The Changing Nature of Non-formal Education in Latin America

This article highlights the history of innovation and creativity in non-formal education programming in Latin America since the 1920s. These include community-based programmes, literacy, fundamental education, community development, technical vocational training, extension education, consciousness raising, popular education, and community schooling. With the economic downturn in the 1980s, non-formal education became less viable as part of socio-economic development strategies owing partly to the social progress made in the region, a shift to schooling as a priority and the pulling back of governments from social service funding. Nevertheless, the 1980s saw the informal economy and social movements as emerging avenues for non-formal education programming and non-governmental agencies became the dominant vehicle for educational delivery. During the 1990s, technical education was going through privatisation and adult basic education was being criticised and overhauled. Citizenship education, a potential avenue for non-fomal education investment in the newly democratised region is identified as an area overlooked by policy makers. Similarly, the growing needs of the indigenous populations of the region and urban youth unemployment are singled out as potential areas for non-formal education programming.     

Raising Basic Education Levels in Rural Bangladesh: The Impact of a Non-formal Education Programme

Based on the concept of "basic education" from the Declaration of the World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA, Jomtien 1990), this paper explores the impact of the non-formal education programme (NFPE) of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) in the achievement of basic education for rural Bangladeshi children. Using an instrument developed previously in Bangladesh, three groups with different educational experiences were assessed: (1) children who attended BRAC's NFPE; (2) those attending formal school; (3) children who had never attended school. A total of 720 randomly selected children, who live in five rural areas of Bangladesh were assessed in this study. Of the four components of basic education, BRAC children did significantly better in life skills and writing than their peers in formal schools. Equal performance was observed in reading and numeracy. Although the children who had never attended school in general did poorly, some had developed life skills knowledge and more than half had acquired numeracy skills. This study concludes that BRAC's education programme has a positive impact on basic education in rural Bangladesh.     

Non-formal education in Cuba

Conclusion In Cuba the sixties coincided with a unique national liberation movement which, supported by such fundamental achievements as agrarian reform and nationalisation, brought about the organisation of a national effort on the part of all the social sectors anxious to play their part in these changes.These unleashed forces have been both protagonists and apprentices in the accelerated campaign against underdevelopment. The work of transformation and social and economic construction has also logically included an educational effort, the success of which can be measured by such achievements as the literacy campaign of 1961 and the doubling of school enrolment during the decade. The first fruits of this drastic educational effort were the establishment of mass education groups in 1961, since when old structures and concepts have been rejected and an action programme has been emerging with ever greater forcefulness aimed at shaping and adapting education to the characteristics and needs of a socialist society.This tremendous undertaking, with service to all society as its major principle, is the fundamental reason for the many novel experiments made at all levels of education. It forms the basis of the search for a new kind of education which will correspond to current educational trends in the world and at the same time meet the exceptional situation of Cuba, where priority is given to education as a duty and a right of all and where everyone, from the humblest worker to the Prime Minister, is aware of the vital need for education and its inseparable links with development plans.Adapted by permission of UNESCO from Innovating Experiments in Education in Cuba by Raúl Ferrer Perez. International Commission on the Development of Education, Series C: Innovations, No. 4. Paris: UNESCO, 1973 (mimeographed).     

Informal and Non-formal Education: An Outline of History of Science in Museums

Although a growing number of research articles in recent years have treated the role of informal settings in science learning, the subject of the history of science in museums and its relationship to informal and non-formal education remains less well explored. The aim of this review is to assemble the studies of history of science in science museums and explore the opportunities for the further use of the history of science in science museum education practice.     

远程开放教育:蒙古游牧生活妇女的非正规教育

B·罗宾逊女士,一位关心社会弱势群体教育问题的教育专家,联合国教科文组织的项目执行官,在远程教育和学习支持服务方面享有很高的威望,她时常关心着中国的远程教育事业。今天我们总在讨论远程教育的学习支持服务,不少同志有幸到国外考查或接受培训,B·罗宾逊女士作为中国赴英培训项目的学术负责人之一接见过我们的学员。她的想法、做法代表着国外和国际专门机构(如联合国教科文组织)的基本观点。这里介绍的是她刚刚完成的一个针对经济迅速发展环境下开展开放式远程教育的项目。尽管中国与文中的蒙古在经济和政治结构上有着根本差异,但其根据实际情况开展远程教育和学习支持服务的经验是发展有中国特色的远程教育的一个绝好的借鉴。受版面的限制,本文仅对报告中涉及学习支持服务的理念和方法问题进行了摘译。     

基于长尾理论的网络非正式学习模式研究

本文从网络非正式学习与长尾理论的关系出发,结合长尾理论的九条原则来谈构建基于长尾理论的网络非正式学习模式所要遵循的原则以及对于学习模式的建构和分析说明;最后提出关于模式应用的一些策略.     

Non-formal education,personhood and the corrosive power of neoliberalism

The aim of this paper is to explore the extent to which non-formal education is being corroded by neoliberal values. Given non-formal education is frequently used to develop young people’s notions of citizenship, and that non-formal education providers are increasingly forced to operate within the free-market paradigm, it is significant to consider what forms of personhood are being championed. Qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and observations with coaches and young people from a youth sports charity in the UK. Focusing on a core aspect of non-formal education – caring relationships (as understood by Nel Noddings and Carl Rogers) – the findings suggest that the quality of coaches’ care for young people was conditioned by the extent to which adolescents re-shaped their personhood to align with neoliberal values of individual responsibility and discipline. Thus, the meanings of ‘care’ and ‘good citizenship’ were corroded by a neoliberal rationality.     

职业学校学生非正式群体的问题分析

职业学校学生非正式群体的形成是多种因素综合作用的结果,其存在具有一定的合理性和不可替代性。但其在发挥积极作用的同时,也不可避免地产生一些负面影响。本文在分析职业学校学生非正式群体问题的基础上,结合其成因,从道德教育、强化非正式群体的服务功能、营造良好的校园文化氛围等方面提出教育对策。     

Non-formal basic education as a development priority: Evidence from Nicaragua

Almost 900m adolescents and adults are illiterate in the developing world, yet most policy discussions focus on the educational circumstances of primary aged children. As a result non-formal educational programs for adolescents and adults are given very little support, and this group is virtually ignored in international agreements such as the millennium declaration. This article presents the first serious attempt at evaluating the impact of a non-formal education program. Results show significant learning achievement over the academic year, as well as strong development impacts of the program in non-learning dimensions of participants’ lives. These positive impacts, plus the significantly lower unit costs and self-targeted nature of the program provide strong evidence that this type of program can be an important part of the poverty reduction and human capital enhancement strategy of developing countries with large illiterate adult populations.     

Non-formal vocational education in Uganda: Practical empowerment through a workable alternative

This article reflects on the potential of non-formal vocational education in Uganda to improve the quality of life of those excluded from formal education. Based on an exploration of humanizing development theorists Sen, Freire and Nyerere, together with two case studies, practical empowerment is described as a desirable outcome of education for development. Practical empowerment includes acquiring marketable skills as well as capabilities to critically give direction to one's life. Although education leading to this outcome is desirable for all, non-formal vocational education can reach those currently excluded from formal education, thus enhancing their empowerment by equipping them with useful skills and knowledge.     

形式意义与非形式意义——以英语主从型动词词组复合体的功能语法分析为例

系统功能语言学界在进行功能句法分析时,如何把握“意义”一直是一个难点。在进行英语主从型动词词组复合体的功能语法分析时,Halliday和黄国文两位教授分别偏重于表层意义和深层意义。引进Martin教授关于形式意义和非形式意义的区分,进行“形式意义一非形式意义分析”,可把这两种分析的互补优势较好地结合起来。     

终身教育视野下的非正规学习成果认证:理念与形式

非正规学习成果认证是终身学习实现的重要制度之一,我国当前已经实现了部分非正规学习成果的认证。已有的认证一般较为注重对个体学习的过程和结果进行证明,主要形式有成人高等教育学历证书、高等教育自学考试学历证书和职业资格证书等。