Second-generation non-formal education and the sustainable development goals: operationalising the SDGs through community learning centres

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that Non-formal Education (NFE) has seen a remarkable revival of interest across both developing countries and the more highly developed countries. Among the factors causing this revival is the search for alternative educations to meet the needs of different groups in society. But in the process, NFE has been relocated – not so much as ‘outside’ formal educational institutions but as a different kind of learning programme within a continuum of lifelong learning covering formal, non-formal and informal learning. It argues that the adult learning targets contained in every one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot be met by formal learning programmes alone and require a much expanded non-formal education programme. To deliver this, the paper suggests that the current movement for community learning centres (CLCs) can provide a base for operationalising NFE for the SDGs. It takes a case study, the Folk Development Colleges of Tanzania, as an example of the kind of national system for NFE which can be built. It ends by looking at current redefinitions of NFE and at where such an NFE system might fit into the governmental architecture of educational planning.     

The Institutionalization of Gender and its Impact on Educational Policy

To incorporate gender issues into public policy, most nations have established women in development (WID) units in their governmental bureaucracies at some point in the last 20 years. An examination of 48 WID units in developing countries indicates that in most cases these multisectoral organizations consider education among their activities. Within education the focus is more on non-formal education for adult women than on formal education. By concentrating on literacy programs combined with income generation, health and nutrition activities or on vocational education, WID units implicitly subscribe to a definition of gender issues as those concerning mostly poor women. It is argued that limited contestation by these units of the ideological function of schooling, revealed in the scarce attention given to teacher training and curriculum/textbook revision-added to their limited funding and infrequent contact with feminist non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-makes these WID units relatively ineffectual in altering the reproductive functions of the formal educational system.     

Becoming a ‘learning nation’: what are South Africa's chances?

The article explores the possibilities for South Africa as a learning nation given its historical context and current attempts to transform its political and social structures. It argues that the satisfaction of international criteria by which a learning society is judged, will depend upon the acceptance and promotion of non‐formal educational processes throughout South Africa, given the damage done to the formal education system by the policy of apartheid between 1948 and 1988. Through a case study of transformational learning at the Mercedes Benz plant in the city of East London, the article explores the contribution that non‐formal education agencies can make (via the workplace) to the achievement of learning society status by South Africa. It argues that similar possibilities exist in other non‐formal learning contexts ranging from sports organizations to performing arts councils. The paper concludes that whilst South Africa is still far from qualifying as a learning nation, it has one of the most important pre‐requisites ‐ the political and societal will to develop a culture of learning in the country.     

The Prospects for E‐Learning Revolution in Education: A philosophical analysis

If I lose my key in Canada, for instance, and I search for it in the United Kingdom, how long will I take to find it?

This paper argues that problems in education are caused by non‐professional teachers who are employed when trained teachers move in search of promotion friendly activities or financially rewarding duties. This shift of focus means that policy makers in education act without adequate professional guidance. The problems in education, therefore, result from demands made on mainstream education based on misconceptions about what education can offer.

It is argued that the implementation of e‐learning in education faces the risk of developing on the basis of unproven theories. This scenario increasingly sees the replacement of formal education activities in institutions of learning with non‐formal and informal education practices. Given that the contents and influences of non‐formal and informal education are not under the control of the teacher, the experiences that learners bring to education settings are increasingly difficult to manage. The paper proposes that by integrating e‐learning in teacher education and rewarding ‘good teaching’, there is a potential for a successful e‐learning revolution in education.     

中国高等教育全球化的现状、问题与对策

全球化作为又一场影响人类历史的深刻变革,它在重塑世界高等教育图景的同时,也在改变着各国高等教育的政策议程。作为高等教育后进国家,中国必须直面这场挑战。事实上,在经贸层面,我们对高等教育服务项目已经做出了未做限制的承诺,但在文化心理和实践操作层面似乎准备不足,无论理念、话语还是技术,都表现出明显的过渡性特征,内外张力明显,公民社会和本土文化发育不良,还存在诸如行政化管理、市场化方式、西方化路径和应激式举措等问题。因此,围绕高等教育强国建设目标,构建全球化系统战略,成为中国高等教育的必然选择。     

当代比较教育学研究的发展动态

比较教育学科理论问题仍是一个颇具挑战性的论题。当代比较教育学研究在转变：从宏观研究转向微观研究;从关注国家教育制度转为关注学校教育方法及教育效果;从主要研究发达国家转向重视亚非拉等发展中国家及全球性教育问题;从一味介绍外国教育制度的优越性到同时强调各国教育的独特性及相互借鉴;从仅重视国民教育制度到关注妇女、少数民族等社会弱势群体的教育;从仅注重正规的中小学教育到关注正规教育,非正规教育、非正式教育及私立教育。     

High School Teachers' Motivational Perceptions and Strategies in an East Asian Nation

This study investigated the relationships between teachers' self‐reported classroom goal structures, instructional self‐perceptions, teaching efficacy, and perceptions of students' motivation in a developing East Asian nation. This study's participants were 404 teachers, across subject areas, in 14 high schools in an East Asian nation. Similar studies have been conducted in western nations, but these cannot be generalised to the East Asian cultural context without direct research. The following teacher perceptions correlated strongly with perceptions of student motivation: learning goal orientations; student ability; instrumentality of instruction; and high teaching self‐efficacy. Among these related factors, learning goals and ability emerged as the strongest predictors of perceived student motivation. Teachers interviewed reported that their students' motivation is primarily extrinsic and performance‐oriented, influenced by external factors, predominantly exam pressure and social expectations. These findings have important implications for teacher education and practice, and for school policy and educational reform.     

Private tutoring and mass schooling in East Asia: reflections of inequality in Japan, South Korea, and Cambodia

This paper examines private tutoring systems in three East Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, and Cambodia) with the purpose of examining the relationship between those systems and formal education systems. The study of private tutoring systems in each nation can be used to reveal the inadequacies of the formal education system in meeting the ideal of equal opportunity of education in relation to high-stakes examinations. In each nation, the private tutoring system functions as a “shadow education market” to absorb unmet demand for additional education in a parasitic relationship with the formal system. Governments have enacted various policies to respond to the growing private tutoring systems which have proven largely ineffective and often led to further expansion. Pedagogical and curricular practices in the private tutoring systems have functioned to increase “anxiety” and “insecurity” in regard to the formal education system with the purpose of expanding the market. Studies of mass schooling systems and equal opportunity are incomplete without due consideration toward the role of the private tutoring system. Efforts toward education policy-making and reform to further the ideal of equal opportunity of education must be informed by such research on private tutoring.     

Monitoring online communication: can the development of convergence and social presence indicate an interactive learning environment?

More units of study are being offered flexibly, using distance education and online facilities, as a consequence of recent educational developments in higher education, with learner expectations of being able to study when they like and where they like, as well as increasing class enrolments and more students studying remotely or part‐time. However, the quality of the learning experience and the efficacy of placing learning activities that require student interaction and discourse in an online environment have been questioned. The concerns raised by educators regarding placing learning activities online are often about the types of learning environments that are being created and the tools available to support student communication in a virtual learning environment. Asynchronous computer‐mediated communication is one means of allowing students to communicate independently of time and place, and to communicate questions, opinions and queries when transferring interactive learning activities to an online environment. The use of threaded, online discussions that allow asynchronous communication has been criticised for not producing the perceived benefits for learners and educators. This paper assesses the use of asynchronous computer‐mediated communication and the degree of convergence and level of social presence as indicators of developing highly responsive and interactive learning environments in the context of an inquiry‐based learning activity, using a case study approach with problem solving and self‐directed research.     

‘The students do not know why they are here’: education decision-making for Syrian refugees

This case study, conducted collaboratively between education scholars and education practitioners, describes and analyses the ways in which Syrian refugee teachers and an NGO are developing and implementing non-formal education (NFE) programming in three refugee settlements in Lebanon. Utilising the INEE Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, we analyse teachers’ and programme administrators’ decision-making processes regarding curriculum, language of instruction, and pedagogy as well as how and why these decisions are made in the absence of a guiding framework or policy for NFE. We also consider the ways in which the nation-state writ large still helps to influence these decisions in the ‘global era’.     

The problem of secondary education completion: The case study of Cape Verde,a small island developing state

Like many small island developing states, Cape Verde faces a challenge with secondary school completion. The lack of global development goals for secondary education results in the lack of government policies to promote secondary education, which may in effect be partially responsible for the drop in primary school completion The purpose of this paper is to identify the student populations who leave secondary school prior to completion based on Cape Verde’s Ministry of Education data, which is disaggregated by municipality and school. In addition we link these student populations to socioeconomic factors in order to examine possible causes for their abandonment of schooling. This paper intends to draw attention to the issues facing secondary education in a small, developing island nation and highlight policies that have proven effective in similar contexts. The case study of Cabo Verde can be used to generate secondary education policy discussions in other small island developing states (SIDS), as well as other sub-Saharan African nations.     

借鉴英国职教经验 探索高职发展道路

英国的职业教育经验主要是：重视职教立法；坚持“以学生为中心”的教育理念：普通教育与职业教育相互结合；教育部门与企业界密切合作；大力推行国家职业资格制度：在课程改革方面，倡导“能力本位的教育与培训”。借鉴英国经验提出“一个目标、两个依靠、三级平台”的办学模式和建设三支队伍的思想。即以准确的培养目标定位统揽教育教学的全过程：依靠行业组织和行业研究会办学；建立“校企互动”的人才培养模式；通过搭建工具学科、专业基础理论和专业技能三级教学平台，按照不同的要求分层次开展教学活动，确保学生的素质达到培养目标设定的要求；建设“理论型”、“技能型”和“双师型”三支各具特色、互为补充、相互促进、共同发展的教师队伍，形成实现培养目标的生力军。     

孟禄文化交流视域下的国际理解观点述析

保罗·孟禄一生致力于国际教育合作,积极推进国际理解与世界和平。孟禄认为一个民族形成的根本在于拥有本民族的共同文化,教育是促进科技发展的重要力量和推进国际理解的重要方式,民族共同文化的形成主要通过教育来完成。民族之间的文化交流具有独特的价值,一是促进世界文化的传播,二是促进国际理解的达成。孟禄建议将民族主义、爱国主义、合格公民与国际理解四者有机结合,加强教育提高公民素养,发展教育繁荣民族文化,由此推进国际理解和世界人民友好相处。对于孟禄国际理解以美国利益为根本、确保西方教育的领导地位等观点,应客观认识其局限性。     

3D Printing in the Wild: Adopting Digital Fabrication in Elementary School Education

In recent years, digital fabrication, and especially its associated activities of 3D design and printing, have taken root in school education as curriculum‐based and maker‐oriented learning activities. This article explores the adoption of 3D design and printing for learning by fourth, fifth and sixth grade children (n=64) in multidisciplinary learning modules in elementary school education. School‐coordinated 3D projects were not led by design experts, such as art and design teachers, designers, researchers or technical specialists, but run ‘in the wild’ by school teachers. The study was conducted by using an ethnographic research design, including field observations, non‐formal interviews and a reflective questionnaire. The results indicate that, in the adoption of 3D printing activities, learning is centred on the technical skills and the usage of 3D tools. Hence, the elementary ABCs of 3D printing do not achieve the full design and creativity potential of digital fabrication that earlier research has suggested. However, the results do have implications for the potential of 3D printing projects to increase children’s empowerment. In their current state, 3D design and printing are some of the learning tools, among others, and similar achievements can be achieved with other hands‐on learning technologies. In order to enhance the learning of creativity and design thinking skills, 3D activities in school should be planned accordingly.     

Technology and engineering education students’ perceptions of hands‐on and hands‐off activities

Technology and engineering education students responded to a survey regarding hands‐on and hands‐off activities. First, the students listed hands‐on and hands‐off activities and what characterized the two types of activities. Activities such as building or assembling something as well as working manually with tools were viewed as hands‐on. Passive activities such as listening or watching were perceived as hands‐off. Then, the students rated 30 different activities on a bipolar scale ranging from 1 (high degree hands‐off) to 7 (high degree hands‐on). A Principal Components Factor Analysis of the 30 activities revealed two independent factors. The hands‐off factor consisted of many modern technological activities such as computer‐aided design, using a three‐dimensional printer, and constructing functional prototypes using stereo‐lithography technology. The hands‐on factor consisted of more traditional activities such as rebuilding an engine and using a screwdriver. These results suggest that students perceive traditional activities as more hands‐on than modern activities.     

Moral Development in the Biographies of Skilled Industrial Workers

Vietnam has experienced the influences of different social standards and values of Confucianism, Communism and several major religions, such as Buddhism and Catholicism, and has also undergone tremendous social change in recent decades. Consequently, moral education in present‐day Vietnam takes various forms and definitions. Nowadays, moral education is incorporated in the formal curriculum and taught as a single subject of study at all levels of the Vietnamese education system. The focus of moral education in primary schools is character and personality building. In secondary schools, the syllabuses focus on citizenship education, emphasising the notion of developing a socialist citizen. In higher education, the ideas of inculcating socialist thoughts and socialist principles are as important as building intellectual ability, thus, Marxist sciences and Ho Chi Minh thoughts are compulsory taught courses and make up 12% of total study hours in the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum. Therefore, there are two different systems of morality existing in Vietnamese society – traditional morality and socialist morality. Traditional morality is transmitted through informal channels of education, such as family education and religious institutions, while socialist morality is enforced through formal channels of the national curriculum and in various social activities and movements. However, it is still a real challenge for the Vietnamese educational system to redefine the objectives and content of moral education in order to cope with the complexity of a fast‐changing society.     

Post‐expansionist Adjustments in Secondary Education in a Developing Society: a case study

Following the conclusion of a period of educational expansion during the last two decades, developing nations are now focusing attention upon adjusting some of those innovations made during the recent period of quantitative expansion. The paper examines how Trinidad and Tobago has responded to the need for adjustments in education provision during the current post‐expansionist period. In particular the paper analyzes Trinidad and Tobago's current reaction to the nation's system of double‐shift schooling, a device instituted during the 1970s as part of Government's strategy for universal secondary education. Arguments both for and against the shift‐system are presented, and Trinidad and Tobago's insistence that the mechanism should be dismantled is critically examined. Explanations for the approach taken by Trinidad and Tobago towards the nation's double‐shift schooling are drawn from two sources: arguments about the state of the nation's economy, and policies regarding approaches to educational development planning in developing nations.     

Making up the deficit: a South African non‐formal education project for industrial personnel

As South Africa moves towards a democratic, non‐racial constitution it faces a problem of massive social rehabilitation after the social devastation caused by the policy of apartheid. Apart from the children still within a seriously inadequate education system, millions of adults earlier received inferior, and in most instances destructive, education and are poorly equipped to participate effectively within a new political and economic dispensation. In addition black and white South Africans are expected to bond to form a new, non‐racial nation yet for generations their lives have been rigidly segregated under apartheid laws and hence they hardly know each other. Non‐formal adult education initiatives which address these needs are thus a priority in South Africa. This paper describes a collaborative attempt between a university‐based agency and several industrial concerns to address the issue of personnel development through non‐formal educational means. Using the model of guided ‘apprenticeships’ in cognitive and social development and an action‐research methodology, the project targeted three focal areas for development: strategic thinking skills, team values and an internal locus of control. Over the period of a year, monthly events were structured into the project to facilitate participants’ development along these lines. Results indicate that significant development occurred amongst the majority of participants in the areas of self‐confidence, communication and relationship skills, and in the broadening of their general knowledge bases. The relationship of these results to the targeted areas of development is discussed and an attempt is made to explain the results through reference to the methodology and structure of the project.     

Global development of the two-year college concept

This paper defines the two-year college as an institution offering tertiary education for any of a broad range of needs terminating in a sub-baccalaureate degree with perhaps various certificates as well for completion of still shorter programs. A global overview of developments outside of the United States is followed by an intensive discussion of two-year college developments in Japan and in Canada. In the final section of the paper, some of the chief areas of concern in this phase of higher education are noted. The number of two-year colleges outside of the United States is growing steadily and will soon exceed the number within that country. The private junior college, vocationally oriented, is the principal type to be found in Japan. In Canada, three types are noted, the Western colleges fitting quite well the definition adopted here, the heavily career-oriented schools, and the unique CEGEP's of Quebec province. Other nations offer still more variations on the basic theme. Access to higher education and the generally lower prestige of the two-year college are the two chief issues in the university parallel curriculum. Economic development of nations is brought to bear upon career curricula. Student services and community services are fields not yet widely ventured upon. The questions of support, control, and development are complex ones, concerning which each nation may learn much from the experiences of others.     

Community‐based environmental education—a case study of teacher–parent collaboration

A case study of school–community collaboration in an elementary community school in Israel follows up an environmental education (EE) school‐based curriculum that involves the parents and community members in various indoors and outdoors activities. The collaboration was established in the framework of the Community School Approach. In these schools, parents are encouraged to be involved in planning school‐based curriculum and participating in school's formal and informal activities. The aim of the study was to describe environmental education‐based school–community partnerships and to examine the advantages and limitations for such collaboration. Parents, teachers and community members were interviewed for a period of three years. Most of the participants acknowledged the unique nature of EE that allows such a partnership, emphasizing local ideas of project‐based learning in environmental education. The study describes an exemplary collaboration and the development of local school–community partnerships, which could be adapted by other communities within elementary or middle schools.