Adult education programmes of NGOs operating in Non-Western contexts: a review of empirical literature

ABSTRACT

Adult education is a key component of worldwide collaborative efforts to achieve social justice aims, such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Such collaborative efforts require the involvement of all sectors, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In particular, given the prevalence of globalising and neoliberal influences on development, NGOs providing adult education programmes must navigate complex political and financial hurdles in addition to cultural differences. To evolve our understanding of the role NGOs and their efforts play in international development education, this systematic literature review investigates adult education programmes of NGOs operating in Non-Western contexts. Findings indicate programmes require stakeholder commitment to social justice, concerted efforts to adapt to social and economic contexts, and intentional cultivation of local and international partnerships. While findings align with a general understanding of effective practices within different cultural contexts, this synthesis of empirical work provides a foundation for deeper understanding of how to implement such culturally relevant practices and improve the path forward for NGO adult education programmes and partnerships.     

我国NGO公共服务的伦理困境及其矫治

随着经济体制的转轨和政府职能的转变,我国民间组织（NGO）开始成长和发展,并致力于慈善、公益事业的发展,但我国民间组织的发展整体还很不规范,大部分还处于自发、松散的无序状态,这在一定程度上造成了非政府组织的畸形发展。为此,实现NGO生成模式由政府选择向社会选择的转换,强化NGO伦理价值的信守成为实现我国NGO健康有序发展并促进公共服务发展的基本路径。     

日本政府与NGO国际教育援助合作机制分析——基于对“相互依赖性”与“组织身份”的考察

作为国际教育援助三大主体的国际组织、援助国政府、NGO近年来形成多元、多层、多途径合作的局面,特别是政府与NGO,基于对彼此资源的相互依赖,形成不同的合作模式,其合作机制值得深讨。日本作为经验丰富的援助大国,政府与NGO的合作是通过"政府购买服务""对话协商""助推NGO发展"三大制度结构来实现的,而在具体实施过程中,双方根据不同的"资源依赖性"与"组织身份定位",组合成"伙伴型""合同型""延伸型"合作关系。在"伙伴型"关系中双方构成对称性依赖关系,维持各自的组织身份,在"合同型"关系中形成非对称性依赖关系,NGO虽然自主却也受政府的条件牵制,在"延伸型"合作关系下NGO过度依赖政府,致其依附型发展。     

非政府组织兴起动因的四维视角透析

非政府组织一般是指那些非政府的、非营利的、致力于公益事业的社会中介组织。它在全球范围的兴起，是对长期困扰人们的、社会转型期所凸现的市场失灵和政府失灵问题的反应和回答，是人类社会发展史上重大的组织创新和制度创新。     

Corporate social responsibility: Benefits for youth in hydropower development in Laos

The role of the state as regulator combined with policies on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that go beyond legal requirements to establishing programmes that promote development and good international business practice is an emerging new paradigm. In this paper, the example of a state-owned company, Statkraft A.S. of Norway, and its recent hydropower investment in central Laos illustrates how policy, implementation and follow-up can lead to benefits for local communities in the impacted area of the Theun-Hinboun Expansion Project (THXP). Programmes include both support for and improvement of existing government education programmes, employment opportunities and specific programmes for youth. They have been designed to mitigate possible negative effects of the influx of workers and rapid socio-economic change in the affected area. Young people continue to have a central role in the implementation of these programmes as peer educators under the supervision of project staff and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).     

On the role of impact evaluation of quality assurance from the strategic perspective of quality assurance agencies in the European higher education area

In this paper the current national legislations, the quality assurance approaches and the activities of impact analysis of three quality assurance agencies from Romania, Spain and Germany are described from a strategic perspective. The analysis shows that the general methodologies (comprising, for example, self-evaluation reports, peer reviews, on-site visits, assessment reports, follow-up measures) and main subjects of quality assurance in higher education (such as study programmes and institutional structures and processes) are very similar in the sample cases. However, up to now, impact evaluation of quality assurance has not been implemented systematically in the sample agencies (as in many others). This is the more relevant since the European standards of quality assurance in higher education oblige quality assurance agencies to analyse their general findings and observe the effects of their activities. Against that background, it is argued that methodologically sound impact analyses of quality assurance interventions in higher education institutions should be seen as an integral part of the agencies’ own quality assurance because it would make their work more transparent and easier to improve systematically. The paper identifies some professionalisation needs required for impact evaluation competences: staff and peers who are qualified by methodological knowledge but also by ‘soft’ skills such as project and conflict management.     

法治视野下教育评价主体建设及评价方式改革

目前我国教育法律对教育评价的规范呈现出以行政性评价为主的规制特征,对教育评价主体及运行机制还没有形成完善的法律规范体系。未来的教育评价应当形成集政府督导评估、学校自我评估和社会组织评估相结合的多元化评价体系,特别是需要进一步培育、发展、规范社会组织参与评估。在改进结果评价、强化过程评价、探索增值评价、健全综合评价的过程中,需要利用好每种评价方式的特点,改变“唯”的状态,形成协调互补的评价体系。     

Non‐profit education providers vis‐à‐vis the private sector: comparative analysis of non‐governmental organizations and traditional voluntary organizations in Pakistan

Under the New Policy Agenda, international development institutions have promoted non‐profit organizations (NPOs) in developing countries, on a dual logic: firstly, they deliver social services more efficiently than the state; secondly, they mitigate equity concerns around privatization of basic social services by reaching out to the poor. Based on a survey of twenty prominent non‐profit education providers in Pakistan, this paper illustrates that the NPO sector is not monolithic: non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the education sector under the patronage of international donors follow markedly different models of education provision to those of Traditional Voluntary Organizations (TVOs) reliant on domestic donations. While the social service ethos of the TVOs makes them distinct from the private sector, it is not the case with the NGOs: their model of education provision, rather than meeting the education needs of the poor, ends up cultivating markets for the private sector among poor communities.     

论政府与民间组织合作互强的逻辑选择

改革开放的深化带来了民间组织的“爆发式”增长。一方面,民间组织需要向政府谋求生存和发展的空间;另一方面,政府在社会治理上存在失灵现象,需民间组织发挥拾遗补缺的重要作用。民间组织与政府之间是相互合作的关系,政府为民间组织的发展提供制度保障,而民间组织协助政府解决改革深入阶段所面临的各种经济与社会问题,二者在合作模式下的协同治理中不断得到加强。民间组织是一种自上而下的政府选择行为,从近期来看,政府的主导地位不会改变;但从长远来看,民间组织的民间性将逐步得到加强,其自主性和自我管理能力会逐渐增强,与此相应,社会治理的架构也随之由政府对社会的控制走向政府与社会共同实行的民主治理。     

发展性学校评价在我国实施的个案研究

通过四所个案学校的实践历程发现,发展性学校评价在我国的实施具有一定的可行性,但仍存在一些问题和不足。具体表现在:政府督导室的支持和外部评价组的权威性有助于发展性学校评价的实施,但大部分学校自身参评的动力并不是很强;大多数学校均能组成自评小组,开发自评工具,进行自我评价,并形成了内容相对丰富的自评报告,但自评人员的参与面较窄,自评报告的"迎评化"色彩较浓,大多数教师和校长亦缺乏相应的评价知识和技能;外部评价组的专业性和投入度有力地保障了外评的效果,但也存在着评价时间较短、评价过程过于紧凑、评价队伍的构成不够多元等问题。     

民间组织参与环境治理的法律分析--以J县“双河长制”为例

新时期乡村治理注重多元主体的共同参与和协作,民间组织参与环境治理是多元主体参与乡村治理的表现形式之一。实地调研发现,民间组织参与环境治理存在法律地位不明确、资金匮乏和缺乏制度保障等问题。从法学的角度,对以上问题展开法律分析,并结合实地调研和文献研究,提出实现民间组织参与环境治理的法治化路径:明确民间组织的法律地位,完善政府购买公共服务的制度建设,健全环境信息公开机制与环境保护问责追责机制。     

英国学校自我评估实践探索及其启示

在英国,政府通过学校自我评估提高教育管理绩效。结合英国学校自我评估的具体实践,在我国高职高专院校人才培养工作水平评估中要积极推动学校自主评价机制的构建。     

社区建设中政府购买公共服务研究——以福州市为例

政府购买社区服务是政府改革的重要内容,也是建立新型政社关系、培育民间组织的重要途径。在和谐社区建设中,政府、社会组织、社区三方通力合作,坚持政府主导,运用市场机制,借助社会力量,实现社区公共服务的项目管理。一方面提高政府的基层公共服务的效率, 另一方面也满足社区居民对公共服务的多样化、个性化的需求。福州市作为省会城市,探索一条适合自身特色的政府购买社区服务发展路径,是建设服务型政府的有效途径。     

评估困境：当前社会组织评估面临的软肋＊--以广东深圳为例

评估是社会组织提升绩效与服务质量的重要驱动力,是国外普遍采用的保障其发挥弥补“市场失灵”和“政府失灵”作用、矫正其“志愿失灵”的有效手段。我国近年越来越重视对社会组织的评估。但随着社会组织的快速发展、政府职能的转变、政府购买服务和相关法规政策的出台等,社会组织评估面临法律、人才、机制、信息、监管、结论等一系列的困境,使评估还不能发挥应有作用。     

Social donation and university development: a comparative analysis between China’s and America’s endowment for public education

Social donation is a means for individuals, government organizations, and non-government organizations (NGOs) to provide public products and services for society. Seeking social donation is vital in the improvement of the university. This paper probes into the relationship between social donation and university development by comparing social donation levels and practices in China with those in the U.S. The main reasons why social donations in Chinese universities are relatively low are as follows: (1) independent NGOs have not been formed; (2) the system and mechanism of social donation are not perfect, and (3) many restricting factors of social culture still exist in China. __________ Translated from Journal of HIgher Education, 2006 (1)     

Manipulating and diversifying the levels of difficulty and task‐sophistication of one and the same laboratory exercise

Summaries

English.

The major national curriculum development projects in the UK were produced between 1963 and 1973. Although funded by two differentnational organizations, there has been considerable co‐operation and overlap of project staff and ideas resulting in a continuousrefinement of the centre‐periphery model used. By the end of the 10‐year period the model's defects had become clear and the continuing national projects considered it essential to request additional funds for further dissemination and after‐care. Subsequent projects have mostly been based on a local curriculum development model involving practising teachers to a much greater extent both in the curriculum development process and in the preparation of materials.

It has become apparent that there is no single measure on which a project can be called successful or on which it can be determined that a project has ‘taken root’. Projects can fulfil their proposers’ wildest hopes and yet achieve little uptake; or, they can take root in the sense of having a considerable impact on science education in general whilst being substantially used by only a minority of the target group of teachers. The thesis of this article is that whilst dissemination and after‐care are essential, they are not sufficient to ensure uptake. Of prime importance isthe general attitude to curriculum development; the relevance of theprojects materials and ideas to the problems teachers face in schools; the extent to which they offer teachers fulfilment without requiring a complete re‐evaluation of their perspective to education and the cost in terms of equipment, materials and manpower.     

“管办评分离”视域下高校评估中的政府职能

“管办评分离”旨在重构政府、高校与社会中介组织之间的关系,推进高校的科学发展和办学质量的持续提升。传统的政府主导式高校评估在计划经济时期发挥了积极作用。市场经济的发展、社会环境的变化以及高等教育体制的深入改革,要求政府在高校评估活动中重新定位自身职能。借鉴国外高等教育评估中的政府职能定位,在“管办评分离”视域下,高校评估中的政府职能应着重于指导制定评估质量标准,扶持社会中介机构发展,落实财政绩效拨款机制等,真正构建起政府、高校、社会中介机构共同参与的多元评估机制。     

Beyond a learning society? It is all to be done again: Zambia and Zimbabwe

This article considers the ways in which educators and learning societies in Zambia and Zimbabwe have had to struggle to create independent, democratic and critical curricula in difficult circumstances over the last 50 years in the context of historical shifts in power, a declining British Empire and the re‐emergence of reactionary forces at a time when democracy is in retreat. It is argued that democratic learning societies depend on relationships with progressive social movements which most non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), and their allies in lifelong education, claiming to constitute civil society do not represent. In Zambia the labour movement and its educational programmes have had to contend with the brutal application of neo‐liberalism and imposed structural adjustment programmes. These latter were also imposed in Zimbabwe and in both countries resulted in the decimation of public education and health programmes, appalling human suffering and unemployment, all exacerbated the by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The issues of land reform in Zimbabwe, its suspension from and quitting the Commonwealth, the demonization of President Mugabe, and the recent March 2005 election victory for Zanu‐PF are analysed. The courage and dedication of so many educators in both countries are overwhelming but the article concludes that the learning society, rich culture, knowledge base and intellectual potential may be in danger from poverty, unemployment, exploitation and disease.     

Characterization of a collective action between farmers' organizations and institutions in an innovative process to face liberalization in Costa Rica

In Northern Costa Rica, agricultural production conditions change very rapidly due to public policies that encourage the exportation of new crops according to the liberalization process imposed by the international context.

For many years, farmers' organizations at the local, regional and national levels have taken initiatives to respond to this new context and develop relationships with institutions (the Ministry of Agriculture, national universities, NGOs, international agencies, the private sector) promoting innovations and attaining better access to information, training and financial resources. An action-research program, ‘Aid to Farmer's Organization of Northern Costa Rica’, contributes to the strengthening of farmers' organizations and tries to induce change dynamics through the elaboration of a shared vision of peasant agriculture implying the production of safe food, the protection of natural resources, the development of qualified local employment and the defense of the rural culture.

The present paper will analyze the dynamics of such a collective action. Action is structured around various activities such as the exchange of experiences between farmers' organizations, the elaboration of a common vision on the future of family agriculture between different actors, the training of the members and leaders of organizations and the design and implementation of innovative project.

This collective action induces the construction of new and useful knowledge, changes in the relationships between the actors, the implementation of new institutional mechanisms and the development of new rules inside and outside the organizations.     

“三位一体”教学质量内部评估模式的探索与思考

目前我国高校教学工作质量评估已经由外部行政主导的评估走向内部自我评估,各高校积极贯彻教育部的评估新要求,探索行之有效的评估制度和模式。上海财经大学近年来,在借鉴国外高校教学评估经验的基础上,以提高教学质量为目的,在常态化教学质量评估、教学状态数据平台建设和年度质量报告制度等方面积极探索,形成了“三位一体”的本科教学质量内部评估模式。这一模式可为我国各类高校提供参考与借鉴。