of Learning and its Adult Learning Knowledge Centre, it has not proved viable to found another organisation that reflects the full breadth and diversity of Canadian adult education or the extent of its reach. Despite this, we feel that announcing the death of Canada's adult education movement seems not only premature but highly inaccurate. From our perspective, adult education in Canada remains a vigorous and vital activity and one that still fully justifies being called a movement. We're not alone in our assessment. In 2001, a team from the Organisation of Economic Development conducted a survey of Canadian adult learning. As their report (OECD, 2002) makes clear, almost 30% of Canadians participate in some form of adult education: Canada has many programs to be proud of, and many models in adult education that could provide inspiration both to other providers within Canada and to other countries. The sheer size of the country, the variations among provinces, and presence of both provincial and federal initiatives means that the country has a vast amount of experimentation and innovation. (p. 8) This view is supported by the latest background report on the development and state of adult learning and education in Canada (Council of Ministers of Education Canada, 2008) which documents Canada's enduringly rich tradition of adult education and learning and the wide range of learning opportunities for adults. And for the past 10 years, Canada has celebrated International Adult Learners' Week (IALW) with events from coast to coast showcasing a stunning tribute to the continuing vitality of adult learning in Canada. (Canadian Commission for UNESCO, 2010). As these reports indicate, more Canadians than ever are engaging in some form of organized adult education in a wide variety of courses and programs. Indeed, areas such as indigenous adult education and the HIV/AIDS movement are showing exciting growth through the work of new activists, practitioners and scholars.

Adult Education Policies: Basic Dimensions according to the International discourse

2019

The development of policies aimed at educating and developing citizens is of crucial importance as a result of the particular contemporary societal characteristics, the global demographic changes, the intense rhythm of immigration, the rapid development of technology and the increase in the unemployment rate. This research, through the analysis of the text "Third World Report on Adult Learning and Adult Education (UNESCO, GRALE III, 2016), comes to explore the key dimensions of adult education policies. The methodology used to investigate the material is the qualitative analysis and in particular the methodological tool of thematic analysis with the contribution of thematic networks. The analysis of the text shows that policies supporting adult education should be universal, holistic, inclusive and without exclusions. A second dimension concerns the need for the Member States to modernize their policies, to control and evaluate their implementation. The proportion of public funding in the field of adult education constitutes a challenge, since it remains fairly low in the government's investment priorities, which seem to give priority to other areas, such as health, infrastructure and social welfare. Moreover, it appears that all countries do not interpret international policies in the same way. Thus, policies are sometimes used as a general frame of reference and sometimes as well-established practices. These practices could be implemented by governmental organizations, research institutes, civil society organizations, trade unions and other agents. Finally, governments, in cooperation with regional and local authorities and services are called to broaden their policies and strengthen adult learning and education. Towards this direction, the development of the mobility and participation of trainees in programs such as ARION, Comenius, Grundtvig, Erasmus and Erasmus plus is absolutely of major importance (UNESCO, 2016).

Global Perspectives on Adult Education and Learning Policy

2015

Most observers regard both adult and higher education as key for citizenship and democracy yet the worldwide contexts, appearance and expression of adult education and lifelong learning have changed significantly during the past 20 years. Focusing on ten countries (Scotland, Czech Republic, USA, Brazil, Mexico, Botswana, Ghana, Palestine, South Korea and India) and five international organisations, this book explores recent changes in their overall contexts and policies about adult education, how such policies intersect with developments in higher education and how they may contribute to debates on citizenship and democracy. It highlights several significant shifts: increased awareness of the role of adult education/lifelong learning in enhancing economic growth and social cohesion and mobility, challenging economic and social exclusion and inequality, and developing human and social capital; increased involvement of transnational bodies; pressure for increased global and national co-operation and competition between educational sectors and institutions; and demand for more integrated, accessible, relevant and accountable educational systems and processes.

Research Patterns in Comparative and Global Policy Studies on Adult Education

The Palgrave International Handbook on Adult and Lifelong Education and Learning, 2017

This chapter frames comparative and global policy studies on adult education as an intelligible area of research, and presents a meta-investigation that, without claiming to be exhaustive, enables researchers to reflect on and interpret what connects existing studies, and identify possible gaps. It does so on a corpus of 58 academic texts produced and/or in circulation in the Global North, for the most articles in peer-reviewed journals and, to a lesser extent, books and book chapters, published in 2000-2015; in short, this meta-investigation led to the identification of four research patterns, each based on a combination of the main unit of analysis and particular research scope. By pinpointing at their strengths and limitations, the author argues for the need to cherish these diverse patterns and the necessity of scrutinising closely the type of knowledge they produce.

Adult education as public policy: A perspective from Latin America

Prospects, 1988

This article is concerned only with policies and programmes of adult education designed and carried out by the public sector in Latin America. It claims that there is always an underlying political rationality in adult education policy formation. ~ Moreover, educational policy is always formulated through a complex process of political bargaining between different interest groups (Kozma, 1985, pp. 347-60).