biological unity of mankind_unesco

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Published by the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization,7 Place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris.Printed by Imprimerie des Presses Universitaires de France, V e n d ô m e .© Unesco 1977

quarterly review of education / ;

Vol. VII No. 2 197/

Contents The biological unity of mankind: human ethology, concepts

and implications Iren'àus Eibl-Eibesfeldt 163 Some problems of educational theory and policy in Yugoslavia

Niksa Nikola Soljan 184

Viewpoints and controversies T h e planning crisis and the limitations of external aid

Manzoor Ahmed 195 Children's books and human rights Marc Soriano 204

Elements for a dossier: Ends and means for continuing education Unesco and the development of adult education 228 Adult learning, w o m e n and development Lucille Mair 238 Formal and nonformal education and social justice

Yusuf O. Kassam 244 Workers' education and the organizations of the rural poor

V. S. Mathur 251 Learning about anything Hilary Perraton 255 Adult education in the German Democratic Republic

Gottfried Schneider 263 Adult learning in Ontario Ignacy Waniewicz 272 A victory by Italian workers: the '150 hours'

Filippo M . De Sanctis 280 Developing mass audiences for educational broadcasting:

two approaches Jonathan Gunter and James Theroux 288

Trends and cases The impact of transnational book publishing on knowledge in less-developed countries Keith B. Smith 299

Notes and reviews Book reviews. Some recent Unesco publications 309

ISSN 0033-1538

Signed articles appearing in Prospects express the views only of their authors and not necessarily those of Unesco or the Editor. Permission to reproduce articles must be requested from the Editor. T h e Editor will be happy to consider submissions or letters stimulated—favourably or unfavourably—by articles published in Prospects or by the themes treated within. All correspondence should be addressed to the Editor, Prospects, Unesco, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris (France). T h e designations employed and the presentation of the material in Prospects do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Unesco Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt

The biological unity of mankind: human ethology, concepts and implications

A h u m a n being, like any other living organism, behaves in a predictable way: this is an undisputed premise of any science of behaviour. All h u m a n sciences agree that h u m a n beings are programmed to act in specific ways. H o w the programming took place is a matter of controversy. It is a strong belief in the Western world that m e n and w o m e n have to acquire the totality of their behavioural repertories, that they are born as blank sheets for education to write upon. This environmentalistic theory is the base of our educational practice, whereby it is assumed that children are almost infinitely malleable and that 'proper' education can make of them adults conforming to specific conceptions and specific norms. According to this theory nothing is inborn, and behaviour is shaped by environment. H u m a n beings are thoroughly conditioned and the ethic norms which guide their conduct are functionally derived. ' G o o d is what contributes to the survival of a culture' says Skinner, one proponent of environ-mentalism. W e are neither good nor bad, w e are solely a product of our education. Cultural relativism is just one consequence of this thinking. There are no obliging norms for mankind.

Phylogenese adaptations in animals

Ethologists have raised doubts about this theory. Research initiated by Lorenz and Tinbergen more than thirty years ago proved that animals act according to inborn programmes. Learning supplements these inherited behavioural patterns, but basic behavioural programmes are given to them as phylogenetic adaptations. S o m e of the patterns are already functional at hatching or birth. Every newly hatched duckling teaches us the fact. Immediately after hatching the

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Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt (Austria). Biologist, specialist in the biology of behaviour and in particular human ethology, studied with Konrad Lorenz and Wilhelm von Marinelli. Head of a research group within the Max Planck Institute for Behavioural Physiology, professor of Zoology at the University of Munich. Has carried out many research expeditions. Author of a wide number of scientific articles and books.

Prospects, Vol. VII, N o . 2 , 1977


duckling performs a number of adaptive activities. It walks and swims, sifts the m u d , greases its feathers, just to mention a few of its performances. As soon as the newly hatched chaffinch emerges from its egg it shows the characteristic food-begging response of gaping. Other behaviour patterns mature during ontogeny without the need of learning. T h e study of bird songs provided examples (Konishi, 1964, 1965a, 1965e). These motor patterns are inherited co-ordinations or 'inborn'. If w e want to be more precise, w e have to say: T h e neuronal network and its connections with the receptor and effector organs grow or mature in a process of self-differentiation according to the instructions encoded in the genome.

M a n y arguments are centred around the value of the concept of 'inborn'. It has been argued that even by the strictest experiment not all possible sources of learning are excluded. However, what w e have to consider is that behaviour patterns are adapted to certain environmental features. A n d since that is the case, w e have to assume that adaptation is due to the acquisition of specific patterned information about these environmental features either during phylogeny by mutation and selection, or during ontogeny by individual learning. In the former case, if information is transmitted from generation to generation, w e speak of phylogenetic adaptation as contrasted to cultural, and if the individual adapts by learning alone w e speak of individual adaptation.

B y performing deprivation experiments w e can indeed find out whether a pattern is a result of phylogenetic adaptation or not. If w e want to learn for example, whether a bird has to learn its species' specific song or not, w e m a y raise it in isolation in sound-proof chambers. If it produces the highly specific stances and melodies, then this is proof that the information concerning the specific patterning must have been encoded in the genome (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 19756; Lorenz, 1961).

Numerous studies have shown that phylogenetic adaptations determine behavioural events in different ways. Animals are outfitted with inborn motor patterns, they demonstrate innate skills. W e already did provide examples illustrating this fact. In addition they are capable of responding to certain stimuli at first encounter in an adaptive way. They demonstrate a priori knowledge.

A frog that has just undergone metamorphosis and climbs out of the water does not need to learn h o w to catch flies with a flick of the tongue. Until then he had been a tadpole, scraping algae from the substrata by means of specialized scraping jaws! Yet all at once he

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knows h o w to catch small prey with a steady tongue-flick movement. Experiments with dummies have shown that he will snap at anything that moves, including small leaves and pebbles, but he quickly learns to avoid noxious prey. T h e originally unselective response serves its purpose, since normally the only moving objects in the frog's environment are prey. T h e innate ability to respond to simple key stimuli—in this case moving objects—presupposes an apparatus which 'filters out' specific stimuli, releasing the relevant behaviour sequences only on their occurrence. This apparatus has been termed the innate releasing mechanism ( I R M ) . Numerous social responses in animals are initiated by such innate releasing mechanisms, so for example courtship behaviour, fighting, following responses and submission. In the case of mating behaviour the partner usually has developed special, also hereditary signals (coloured spots, feather markings, expressive movements, scents, vocalizations, etc.) which are 'matched' to the I R M s of the receiver.

For a number of animals such mechanisms have been demonstrated experimentally. During the reproduction period the male stickleback delineates a territory, develops a red underside, and drives its rivals away. O n the other hand, females which sport a silver swollen abdomen, are courted. If w e expose the male to a precise model of a stickleback with neither red nor swollen belly, he will show no interest. Yet a sausage-shaped wax d u m m y with a red underside is attacked immediately and a silver swollen-bellied one is courted. This behaviour is displayed even by male sticklebacks raised in isolation (Cullen, i960; Tinbergen, 1951).

Innate releasing mechanisms operate in monkeys. Sackett (1966) kept rhesus monkeys from birth under conditions of social deprivation: they could neither look out of their cage nor see their o w n image in a mirror. These subjects gathered their visual experience from slides projected on the cage wall which represented young monkeys, landscapes, geometric shapes and so on. T h e monkeys could project each slide themselves, after it had been presented, by pressing a lever. T h e slide then lit up for 15 seconds and the subjects could repeat the presentation during a 5-minute period. T h e frequency of self-projection served as an indicator for the preference of a picture.

It turned out that the subjects enjoyed looking at pictures of conspecifics. Self-projection frequency for these slides increased rapidly; at their sight the young animals emitted contact calls, approached and even tried to play with them. Slides which did not depict monkeys evoked only brief periods of interest, and the rate of

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self-projection remained low. A m o n g the monkey pictures there was one which represented a threatening adult, and even this remained popular for a while.

At the age of i\ months, however, the subjects' behaviour changed. Suddenly the 'threat' picture released withdrawal, self-clasping and fear vocalizations, and the rate of self-projection dropped rapidly. Since until then the animals had been deprived of any social experience, this change must have resulted from maturation of an I R M for recognition of expressive patterns. It is certainly plausible that this should occur at i\ months, for at that time juveniles normally make contact with others of the group—and then recognition of the threat expression is of paramount importance.

Signals—we also speak of 'releasers' since they evoke specific behaviours in the partner—are not only visual. T h e variety of frog call, cricket chirps and bird songs are also characteristics serving the recognition of conspecifics. A mother hen knows only by the distress calls of her young w h e n they are in danger. If w e place a glass bell over a chicken so that its mother can see but not hear it, all the struggling of the young will not restrain the hen from taking off with the rest of her brood. By contrast, a mother hen will respond quickly upon hearing one of her chickens' call from the other side of a wooden fence. She runs to the barrier and stays there, calling, although she cannot see the chicken.

A female turkey will give motherly care to every object that vocalizes like one of her brood. A stuffed polecat which in no way resembles a turkey, elicits brooding behaviour w h e n fitted with a loudspeaker uttering the appropriate calls. A deaf female turkey will kill her o w n young because she cannot hear their calls, for such vocalizations are the only signals releasing brooding behaviour (Schleidt et ah, i960).

Animals are also motivated by inbuilt physiological machineries called drives: they do not wait passively for stimuli. A diversity of physiological mechanisms act to spur an animal to seek, in what is called appetitive behaviour, for stimulus situations (Hinde, 1966; von Hoist, 1935; Lehrman, 1955). Sexual behaviour, hunting, feeding, drinking and at least in some species aggressive behaviour, are in part based upon such internal motivating mechanisms.

Finally, learning is determined by phylogenetic adaptations in such a way that animals learn what contributes to their survival and change their behaviour by experience adaptively. A m o n g other things, it has been found that some animals learn during sensitive periods to

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produce certain reactions, which, once they are fixed seem to be resistant to extinction, in some cases to the extent of irreversibility. This phenomenon was called imprinting (Hess, 1973; I m m e l m a n n , 1966; Lorenz, 1935).

Learning disposition, similar to 'drive', is a descriptive term and does not at all imply a unitary mechanism. T h e study of bird song, indeed, clearly demonstrated that the same result—in this case that a bird learns the song of a conspecific—can be achieved in different ways (Konishi, 1964; 1965a, 1965e; Marier, 1959; Thorpe, 1961).

Chaffinches, for example, k n o w what they have to imitate. F r o m a variety of tapes offered to them they prefer the species song. By means of an innate scheme—Konishi coined the term template—they k n o w which is the right song. In the zebra finches the learning of the right song is normally secured by a period during which the animal is particularly sensitive to songs it hears. W h a t is memorized during this time has priority over succeeding experiences.

Since phylogenetic origin can n o w be accepted as a fact, it is reasonable at least to ask whether h u m a n behaviour might be preprogrammed in similar ways as in animals.

T h e mere suggestion, however, that man's behaviour and in particular his social conduct might be in part pre-programmed by phylogenetic adaptations, has evoked polemical replies from environmentalists w h o accused biologists that their 'biological determinism' was apt to back authoritarian, conservative principles, justifying the status quo and fostering fatalistic attitudes, since nothing can be done to change inborn traits. But, ethologists have repeatedly emphasized that m a n is able to control culturally all his behaviours including the inborn ones and that m a n has to be educated. Before w e discuss the consequences of a strict environmentalism in contrast to the biologists' approach w e want to examine the proof on which our assumption is based that h u m a n behaviour is in part pre-programmed.

Behaviour-studies on babies

If w e look at the new-born w e will discover that the baby is in the possession of a repertory of functional motor patterns. It can for example suck and search the breast with head-turning m o v e ments. Experiments furthermore revealed that babies are capable of responding to stimuli in an adaptive way, prior to any experience at first encounter.

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Irena us Eibl-Eibesfeldt

W h e n 2-11 week-old h u m a n infants are tied to a chair and exposed to the sight of symmetrically expanding silhouettes, they will react as if Objects were approaching them on a collision course. T h e y avert their heads, lift their hands protectingly and evidence a higher pulse frequency. T h e y react in the same way to large objects which actually are moving towards them. O n the other hand if the silhouettes are expanded asymmetrically as if 'moving' past the subject, no such reactions on the part of the infants were observed (Ball and Tronick, 1971). T o these experiments Bower (1971) makes the following comments:

The precocity of this expectation is quite surprising from the traditional point of view. Indeed, it seems to m e , that these findings are fatal to traditional theories of human development. In our culture it is unlikely that an infant less than two weeks old has been hit in the face by an approaching object, so that none of the infants in the study could have learned to fear an approaching object and expect it to have tactile qualities. W e can only conclude that in m a n there is a primitive unity of senses, with visual variables specifying tactile consequences, and this primitive unity is built into the structure of the human nervous system.

There is no doubt that here w e are faced with rather impressive evidence of the existence of innate data-processing mechanisms. T h e theoretical significance of this evidence is indeed tremendous. Other researchers have observed that infants will 'freeze' at the edge of a visual cliif, thus evidencing an inborn fear of falling. At 2 months of age, infants are capable of recognizing form invariables within different transformations. For example, it was possible to train infants to manipulate with their head electrical switches attached to the head rest. Reward was in the form of a person which appeared with smiling face in front of the subject. T h e training signal was a cube measuring 30 centimetres at the edges, presented to the subject at a distance of 1 metre. But the infants rarely responded to a cube measuring 90 centimetres at the edges and presented at a distance of 3 metres, although the retinal image would be of the same size as that projected by the 30-centimetre cube 1 metre away (Bower, 1966). Children also have an innate ability to integrate visual and tactile impressions. W e k n o w that an object which is m a d e to disappear behind a screen is still there. According to classical theory, a child comes to conceive of this phenomenon by reaching behind the screen. Bower (1971) m a d e an experiment in which he measured the startled responses of infants rise in pulse rate while being tested with different optical illusions.

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^í?iLl</>

H e projected apparent objects on to a screep^l reached out for it. Since it failed to grast surprise, as measured by the pulse rate. B y V o p s pulse rate was recorded w h e n the infant was alî hold of something. Thus an infant expects to object it sees. A n d , since already at the age of 2 weeks infants respond to this experimental condition in the manner described, w e m a y conclude that there is an inborn expectation of tactile consequences from optical impressions.

These results were surprising and interesting. They showed that at least one aspect of the eye and hand interaction is built into the nervous system [Bower, p. 35].

Next, Bower considered the possibility of more complex processes being programmed into the h u m a n nervous system. H e let objects be covered within sight of infants by a screen which he then removed after different intervals. T h e children were not perturbed w h e n the object was still seen to be there. T h e y did show alarm by a heightened pulse rate w h e n the object was gone, provided that the interval between hiding and uncovering was not too long.

It seems that even very young infants know that an object is still there after it has been hidden, but if the time of occlusion is prolonged they forget about the object altogether. The early age of the infants and the novelty of the testing situation make it unlikely that such a response has to be learned [Bower, p. 35].

In further tests Bower discovered that children 8 weeks of age anticipate the reappearance of an object which disappears of its o w n accord behind a screen. Arousal can be recorded if the object reappears either too quickly or not at all. However, it seems to m a k e no difference to the child if instead of a ball he sees a cube turn up on the other side of the screen. Only the motion pattern has to fit if the subject is to follow visually. Evidently the identity of the object has to be learned.

T h e experiments demonstrate the existence of inborn data-processing mechanisms in h u m a n s and are therefore of utmost theoretical importance. They substantiate the viewpoint of K . Lorenz w h o asserts that innate releasing mechanisms form the basis of m a n y of our thought and attitude patterns.

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The study of deprived children

M a n y of the motor patterns which w e exhibit are not present at birth. Most of our facial expressions for example develop during ontogeny. Are these motor patterns learned, or does maturation take place? T h e studies of the deaf and blind born provide an answer:

Deaf- and blind-born children grow up in darkness and silence. They are deprived of the opportunity to hear or to see other persons' actions; were the environmental concept true, their behaviour would deviate from persons that are not deprived of this information. W e examined such children, w e filmed their behaviour and w e found out that the basic facial expressions such as smiling, laughing, crying, anger frown, clenching of teeth and the like were present and they occurred in the same basic situations as w e might observe them in healthy children. T h e deaf and blind born smiled when the mothers played with them, they cried when they had hurt themselves and showed fists in anger, to mention just a few examples. Deaf-blind born thalidomide children w h o had not even had the opportunity to explore their environment with the help of their sense of touch exhibit similar reactions.

T h e argument remains that shaping can occur, for example, by the mother rewarding smiles with friendly fondling, or responding to crying with comforting. Such reinforcement can be expected to occur but it must start with recognizable patterns of facial expression. For the more complicated patterns of expression such as anger behaviour, it is difficult to conceive h o w this could be determined by accidental shaping.

Deaf and blind born show also some basic types of social responses, fear of strangers being of particular interest. Although these children never experience any harm from strangers they discriminate by then-sense of smell between familiar and unfamiliar persons. T h e latter release the fear response. T h e child withdraws and seeks contact with a reference person. At a later age the fear of stranger response turns into active stranger repulsion. T h e child m a y act aggressively, pushing the stranger away before withdrawing .This response can also be observed in children of m a n y different cultures. M a n ' s inclination to live in exclusive groups and to show suspicion or even hostility towards strangers seems to be based on this inborn disposition.

T h e information derived from the study of the born deaf and blind is of great theoretical interest, but limited, however, since m a n y of our social behaviour patterns are released by auditory and visual cues.

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Since these channels are blocked in the born deaf and born blind, w e have to explore other ways if w e want to find out whether more complicated patterns of social interactions belong to our phylogen-etically acquired behavioural programme. W e investigated this question by the study of the blind born and by cross-cultural comparison.

By speaking to the blind born, w e can release quite complex behaviour patterns such as coyness. W e just need to pay a compliment to a young girl to get blushing, lowering of the head, turning away in a short cut-off behaviour alternating with patterns of approach by turning towards the speaker, looking in his direction and smiling. A blind-born boy hid his face behind his hands w h e n slightly embarrassed.

The cross-cultural comparison

HOMOLOGOUS MOTOR PATTERNS

Cross-cultural comparison is based on film documentation. Until recently, ethnological documentation focused on aspects of material culture and performances such as dance and rituals. H o w people weave mats, h o w they form pots or h o w they build a hut: such activities have been throughly documented. If one would, however, like to see h o w people in different cultures greet each other, h o w they hug their children, h o w they flirt or quarrel, then w e will search for a systematic collection of unstaged documents in vain.

W e started, therefore, a cross-cultural documentation programme filming people without their knowledge by means of mirror lenses (for details, see Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1973a, 1975e). During the last ten years w e have focused on rapidly vanishing cultures that still followed their original way of life, selecting those which represented models for different stages of cultural evolution. At regular intervals w e visited the Kalahari B u s h m e n w h o live as hunters and gatherers, the Yanomani (Upper Orinoko) w h o are incipient horticulturists, the Eipo, Biami and other neolithic horticulturists of N e w Guinea, the H i m b a (Kaokoveld/South-West Africa) representing pastoralists, the Balinese representing rice farmers and m a n y other groups. W e collected films principally of unstaged social interactions. Every scene is accompanied by a description which states the context in which the pattern occurred (what released it), what followed it and what had happened beforehand to allow later correlational analysis to be

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conducted. W e furthermore avoided selectivity as m u c h as possible by filming whenever an interaction was expected to occur, e.g. w h e n people m o v e or turn towards each other, not knowing in advance whether the interaction will be of a friendly or aggressive type.

T h e cross-cultural studies revealed that a great number of motor patterns occur universally in the same context. Certainly, not all need to be considered as innate. Similar experiences in the early life of the child m a y shape behaviour in different cultures along similar lines. Should it be true for example, that the headshake signalling 'no' derives from the child's turning of the head w h e n refusing the breast after satiation, then this would explain w h y headshaking occurs in so m a n y different cultures as a signal for 'no'. W e also must take into account that inborn learning dispositions m a y provide a bias for learning along similar lines in different cultures. A number of facts, which w e shall discuss, point to the existence of such dispositions.

T h e fact that a great deal of cross-cultural similarity exists can be explained by a shared function. There are not too m a n y ways to push or to kick an opponent and, therefore, if similarities are encountered cross-culturally, w e should not uncritically assume that a shared biological heritage exists, even though this m a y be the case. I used to think, for example, that hiding the face in a state of embarrassment is learnt. Children hide themselves behind their hands and assume—since they do not see—that they are not seen at the same time. It seemed plausible that children in other cultures experience the same feeling which would explain the universality of the patterns. Since I filmed a blind boy hiding his face, I a m no longer sure that the action is learned. Apart from such dubious cases, there are m a n y behaviour patterns whose particular form is not dictated by function. For example, smiling expresses friendly intent, crying and weeping sorrow, 'laughing at' a particular form of aggression. These seem to be phylogenetic conventions, since they are passed on with little apparent change, in contrast to undoubtably cultural conventions which undergo rapid changes, such as language. In N e w Guinea several hundred languages are spoken: one does not need m a n y generations to create a n e w language. It is the conformity to details which strikes the observer.

T h e eyebrow-flash is one particular example of a cross-cultural behaviour, worth examining. I found that in a great variety of cultures the following patterns of greeting occur: following a short uplifting of the head (head-toss) the brows are rapidly raised and held for about one-sixth of a second in raised position. This is followed by a nod and

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accompanied by a smile which m a y preceed the eyebrow-flash. T h e expression has derived from an expression of surprise—this being friendly surprise as indicated by accompanying smile—and thus readiness for contact. W e observe it while greeting, flirting, in e m p h a sizing agreement and in other situations expressing contact readiness. There are other lines of ritualization to be observed where raised eyebrows combined with threat-stare indicate contempt. In this case the eyebrows remain raised during the encounter.

Cultural differences affect the readiness by which an eyebrow-flash is signalled. Polynesians give eyebrow-flashes readily. They also greet strangers by eyebrow-flash and they accompany a 'factual yes' with this signal. T h e Japanese, however, repress it during encounters with adults. It is considered as improper. Small children, however, are freely addressed in this way. W e seem to hold the intermediate position. W e use the signal while flirting, when greeting very good friends and finally when emphasizing our agreement.

Certainly, the motor pattern 'eyebrow-flash' would be considered by theologists as an 'innate motor pattern'. T h e eyebrow-flash regularly occurs in concurrence with the other innate motor patterns such as smiling, head-toss and probably nodding as well and appears as a part of the given programme.

Another behaviour pattern which occurs as a universal sign of affection is the kiss. In all cultures I have studied so far, I found that mothers hug and kiss their little children, in Papuans as well as in Australian aboriginies, Japanese, Balinese, B u s h m e n , H i m b a , Y a n o m a m i and m a n y others. T h e cultural differences observed affect the use of this pattern in adult communication. In some cultures it seems to be tabooed, at least in public. T h e pattern derives from mouth to mouth feeding and is linked with homologous behaviours in n o n - h u m a n primates.

Let us n o w turn to more complicated patterns. It has been argued that mammalian behaviour shows so m u c h variability that one could hardly speak of any fixed patterns (Schenkel, 1947). Lorenz (1953) answered by showing that a superposition of the intention movements of anger and fear in the dog results in the production of a number of different expressions, if w e combine various intensities of the different intention movements concerned. In a similar way, m a n y of the h u m a n expressive patterns, which at a first glance seem so variable, can be reduced to a number of 'invariables' which superimpose or occur in alternation. Let us take the pattern of coyness as an example. A coy girl m a y look at a person, then lower the eyelids, turn the head away

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and, after gaze aversion, return the gaze, either by looking from the corner of the eyes, the head still turned away or after turning back to full face-to-face orientation. A girl m a y in the same situation smile and at the same time activate the antagonistic muscles, suppressing the smile, which results in what might be called a coy smile. She m a y hide her mouth behind her hand to hide the expression or m a y hide herself behind a friend or any object at hand and even clasp the object as if seeking protection. She m a y give a friendly eyebrow-flash but at the same time avoid eye contact by lowering the eyelids. She m a y look at you, but turn the chest away showing her shoulder. A n d she m a y even show some patterns of aggression like stamping the feet, hitting jokingly a nearby friend, laughing and biting her o w n fingers or nails or her lips. In short, it is evident that two systems are aroused at the same time, a friendly approach system and the antagonistic system which controls the reactions of aggression and flight. T h e motor patterns of aggression and flight on the one hand, are combined with the patterns of approach and of expressions of social contact readiness on the other. They can be combined simultaneously or in alternation. Since m a n y different patterns of both systems can be combined, a great variety of expressions can occur.

N o n e the less, w e have no difficulties at all in interpreting and classifying the pattern even when w e encounter the situation in a completely different culture. This fits in with the findings of E k m a n , Friesen and Ellswerth (1972) w h o present people of literate and illiterate cultures photographs and video tape-recordings of staged expressions. T h e subjects recognize the expression of another culture with a high degree of correctness.

CULTURAL CONVENTION AND INBORN MOTOR PATTERNS

Movements accompanying 'yes' and 'no ' are sometimes puzzling. It is well known that cultural variation exists, but head-shaking is certainly the most widespread motor sign accompanying a 'no ' . I filmed it amongst others in several Papuan tribes, the Y a n o m a m i Indians, the Dalahari Bushmen and the H imba . T h e pattern occurs world-wide in a scatter distribution, but is certainly not the only way to express a 'no ' . T h e Greek and many other peoples of the Mediterranean and Near East express a 'no ' by jerking their head back, closing their eyelids, often turning the head sideways and sometimes by lifting one or both hands in a gesture of refusal. This

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pattern can be observed in m a n y other cultures as an expression of annoyance, e.g. w e show the same pattern when w e are insulted by a proposal and thus refuse with strong emotional involvement. As a 'factual no' , however, its use is quite restricted.

T h e Ayoreo Indians of Paraguay have still another way to express 'no ' . They wrinkle their nose as if some pungent smell is encountered, close their eyes and often push their lips forward in a pout. As a 'factual no ' the pattern is again quite restricted but if w e observe people's reaction to offensive smells, w e find universal eye-closing and nose-wrinkling. T h e pattern derives from an attempt to block off the annoying stimuli.

T h e Eipo of N e w Guinea use two motor patterns to express c no \ T h e 'factual no' is a head-shake but if they refuse in social encounter then they push their lips forward—they pout. A n d pouting again is a universal pattern which people show when they are insulted and when they cut the contact off.

In other words 'no ' can certainly be expressed in different ways, but several patterns can be adapted for this purpose, since they already express a 'no ' , either in a social context or by refusing to accept a stimulus or simply by shaking something off.1 T h e latter has the least emotional loading and thus offers itself more easily to express a 'factual no ' than others which could be interpreted as an insult. Sometimes, however, cultures pick such patterns up as a convention. T h e motor patterns in such cases are universals which obtain their specific meaning through cultural adaptation.

ANALOGIES IN PRINCIPLES

Quite a number of behaviour patterns prove similar on cross-cultural comparison although the similarity is not so m u c h a similarity in form but in principle. Quite a number of them are brought about by inbuilt biases on the receptor side, these constituting a part of the h u m a n phylogenetic adaptation. As w e have discussed, animals as well as m a n are not only outfitted with motor patterns, they are also equipped with detector devices tuned to certain stimuli or stimuli situations. These act as signals and release certain behaviours. There is no need for prior conditioning, the animal has, so to speak, an

I. The explanation given by Darwin cannot be supported by the data at present. It seems that the pattern derives from shaking something off, a motor pattern widespread in mammals and birds.

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inborn knowledge of them. T h e receptor device by which reactions are released is called the 'innate releasing mechanism'.

S o m e of our data processing mechanisms are tuned to signals coming from other people. Babies, for example, are characterized by a n u m b e r of features which w e perceive as 'cute'. S o m e of these are physical relationships, e.g. a large head in relation to the body, relatively short extremities, a protruding forehead in relation to a small face and relatively large eyes. Furthermore the cheeks seem to be signals. It is fairly easy to produce models which are cute, and exaggeration of one characteristic feature is enough to produce the effect required. W e can see this in numerous cartoons (e.g. from the Disney productions), where 'cute' animals are produced by exaggerating the head size in relation to the body. Baby features are universally the same and so is the response to 'cute' features, which inhibit aggression. It is therefore not particularly surprising to find that appealing via a child occurs in numerous rituals of encounter, w h e n peaceful intent is demonstrated. W h e n Y a n o m a m i Indians are invited to a feast, they take w o m e n and children along. W h e n entering the village the visiting warrior first dance in a warlike display, prancing and showing off their b o w and arrows. This aggressive display is counteracted and neutralized in antithesis by a child dancing with the m a n and waving green palm leaves. In our culture, State visitors are greeted by shooting salutes (aggressive display) and in antithesis by children presenting a bouquet of flowers.

In m a n y n o n - h u m a n primates peculiar phallic displays have been described which serve the function of aggressive threat. W h e n a group of vervet monkeys forages on the ground, some males sit on guard with their back to the group, exposing their genitals.

M a n certainly does not sit guard in this way, but he produces figurines serving as 'scare devils' to protect his house and fields. T h e y demonstrate facial threat expressions and phallic display. Such figurines are k n o w n from all over the world and so are phallic displays in aggressive encounters. T h e details of the pattern, however, vary. W e k n o w of such figurines from Europe, tropical Asia, N e w Guinea, South America, Africa and other places, and they are often used as amulets, e.g. in Japan where they are supposed to protect the person.

Direct phallic threats occur during aggressive displays. They can be performed as mounting threat, by performing certain gestures or even by a verbal threat. T h e male Eipo (Indonesian N e w Guinea)—if startled—flick with the nail of their t h u m b repeatedly against their phallocrypt, thus drawing attention to their phallic display organ.

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Probably, in situations of surprise, one does not really know whether anything dangerous m a y happen and to saveguard oneself, the rejection behaviour is shown. It includes also verbal utterances. T h e Eipo use sacred words which are taboo in everyday life. W e follow a similar principle when calling on the names of saints in situations of surprise or in the more profane situation of cursing.

Another interesting male display involves the emphasizing of the shoulders. Y a n o m a m i emphasize them by feather decorations, Japanese and European by cloth. Broad shoulders are a beauty-ideal in m a n . If w e look at the hairline on man's back, w e will find that, in contrast to the great apes, the h u m a n hairline runs in an upword direction in such a way that a tuft on the shoulders is formed in individuals with heavy hair growth. W e m a y assume that this tuft was even more marked in our hairy ancestors and that it served to enlarge the outline of the body. It must have been an adaptation to the upright gait, since it is lacking in the great apes (Leyhausen in Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 19756). Our hypothesis is that a preference probably based on an innate releasing mechanism, survived the reduction of the originally displayed organ and shaped the cultural invention of display organs as steatopygia1 emphasize a woman ' s buttocks. In some races this serves as a secondary sex characteristic of w o m e n and is appreciated as a sign of beauty. It is lacking in m a n y other races. The fact, however, that fashion in one way or another still emphasizes this region by adding tufts cushions and the like, m a y indicate that the signal was formerly more widespread.

VERBAL CLICHÉS

T h e vocabulary and the grammar that people use when speaking is certainly a product of cultural evolution. W h a t people say in a given situation, however, seems to be the same in principle. Since this field has been little explored, I want to draw attention to this fact. W h e n people greet each other, they also exchange a few words. T h e opening statement expresses concern, for example, ' H o w are you?' is a c o m m o n phrase. It m a y also present a symbolic gift, for example by wishing something good ('Good morning!'). T h e interaction is often continued by a dialogue which does not really contain factual information. O n e person m a y make a statement such as 'Fine weather today!' whereupon the other m a y continue with another banality

1. A n exaggerated accumulation of fat (especially in w o m e n ) around the buttocks.

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'But w e could do with some rain for the crops!' and the other again m a y signal agreement 'Yes, that's right!'. It is not the factual exchange which is important. Both k n o w already at the beginning that it is a nice day. W h a t is signalled is the information, that the channels for communication are open and that both agree with each other. T h e interaction m a y finally end with another good wish on parting, again with a symbolic (verbal) gift.

M a n verbalizes m u c h of his instinctive behaviour. Gift exchange is a universal pattern. It links to analogous patterns in animals and it is probably based on inborn dispositions. M a n can, however, present gifts by verbal wishing and promising. H e can mourn to express concern, but he can also do it verbally. M a n can use verbal threats instead of fighting an opponent. Considering the importance ritual-izations play in the course of evolution, for example replacing damaging fights by ritual, w e have to consider the possibility that it has acted as one important selection pressure in the evolution of language.

H o w m a n is addressed in anger, h o w he is addressed from a loving one, what he utters when surprised, seem to be in principle the same. Parental appeals ( c M y baby', ' M y little bird') play an important role in bonding, dehumanization ('You pig') to provide just a hint.

Cultural and biological ritualization

Cultural and biological ritualization follow a similar course since the operating selection pressures and the pre-adaptation which provide the starting point are, in principle, the same. Signals—and ritualization concerns the evolution of signals—have to be conspicuous and they have to unmistakeably convene the meaning to the specific addresses. Movemen t patterns, during the course of their evolution into signals, get simplified, and at the same time, changes in amplitude of movement occur (mimic exaggeration). T h e performance is emphasized by rhythmic repetition. T h e courtship ritual Tanim Het which w e filmed and described elsewhere (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1974) provides a good example. Sometimes movements freeze into postures (e.g. of threat). Biological and cultural rituals often start from similar preadaptations. Analogous patterns therefore develop independently. T h e way that weapons are presented to demonstrate peaceful intent, is similar in both m a n and animals. Boobies and other birds for example demonstrate by sky pointing. T h e beak is turned away from the opponent towards the sky, clearly indicating that the weapon

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will not be used. W h e n w e present the gun in a greeting ritual, w e follow the same principle. Presenting food to a companion serves as a function of bonding in m a n and in animals alike, and rituals of food and gift-exchange develop in analogy. M a n y more examples of analogous development in cultural and biological rituals could be added (examples in Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1973a, 1975a). There are laws derived from functions that govern both developments.

Outlook: biology and humanity

In the preceding paragraphs w e have discussed phylogenetic adaptations in h u m a n behaviour, a topic which until n o w has been largely ignored. As yet w e do not k n o w just h o w m u c h is pre-programmed in our social behaviour, nor h o w . But there is some indication that phylogenetic adaptations have blazed a trail in the struggle for rank, readiness for submission, intolerance against outsiders, and aggression—but also in our altruistic tendencies and the urge to establish friendly ties, i.e. in behaviour and attitude based on love in its most general sense.

If these assumptions are substantiated, would it m e a n that w e are forced to submit to all of our innate impulses? That w e are helpless victims of their influence? Occasionally one hears the opinion that ethology, through its focus on innate characteristics, offers support for certain conservative doctrines such as those which preach the immutability of society. Certainly there is the danger of misinterpretation. But ethologists, to guard against such abuse, have repeatedly emphasized the fact that not every phylogenetic adaptation remains appropriate under present circumstances. Just as our appendix has lost its adaptive value and is being 'dragged along' as an evolutionary burden, so could m a n y of our innate propensities turn out to be 'appendixes'. W e have to cope with such evolutionary ballast, and as 'cultural creatures by nature' (Gehlen, 1940) w e are surely capable of doing so. While animals are subject not only to innate drives but to the determination of behaviour sequences in their very detail—a marine iguana, for example, fights as in a tournament according to set rules—this does not apply to m a n . H e does possess drives and also short movement sequences in the form of fixed action patterns, as well as a few responses to unconditioned stimuli. Furthermore, it seems that certain ethical norms have then-base in phylogenetic adaptations; but there is no strict control over the entire sequence of his behaviour. M a n ' s behaviour is flexible,

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though not indefinitely so. Cultural controls confine this variability within more limited boundaries. But since these cultural patterns can vary themselves from one place to another, m e n were able to adapt quickly to diverse environmental conditions. For truly, an Eskimo needs different discharge control for his aggressive or sexual impulses than to a Masai or a modern urban dweller. In addition w e can modify our cultural control patterns for behaviour w h e n it seems necessary, and w e are just undergoing such a time of change. At this point, even those opinions are gaining influence which state that w e need not offer the growing child any guidelines at all. T h e propagators of this point of view claim that a h u m a n being should be left to develop from within himself. But on what basis? F r o m his o w n natural tendencies? These are basically determined by drive m e c h anisms. T h e evolutionary pre-programming of m a n does not suffice to pave the way for a harmonious social life. W e are dependent on the transmission of cultural control patterns, if w e are to become adapted to society. Looking at the issue from this point of view, w e cannot quite spare extreme proponents of, for instance, the methods of anti-authoritarian education, the reproach of thoughtless experimentation. It seems grotesque that those w h o place such weight on environment with respect to the shaping of h u m a n personality should forego the opportunity of socio-cultural influence in establishing guidelines.

Certainly, the cultural 'formulas' must not be allowed to grow rigid. Change is possible, but just as biological evolution proceeds in small steps, so should it be with cultural development. There is in fact the danger that radical ideologists, by way of creating a total break in tradition, are paving the way for destruction rather than evolution (see also Lorenz, 1970).

It is important to discover the nature of m a n if cultural evolution should not be m a d e to grope its way in bund trial and error. Insight into relationships and causalities, especially with respect to factors of pre-programming in m a n , can prove to be most helpful in the search for therapeutic solutions to our evidently troubled existence.

Ethologists have been attacked for pointing to biological determinants of behaviour. I therefore want to emphasize the positive aspect of a c o m m o n heritage. This heritage provides a base for a c o m m o n understanding and concern. If it were not so, cultures would indeed behave like different species and it would be very difficult to surmount the communicational barriers which cultures erect. Ethnocentrism would flourish without any moral inhibition. That mankind still considers itself as belonging to one family, despite

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cultural diversity, is based on biological heritage. Not that biologists do not see and appreciate the beauty of cultural and racial diversity, but in order to enjoy them, w e should foster the feeling of unity in diversity and take advantage of our inherited programme in order to take the sting out of ethnocentrism.

Therefore it is difficult for m e to understand w h y biologists w h o emphasize the importance of our phylogenetic heritage, are often so fiercely attacked.

O n e can point to certain dangers for humanity implied in a strict environmentalistic dogma. Skinner, as I mentioned, expressed the opinion that man's behaviour is totally conditioned by his environment, that everything, including ethical results from conditioning. According to Skinner, ethic norms are functionally derived and good is what contributes to the survival of a culture. But one w h o assumes, that good is, indeed, what an ideology or a culture defines it to be, hardly can expect others to take his h u m a n motivation for granted. W e k n o w that cultures have developed norms of conduct which impose ruthless pressure on other cultures and have even led to their extinction. This just seems to prove the relativity of h u m a n norms of behaviour. But at a second, more careful glance, w e will discover that such cultural norms are often superimposed on phylogenetically evolved biological norms that are shared by all m e n as a c o m m o n heritage. 'Biological m a n ' seems to have universally strong inhibitions of killing or maltreating a conspecific. H e is programmed to react to certain pity-releasing signals of submission, such as infantile pouting and crying appeals. Nevertheless, he still kills. 'Cultural m a n ' has superimposed on his biological filter of norms a cultural one, this demanding the death of enemies of his group. H e defines his people at the same time as the only real people, thus demarcating his group and treating all others as if they were not 'real' m a n .

Obeying this cultural norm he can kill, but in doing so, a conflict of norms occurs since even though the biological filter of norms is superimposed by a cultural one, it is none the less in existence and responds to the cues to which it is tuned. M a n might not be disturbed by the distant killing of a conspecific, for example by the bombing of a city. In personal encounter, however, a feeling of guilt is experienced w h e n m e n kill each other. Even Freud was aware of this interesting fact. H e found that warriors w h o had killed are considered as impure in m a n y cultures and therefore have to go through purification rituals which he interpreted as an expression of a bad conscience.

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In recent years, h u m a n ethologists have again and again emphasized the biological unity of m a n in contrast to his cultural diversity, a unity on which our hopes for a better future can be based.

Considering the heated polemics (Allen et al., 1976; Hollitscher, 1973; Montagu, 1968; Tobach et al., 1974), published recently, I want to emphasize that educators w h o assume that m a n is infinitely malleable run the danger of developing educational programmes which are inhuman. M a n ' s hope rests with education, and sometimes the repression of inherited motivations. But to take man 's inborn traits into consideration m a y avoid imposing unnecessary frustrations upon him.

References

A L L E N , E . et al. 1976. Sociobiology—Another Biological Determinism. Sociobiology Study Group of Science for the People. BioScience, Vol. 26, N o . 3, p. 182-6.

B A L L , W . ; T R O N I C K , E . 1971. Infant Responses to Impending Collision: Optical and Real. Science, Vol. 171, p. 818-20.

B O W E R , T . G . 1966. Slant Perception and Shape Constancy in Infants. Science, Vol. 151, p. 832-4.

. 1971. The Object in the World of the Infant. Set. Am., Vol. 225, N o . 10, p. 30-8.

C U L L E N , E . i960. Experiments on the Effects of Social Isolation on Reproductive Behaviour in the Three-Spined Stickleback. Anim. Beh., Vol. 8, p. 235.

EIBL-EIBESFELDT, I. 1973a. Der vorprogrammierte Mensch. Das Ererbte als bestimmender Faktor im menschlichen Verhalten. Wien, Molden.

. 19736. The Expressive Behaviour of the Deaf and Blind Born. In: M . v. Granach and I. Vine (eds.), Nonverbal Behavior and Expressive Movements. London, Academic Press.

. 1974. Medlpa (Mbovamb)—Neuguinea—Werberitual (Amb Kanant) Medlpa —Courting Dance. Homo, Vol. 25.

• I975Ö. Krieg und Frieden aus der Sicht der Verhaltensforschung. München, Piper.

. 19756. Ethology: The Biology of Behavior. N e w York, N . Y . , Holt, Rinehart & Winston Inc.

. 1976. Menschenforschung auf neuen Wegen. Wien, Molden. E K M A N , P.; FRIESEN, W . ; E L L S W E R T H , P. 1972. Emotions in the Human Face. N e w

York, N . Y . , Pergamon. F R E U D , S. 1940-1953. Gesammelte Werke, Vol. 18, Bde., London, Image Publ. Co.,

Deutsch, Frankfurt/M., S. Fischer. G E H L E N , A . 1940. Der Mensch, seine Natur und seine Stellung in der Welt. Frankfurt,

Athenäum Verlag, 1966. H E S S , E . 1973. Imprinting. N e w York, N . Y . , van Nostrand. H I N D E , R . 1966. Animal Behaviour, a Synthesis of Ethology and Comparative Psy

chology. N e w York/London, McGraw-Hill. HOLLITSCHER, W . 1973. Aggressionstrieb und Krieg. Symposium des Internationalen

Instituts für den Frieden, Wien. Stuttgart, Deutsche Verlagsanstalt.

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H O L S T , E . V . 1935. Über den Prozess der zentralen Koordination. Pflügers Archives, Vol. 236, p. 149-58.

I M M E L M A N N , K . 1966. Zur Irreversibilität der Prägung. Die Naturwiss., Vol. 53, p. 209.

K O E N I G , O . 1975. Urmotiv Auge. Neuentdeckte Grundzüge menschlichen Verhaltens. München, Piper.

KoNiSHi, M . 1964. Effects of Deafening on Song Development in two Species of Juncos. Condor, Vol. 66, p. 85-102.

. 1965a. Effects of Deafening on Song Development of American Robins and Black-Headed Grosbeaks. Z. Tierpsychol., Vol. 22, p . 770-83.

. 19656. The Role of Auditory Feedback in the Control of Vocalization in the White-Crowned Sparrow. Z. Tierpsychol., Vol. 22, p. 770-83.

L E H R M A N , D . S. A Critique of Konrad Lorenz's Theory of Instructive Behaviors. Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 28, p. 337-63.

L O R E N Z , K . 1935. Der K u m p a n in der Umwelt des Vogels. J. Ornith., Vol. 83, p . 137-413.

. 1953. Die Entwicklung der vergleichenden Verhaltensforschung in den letzten 12 Jahren. Zool. Anz. Suppl., Vol. 16, p. 36-58.

. 1961. Phylogenetische Anpassung und Modifikation des Verhaltens. Z. Tierpsychol., Vol. 18, p. 139-87.

. 1963. Das sogenannte Böse. Wien, Borotha-Schoeler.

. 1970. The Enmity between Generations and its Probable Ethological Causes. Studium Generale, Vol. 23, p . 963-97.

M A R L E R , P . 1959. Developments in the Study of Animal Communication. In: P. R . B E L L (ed.), Darwin's Biological Work, p . 150-206. Cambridge, University Press.

M O N T A G U , A . 1966. Man and Aggression. N e w York, N . Y . , Oxford University Press. S A C K E T T , G . P. 1966. Monkeys Reared in Isolation with Pictures as Visual Input.

Evidence for an Innate Releasing Mechanism. Science, Vol. 154, p. 1468-73. S C H E N K E L , R . 1947. Ausdrucksstudien an Wölfen. Behaviour, Vol. 1, p. 81-129. S C H L E I D T , W . M . ; S C H L E I D T , M . ; M A G G , M . i960. Störungen der Mutter-Kind-

Beziehung bei Truthühnern durch Gehörverlust. Behaviour, Vol. 16, p . 254-60. S K I N N E R , B . F . 1971. Beyond Freedom and Dignity. N e w York, N . Y . , A . Knopf. T H O R P E , W . H . 1961. Bird Song. The Biology of Vocal Communication and Expression

in Birds. Cambridge. (Monograph in Experimental Biology, 12.) T I N B E R G E N , N . 1951. The Study of Instinct. London, Oxford University Press. T O B A C H , E . ; GIANUTSOS, J.; T O P O F F , H . R . ; G R O S S , C . G . 1974. The Four Horsemen:

Racism, Sexism, Militarism and Social Darwinism. N e w York, Behavioral Publications.

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S o m e problems of educational theory and policy in Yugoslavia1

T h e current reform of education includes certain broad endeavours to transform fundamentally the socio-economic and political relations of Yugoslavia. T h e construction of an integral system of associated labour2 is one of the elements which directly influences changes in education. However, the relationship between education and associated labour is one of mutual influence, and education might help create the integral system of associated labour of which it is only one part.

A wider social and ideological examination of the theoretical foundation of education would seem to be worth while. Such an examination—above all critical in nature—might bring some new insight to the current thinking in this field and at the same time open up n e w paths for thinking about the role of education in constructing socialist self-management social relations in Yugoslavia.3

i. This is a somewhat broader version of an introductory paper prepared for the conference in Zagreb in June 1976, entitled 'Topical Questions of the Theory of Education and Associated Labour'.

2. 'Associated labour' is a term which came into use in Serbo-Croatian a few years ago. It is used to denote the most recent phase in the development of the socio-economic and political relations associated with self-management in Yugoslavia. 'Associated Labour—basic category of the socio-economic order of Yugoslavia which covers: social ownership of the means of production, the right to work with socially-owned means, the right of the workers to manage production in its entirety, including the right of decision-making on distribution, the right of workers to associate for the purpose of achieving their c o m m o n economic interests, direct integration of the means of social reproduction, the inalienable right to self-management.'—Social Practice and Thought: A Glossary, p. 7, Belgrade, 1974.

3. In Yugoslavia educational policy was largely decentralized, especially after 1973. Today, there is no federal body for questions of education. Decision-making in educational policy is in the hands of the individual republics and autonomous regions. However, at the level of the decision-making republics and autonomous regions, educational policy is being taken over more and more by associated labour and the members of the community and out of the hands of the secretariat for enlightenment and the administrative bodies. In spite of the high level of decentralization in educational policy, there are certain questions c o m m o n to the whole country.

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Niksa Nikola Soljan (Yugoslavia). Department of Education, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb. Author of: T h e Fundamentals of Programmed Instruction,-Computer-Assisted Instruction; Programmed Instruction and Computer-Assisted Instruction: A Cybernetic Approach; Technology of Education and Permanent Education (ed.) (in Serbo-Croatian).


S o m e problems of educational theory and policy in Yugoslavia

T h e questions of education can no longer remain in the domain of pedagogy: education is increasingly included in broader social phenomena. Hence the need to approach educational theory from various points of view: philosophical, sociological, anthropological, psychological, socio-psychological, economic and so on. Such an approach to education would, it seems to us, enable us to overcome the state of apparent crisis which is partly a result of looking at the questions from a solely pedagogical point of view. Besides this, the present social, economic and political changes remove education from the closed circle of pedagogy to become part of the interests of associated labour and society in general.

In the post-war period the theory of education in Yugoslavia has been marked by normative, prescriptive and descriptive approaches based on ethical values. Pedagogic theory, albeit encumbered by the heritage of bourgeois pedagogy, was concentrated on such questions as ideological content, the class basis of education, communality, formalism in education, and others.

In its later development, at the beginning of the fifties, the theory of education retained its normative character, concurrent to the introduction of self-management in the economy and social services. However, since the development of self-management relations went somewhat slower in social activities than in the economic ones, education and enlightenment in the fifties and sixties retained the character of a social activity financed from the budget or various funds. Education was examined in the context of social expenditure.

In the early sixties the concern shifted to the experimental approach and the application of n e w methodological instruments with the aim of precisely investigating the phenomena and processes involved in education. T h e orientation towards empirical, experimental research, although basically acceptable, tended to acquire a character of scientific exclusiveness which recognized only what could be experimentally described and statistically shown as being scientific. At the same time content was replaced by form: technical, methodological perfection replaced the aim, the pedagogic and social value of research and educational work.

A s experimental research is more suitable for application to the phenomena of training, and instruction, the orientation towards these phenomena removed education from the centre of examination.1

I. For readers outside Yugoslavia w e must provide an explanation here. In Serbo-Croatian there are two terms which designate what in English is covered by the term education. These are odgoj (in Croatian) or vaspitanje (in Serbian) and obrazovanje. These two terms

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Education, understood in a wider sense than training, and linked to the socialization of m a n , was thus gradually left out of scientific research in the sixties. This was exacerbated by the view that the difficulty of measuring education—which leads to deduction and speculation—does not bear the marks of a scientific approach.

Along with the orientation of educational theory towards an empirical approach appeared the first consequences of the scientific-technological revolution. T h e sudden increase in the fund of k n o w ledge widened the limits of curricula, and the aim became to acquire as large a quantity as possible of information. Education was in m a n y respects replaced by training, and training was reduced to a quantity of acquired information of knowledge. T h e philosophy of education, n o w reduced to the philosophy of training, considered quantity to be the basic value.

At the same time the theory of training and instruction strove towards making use of n e w findings related to the capacities of short-and long-term m e m o r y in order to design the best possible instruments for the measuring of information stored in the 'data banks' (read: schoolchildren's heads). T o this end 'standardized' and 'non-standardized' tests were used, training became measuring, a process which very often in practice in our schools meant mere preparation for tests. T h e purpose of education and training thus became learning for examinations; the purpose of studying, preparation for examination.

In these conditions educational theory sought solutions in the application of science to the process of education. Education, training, teaching and learning came to be regarded as processes which it is possible to manage, processes susceptible to control and regulation. T h u s , on the one hand the use of cybernetics in the pedagogical phenomena and processes was increased, and on the other, through the technology of education, an intellectual educational technology based on the science of behaviour was developed.

In both cases it was a case of an attempt in the sphere of education and training to perfect working techniques, which, by rationalizing the transmission, reception, processing and storing of information,

are most often used together. In addition to this, put in simplified terms, odgoj (or vaspi-tanjé) relates primarily to the sphere of values, and obrazovanje to the sphere of facts, knowledge, skills. However, the term odgoj is used in both a wider and narrower sense. T h e wider meaning includes obrazovanje. In English odgoj and obrazovanje have no analogues. Nevertheless, in order to draw a distinction between odgoj and obrazovanje in this English version of the paper, w e have translated odgoj as education and obrazovanje as training. This is not the most suitable translation, but the best that can be done with regard to the differences in languages and their usage.

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would ensure better results in education and instruction. But w e have not moved away from the technological or technocratic m o d e whose only purpose is productivity, rationality and efficiency, all to the detriment of education in the broad sense of the word. At the same time, with the uncritical application of the technology of education, w e are approaching the theoretical principles of contemporary neo-behaviourism. In such conditions the aim of the educational process in the conditioning of the young person in a manner theoretically based in the 'science of behaviour'. T h e science of behaviour, whether it be cybernetically or neo-behaviouristically based, raises the practice of conditioning in the education environment to the level of scientific manipulation.

T h e orientation of pedagogic theory towards questions of training, research into training problems, the development and application of measurement in learning and the increasing of efficiency in education by means of educational technology, has led to a fundamental transfer of attention to questions of training/teaching/instruction, thereby neglecting problems relating to education. T h e result has been insufficient theoretical concern with questions of education.

T h e democratization of education resulted in, among other things, a sudden increase in the number of pupils and students, first in primary education, then in secondary education, and finally in higher education. T h e subsystem of adult education based on andra-gogic theory was built up autonomously. Each of these subsystems built up its o w n structure, goals and philosophy of behaviour.

T h e school system, structured in the way outlined above, continued to grow and behave in the same way right up until today. T h e result of this is the turning of society towards a schooling society of which the symbol is school, and the ultimate aim the acquisition of the relevant degree which confirms the level and extent to which the individual has c o m m a n d of various skills, knowledge or information. This orientation towards school^ towards a degree, is very often motivated by the reality of everything which this ensures in real life outside school: a place in the social division of labour, an income that this provides, material standing and a social position in the constellations of society. Education thus becomes an instrument of social promotion, a value in which it is worth investing.

Such considerations appeared in more marked form w h e n market forces were introduced into the sphere of education, especially into adult education and at the level of post-graduate studies. Education was increasingly considered to be property which one possesses and

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which can be bought; an area whose sense is given by the category 'to have', instead of 'to be' or 'to be becoming', to paraphrase P. Lengrand.1 Education is, then, a matter of citizens' rights, the private affair of the individual, his personal property which is bought and sold in social communication.

In the theory of education this sort of philosophy of education has been followed by an intensified development of two of its disciplines: the theory of adult education (andragogy) and of industrial pedagogy.

However, w e cannot say that the growth of these disciplines contributed to the 'market' assessment of education. It seems to us that the responsibility lies with the real socio-economic condition. Again, the dimension of education was cast aside in all this; a dimension which in any case cannot be linked with supply and demand.

T h e crisis of training has been joined by a crisis of education. Attempts to get out of the first crisis are being m a d e by considering education a lifelong process. T h e conception of permanent education is becoming the basis of n e w content in all spheres of education. However, the focus is nevertheless not so m u c h on education as on training, information and knowledge, which have all been brought by the rapid scientific-technological development. W e have not yet managed to leave the technocratic model of education, whose value is to a large extent reduced to following and adapting innovations in a producer-consumer society centred on increased production and consumption. Education, albeit permanent, remains in essence utilitarian.

Together with attempts to illuminate the philosophy of permanent education, the theory of education has also turned to questions of self-education during the last few years.

Great efforts have been m a d e to describe self-education methods theoretically. W e m a y say that here, too, the focus has remained on self-instruction to a m u c h greater extent than on self-education. But the future contains vast possibilities for lifelong enrichment which can be realized only if they are also provided outside the classical institutions of education—schools.

In recent years this has placed colossal tasks before the theory of education: primarily the injection of n e w content into education, and outside the classical school schemes. Education cannot be thought of exclusively within the framework of school. Out-of-school and

i. P. Lengrand, An Introduction to Lifelong Education, p. 61, London and Paris, C r o o m H e l m and The Unesco Press, 1975.

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extra-mural education today have as m u c h influence as that which goes on in school, and this cannot be simply ignored.

T o develop society along the lines of an education or learning society1 is a task which is bound to appear acceptable to us. This, of course, presupposes that education should cease to be considered as property which is possessed and that it should be approached as a value which is achieved in a process of becoming. Education conceived of in this way transcends the limits of its instrumental significance as a value which contributes either to perfection of active, productive-technical means or to an improvement in the functioning of the mechanism of the social systems. Instead of this, education imposes itself as a value of its o w n kind which is a value not only because it fulfils this primary function but rather because by participating in it m a n can develop the h u m a n potential given him to limits determined by the social conditions and his o w n abilities, abolishing at the same time the alienation of the world within the framework of socio-economic relations, the world of things and the world of culture. T h e fundamental question concerning the theory of education, then, is not what people can do, but rather, what sort of people they are.2 T h e theory of education hitherto has concerned itself more with questions of the first kind, ignoring the qualitative aspects in connection with the question: W h a t sort of people are w e dealing with?

Remaining far from the fundamental content of h u m a n existence, content which constitutes the meaning of h u m a n life, its basic existential orientation and values, and relying heavily on the state and development of pedagogic theory in other countries, theory of education has built up its o w n system of thought and practice which has very often throughout its development lagged behind the real trends in our society. It seems to us that time has put education in an essentially n e w social position. It is sheer illusion to believe that education as w e have it eventually changes socio-economic conditions. In the final analysis this relationship of conditioning should be reversed. However, even in these conditions education can contribute to changing the existential orientation of people and the removal of alienation in the world of work, things and culture.

T h e necessary hypotheses for the removal of this alienation are

i. T . Husén, The Learning Society, London, Methuen, 1974. 2. B. Suchodolski gave a brilliant analysis of these problems in the article 'Some Philosophical

Problems of Permanent Education', in N . N . Soljan (ed.), Permanentno Obrazovanje [Permanent Education], p. 23-57, Split, Marko Marulic, 1976.

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contained in the conception of the further development of self-management socio-economic and political relations in Yugoslavia; in the integration of h u m a n labour into a unified system of associated labour. At the same time, the task of education is not only to contribute to the development of the society's productive forces and to the increase of its total income, but also to become, by actively liberating m a n from alienation, an 'independent' value which enriches m a n throughout the course of his life. It is possible in our circumstances to realize the socialization of the function of education—so that they should become part of its entire cultural development—by integrating the activities of education into the whole of associated labour.

T h e control of education by means of associated labour—of which education is an integral part and not something far removed from the system, something which is added to it from outside—opens up a series of n e w theoretical and practical problems with which neither the theory nor the practice of education have met previously. T h e classics of Marxism, it is true, have given projections for the development of society and education in conditions of developed socioeconomic relations. Their analyses of and observations on the link between education and world of labour serve us even today w h e n giving n e w content to the practice of connecting up and changing the periods and activities of education, work and other leisure activities. However, despite this, there has not been sufficient work, from the standpoint of Marxist theory, to illuminate the key problems of connecting work and education, or, more widely, the problems of integrating the activities of education into the whole of social production and reproduction.

Despite certain efforts, w e m a y assert that the basic questions of integrating the activities of education into a unified system of associated labour have so far not been answered. Education, or, to put it better, its radical transformation, was instigated by factors in the socio-economic and political spheres; in Yugoslavia it is not only a case of pedagogic reform. T h e science of education has, as a result, found itself faced by formidable tasks which are objectively beyond the very modest powers of educators and the impermissibly underdeveloped scientific capacity in this area.

If, therefore, w e intend a 'social functionalizing' of education within the concept of a unified system of associated labour, theoreticians from a broad range of social sciences must contribute, the more so as these questions go far beyond the boundaries of the theory

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of education to philosophy, sociology, politics, economics and other disciplines. Even though theoreticians of broader social phenomena have before n o w concerned themselves with education with regard to their transformation into an integral system of associated labour, for almost the first time education is n o w becoming a subject of study by a wide circle of theoreticians. Even more important than this, they could become a part of the practice of the everyday life of associated labour in all areas and at all levels of its functioning. T h e theory of education could thus overcome the duality which exists between its frequently self-satisfying tasks and the needs of social reality. If this fails to take place the recently increasing criticism by society will be justified: that the science of education of which it could sometimes be said that it erects 'scaffolding to build mousetraps',1 thereby remaining outside the important trends of this society as some sort of spectator resting on the eternal fence of administrative aparatus.

In such conditions, it is worth considering the relationship between the educational theory and educational reform. It is obvious that in the past the theory of education did not concern itself with—or at least not to any great extent—questions of education reform. In keeping with the notion that reform was an administrative concern, educational theory remained far from directly and effectively influencing reform. In addition, reforms have hitherto been in the relevant subsystems of the school system and usually individually carried out. They were, then, school reforms.

In Yugoslavia, the most recent reform is not conceived as merely a reform of the school system, but as an overall reform built into the essential development of n e w self-management socio-economic relations. T h e fundamental meaning of the development of n e w relations within the framework of associated labour should be sought in the mastering of a world which is alien to m a n . For this reason, through education it is possible to remove this alienation by removing it first of all in the world of production. This process lies in the control of associated labour in the immediate production of the entire social income, its primary and secondary distribution. So far remaining outside the context of primary distribution, education has also remained outside the basic interest of associated labour and its chief influence. It is here that w e can find a large part of the answer

i. L . Elvin, 'The Place of Educational Research', Oxford Review of Education, Vol. I, N o . 3,

1975» P- 193-

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to the question: to what extent has associated labour got control of education?

As the wider socio-economic relations are based on the relations of production and distribution, the theory of education was by necessity an expression of these relations in the individual stages of our socio-economic and political development. In these relations, which are historically conditioned and based, the real causes of various tendencies in the theory and practice of education have their roots. A more important influence on all the processes in theoretical thought on education and pedagogical practice is possible by influencing the fundamental socio-economic relations which are built up within the framework of associated labour and which are far removed from the classical educational process. A n e w theory of education should be developed on these relations, a theory which will understand education as man's total self-realization in a world of broadly conceived humanistic culture and in the course overcoming alienation in the world of production, the world of things and the world of culture.

At the same time, these relations provide the answers to the demands for a change in the existing systems of education and also education which remains outside the system; answers which w e are inclined to call reform measures. In this way reform is not mere school reform and takes on the meaning of social reform and the transformation of the social being. If reform is understood as a constant change in the quality of social relations, then it cannot be restricted to certain elements or parts of the system nor reduced to strictly established time limits. O n the contrary, today it must be understood primarily as the permanent reform of the entire theory and practice of education which is rooted in the changes of quality in the broader socio-economic relations.

F r o m this sort of approach to these questions one can derive the real sense of research in the sphere of education which by the very nature of the subject must be interdisciplinary. It is accepted that school research will continue. However, their fundamental task is in connection with a search for the most favourable solutions in the practice and theory of education as an entire social relation. It is obvious that, in this case, their meaning is inseparable from reform measures and vision concentrated on the future. It is a question of searching for developmental paths, of investigating and examining alternatives. Thus research in the theory and practice of education should make the changes, which w e call reform, more scientific by

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empirical and experimental investigation. It should also free reform of unintentional improvisations and ad hoc approaches.

Here the interests of associated labour join those of researchers, theoreticians and practical workers from (and outside of) the world of education, and also with the efforts of politicians directly interested in questions of education whose interest is, quite understandably, more and more apparent today.

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Viewpoints and controversies

The planning crisis and the limitations of external aid Manzoor Ahmed

Manzoor Ahmed (Bangladesh). Associate Director of Educational Strategy Studies at the International Council for Educational Development (ICED), Essex, Connecticut (United States). Has taught at the Institute of Education and Research, Dacca University. Author of Economics of Non-formal Education: Resources, Costs and Benefits and co-author of Education for Rural Development: Case Studies for Planners (with Philip Coombs), Attacking Rural Poverty: H o w Non-formal Education Can Help.

I should like to comment on the debate in your pages1 on the World Bank Educator Sector Working Paper because it seems to m e that the arguments and responses advanced so far have been dominated by a futile controversy over the interpretation of quantitative data about primary education and literacy—distracting attention from what to m y mind are more fundamental issues in educational development.

A s I see it, Williams takes a schoolmen's view of education, equating schools with education and implying that the expansion of schooling is the main educational development problem. T h e Bank Sector Working Paper takes a broader view of education including both school-based and non-formal avenues of learning in the national learning system, but finds it, not unexpectedly, very difficult to follow through the implications of this broad view in specifying policies and programmes.

No cause for cheer

Even if one looks only at the quantitative picture and if one approaches aggregate national statistics with mandatory scepticism, it is hard to escape even a gloomier view than that of the Bank, and harder to agree with Williams' cheerful prognostication. After all, anyone having some familiarity with ministries of education statistical apparatuses knows h o w the high drop-out and repetition rates and the inclusion of the 'over-age' can make the ratio of participation highly misleading in terms of usable learning accomplishments, h o w m u c h built-in

i. Peter Williams, 'Education in Developing Countries: the View from Mount Olympus', Prospects, Vol. V , N o . 4, 1975, p. 457-78; 'Viewpoints and Controversies', Prospects, Vol. VI , N o . 2,1976, p. 209-20.

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incentive there is to inflate the enrolment figures sent in to the central statistical office from the field; h o w a sizeable proportion of students even after four to six years of primary-school attendance is not able to read or write (generally, more so in the rural areas than in the towns); and h o w another segment of the primary-school completers soon reverts back to illiteracy or near-illiteracy. Similar comments can be m a d e about literacy statistics. It has been m y observation in recent visits to some Bangladesh villages that despite the official primary-school enrolment ratio of over 60 per cent and a literacy rate of about 20 per cent, barely 10 per cent of the population above age 10 were able to read and write in any functionally meaningful sense. There is no reason to believe that Bangladesh is unique in this respect.

Incidentally, Williams' strong objection to the exclusion of overage children in calculating enrolment ratios makes no sense. W h a t is the meaning of the enrolment ratio of a comparison m a d e of all the students in the primary school regardless of age against a base defined as a population within an age-range? Surely, the statistical c o m p u tation of the ratio has nothing to do with the desirability of late entry or a flexible time span. At best, one m a y argue that if a truly flexible system of basic education were universally applied in a country, the age-specific enrolment ratio would cease to have any meaning, but this situation does not exist in any country.

Irrelevant debate

T h e overemphasis on global quantitative records of enrolment—Why else are the statistics belaboured so much?—is largely irrelevant. Uni versal or near-universal primary education and adult literacy hold no special magic as far as the life of the poor rural majority in the developing countries at the bottom-end of the scale (of G N P or of a hypothetical composite index of welfare) is concerned. T h e fact that four large poor countries (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan) have achieved a nominal primary enrolment ratio of 60-70 per cent, and that they are nevertheless in the category of the poorest countries with a standard of living for the majority not m u c h different from that of countries with a m u c h lower primary enrolment and literacy rates, should be an eye-opener. I a m firmly convinced that the mini-farmers and landless labourers constituting over one-half of the population in the four larger countries do not enjoy a significantly different level of basic welfare than the rural people of the smaller countries.

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A substantially higher aggregate primary enrolment ratio and literacy rates in the larger countries have m a d e little difference.

W e certainly do not try anymore to discover simple correlation between enrolment ratio and the level of development and popular welfare, but old habits of the mind seem to have a way of resurfacing. It should be abundantly clear by n o w that illiteracy and absence of basic educational opportunities are parts of a syndrome of poverty and underdevelopment; while extraordinary efforts and resources m a y raise the numerical ratio of enrolment, this latter is not likely to have practical significance. Ability to read and write has no meaning if there is nothing to read and there is little or no use for the skills of reading and writing in one's o w n environment.

Balanced development

T h e statistics of the large poor countries, to the extent that they represent reality, suggest more than anything else that only a balanced socio-economic development effort that brings about important qualitative change in the living condition of the majority and assures a m i n i m u m level of welfare for all, can give meaning to educational endeavours. A concerted and balanced development effort along various social and economic fronts enhances the value and utility of education. T h e quantitative advances (and their limited relevance), instead of giving us a sense of achievement at making large strides towards universal education, confront us with the formidable challenge of h o w to fashion educational development in harmony with other aspects of development and h o w to enhance the contribution of education to the overall efforts of improving people's welfare.

T h e statistics also probably hint at the possibility that a massive effort in widening the opportunities for primary and basic education can be meaningful and is likely to succeed if this effort is a part of a determined programme of institution deliverate structural changes in society and if education is viewed as a vital tool in this process (as in the early post-revolutionary Soviet Union, China, Viet N a m , C u b a and probably Tanzania).

T h e point is not that the four large non-socialist Asian countries are expending too m u c h energy and resources for educational expansion ( H o w m u c h is too much?) , but that the quantitative progress in this instance does not seem to be of m u c h help in improving people's welfare. It is, therefore, necessary to ask h o w the educational efforts

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can be m a d e more helpful in making a difference in people's lives and what seem to be the lessons from situations where education (along with other development efforts) has had a larger impact.

Progress in education is likely to show up in statistical measures but all statistical advances do not indicate that the educational and related development objectives are being realized and to state that 'numbers are vital to equality of educational opportunity'1 is merely to beg the question.

The educational planning challenge

T h e Bank Paper and the debate on it have failed to underscore the nature of the educational planning challenge w e face today—how to overcome the limitations of the sectoral and centralized development planning approach (including in education) and h o w to provide appropriate educational infusion as a life-sustaining flow in integrated area-wise development processes focusing on the basic needs and priorities of most of the people. T h e challenge is not new: there is a high level of international awareness of the importance of concentrating on improving the living conditions and meeting the survival needs for large segments of the population in the poorest countries, tackling problems as they exist in real life and not according to the organization charts of bureaucracies. This awareness, however, is not matched by the ability in either international agencies or national governments to deliver integrated area-based, people-oriented development. T h e organizational mechanism, administrative style, training and experience of personnel, and the way development choices and policies are made in both national governments and international agencies militate against a concerted transectoral effort.

T h e Bank Paper does note in discussing development of skills for rural areas that 'Education in rural areas should be integrated with other rural development activities at both the national and local levels'.2 It also declares the intention to 'encourage the integration of basic education with other rural and urban development programs' and to support the 'improvement of the capabilities of local managers through appropriate administrative reorganization and/or training'.3

i. Williams, op. cit., p. 463. 2. World Bank, Education Sector Working Paper, p. 26, Washington, D . C . , World Bank,

December 1974. 3. ibid., p. 53-

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But h o w is integration between education and other development programmes to be achieved? W h a t administrative reorganization is needed and h o w is this to be accomplished? W h a t steps can the Bank take? W h a t are the possible implications for the Bank's o w n operation, organization and policies? A detailed exposition cannot be expected in the Sector Working Paper. However, one would have liked to see some indication of possible lines of action in the section of the Bank Paper where the issues of management and planning are discussed.1

In the discussion of the planning issues, after conceding the limitations of the rate-of-return approach and manpower analysis and having declared the intention to continue manpower estimates where necessary, 'cohort analysis' is presented as a sort of n e w frontier in educational planning. Cohort analysis and tracer studies, unconsciously and characteristically neglected as educational planning and assessment tools, would certainly be useful, but they hardly constitute the answer to the crucial educational planning problems w e face today. It appears that despite the rhetoric of the integrated development approach and nation-wide lifelong learning systems, the definition of educational planning issues and the perception of the methodology reflect a hold-over of the sectoral approach of development and a formal education view of learning.

Neglected questions

There are certainly no simple answers to the basic educational (and development) planning challenge. S o m e questions that warrant more intensive attention than the Sector Working Paper indicates are as follows: W h a t about various departments of the Bank—rural development

and agriculture, population and health, industries and education—getting together to work in specific rural regions in some receptive poor countries to make M c N a m a r a ' s promise to focus on the 'absolute poor' a reality and in the process also help generate better knowledge and methods of dealing with planning, organization, and management problems of integrated decentralized area development?

W h a t are the prospects of similar partnership with specialized United Nations agencies and possibly some bilateral agencies again

i. ibid.) p. 42-7-

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developing and refining the integrated and decentralized approach incorporating educational measures into programmes for meeting the basic needs and aspirations of the people in particular sub-regions of countries?

W h a t are the lessons so far from the involvement of the Bank in area development projects such as in Malawi (Lilongwe) and Ethiopia ( W A D U ) and what could have been done to enhance the supportive role of the educational components in these projects?

W h a t changes are needed in the organization, techniques, style of operation, staffing, personnel development, reporting and evaluation, etc., in development planning and administration at the national and subnational levels in order to integrate educational efforts with comprehensive area development programmes?

W h a t help can the Bank and other external agencies provide in bringing about the necessary change in the host countries and what are likely to be the responses of the countries?

W h a t are the likely limitations of external efforts to bring about changes in the style and substance of educational planning in the host countries? H o w prepared are the Bank and other external agencies and what tooling-up measures—changes in internal structure, developing n e w staff competence, changes in project design and appraisal procedures, n e w forms of collaboration with other external agencies, etc.—are needed?

It is interesting to note that soon after the publication of the E d u cation Sector Paper the Bank's Rural Development department also published a Sector Policy Paper.1 This paper stresses the importance of functionality of rural education 'in serving specific target groups and in meeting identified needs', advocates that 'Rural education should be integrated with other development activities', and cites a study that recommends decentralization of planning and management 'so that educational activities can be effectively adapted to local needs and conditions'.2 In discussing organization and planning of rural development, the paper notes the need for effective co-ordination at the local level, and community involvement in 'the selection, design, construction and implementation of rural development programs'.3

It discusses the ' m i n i m u m package approach' and the more comprehensive approach to the implementation of rural development programmes and underscores some potential pitfalls of area development

1. World Bank, Rural Development Sector Policy Paper > Washington, D . C . February 1975. 2. ibid., p. 53-3. ibid., p. 37-

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programmes in the form of disproportionate concentration and misallocation of resources and talents in limited areas benefiting limited populations.1 T h e paper explains the concept of rural development in a few succinct words:2

The operational goals of rural development extend beyond any particular sector: they include productivity, and thus higher incomes for the target groups, as well as minimum acceptable levels of food, shelter, education and health services. Fulfilment of these objectives calls for an expansion of goods and services available to the rural poor, and institutions and policies that will enable them to benefit fully from the whole range of economic and social services.

However , the actual rural development lending programme, as far as one can gather from the paper, concentrating almost exclusively on agricultural production, does not reflect this broad vision of rural development. Even the so-called ' n e w style' projects, which the department is n o w promoting, are différent from the old agricultural projects only in the sense that they attempt to combine various production-related services and inputs in agriculture and to pay greater attention to the smaller farmers. T h e Rural Development Department seems to have m a d e some headway in integrating the components of agricultural development but keeps shying away from incorporating in projects other aspects of rural development. Provisions for social components, basic services for the poor and the development of local institutional structures and capacities for integrated rural development are rare exceptions even in the ' n e w style' projects.

These comments are hardly a fair review of the Rural Development Sector Paper which is interesting in m a n y ways, but the paper does not allay the frustration of readers looking for signs of bold initiatives in integrating education and other development activities within a decentralized basic needs-oriented planning context.

It is probably indicative of the difficulties the international agencies themselves have in supporting integrated development that neither paper makes any mention of the significance and implications of the policies and activities of one department on the programme of the other or of possible interdepartmental collaboration—as if the two

1. ibid., p. 47. 2. ibid., p. 17.

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departments and their policy papers are ships passing each other in a dark ocean, neither aware of nor willing to acknowledge the presence of the other.

Limitations of external aid

M a n y readers from countries at the receiving end of the Bank operations will probably be sympathetic to Williams w h e n he contends that the Bank paper implies the existence of straightforward courses of action which the Bank could take but is thwarted by resistance in the countries.1

I would not only agree with Williams2 that the Bank statement underestimates the problem of making the basic education idea acceptable in the low-income countries as long as there exists a parallel formal primary-education channel, but would suggest that the Bank Paper fails to see the fundamental nature of the conflict in a dual system. In countries with basically injust and exploitative socio-economic structures, as most low-income countries are, parallel channels of 'basic education' and formal primary education are likely to be the tools for perpetuating and accentuating the exploitative order. Various strategies for widening the opportunities for basic general education through a unified national system (but not necessarily a uniform and centralized system) can be devised and the World Bank and other external agencies should examine what they can do to assist receptive countries in devising and pursuing such strategies. T h e choice and the decisions lie with the countries, but the least the external agencies should do is not to help countries solidify and legitimize deliberately or unwittingly the social dualism that already exists.

Williams' caution about the Bank's optimism regarding increased lending for primary and basic education will also have sympathetic ears. T h e obstacles to expansion of basic education, specially if it is to be an integrated effort with local development, is not as m u c h the lack of financial resources as the goals and priorities of development that fail to stress the needs of the majority and the institutional and structural barriers to decentralized comprehensive development efforts. There is also the danger that external aid to basic education

i. Williams, op. cit., p. 460—1. 2. ibid., p. 473.

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m a y help countries delay making critical choices about educational development, slacken efforts to mobilize internal resources, foster cost structures that they cannot afford in the long run, and reinforce the existing dualism in society. This is no plea against external assistance, but intended merely to stress possible limitations of external aid.

T h e foregoing points, however, give little credence to the major thrust of Williams' argument which is that the primary and basic education problem in the poor countries is nearly solved. I also find it very difficult to understand Williams' jibes—and I believe that I a m in company with policy-makers and planners from the poor countries—at the Bank's expression of support for such ideas as developing skills selectively in response to specific and urgent needs, objectives and content of basic education being functionally defined in terms of ' m i n i m u m learning needs' and the delivery of basic education taking different forms in different countries adapted to different clienteles and to constraints upon resources.1 Surely, Williams is aware that there is a phenomenon called limitation of resources, which requires planning and which in turn requires making collective choices about what can be had and what cannot be. Does the Illichian advocacy of a sort of free enterprise in education hint at a Western bias?

A final note: to borrow Williams' figure of speech, the pilgrims w h o trudge up to M o u n t Olympus to confess their sins are not likely to bring educational deliverance to their fellow countrymen. This picturesque analogy puts too m u c h stock on external aid for educational development in poor countries, though that is probably not what Williams intended.

i. ibid., p. 472.

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M a r c Soriano

Children's books and human rights

Great expectations or great illusion?

Printed books represented a major step forward from the invention of writing and even from the work of the copyists at the end of the mediaeval period, whereby the number of manuscripts in circulation was considerably increased.

T h e relatively perishable nature of books, which might have devalued the message they conveyed, in fact helped to enhance it: by making the text available at a lower price and in theory making possible its multiplication and distribution ad infinitum, books rendered it virtually indestructible. At the same time, they created improved conditions for the learning of the techniques required for 'decoding' the message: pupils from a wider variety of social backgrounds could attend school, textbooks could be used, a spirit of competition encouraged, etc. It was thus generally expected that the printed word would be instrumental in inculcating in all m e n an awareness of their rights and the desire to defend them.

This was indeed what happened, to some extent. T h e first to be affected were artists, thinkers and those going under the more general label of 'intellectuals'. The creation of a mass audience by means of the printed word forced them not only to seek generally accepted truths but also to express them as clearly as possible and in so doing to bear in mind the interests of 'the greatest number ' , i.e. to aim for greater universality and objectivity.

As far as the public was concerned, books brought about a n e w situation which had not existed when communication was by word of mouth. Information in written form, being spread out and at the same time compact between the covers of a book, could be easily referred to at any time, obviating the need for constant recourse to

M a r c Soriano (France). Professor of modern French literature at the University of Paris (VII) and in the methodology of the social sciences at the École Pratique des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. Has specialized in interdisciplinary research in the social sciences on the basis of special-purpose types of literature, teaching with audio-visual media and the teaching of reading. Author of Les Contes de Perrault, Culture Savante et Traditions Populaires and Guide de la Littérature pour la Jeunesse.

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experience or m e m o r y and thus representing a considerable saving of time. Vast fields of h u m a n knowledge, both ancient and modern, were by the same token opened up for consideration and research.

T h e reader is also able to select his o w n pace, the better to assimilate the ideas set before him, and to pause for reverie and reflection without succumbing to the 'spell' of the spoken word, which carries the listener along with it.

Fluent readers m a y also taste the pleasures of 'identification': despite their socially imposed limitations, they can become as intelligent, as daring as the creator in his flights of 'inspiration'.

M a n y examples could be cited from history to support this abstract analysis of the situation, including those referred to in the n o w classic works of Lucien Febvre and H . - J . Martin on the spread of printing or of E m m a n u e l L e R o y Ladurie on culture in peasant society.

H a d it not been for printing, Protestantism would in all probability have remained one heresy a m o n g m a n y others. Thanks to the book and the opportunity it offers for private reflection, the thinking of Luther and Calvin on grace and predestination spread like wildfire and became the focus for all kinds of economic, political and social dissent.

F r o m the seventeenth to the eighteenth century the printed word created a great pool of informed people, specializing in critical reflection. Whether 'traditional' or 'organic' to use Antonio Gramsci's terms,1 these intellectuals, while performing the function of civil servants, at the same time, whether consciously or unconsciously, passed on n e w ideas and, by their contributions to literature, the arts and the sciences, helped in a certain way to raise the awareness of the masses. In Western Europe, the struggle for the rights of m a n and democratization in general m a y be seen, as early as the late eighteenth century, and even more clearly at the beginning of the nineteenth century, to have been linked with the spread of literacy.

Nowhere has this faith in the written word been expressed more clearly—that is to say, more naively—than in children's literature. Certainly in the nineteenth century, the period w h e n children's literature emerged in most West European countries as a specific literary form, the idea gained ground very quickly that adults were not particularly receptive to education, and that it was more worthwhile writing for children, w h o are more malleable.

I. Antonio Gramsci, 'The Intellectuals', Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci, London, Lawrence & Wishart, 1971.

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This concern with ideology, mixed with a concern for effective influence, is more or less explicit in all w h o were to take an interest in children's books, whether publishers such as Hetzel and Hachette, or writers such as Collodi and D e Amicis, Sophie Rostopchine (the Comtesse de Ségur), Hector Malot, Jules Verne or Selma Lagerlöf. Reading between the lines, all seem to be seeking an ideal text, a work of fiction appealing to parents as well as children, offering information as well as entertainment and fostering an awareness of their country, their traditions, their rights and their duties.

But this expectation of salvation through the printed word and literacy was soon to be disappointed: although literacy made headway and books came to occupy a place of importance, there was no corresponding improvement in the recognition of h u m a n rights. Another unexpected twist occurred with the introduction of n e w means of expression and communication, the audio-visual media, which, while presenting information more cheaply, seem to encourage audience passivity, and actually to conflict with the printed word, thus contributing to a certain decline in literacy.

Hence the paradox of the post-war situation: education acts passed under pressure from the workers draw ever wider sections of the population into education, but the resultant 'education explosion' produces no correspondingly spectacular increase in reading nor any marked progress in h u m a n rights.

T h e ensuing disillusionment extends also to the international organizations, Unesco in particular: highly cultivated and well-intentioned its experts undoubtedly are, but because they devote so m u c h attention to education, communication and books they are seen by some as generous dreamers, still suffering from the idealism of the revolutionaries of 1793 and 1848 and convinced that good constitutions and more especially good education acts, are capable of changing h u m a n nature.

This illusion takes a particularly paradoxical form in the domain of children's literature. In Western Europe, for example, the production of children's books has become concentrated in the hands of a limited number of publishers. A craft industry in the nineteenth century, it is n o w governed essentially by the law of maximization of profit, the child's interests being only one of m a n y factors to be taken into consideration in 'market research' based largely on the exploitation of existing tastes. T h e result is a market inundated with mass-produced, stereotyped products which concentrate on entertainment and whose educational value is slight or questionable. Pitted against

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the publishing giants are a number of smaller companies, often inspired by advanced educational ideas or ideological, political or religious considerations. Their products are interesting, often of a very high standard, but their appeal is limited by the efforts which they require of the readers. In this sphere, as in others, bad money drives out good. Formula-produced fiction based entirely on suspense makes the public even more passive and thus encourages it to turn to the audio-visual media, which, it must be remembered, offer immediate gratification, whereas the pleasures of reading require a long apprenticeship. At the same time, intermediate forms of expression are developing, half text and half picture, the comic-strip or photo-strip story. A s a result of this process which is going on under our eyes, the very meaning of the word 'book' is changing from the sense which it has had for centuries into the sense it already has for millions of children and young people: a series of connected and systematically organized images, framed and centred as in the cinema, in which the bubble-enclosed text, although very expressive, represents only a very small proportion of the total message.

W h a t , then, remains of the great expectations which our forbears and even our parents' generation entertained of books and literacy? W h a t are w e to think of the unstinting efforts of certain individuals or of particular international or national organizations, such as the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), the International Library in Munich , and those of Liège and Clamart, to bring together publishers, authors, illustrators, teachers, parents, etc., and to improve or defend children's literature? Are they simply naïve or are they meant as a sop to critics?

Study of some of the humanities and social sciences could help us to resolve this dilemma. A book is, above all, a text and can be described in terms of the language sciences: linguistics, semiology and semiotics. Its message can be placed in the context of history, not only the history of ideas but also that of societies. Finally, a book is a work of art which appeals to our reason but also to the subconscious which psychoanalysts are trying to m a p out. Text, context, background: w e must try to get d o w n to the essentials of the problem without allowing ourselves to lapse into generalities. In order to avoid this danger, I propose to follow a single line of inquiry and concentrate on a specific problem. Is it possible or reasonable, in this last quarter of the twentieth century, to expect books (or series of books) to inculcate humanitarian values in children? D o such books already exist or have they still to be written? W h a t should be the target age

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group or groups? Should they be 'all-purpose' books, suitable for different cultures and the different levels of development of the various countries, or differentiated to meet different requirements? H o w should they be distributed? Through a private, national or international organization? Although these are very broad questions, they are neither gratuitous nor abstract. Perhaps the type of book which w e describe no longer exists, but it did exist once. At various times and in various countries, works have been published which were very closely in keeping with the needs of the children for w h o m they were intended and gave them not only pleasure but also a clearer awareness of their rights and those of others. Cuore by D e Amicis, for example, has perhaps dated, but in 1886 it gave an exceptionally warm-hearted insight into socialist thinking. T h e same is true of M a r k Twain's Huckleberry Finn, which, even today, represents a worthwhile attempt to escape from racist patterns of thinking. So the type of book w e are n o w seeking to describe did exist once; what w e must do n o w is find out in what circumstances these books or others like them would produce the required effect, since the historical context seems vastly different today.

Light shed by the social sciences

But before w e go any further, what is a children's book exactly? Semiology enables us to eliminate a series of dead-end definitions.

A children's book is a message, a historical communication between an adult in a given society and its intended recipient—a child belonging to the same society and w h o , by definition to some extent, has not yet acquired the knowledge, experience of life and emotional maturity which are a sign of adulthood.

For communication to take place, what is needed—in fact all that is needed—is for the sender and receiver of the message to share a c o m m o n code, and for this code to relate to the historical context. It is therefore quite impossible to disregard real situations which affect not only the speaker but also the hearer. This analysis helps us to avoid the mistake of thinking that the problem is our o w n invention. In fact, the adult has always tried to establish communication with the children of his society, even before the invention of printing or indeed of writing, in order to pass on to them his understanding of rights and duties. Before it took the forms with which w e are familiar, this message used other channels of communication, for example the

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oral tradition, or dances and games. In seeking to formulate a n e w message—a book which really accomplishes what it sets out to do—we have nothing to gain by setting it in a limbo outside of time and place, since the children for w h o m it is intended will exist in a particular time and place. It would, on the contrary, be helpful to situate it within a tradition, so that it can draw upon that tradition and so that any n e w message it contains m a y be more clearly distinguished against that familiar background.

This rules out the illusory idea of a single book, effective in any country and at any period of time. T h e structure of our bodies and minds is doubtless universal, which means, in Sartre's fine phrase, that 'tout homme me van?; but from birth onwards every individual has been continually worked on and altered by his personal history and that of his country. Every m a n is like every other m a n , but at the same time develops into an individual unlike any other, belonging to a group, large or small, with its o w n specific needs. T h e battles have yet to be fought and w o n for reason and consciousness to become universal.

W e should not allow ourselves to be misled by the very complex case of the 'classics', which, in the last analysis, create their o w n public. These works are usually firmly rooted in a local soil (cf. the relationship between Pinocchio and Florentine folklore) and, by reason of their very specificity, make the young reader curious to discover his o w n roots or to find n e w ones.

This brief incursion into the language sciences enables us to draw another conclusion: the type of book for which w e are looking must emerge and establish itself in the educational environment with which the child is familiar. T h e best potential authors of this type of book should be sought not in the artificial milieu of the 'general without soldiers' (educational theorists, all-purpose 'experts' w h o always find the right solution to fit any situation) but among the teachers, research-workers and artists of each country w h o are the only people really familiar with their national traditions and aware of the power of persuasion which they still wield.

Semiology directs our attention to the temporal dimension of the work. History and sociology prevent us from indulging in unduly high hopes or unjustified despondency. Careful analysis of specific historical contexts teaches us not to minimize or, on the other hand, to exaggerate the influence of the printed word. Does it—indeed can it—serve the cause of h u m a n rights as long as the real power is in the hands of certain strata w h o do not stand to gain if other m e n exercise their rights?

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T o avoid taking modern instances which would m a k e our discussion unnecessarily heated, it can easily be seen that in France in the first half of the nineteenth century the irresistible popular d e m a n d for culture was very soon taken in hand by economic liberalism. T h e bourgeoisie m a d e literacy a plank in its political platform for two main reasons: first, industry was using more and more complicated machinery which was expensive and, to be cost-effective, required skilled w o r k m e n to run it; and second, by taking the initiative in providing school education, it could control it and transform it into an instrument for perpetuating its o w n values.1 T h e bourgeoisie realized that a certain kind of culture, if carefully 'depoliticized' and controlled, was a way of avoiding the spontaneous 'revolts' of the Ancien Régime and at the same time saved it from having to justify its economic and political hegemony. This was the import of the Loi Falloux which, in 1849, took over the 'liberal' ideas of Guizot and the educational demands of the democrats and socialists of 1848, but placed education at every level under the dual control of the prefect (civil authority) and the bishop (religious authority).

This analysis is still valid today, w h e n the school's literacy and acculturation work goes hand-in-hand with the 'parallel acculturation' of the mass media. There is a strong temptation for antidemocratic authorities to use the audio-visual media not to give effective information and to stimulate critical and political awareness, but to 'depoliticize' problems and to deny the existence of the social sciences, which amounts to encouraging audience passivity and systematically 'disinforming' the public in order to maintain the status quo.

It is thus impossible to study the influence of books in isolation from the historical situation in which they are produced and distributed: reading habits, the structure of publishing houses and libraries, educational legislation, actual school attendance rates, the nature of production relationships, of the State, etc.

O n e should not, therefore, rely on books, nor even on literacy, to inculcate in m e n an awareness of their rights, m u c h less the will to defend them. T h e lesson of history is clearly that every right is the expression of the effective bargaining power of the parties concerned. It would be naive and idle to expect might to give way to right. T h e rights of the individual can only become a reality w h e n

1. See: Gramsci, op. cit., and a development of this point in Louis Althusser, 'Les Appareils Idéologiques de l'État', Positions, Paris, É d . Sociales, 1976; Pierre Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron, Les Héritiers, Paris, Éditions de Minuit, 1964; and La Reproduction, Paris, Éditions de Minuit, 1970.

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those concerned have some such effective force behind them. T h e influence of books should, therefore, not be represented as one of gradual infiltration, but rather as a struggle, in which 'spiritual' forces learn to become physical forces. History teaches us that the forms this struggle takes are unpredictable.

It is no use talking half-heartedly about 'diversity of socio-cultural data'. W h e n dealing with the practical problems of publishing and distributing works concerned with the problems of 'freedoms', w e are forced to adopt a more accurate and workable classification. Here, for example, is the obviously very rough classification which I use in m y o w n research. I distinguish between: i. T h e socialist countries. These countries are characterized by a

very high level of literacy and the extremely efficient promotion of books and libraries. These successes should not, however, be allowed to hide from view the tensions that remain. S o m e operate authoritarian cultural policies which for the time being at least, do not permit absolutely free discussion.

2. T h e 'liberal' countries. T h e term 'liberal' is to be understood first in the economic sense, culminating in the concentration of industry and the type of mass production described above. Other features include: the absence of an overall cultural policy, which amounts to encouraging the audio-visual media at the expense of books; the promotion of a stereotyped culture; an ever-widening gap between genuine artists and the public; and a reading crisis. T h e numbers of non-readers, poor readers and, just as serious, readers w h o will 'read anything' have reached alarming levels.

3. Countries whose institutions consistently flout the Universal Declaration of H u m a n Rights. It would be childish to expect the governments of these countries to encourage the publication or distribution of books which tell m e n about their rights, but it would be just as absurd to identify such governments, which will be toppled sooner or later, with the people w h o n o w suffer under them and w h o will one day constitute a particularly fertile soil for a fuller awareness of h u m a n rights.

4. T h e developing countries. This is the conventional term applied to countries which have long been subject to foreign domination of a colonial type and which have recently achieved independence. For a long time seen merely as reserves of raw materials, these countries are n o w faced with the absolute necessity of overcoming their economic backwardness, which m a y lead to a reduction in education budgets and inadequate literacy work.

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However, the extremely oppressive domination to which these latter countries have been subjected has generally resulted in an almost miraculous survival of traditional cultures, dying, if not long dead, in the industrialized countries. This is a great good fortune, not only because of the very valuable content of these cultures, but also and above all because they created a genuine and active relationship between artists and their public; the degree of penetration of the concept of h u m a n rights depends precisely on the intellectual active-ness stimulated by a certain type of art but paralysed by stereotyped, commercial art 'for amusement only'. Such are the contradictions of today's world that those countries where literacy is not yet victorious appear to m e (rightly or wrongly) as pockets of resistance to a certain types of 'disinformation' which is all too widespread elsewhere. T h e inability or absence of any desire to read can, in some circumstances, be a safeguard against unsuitable literature. This is no doubt a paradoxical view, but one which has already been agreed by one of the most eminent of educationists: the insipid profusion of artificial fairytales fabricated by the polite culture of his time made Jean-Jacques Rousseau prefer his Emile not to read any books until the age of 15—with the single exception of Robinson Crusoe, which he considered to be not so m u c h a book as a game , a sort of meccano set for living, which would enable the man-child to k n o w his o w n strength and face up to the real world.

This a sound argument in theory, although I admit that it cannot be maintained for too long. It is perhaps a good thing to k n o w nothing, but one can have too m u c h of a good thing. Children and adults w h o wish to orientate themselves in today's world would do well to reject a certain kind of information, but in order to leave more room for information which develops their critical faculties and their creativity, qualities which they will need in order to understand the world in which they live and to change it.

This setting of the problem in its historical perspective also makes it possible to define in less general and therefore more useful terms these famous rights and duties which w e wish to inculcate in children and adults. It was doubtless necessary that they should be defined by the constitutions of various nations and by international organizations such as the United Nations, since they thus become texts which can be cited and to which appeals against despotism m a y be m a d e , but this does not m e a n that they are to be regarded as metaphysical 'givens', claims unconnected with the history of individual countries for which responsibility lies only with an 'élite' or with international

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civil servants w h o m a y have lost contact with their national roots. In fact, history shows us that there is a relationship between civi

lization and particular civilizations, and that the demand for h u m a n rights acts as a leaven in each individual culture, national, regional or local. T o present these rights as something coming from without is thus not only unhistorical, it is a pedagogical and tactical error. They will only become part of public awareness and be put into effect if each country presents them as meeting the internal needs of its o w n culture or cultures—which is quite true, and corresponds to a transition from directive education to an education based on participation and its o w n inherent power of attraction.

T h e latest developments in psychology and psychoanalysis permit a radically n e w approach to the problem. T o attribute to books the almost exclusive power to inculcate h u m a n rights is implicitly to endorse a number of erroneous assumptions.

T h e first concerns the reading process itself. T h e fact that some people can read does not necessarily m e a n that w e k n o w h o w one learns to read. Mialaret's research has shown that there are several levels of reading ability and that progress from one level to the next is achieved only by long practice. T o be able to read is not to be able to spell out letters or syllables or to have mastered the skill of silent reading, or even to be able to switch from one sense to another, picking out key words by rapid and creative anticipation—i.e. it is not only the ability to read rapidly and 'identify' with the reading-matter, but also and above all the ability continually to vary one's pace and to adopt a critical attitude to what is being read.

T o place undue reliance on literacy and books, in our historical context, is to forget that our system of education (due to the inadequacies of our teaching methods and the forces working against critical inquiry) turns out large numbers of non-readers or poor readers; it is also to forget the crucial factor of the relapse into illiteracy, what Albert Meister calls 'l'analphabétisation de retour'. This phenomenon does not only occur in developing countries and countries which are economically underdeveloped, where the mother tongue tends to conflict with the official language required for 'getting ahead'. It is m u c h more general. W e k n o w more or less h o w to teach the skill of reading, but not the pleasure of reading, which is w h y a good third of the 'school population', after spending ten years of its life learning h o w to read, spends the rest of its life forgetting.

Unless the reading habit is m a d e an integral part of the reader's personality, it is not to be relied on as a means of spreading awareness

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of h u m a n rights, for this requires an active rather than a passive attitude on the part of those concerned, whether children or semi-literate adults. T o rely on books alone in such a context is to adopt an authoritarian and not particularly effective attitude, and to make no use of the creativity of the grass roots, where, as I have said, the desire to win h u m a n rights is very strong. It is like trying to lift an enormous weight without using the lever which is there to hand.

Another mistaken assumption involved in undue reliance on books is that h u m a n rights can then only be preached to those old enough to learn to read, or, in the case of illiterate adults, those w h o are able to understand a code and a system of explanation based on reasoning.

In fact contemporary psychology and psychoanalysis tell us that the individual's basic options (attitude to the opposite sex, behaviour patterns connected with crace' and with 'difference' in general) are determined before the age of 5 or 6, which is considered to be the normal age for learning to read. Psychopathology also reveals that the majority of behavioural disturbances and of the main 'neuroses' are formed during the 'Œdipus complex' stage, which is to say between i\ and 5 years, or even earlier, during the 'oral' phase.

It is as if, out of respect for the printed word, which, historically, is only one of several systems of communication, w e were allowing such major diseases of civilization as racism and anti-feminism to get a good hold before turning to books—and to reason1—to combat them. Prevention, however, is always easier than cure.

T o s u m up: books remain one of the most effective means of increasing awareness, but their use comes more easily to those belonging to social groups which have had the benefit of written culture for a long time and w h o have been equipped, one might almost say, from the cradle with the linguistic and cultural skills which make reading easier. But other media have established themselves which give cultural 'gratification' for less effort. In such circumstances reading, which calls for considerable effort during the learning stage and regular practice, m a y appear too directive, external to the individual awareness, whereas if the issue of h u m a n rights is to be taken up by the individual it must be seen by him for what it is—the point of convergence of his o w n private needs and his culture. T h e problem of h u m a n rights should therefore be raised at the earliest possible stage, on both a rational and a non-rational plane, using all the means of expression and communication at our disposal, and

1. See on this subject B . Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment.

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appealing to the imagination and the desire to excel of each individual, whether child or adult. This appeal should therefore be m a d e not only to those of reading age, but also to those w h o have not yet learned to read, through books games, dancing, music, painting, modelling, etc. T h e prestige of international organizations such as I B B Y and its national sections, Unesco and the United Nations, should not be ignored, but it should be used with care, as a seal of approval which could add lustre to the work of the individual in his o w n environment. W h a t will be required in each case will be to create from scratch a functional work—since it will have to be adapted to a specific situation—but also to fit it into a tradition, which will lead to the reassessment or rediscovery of existing works.

The introduction of human rights in children's books:

some suggestions

T h e objection m a y be raised that what I have said so far is too theoretical. I must thus turn m y attention n o w to the practical problems of authorship in m y chosen field, that of children's literature. Let us imagine that the problem has been raised by some internal or external authority, which addresses m e , explicitly or implicitly, in the following terms: ' W e have had enough of mere "entertainment". It is time a book was written, or a type of artistic activity initiated, which gives more than pleasure, one which helps to create an awareness in the child of his rights and duties and takes into account the diversity of cultural situations in different countries.'

T h e response to this problem calls for some preliminary clarification. W h a t w e call childhood is a long period stretching from birth to adolescence. In fact it consists of several successive 'childhoods', each characterized by its o w n distinct interests and identifiable in terms of: (a) drives, maturations, n e w insights and temporary or lasting regressions between which the individual, consciously or otherwise, strikes a certain balance throughout his lifetime; (b) the expectations of the adults of a given society, which are generally reflected in the educational systems operated by the dominant social groups or in a particular socio-cultural setting; (c) objective data (structures of the family or of educational establishments, social imperatives defining 'normal' behaviour, ideologies, in short all that Freud, in Little Hans, calls the 'destiny' of each child).

This anthropological approach has gradually broken up the concept

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of age. W e have progressively learnt to distinguish: (a) age in years, for a long time the only one taken into consideration, is n o w hardly used except for demographic purposes; (b) mental age, m u c h disputed, but still of some use as long as the batteries of tests used aim no higher than determining the average level of knowledge or skills for a particular age; (c) emotional age, based on the discoveries of psychoanalysis and defined, in a given civilization, in terms of the way in which a child modifies his drives in response to the censorship of the group and assumes his sex role; (d) ludic age, identified by reference to the pleasure principle and the ability to play games, the degree of involvement in games and the different games played revealing an ability or refusal to adapt, hence a general attitude towards life.

These different ages overlap in each individual, w h o m a y at one and the same time belong to different age groups. Despite this, the following empirical definitions of the various age groups, imprecise though they are, apply in the sphere of books, which is our immediate concern: F r o m birth to 3 years. T h e child acquires its overall image of the body

(mirror stage) and, a crucial factor in its cultural development, learns to use and love its 'mother tongue', a twofold conditioning which enables him correctly to constitute what Winnicott calls his 'self, and by showing him his place in a friendly world, makes possible the acquisition of habits predisposing him to reading and an appetite for culture.

F r o m 3 to 5 or 6 years. Also a crucial period, that of the 'Œdipus complex' during which the child becomes aware of its sex. This is the stage during which the child, at least in Western civilizations, is disconcerted by adults and identifies readily with animals. H e loves folk stories built around young heroes w h o , although at first disadvantaged, succeed by cunning or goodness in finding their place in the sun, a political theme reflecting the situation and the dreams of the people, exploited for centuries if not millenniums, which the child interprets at a personal level.

F r o m 6 to 11-12 years. Strongly sexualized by its rejections and repressions, it should be considered, in our civilizations, the 'latency' period. Interest in animals and folk tales continues, but coexists with the search for models.

F r o m 10 to 13 years. In temperate climates, this is the pre-puberty period. T h e difference between the sexes becomes more marked and is exteriorized in different behaviour patterns. This has not been true, however, as far as books are concerned since the Second

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World W a r , probably because of the increasingly conscious rejection by girl readers of the image of w o m a n presented in traditional books.

F r o m 13 onwards. Adolescence proper, dominated by the attainment of emotional and sexual maturity and by problems connected with the society of adults (choice of a career, political options, etc.).

Let us consider the first two age groups which I have described, both characterized by a certain narcissism—inevitably so, as the child needs to develop a clear awareness of his o w n body and identity. H o w can a child of this age be given access to the world of symbols in which he will one day be able to identify the concept of rights and duties?

At this age, explains Henri Wallon,1

the child's strongest fears are for his security. These are awakened by the idea of evil forces and may be calmed by the existence of sympathetic and benevolent forces. . . . This anxiety takes another form: that of giants and dwarves against which he measures his own weakness and strength respectively; the violence to which he may be subjected by the former he himself could exercise on the latter, a reassuring compensation. The big vs. little, strong vs. weak opposition is, however, usually extended to give the stupid vs. clever opposition.

T H E CHILD A N D T H E BEAST

T h e m e and narrative structures: a child goes into the woods (the jungle, the bush, to the river-side or sea-side) despite his parents' warnings. There a wild beast (choose the one most c o m m o n in the country in question) comes up to him.

T h e story stops here, in accordance with the well-tried technique of the 'unfinished story', and it is up to us (the story-teller and his audience) to imagine the rest. T h e form chosen is therefore that of live story-telling. O n e could also, however, consider using marionettes or shadow puppets or staging a play of the commedia dell'arte type acted by children.

T h e relatively recent form of the 'unfinished story' enables us to challenge the notion of instilling fear in order to point a moral, one of the most controversial aspects of the traditional 'cautionary tale', whose unhappy ending is particularly intended as a warning to children.

1. H . Wallon, Preface to Guide de Littérature pour la Jeunesse, Paris, Flammarion, 1975.

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Thus , in the best k n o w n version of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf eats the little girl and in the story of the Wolf, the Goat and the Kids the wolf kills several 'kids' before himself coming to grief. T h e story-tellers of the past, in presenting children with these unhappy endings, were going on the principle of the cautionary effect of the punishment—which is n o w increasingly disputed.

This principle has indeed been questioned for some time. In addition to the artificially happy ending in the collection of the Brothers G r i m m , there is another—taken from the folk tradition— which the editor of Mother Goose no doubt rejected as improper: the child pretends to require urgently to leave the room and the wolf finally agrees, tying to her arm a string which she manages to undo without difficulty. In the version set to music by Serge Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf, there are two n e w ideas which suggest m a n y other happy endings which could be discovered by other story-tellers and other children: animals used to illustrate and distinguish the instruments of the orchestra, and also an 'ecological' approach: the wolf is a cruel monster but a rare species; Peter will not allow it to be killed, but catches it and leads it in procession to the zoo.

This plot could be used for the 'story-time' which is a custom in France as in Latin America, in Cuba as in the African republics. T h e ' g a m e ' would be introduced either by a teacher or by a traditional story-teller w h o would give preference to the native version most popular in his cultural area. T h e n e w element not found in the traditional version is the intention to start a discussion (or, for younger children, to encourage reflection through such activities as m i m e , drawing, etc.) on the subject of violence. Questions: D o 'wild beasts' still exist? Are they always animals? W h a t attitude should one adopt towards violence? W h a t is the role of cunning, organization, etc.? W h a t about parents? H o w can and should they alert their children to the existence of violence? W h a t is the role of authority, repression, etc. ? W h a t is the function of fear? C a n an educational method be based on fear?

Another advantage of this plot is that it allows for the use of traditional illustrations showing the wild beasts of each continent. T h e Unicef Documentation Centre in N e w York, for example, can provide anyone w h o wants it with a very wide range of high-quality documentation; it has examples of folk art and also an index to the work of the best contemporary artists. This does not preclude the possibility of using local artists or illustrations by the children themselves.

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This 'unfinished story' could be made an occasion for organizing a further reading session (of n e w reading-matter) with stories or tales by creative artists of the past w h o have given a n e w 'twist' to the basic story, making it express their o w n feelings about the topic.

DONE TO A TURN

This is a story passed d o w n through the oral tradition but it could also be presented as a puppet show, a play, a film or an album. T h e target audience here is the child w h o has not yet learned to read and enjoys listening to stories, but it could also appeal to other age-groups, as it concerns the problem of 'difference' (between races, sexes, etc.).

It is an 'aetiologicaP Red Indian folk tale which describes the origin of race in rather humorous terms and is also to be found in collections of stories of different eco types.

T h e Creator decides to create m a n . H e chooses the best quality clay, kneads it, moulds it, heats the oven and puts M a n in to bake. But either the Creator's attention lapses for a m o m e n t , or perhaps the oven is too hot. T h e result is an over-baked creature, the black m a n . H e tries again but, 'once bitten twice shy', opens the oven too early, and the result is an underdone creature, the white m a n . T h e next attempt is also brought out too soon: the yellow m a n . T h e Creator is n o w very annoyed and makes sure to take every precaution. Perfection at last: the redskin.

This time the whole story is told by the author—narrator or writer—but it is followed by a debate which will bring out its humour , readily comprehensible even to an audience of 4 - or 5-year olds (by reference to their o w n bodies, their o w n colours). This could lead on to a more less detailed study of ethnic differences (skin pigmentation, relation between climate and biology) or the contribution made by each race to history.

T h e discussion following this 'finished' story could also be directed towards the difference between the sexes (Adam and Eve, aetiological stories of the origin of m a n and w o m a n , the myth of the 'round' humans in Plato's Symposium) and towards analysis of anti-feminism (the female sexual organs 'inside' and the male not 'extra' but 'outside').

If this topic is used with the 'latency' and 'pre-puberty' age groups, it could lead to the compiling in and out of class of 'files' listing the efforts already made by national or international authorities to counter racial prejudice and uphold the rights of 'minorities'. It should also be pointed out that these 'minorities' include children as a group

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lacking effective rights and also that 'minority' which comprises half of mankind: w o m e n .

T h e imagery of North America, Siberia and the Nordic countries offers m a n y other illustrations, but w e should avoid limiting ourselves to these alone: aetiological tales, by their very nature, can provide children of very different backgrounds with a basis on which their imaginations can build.

LOST CHILDREN OR PRODIGAL PARENTS?

This is not so m u c h one subject as a set of themes concerned with the child's relationship with his family, a problem which is beginning to surface at the story-telling stage, but which crystallizes chiefly during latency and pre-puberty. It could take the form of either a finished or an unifmished story, a novel by a particular author or a 'collective novel' to be worked out as a class activity or a game to be broadcast on radio or television.

T h e outline of the narrative could be as follows: (a) parents lose their children either through no fault of their o w n (war, earthquake, natural disaster, etc.) or deliberately—they are too poor and hope that the children will manage better on their o w n , or wish to teach badly behaved or insubordinate children 'a lesson'; (b) children lose their parents either owing to the death of the latter or because they have run away from h o m e after an argument; (c) parents help their children when they are in trouble; but a day comes when the parents themselves have problems. T h e children help them in their turn.

This is a recurring theme in folklore and booklore alike, which is understandable, as it concerns the place occupied by each one of us in the family circle and in society. This theme remains relevant, particularly n o w that the structure of the family is in a state of flux.

T h e aim in view is to give the child a clearer perception of his rights and duties in relation to the adult by means of a story which presents concrete situations either evoking his present situation of dependence or looking ahead to the time when he will become independent—'the child is father of the m a n ' .

This m a y be the opportunity to reread or reassess some works which deal with this theme, for example Tom Thumb (rewritten from a different viewpoint by F . R u y Vidal in 1973), Voyage au Centre de la Terre, L'Ile Mystérieuse, Les Enfants du Capitaine Grant and Deux Ans de Vacances by Jules Verne, The Children of Timpelbach by Kaestner, etc.

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ALL OLD PEOPLE MUST BE KILLED

A young king swayed by evil counsels orders that all old people be killed. His terrified subjects hesitate; some obey, others, more numerous, hide their aged relatives.

S o m e months pass and the king, still under the influence of the same counsellor, confiscates all arable land. Those w h o wish to till it will have to pay a high rent for it. There is indeed a very ancient law which entitles him to do this, as he is supposed to be a direct descendant of the water spirit, which the people worship. His bewildered subjects wonder what to do: if they obey they will be ruined and starve to death; if they refuse they will be exterminated.

Fortunately, the old people w h o were not killed find a way to parry the danger. T h e king is indeed entitled to claim ownership of all arable land, since he is a descendant of the water spirit; but if so then, like his revered ancestor, he must be able to walk on the water.

This story (which m a y be presented orally, in the theatre or the cinema, etc.) is very popular in several African civilizations (see the version recorded in Niger by Andrée Clair: Eau Ficelée et Ficelle de Fumée) and m a y be illustrated in traditional style if presented as a text. Children and artists should, however, be encouraged to illustrate it in n e w ways and also (using the 'unfinished story' or 'collective authorship' technique) to devise new endings. Several crucial problems are involved in this story, including that of the attitude to be adopted towards orders which go against h u m a n rights and that of the place of the old and handicapped in society. Instead of taking advantage of the experience and wisdom of the old, our society considers them so m a n y useless mouths and, having cut d o w n their resources, herds them together in 'homes ' to wait for death. In fact most children feel a great affection for old people, and this raises the question of the internal equilibrium of society as a whole.

H O W COULD W E DO BETTER?

This project would take the form of a competition between different schools or different classes in the same age group which would be supported by the press, radio and television, on the following theme: h o w can w e improve the world w e live in, the world of education to start with? This raises the question of child participation in school management, discipline and even in the design of the syllabus;

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whether to present 'extracts' or read through the whole text; the presentation of history; relationships between teachers and the family, etc.

This project is the only one which is restricted to the world of the school. It is not difficult to understand w h y . This calling into question of the educational or social 'environment' is only possible if it does not impede the educational process itself, which means that it must be systematically organized and controlled by an expert in 'group dynamics', in most cases a teacher.

This project would appeal particularly to the latency, pre-puberty and adolescent periods. In the above form, it would not, w e must admit, be feasible in every country. It could, however, be toned d o w n to make it acceptable everywhere. It could also be 'distanced' in time, for example by making it a reconstruction of the Children's Crusade (at the end of the Middle Ages). W h a t were the aims of this great movement? Were those aims just? Did they have any chance of success? This seems a worthwhile exercise, even if limited to problems of school organization, to the extent that it tries to awaken young people's critical—and civic—awareness.

FAITHLESS AS THE WINDS OR SEAS

A prince fears the faithlessness of w o m e n . H e nevertheless allows his fears to be overcome by the insistence of his subjects and the charms of a very beautiful girl w h o gives up her work to marry him.

But soon after his marriage his mistrustfulness reasserts itself. H e puts his wife to the test by requiring absolute obedience, even going so far as to separate her from her children. Depending on the formula chosen, the story m a y n o w lead to a 'happy ending' or to disaster. T h e discussion centres on what the young w o m a n could or should have done. Obey? If so, up to what point? W h a t about w o m e n ' s rights, children's rights?

This theme can be adapted to the story-telling age and also to the pre-puberty and adolescent periods, using open-ended (unfinished story) or closed (novel, short story, play, serial, film, etc.) techniques. It could also quite easily become the point of departure for the compilation of 'files' on w o m e n ' s rights (those already established and those which have yet to be recognized) or on anatomical, physiological, psychological and sociological differences (anthropological study of the distribution of 'roles' in society). This could lead to a critical re-evaluation of the treatment of w o m e n in humorous and

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serious literature (anti-feminist folk tales in which the w o m a n has every imaginable fault, the more subtle misogyny of the story of patient Griselda and 'serious' literature, etc.).

Dead-ends, wrong tracks and effective action

There is no need to continue a list of subjects which is only intended to provide some examples. It has enabled us to pin-point a number of ways in which children's books can or cannot be used to promote a deeper awareness of h u m a n rights at the present time. For the sake of clarity, I shall conclude by summarizing the main points of this analysis and drawing attention to the dead-ends and wrong tracks which should be avoided if action is to be effective.

T w o opposite and equally dangerous errors are lying in wait for us: over-confidence and lack of confidence in books for the promotion of h u m a n rights. In both cases, the basic mistake is to forget that rights are the expression of effective bargaining power. Books, however, exert their influence in an indirect way: they have no effect unless they arouse in the reader an active attitude, and only then can 'awareness' become a force to be reckoned with.

Books are only one of m a n y ways of expressing and communicating thought. For centuries after the invention of printing, they coexisted with other media, for example the oral tradition, visual images, etc. T h e success of radio, television and other mass media has only re-established this coexistence or rather only m a d e it obvious. It m a y operate against books; it is up to us to make sure that books co-operate with the other media. In a world where the visual image predominates, there is nothing to be gained from presenting reading as something distinct from other 'leisure activities', particularly w h e n w e are coming more and more to realize that culture is an indivisible whole.

T o organize one type of book promotion after another (book days, book weeks, book years, associations for the protection of children's books, etc.) is tacitly to admit that there is something wrong with books or in any case that their future is in danger.

Scientific analysis of the factors which discourage the potential reader (high prices, inadequate library network, methods used to teach reading, etc.) would be m u c h more constructive. It would also be extremely useful to build up a file on early childhood and the pre-reading age based on study of the interests and mental m a k e - u p

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characteristic of these early stages of development, including, for example, the formation of what Lacan calls the 'order of the symbolic' and the development of what Winnicott refers to as the 'transitional object', a blanket or item of clothing impregnated with the mother's smell which the very young child uses for the 'ritual' of going to sleep, since it would appear, from the present state of our knowledge, that the book is a successor to this 'object'.

It would be an unforgivable mistake to limit the inculcation of 'humanistic' values to age-groups which can read fluently and to books proper, as the main prejudices and ideological afflictions of humanity (racism, anti-feminism, war-mongering, passivity, disregard of the rights of others) have had time to become firmly rooted in the conscious and, even more important, in the unconscious of the 8- to 12-year-old child. T h e real battle must be fought with children under 3 and 3-6, and must be waged with the spoken word, games, pictures and m i m e , the written message being used only to consolidate what has already been assimilated.

This calls into question the traditional concept of the authorship, which is already in practice undergoing some changes: in some branches of children's literature, particularly the production of encyclopaedias, but also fiction based on contemporary problems, the author is replaced by a team in which one person is responsible for 'ideas', another for dialogue, another for illustrations, another for layout, etc., these individuals sometimes being chosen for their particular skills, but more often at random or simply for reasons of cost. T h e author should be reinstated as the person responsible for ideas (or the lack of them) and at the same time supported by a team which should include as a matter of course the 'customers' and educational experts, i.e. children or teachers.

Although the six guidelines suggested above all aim to a greater or lesser extent at 'group participation', this is not out of a desire for innovation at any price or even to fall in with the increasingly widespread fashion for games. In fact this trend, which is often sensationalized by the mass media, is a very healthy one. M e n , w o m e n and children are n o w seeking to express themselves, albeit in a confused and sometimes inappropriate way. T h e only constructive attitude to adopt is to encourage this creativity in the public, as it will make it possible to use the only really effective force in the situation with which w e are dealing, the energies of the people concerned themselves.

It will have been noted that these six guidelines place the adap-

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tation or re-reading of established works on the same level as individual creation. This is not to minimize the role of writers or to claim that the writing of n e w works is undesirable. But neither does it imply that everything must be created afresh from scratch; this would be a Herculean task, enough to daunt the most courageous spirits. A truly n e w work is always both the culmination of one tradition and the beginning of another. It is for this reason that this type of work cannot and must not be brought in 'from outside', but must emerge in its o w n time from the work of experts, artists and teachers w h o are involved with children on a day-to-day basis. This by no means excludes the possibility of evolution and even revolution, for the most incisive criticism of teaching methods at present comes from the teachers themselves.

T h e guidelines w e have suggested, based on creativity and e m u lation, but also on a re-evaluation of existing literature, are both the most reasonable, corresponding very closely as they do to the latest discoveries in the social sciences, and the easiest to apply in practice. It is true that they will require certain people to reconsider a good number of stereotypes and prejudices, which m a y take some time.

T h e test of time will in any case be decisive. If these ideas are right, the trends here analysed are bound to become stronger and more distinct and some such solutions will be seen to be necessary.

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Elements for a dossier

Ends and means for continuing education

Unesco and the development of adult education

During the past ten to fifteen years, adult education has advanced by leaps and bounds in a number of countries, whether industrialized or developing, and remarkable changes have occurred in response to a demand from communities and individuals which is directly related to the economic, technological, political and cultural trends of our time.

However, there is reason to think that, despite the formal recognition of the need, not to say urgency, of a substantial extension of adult education which is one of the prerequisites for giving practical expression to the concept of lifelong education and learning, efforts to offer more educational opportunities to adults and to adapt content and methods to the needs and aspirations of adults as well as to their special circumstances as regards training facilities, continue, in many cases, to come up against difficulties due not only to the attitude of 'decision-makers' but also to that of the potential 'learners' themselves.

While each of the three international conferences on adult education convened by Unesco—Elsinore (1949), Montreal (i960) and Tokyo (1972)— marked a stage in the evolution of thinking in this field, the last of these conferences, which was widely representative both from the geographical and the cultural standpoint, recalled that

countries, regardless of the level of development which they have reached, cannot hope to attain the development objectives which they have set themselves and to

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adjust to the changes of all kinds which are occurring in all societies at an ever-accelerating rate if they do not give increased and constant attention to adult education and provide it with the necessary human and material resources

and recommended that Unesco explore the possibility of undertaking standard-setting action with regard to the development of adult education. As the decision-making bodies of Unesco shared the views expressed at the Tokyo conference, a draft recommendation to Member States was prepared. The text was widely discussed and the final version was unanimously adopted by the General Conference at its nineteenth session held in Nairobi in October I November 1976.

The Recommendation is the first international standard-setting instrument in this field; therefore its importance must not be under-estimated. The instrument in question does not take the form of a solemn declaration but of a set of provisions which the Member States of Unesco put forward to their respective governments for application.

In the body of the instrument, the General Conference explicitly recommends that Member States act

. . . by taking whatever legislative or other steps may be required, and in conformity with the constitutional practice of each State, to give effect to the principles set forth in [the] Recommendation;

. . . bringing] the Recommendation to the attention of the authorities, departments or bodies responsible for


adult education and also of the various organizations carrying out educational work for the benefit of adults, and of trade union organizations, associations, enterprises, and other interested parties;

. . . reporting] to it, at such dates and in such form as shall be determined by it, on the action taken by them in pursuance of [the] Recommendation.

We give below the full text of the definitions of

adult education and lifelong education and learn

ing as they appear in Chapter I of the Rec

ommendation:

The term 'adult education' denotes the entire body of organized educational processes, whatever the content, level and method, whether formal or otherwise, whether they prolong or replace initial education in schools, colleges and universities as well as in apprenticeship, whereby persons regarded as adult by the society to which they belong develop their abilities, enrich their knowledge, improve their technical or professional qualifications or turn them in a new direction and bring about changes in their attitudes or behaviour in the twofold perspective of full personal development and participation in balanced and independent social, economic and cultural development;

adult education, however, must not be considered as an entity in itself, it is a sub-division, and an integral part of, a global scheme for lifelong education and learning;

the term 'life-long education and learning', for its part, denotes an overall scheme aimed both at restructuring the existing education system and at developing the entire educational potential outside the education system;

in such a scheme men and women are the agents of their own education, through continual interaction between their thoughts and actions;

education and learning, far from being limited to the period of attendance at school, should extend throughout life, include all skills and branches of knowledge, use all possible means, and give the opportunity to all people for full development of the personality;

the educational and learning processes in which children, young people and adults of all ages are involved in the course of their lives, in whatever form, should be considered as a whole.

The Recommendation contains nine more chapters

bearing on objectives and strategy; the content of

adult education; methods, means, research and

evaluation; the structures of adult education; the

training and status of persons engaged in adult

education work; the relations between adult edu

cation and youth education; the relations between

adult education and work; management, admin

istration, co-ordination and financing of adult

education; international co-operation.

In order to facilitate implementation of

this Recommendation, the Unesco Programme

for 1977-1978 stipulates that

. . . assistance will be provided to national authorities and institutions, particularly those in the developing countries, wishing to obtain information and carry out consultations, study and research in order to give effect—having regard to their own particular circumstances—to the provisions of the aforesaid Recommendation.

The Secretariat of Unesco will also provide

assistance

. . . to national or international non-governmental organizations which propose, in their respective fields of competence, to study ways of giving practical expression to certain provisions of this Recommendation or to define the way in which it might be applied to a specific adult population group.

In order to emphasize the significance of the inter

national standard-setting instrument which has

now been adopted, it seems useful to present the

readers, in broad outline, with the Unesco Sec

retariat's analysis of what has been accomplished

since 1949, of the developments—or even up

heavals—which have taken place during that time,

and of what still remains to be done so that adult

education can obtain the statute and the resources

which are still all too often begrudged it. Even

more than that, it is a question of giving adult

education its rightful place in any modern edu

cational system so that schooling and adult

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education, each with its specific but complementary role can be integrated into the larger and infinitely open concept of lifelong learning.1

Historical background

T h e founding States of Unesco declared in the Constitution

that the wide diffusion of culture and the education of humanity for justice and liberty and peace are indispensable to the dignity of m a n and constitute a sacred duty which all the nations must fulfil in a spirit of mutual assistance and concern.

This means that adult education has been one of Unesco's responsibilities from the beginning. Three international conferences on adult education have been landmarks in the evolution of ideas concerning its aim and application.

T h e Second World W a r and its aftermath were still uppermost in all minds. M o r e than half the twenty-five countries participating in the Elsinore conference (1949) were Western European countries. T h e y expressed the idea that adult education should cease to be ca m a r ginal enterprise serving the personal interests of relatively few people' and that, for reconstruction purposes, the peoples of m a n y countries were in need of compensatory education; during the discussion the need for social justice and international understanding was deeply felt; the ideas of technical or vocational training and of literacy programmes were little voiced during the conference, but adult education was said to have the task of 'satisfying the needs and aspirations of adults in all their diversity'.

As a result of this conference international cooperation increased to an extent hitherto u n k n o w n ; a great m a n y regional meetings and experimental programmes were organized, in particular basic education programmes. Voluntary organizations grasped the importance of their role and developed their activities at international level.

At the Montreal conference (i960) a far greater number of countries (fifty-one in all) were represented, and forty-six international organizations sent observers. T h e theme was: 'Adult Education in a Changing World'. It had become obvious that life would henceforth imply adapting unceasingly to a rapidly developing physical and social context; it was n o w clear that gaining mastery of this development was an essential component of any nation's policy for coping with the pressures of change and improving the quality of life. T o quote the final report,

nothing less will suffice than that people everywhere should c o m e to accept adult education as a normal, and that governments should treat it as a necessary, part of the educational provision of every country.

Proposals for constructive strategies include: assistance to be supplied by wealthy countries to poorer countries, priority for literacy training, w o m e n to have access to all types of education, preparation for civic participation, recognition of the importance of the activities of voluntary organizations, systematic training of teachers at all levels in adult education practices, progressive definition of the function of a professional adult educator, and extending the functions of schools and universities to include adult education. Above all, it becomes clear that adult education should be considered as an integral part of the educational system as a whole.

Since Montreal the trend is towards recognizing that the main purpose of adult education is to help to m a k e changes understandable, control them and, if possible, influence the direction they take.

Hundreds of millions of people have shaken

1. The contributions by Lucille Mair3 Yusuf O . Kassam, V . S. Mathur and H . Perraton included in the 'dossier' which follows were first presented at the Conference on Adult Education and Development sponsored by the International Council for Adult Education in co-operation with the Tanzanian authorities (Dar es Salaam, 21 to 26 June 1976). They are published in Prospects with the kind permission of the organizers.

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off the yoke of colonialism and have gained independence; they have found themselves faced with the problems, growing daily more acute and urgent, of literacy training, rural development, and the training of all kinds of staff. It was inevitable that their initial tendency should be to reproduce the educational models inherited from the colonial era; however, activities in which the importance of the functional aspect of adult education was recognized were increasingly undertaken, and in 1965 a vigorous impetus was given to such activities at the World Congress of Ministers of Education on the Eradication of Illiteracy, held at Tehran.

Although functional literacy has been criticized for attempting to subordinate the adult to the machinery of the economy and the processes of production and paying insufficient attention to participation and to social and cultural involvement, there is a growing tendency to give literacy training in particular and adult education in general a slant so that they meet the needs of economic development, at the same time encouraging social progress, participation in community life and also the transformation of society and the development of culture.

T h e existence of a close connection between social and economic advancement and the standard of education is no longer questioned in either industrialized or developing countries; it emerges clearly that more intense participation in the flow of knowledge, and a more systematic effort to combine theory and practice, can help solve the problems raised by rapid changes in production methods, unemployment and the migration of labour; thus in-service training courses have been organized and evening classes and correspondence courses developed while more and more countries have m a d e legal provision for workers to be credited with time off during working hours for training purposes. Adult education is thus gradually becoming a reality.

At the same time, the appearance and development of the concept of lifelong education, by

including adult education among the aims of national development plans, raises the question h o w it is to be dovetailed in with formal education. F r o m this point of view, adult education is no longer seen merely as a substitute for formal education but as an intrinsic part of any education system, addressed, in its various forms, to the whole population; this means that the initial phase of education has a duty to provide a training for the subsequent acquisition of knowledge, k n o w h o w and forms of behaviour, and must be designed with this in mind. Universities are setting up departments specializing both in adult education work and the training of the necessary personnel, and in research into this subject. Workers' education organizations, trade unions, youth movements and w o m e n ' s movements, variously and independently, are becoming increasingly active not only at national level but also at international level. T h e audiovisual media, the press, television and especially radio, are becoming vehicles of culture and education. International exchanges of ideas and experience are being organized.

However there is no denying the fact that, by the eve of the Tokyo conference, despite widespread government action, the support forthcoming was still meagre and subject to budgetary fluctuations—in a word, marginal. With a very few exceptions—some of the best-known occurring in the developing countries—the efforts m a d e continued, on the whole, to be addressed to an élite which was already favoured by the educational system; and there were very few countries in which a structured, coherent, interdepartmental policy for the promotion of adult education had been introduced.

T h e Tokyo conference (1972)1 was attended by eighty-two M e m b e r States, three non-M e m b e r States, five intergovernmental organizations and thirty-seven international nongovernmental organizations.

1. See the 'Dossier' in Prospects, Vol. II, N o . 3, 1972, p. 314-52.—Ed.

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F r o m the discussions which took place at the Tokyo conference it emerged that adult education might be regarded as: A n instrument for promoting awareness, an in

strument for socialization and sweeping social change (it aims to create a society conscious of the values of a sense of community, and m o bilizes energies: self-education and educating others is the duty, as it is within the power, of all).

A n instrument whereby the whole m a n (including m a n at work and m a n at play, m a n in his civic and family roles) can achieve fulfilment, by helping to develop his physical, moral and intellectual qualities.

A n instrument for preparing the individual for productive activity and for participation in management.

A n instrument with which to combat economic and cultural alienation and prepare the way for the emergence of a liberating, genuine national culture.

T h e Tokyo conference, which had before it the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Conferences on Cultural Policies (Venice, 1970: and Helsinki, 1972), also expressed the view that as an essential component of both lifelong education and cultural development, adult education helped to bind them together as the two inseparable facets of one and the same process.

Objectives and strategy

T h e objectives it appears desirable and possible to ascribe to adult education do not differ radically from those which, in our view, any educational undertaking worthy of the n a m e should have in mind.

Thus the objectives ascribed by Condorcet to the education of children and adolescents might equally well be ascribed to adult education:1

T o provide all members of the h u m a n race with the means of meeting their o w n needs, seeing to their o w n

well-being, knowing and exercising their rights, and understanding and doing their duty; to afford each one the opportunity of improving his skills, fitting himself for the social tasks he m a y be called upon to perform, and developing all his natural talents; and thereby to establish practical equality a m o n g citizens and to m a k e the political equality recognized by law a reality: this must be the primary aim of a national education system; and, as such, it is but right that the public authorities should provide it.

However, since it is addressed to adults at grips with the major problems of the world in which they live, adult education should be conceived more than any other educational undertaking, as a contribution to understanding and solving these problems.

T h e first problem is that our destiny is taking on world proportions. In the words of A i m é Césaire, w e are 'open to every wind that blows'. But it would be wrong to suppose that the b o o m in transport and communications has of itself sufficed to abolish distance. Furthermore, the increasingly international character of the aspirations and values of certain groups and communities does not prevent, as the inevitable result of the current system of international relations, the widening of the economic and cultural gap which separates the poor from the rich countries. A n understanding and acceptance of the diversity of customs and cultures must become accessible to the greatest possible number, and lead as far as possible to c o m m o n action on behalf of the least privileged.

Adult education is frequently referred to in relation to the use of leisure. T h e problem of leisure arises in both industrialized and developing countries. For the latter it is often a question of forced leisure due to underemployment.

In the industrialized countries, leisure time has increased, and so has the need for it. T h e

1. A . C . Condorcet, 'Report and Draft Decree on the General Organization of Public Education', submitted to the National Assembly, on behalf of the Committee of Public Education, on 20 and 21 April 1972.

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need for leisure is expressed by some as a need to escape from 'active' life, and by others as a need to find opportunities of freer self-expression outside the confines of one's work and one's various obligations. However, the concentration of leisure time (at week-ends, paid holidays, etc.) causes overcrowding in leisure-time resorts. M a n y forms of leisure cause or encourage the individual to be passive, and the systematic commercial exploitation of leisure often runs counter to the aims of education.

T h e aims should be to give leisure time its true dimension, as a particularly favourable period for doing what one really wants, giving free rein to creative intuition and expressing other forms of community feeling than those which take root in a working environment.

There are, however, two features of the world today which confer functions of outstanding importance on adult education: in the first place, the explosion of knowledge, the rapid development of science and the increasing pace at which both techniques and values are being transformed m a k e it a standing necessity for each individual not only to keep his knowledge up to date but to perceive it as being provisional, and to look at the world which surrounds him as a changing one; in the second place, at the same time as the universe of his existence is increasingly world-wide and global in scale, the individual is more and more fragmented by the scattered nature of his responsibilities and various tasks, their inherent contradictions, the loneliness which encompasses him due to the compartmentation of group, the frittering away of his time and his inability to see events as a whole. T h e task of adult education is to help him offset and transcend these limitations, and find himself as a fully integrated personality.

In the light of these few examples it is obvious that if adult education is to become an instrument for solving the problems of the community, society as a whole must agree to embark on the process of education. Here w e have a second essential component of any

strategy for adult education, alongside the principle that the recipients must be involved in determining the objectives and content of the educational activities in which they are called on to participate.

O n e m a y , however, ask whether only one single strategy exists, or whether there is room for variants. Naturally one cannot ignore the level and type of development, or the features specific to the various groups of which societies are m a d e up, any more than one can ignore the importance and efficiency of the education systems.

T h e nature and intensity of the problems whose understanding and solution adult education must endeavour to facilitate differ profoundly as between countries which are highly developed industrially, societies on the threshold of industrialization and those with a traditional rural economy. In addition, even industrial societies differ in their features, and in most cases there exist side by side production techniques ranging from traditional rural production to electronics, and including craftwork and assembly-line production. Each situation has its o w n needs and order of priorities, on which adult education should try to model itself as closely as possible.

Bearing in mind the foregoing, it is clear that w e have not one, but different, strategies for adult education.

In this connection, there would be no point in opposing a stategy giving pre-eminence to economic considerations to a strategy geared to cultural considerations. It is clear that, whatever the context in which adult education is called on to develop, it should have as its primary aim that of calling forth, in the adult, independent aspirations, attitudes and forms of behaviour, so enabling him to understand and assimilate change and participate in the development and transformation of society. It is also clear that any such aim is incompatible with educational structures which are cut off from life, and programmes which are highly specialized in content.

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Structures

Adult education must be provided with structures that are flexible and decentralized, but co-ordinated and fully integrated into the education system as a whole.

For this purpose, recourse should be had, on as wide a basis as possible, to all bodies and institutions capable of contributing to adult education work: in particular, schools and universities, workers' education movements, trade-union organizations, co-operatives, w o m e n ' s , religious, cultural and sports organizations, youth organizations and those responsible for the popularization of science, the mass media, libraries and m u s e u m s , enterprises and all individuals having qualifications in this field or capable of acquiring them.

T h e contribution by these various agents m a y take the form of the organization and implementation of programmes; or it m a y be limited to the provision of educators or organizers, equipment, advice on methods or even a c c o m m o dation and facilities.

T h e more numerous and varied the agents, the more pressing will be the need to set up co-ordinating machinery at different levels bringing together the representatives of the public authorities and of the bodies and institutions concerned with adult education. It might be the function of such machinery to ensure concerted action and the necessary co-ordination at the planning and operational stages, and to generate n e w activities, in particular any which seem to be necessary for the long-term development of education programmes.

T h e fact is that adult education policy cannot be limited to the mobilization of existing educational resources or to the establishment, in the light of the needs felt to be the most urgent, of n e w institutions with direct responsibility for meeting these needs.

T h e long-term development of adult education presupposes a certain amount of preliminary investment. In particular, in-depth

studies must be carried out on the educational, sociological, economic and financial problems with which the various agents are faced. There is a need to train administrators, educators and those w h o train educators, and to develop the production of educational materials. W o r k will also have to be carried out on the planning and evaluation of the activities undertaken. In addition, documentation will have to be compiled and statistical data collected, while educational information and guidance services will have to be established for adults as well as data exchange networks for the educators and bodies concerned.

Adult education activities conducted by nongovernmental bodies, in particular by voluntary associations and groups, should be encouraged and should be entitled to systematic support from the State. With a view to clarifying the respective obligations of all those taking part, such support might take the form of technical and/or financial assistance, and be accorded under the terms of an agreement or contract. It is, however, essential that bodies in receipt of State support should maintain the autonomy they need to succeed in their educational task. Whatever happens, their freedom of thought should not be questioned.

In most countries schools can m a k e a considerable contribution to the expansion of adult education. However, schools must first become aware of the practical problems of the community and be willing to play their part in solving them, direct and regular contacts must be established with the different sectors of the adult population, and teachers must be prepared to cope with the special circumstances surrounding such work.

T h e effort required from the mass media, if they are to play the role they should in contributing to adult education, is basically m u c h the same. They should enter into contact with their public, solicit its participation and stop acting merely as 'emitters', in order that a two-way flow m a y be established between them and those w h o receive their programmes.

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If this result is to be achieved, it will probably be necessary to set up appropriate co-ordinating machinery bringing together those responsible for the mass media, in particular radio and television, and those responsible for adult education.

Content

T h e content of adult education should derive directly from the ends sought. Like them, it should be varied. There appears to be no field which is a priori beyond the scope of adult education. However, the main thrust of the effort should undoubtedly be in areas where the needs arising from change weigh most heavily, and it should be a paramount concern to avoid too narrow an approach; change calls for a speedy response, but the questions it raises are inevitably recurrent, and one must go beyond surface appearances.

General education should aim not so m u c h at amassing knowledge which claims to be encyclopaedic as at enhancing knowledge which can be used as a tool; it should confer readier and more precise mastery of the various methods, instruments and languages which make possible the development of the critical spirit, as well as of the ability to analyse and form an overall view.

In vocational training, the aim should be to exclude a limited approach geared to a particular situation. O n the contrary, the end in view should be polyvalence and an awareness of the problems relating to the economic and social environment of work.

Training in social, economic and political matters should prepare citizens for democratic participation in the management of a society's affairs at all levels, and enable them to resist indoctrination and propaganda. T o the extent that the mass media increasingly take over responsibility for information, adult education leaders should aim primarily at promoting a selective and critical approach to information,

and the ability to correct it where necessary. In training, with a view to cultural develop

ment , the aim should not be merely to propagate a pattern provided by certain categories of society, but to foster forms of expression which are appropriate to each individual and each group, arising from their experience of life and their o w n particular values.

Generally speaking, priority should be given to recovering and restructuring the resources and means which underprivileged groups or those on the fringe of society can use to fulfil and express themselves.

For example, although large numbers of people each year leave to swell the ranks of the urban population, the great majority of the inhabitants of developing countries still live in small villages or on isolated farms; some continue to lead a nomadic life; most rural areas are growing constantly poorer, and their social and cultural structures are breaking d o w n . These areas must be helped to recover equipoise, by protecting them from the shock of being plunged headlong into the modern world, while enabling them to benefit from the fruits of technical progress and social advancement, so as to make them once again masters of their industry.

N e w categories of underprivileged, such as socially maladjusted persons, immigrants and the unemployed, have been gradually added to the already existing categories of the illiterates and the physically and mentally handicapped. For all these groups, activities should be introduced which are suited to their needs.

Methods

Whatever the content, the final objective of adult education, namely the adult's assumption of responsibility for the problems facing him, with the support of the society in which he lives, should directly inspire the methods e m ployed. T h e end sought should exclude any

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type of training in which principles, content or methods are dictated from above. T h e end sought should also exclude any routine method., any method which places adults undergoing training in a dependent situation, or any method which introduces a divorce between them and their environment or everyday life.

It must be recognized that each and every adult undergoing training is possessed of a s u m total of personal experiences particular to himself, and stands at the centre of a network of interrelationships which m a k e his situation unique.

T h e essence of the problem of adult education is to render these experiences and this situation educational. This is only possible if the adult is given the means to turn them to account, both as an individual and as a m e m b e r of a community.

It is therefore desirable not to focus solely on the implementation stage, at the expense of the other equally fundamental stages which should enter into any adult education prog r a m m e , in particular the definition of objectives and the evaluation of the training given.

T h e individual characteristics of each adult undergoing training include the nature and importance of the constraints to which he is subject. A n effort should accordingly be m a d e to find and adopt the best means of co-ordinating education with the lives of individuals, taking account of the way in which they divide up their time between leisure and work. T h e aim should be to adapt education timetables to individual needs, rather than to adapt individuals to these timetables.

Lastly, special attention should be paid to the teaching aids employed, as also to the technical facilities, used for adult education activities. A s far as possible, adults should be associated with the choice, and in some cases the development, of the educational materials to be used during the activities in which they take part.

A s regards facilities, wherever possible, use should be m a d e of existing infrastructures for

education, science, culture, sport and leisure activities. T h e use of the same facilities for different purposes means that the activities involved no longer take place in isolation, that the barriers between different aspects of life are removed, and this helps to combat the segregation of groups by age or social background. However, adult education is at h o m e in most everyday places, and frequently workshops, fields or public thoroughfares provide as satisfactory a setting as a classroom or cultural centre.

Other questions

In addition to the objectives, structures, content and methods which go towards defining adult education, other relevant questions could well be the subject of an international instrument.

These include for instance: the relationship between adult education and education for young people; the relationship between adult education and work; the training and status of adult education workers; international cooperation.

A s regards the relationship between adult education and education for young people, two complementary phenomena should be highlighted: on the one hand, the extent to which the possession of a certain amount of preliminary education influences opportunities of access to, and fruitful participation in, adult education, and on the other hand, the lessons which might be drawn from adult education with respect to early education. Such lessons are a strong argument for reconsidering and readapting the structures and methods of education for young people.

A s regards the relationship between adult education and work, this is admittedly only one special aspect of the problems raised by the development of adult education. It is, however, an aspect which lends itself to regulation, and one on which a considerable amount of thinking

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has been done in a number of countries and also in international organizations. For example, the International Labour Organisation ( ILO) adopted in 1974 an international convention and recommendation on paid educational leave. T h e major guiding principles in regard to the policy to be adopted in this field should therefore be formulated.

As regards staff, it should be stressed that there are certain necessary qualifications for adult education workers, and that these must be acquired. T h e staffing problem should therefore be posed in terms of the mobilization of resources, the preparation of adult education workers for the responsibilities they will have to assume, and the fitting in of these responsibilities with other activities, occupational or otherwise.

T h e problems of adult education are, h o w ever, sufficiently complex to justify the gradual building-up of a body of specialists capable of contributing both to the training of educators and to in-depth studies. Lastly, adult education needs not only educators and organizers but also planners, administrators, psychologists, etc.

As regards international co-operation, its usefulness in the field of adult education no longer stands in need of proof. It should therefore be strengthened by such means as encouraging consultation on specific problems of c o m m o n interest, making available foreign expert assistance to countries which so desire in order to mobilize their h u m a n and material resources for adult education purposes, launching multinational studies and research projects, setting

up or developing the activities of centres or units which could take their place in an international system for documentation and for the collection and processing of comparable data, and giving support to the activities of regional or international associations which deal with adult education.

There is, however, a field in which special action should be taken: the cost of facilities and educational materials, in particular audio-visual techniques and programmes, is a serious obstacle in the way of their dissemination. T h e international community should therefore m a k e a united effort to find rational solutions to this problem, and to do away with the restrictive regulations which have given rise to this situation.

Lastly, w e should call attention to the fact that it is as m u c h an act of justice as of wisdom to continue to give effective support, either by bilateral action or through international bodies, to the adult education activities of developing countries, particularly those with the highest proportion of illiterate adults. It is important, however, to guard against the possibility that foreign aid might take the form of a straightforward transfer of the structures, curricula, methods and techniques used by those providing assistance; assistance should consist in encouraging and stimulating endogenous development in the countries concerned, by creating appropriate institutions and well-planned structures which are suited to the special circumstances of these countries, as well as by training specialized staff.

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Lucille Mair

Adult learning, w o m e n and development

T h e concept of international development which has been current since the end of the Second World W a r has proved inapplicable to the world of the 1970s, which is a world undergoing radical transformation.

For explicit in that concept was an emphasis on economic growth, based on the experience of industrialized free-enterprise nations. Their developmental style and strategy appeared to have served them well and it seemed feasible to the architects of the First and Second Development Decades that non-industrialized nations should follow similar paths to success.

A n d indeed, parts of the 'underdeveloped' world of Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean did make economic advances during the past two decades, which can be measured by indices such as those of incomes per capita, national incomes, industrial output and others—such criteria are consistent with the canons laid d o w n in the International Development Strategies.

F e w of these indices, however, say m u c h that is meaningful about the condition of the largest segments of the world's inhabitants: their condition of desperate poverty is, however, well known and widely visible. For the mass-communication media of today ensure that the

Lucille Mair (Jamaica). Jamaican Permanent Representative, United Nations, New York.

privileged of the world know more about the underprivileged than ever before in history, certainly more than they did twenty years ago. T h e converse is also true.

So the disparity in the levels of living between the peoples of one region and the next widens dangerously, in full international view. Faced with the evidence of the appalling lives which the vast majority of m e n and w o m e n lead in the three southern continents, despite two decades of 'development', the emphasis of national and international planning is n o w being shifted in an attempt to ensure that the real target of development becomes the h u m a n being, w h o will remain central to all redefinitions and to all revised strategies.

But this is not easy to achieve: for it is impossible to be confident that in critical decisionmaking areas, there exists a commitment to development commensurate with the global scale of h u m a n deprivation. T h e processes in the United Nations in this regard are significant.

T h e urgent need for developmental models which can be effective in meeting the basic needs of m e n and w o m e n has accelerated demands for a new economic world order, which has been articulated by various assemblies and organs of the United Nations. T h e international community is at present investing m u c h energy and expertise in negotiating that order throughout a network of United Nations and other bodies, regional and international. But the pres-

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ent global crisis has been so inextricably linked with the energy crisis, and other specific m o n etary and economic phenomena, such as recession, inflation and trade imbalances, that these issues have taken centre stage; and current international discussions in Paris, in Nairobi, in N e w York, and elsewhere, focus on commodi ties, trade barriers, international debt, indexation, price fluctuations, technology transfer, among other issues—all of which carry fundamental implications for a restructuring of the world system; such a restructuring will make resources available for development. But these assemblies, inevitably oriented towards trade and finance, could quite conceivably lose sight of those persons w h o will be affected by the economic issues under debate. These are the persons w h o will be either the victims or the beneficiaries of the economic and technical decisions taken, depending on the intensity of the h u m a n concern which infuses these decisions. For what is really being negotiated is the present and future existence of the millions of m e n , w o m e n and children of the developing world.

A n d on the evidence today, there is a real crisis in sensitivity. O n e is aware, for instance, of the extent to which the energy crisis shattered the customary political and economic self-assurance of Western industrial democracies. While it dramatized the interdependence of the contemporary world, it also served to drive some nations into retreat on the issue of their responsibilities, in relation to international development. Their commitment was always qualified in some instances; it n o w shows signs of receding, while in a number of regional and international forums, the issue of protecting their o w n societies and economies from future shock seems the major concern. T h e uncertain outcome of the recent United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ( U N C T A D IV) should make us stop and question whether indeed the h u m a n component of development is recognized to a degree that can be translated into political decision-making.

A n d as the h u m a n component of developmental planning assumes greater significance, so does the political. For if the quality of h u m a n life determines the goals, it is the political process which will define the means, and set the pace for development. Both the release, as well as the acquisition of the resources needed, demands the explicit exercise of political options.

A n d here the crisis is one of sovereignty. Il is both national and international. It

touches all elements in the world community, including those which have in the past exercised extensive extra-territorial sovereignty, and those which have only recently come into their o w n .

Control of a major portion of the resources required for development still rests with those w h o do not always seem to grasp fully the extent of the needs of the less-developed world. Control also rests to a disturbing extent with those w h o retain a vested interest in underdevelopment. Yet the surrender of those resources is a sine qua non of development.

A n d those most concerned with development, newly independent nations, have still to come to terms fully with their o w n sovereignty. T h e 'dependency syndrome', a legacy of colonialism, is a corollary of underdevelopment, and an enemy of sovereignty.

This syndrome is a clear constraint on the capacity of developing nations, as independent States, and as the world's largest group to question in really fundamental terms the principle of the open world economy which they n o w attempt to reform, to exercise their sovereign will in dealing nationally and internationally with the crucial problem of distribution of resources, to design radically n e w structures for development. M u c h of the developing world has yet to make a radical breakthrough in conceptualization.

T h e historical experience of m a n y Caribbean territories has m a d e them peculiarly vulnerable to this constraint on action. Their original raison d'être arose out of the Western European capitalist demands for N e w World plantations

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organized towards export monoculture and serviced by imported forced labour. Not even the political independence achieved by the ex-British colonies during the past decade or so served at first to modify in any significant way the inherently dependent and external orientation of these societies. They underwent, as a consequence, the classic application of Western developmental models during the 1960s in terms of, for example, industrialization and capital importation. They also witnessed the classic indices of the failure of these models to enhance the lives of the region's people, unemployment for example, reaching nearly 25 per cent in some territories by 1972.

T o reverse the direction of such policies clearly calls for a break with the past. A n essential departure point, for instance, would be a fresh assessment of agriculture which remained the neglected area of the sixties and which throughout the Caribbean declined in relative terms, and in some places in absolute terms.

T h e search for n e w means and targets implies drawing on the capabilities of sovereign States to unhinge themselves from existing international economic arrangements, at the same time to construct their o w n economies on a foundation of collective self-reliance. Dependency complexes still inhibit some developing countries from advancing determinedly on this path: there is the residue of fear that to do this is to grant gratuitous relief to the developed countries from their global responsibilities. Certainly the task of creating regional and international institutions virtually from scratch, which reflect an emerging Third World sense of resourcefulness, is a major undertaking.

It is no less so at the national level. But here the potential for action is perhaps more easily identified. At the national level effective m e c h anisms of change receive their energy from a population mobilized to see itself in positive terms as both agent and client of development.

T h e process of mobilization is a main function of the political process by which authority and

responsibility are exercised, resources allocated and decisions taken. Political power which provides the dynamic for this mobilization must be seen by all not as an independent force but as the collective drive behind the realization of h u m a n needs. T h e political will must be seen to have one justification, and that a moral one.

T h e question then is: H o w does a society proceed to infuse its people with the expertise, confidence and dynamism required for exercising its political rights, for seizing and converting its resources into the national good?

T h e function of education becomes a critical one, education in its widest meaning, implying clearly an educational process which cannot be neutral.

Certainly pre-independence educational systems of the Third World were never neutral. Their goals were unmistakably, if at times subtly, directed towards sustaining the colonial establishment. Newly independent States have usually inherited these objectives, accepting them as supplements to the economic developmental models in use.

Their implications are vast. A network of formal educational structures together with formal and non-formal institutions of c o m m u n i cation and information constitute what one might term the mind industry, one of the most pervasive of the supra-national enterprises, not always clearly identified as such, and perhaps, for that reason, capable of greater influence. W e k n o w of the capacity of this 'consciousness corporation' (whose local subsidiaries are often the school systems of the Third World) to turn the truth on its head. It has served to reinforce neocolonialism, elitism, economic individualism and its resulting socio-economic imbalances, not to mention its eroding effect on indigenous cultures.

This educational infrastructure, like the developmental models it supports, has to be reshaped, once its essentially political character and purpose are identified and fully understood.

A n d the greatest challenge to be faced in the

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task of educational reorganization is unquestionably that presented by adult populations, w h o are already conditioned, wholly or partially, towards values, skills, and non-skills, m a n y of which are irrelevant, if not dysfunctional. T h e process of unlearning and relearning is always complex.

W h a t is important is that the goal of the c o m m o n national good replace the unrestrained right of the individual to operate within a free market system guided by the law of m a x i m u m profit. Economic individualism is the hard core of Western liberal beliefs which evolved at another time, in another place, and whose validity for a Third World in convulsion must be seriously questioned.

Above all it must be questioned by those masses of m e n and w o m e n w h o have, by Western standards, few, if any technical or intellectual accomplishments, but w h o will nevertheless provide the m o m e n t u m and the material for national reconstruction; w h o will reshape, and be themselves reshaped by a relevant educational structure, rooted in a relevant philosophy of development.

T h e institutional forms must therefore facilitate their multiple function of nationalist, builder, producer and student.

Institutional reconstruction must be an essentially participatory experience. People in all segments of a society, including the least articulate, have their o w n views of h o w to organize their lives. Their perception m a y well be limited by environment and opportunity. But it is a reality which, if ignored, could be a serious counter-productive factor; if respected, and utilized, it can enlarge the pool of resources available for the learning process.

Unesco's recent critical appraisal of its experimental World Literacy Programme has some lessons to offer in this respect. Its most recent evaluation of the progress m a d e in teaching young adults in a number of developing countries indicates that authoritarian forms of teaching produced less positive results than

those which 'gave explicit recognition to adult's experience and insights as a valid starting point for learning'.

T h e myth of the stubborn conservatism of 'the little people', in particular those of the countryside, dies hard. Such persons, it is sometimes said, react reluctantly to innovation. But this assumption underestimates the increasing sensitivity of the masses of rural and urban poor to the true quality of their lives: the corollary to this is their increasing willingness to be part of an experience which offers alternatives to a grim status quo.

A greater obstacle than popular conservatism m a y well be that of an entrenched bureaucracy which needs to see itself in a changing relationship with people and with institutions, to understand the priority of the one over the other, to develop the flexibility which permits structures to grow out of a community's stated needs, and to accept the validity of m a n y indigenous structures which have evolved out of just such a process.

T h e Third World is rich in such authentic cultural forms which express a people's resourceful response to the challenges they face daily, whether in the field of religious, agricultural, financial or domestic organization. T o salvage and to maximize traditional values and systems is not to step backward in time, but rather to ensure that revised developmental policies are h u m a n e , rational and tru lydynamic as they use the secure base of the old and familiar to launch into the n e w and u n k n o w n .

There is already evidence to suggest that w o m e n respond readily to non-authoritarian, informal situations of group interaction and experience sharing which is related to future needs and sets in notion a progression towards creative solutions. A n d this is significant for any expanded concept of development. For it will be impossible to m o v e towards the innovative policies demanded for the remainder of this century without taking into full account what that process will require of w o m e n , w h o constitute the

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majority of the adult population of the developing world, and w h o have been the classic non-participants in development.

In their condition is found both a rationale and a catalyst for change. For some of the most compelling evidence of the failure of Western models to solve the h u m a n problems of the 1960s and 1970s relates to w o m e n : and this fact alone, if no other, constitutes reason enough for revaluation and redirection of these models.

M a n y basic assumptions of developmental experts, as is well known, missed their targets, in the case of w o m e n , their stereotypes of female occupations being often at odds with reality. A tendency to underrate the real contribution of w o m e n to the domestic economy in so many developing countries led to the neglect of their potential for participation in a modern economy, and therefore few of the tools of development went their way. O n e consequence of this was to confound the optimistic thesis of 'inevitable improvement' which the planners of the 1950s popularized. T h e reverse became true of w o m e n , the majority of w h o m tend to play less important economic roles today than in the pre-developed economy. In essence the capital intensive projects which accompanied operation Bootstrap-like programmes of Latin America and other developing regions, made women ' s customary economic skills obsolete, without offering alternative openings. T h e overall gross national product of many such countries did indeed often rise, but at the expense of large groups of the population, including conspicuously, w o m e n .

Today some of the most critical indicators of underdevelopment relating to health, education and economic opportunity, apply preponderantly to the w o m e n of the developing world. T h e appalling incidence of infant mortality and malnutrition throughout the Third World says as m u c h about the condition of w o m e n as about the condition of infants. W o m e n constitute the largest percentage of those persons w h o cannot read or write. Their rate of unemployment of

23 or 25 per cent conceals an even more alarming statistic, namely, the level of female u n e m ployment which is over 30 per cent, approximately twice that of male. It is still more disturbing that few developmental strategies, either national or international, have really come to terms with the significance ofthat specifically female problem in the phenomenon of underdevelopment. It is perhaps true to say that conceptually it is acknowledged; implementation, however, lags behind. A n d the condition of w o m e n has still to be m a d e an integral component of any analysis and appraisal of developmental policies.

Even the United Nations which played a dominant role in alerting the world to the dimensions of women ' s underdevelopment is only n o w moving slowly in the direction of making it an explicit index in the review of international development strategies.

A n d yet a clear implication for any expanded concept of development which replaces quantitative by qualitative criteria is to involve women.

There should be no need to state the case for women as agents of development. And especially so in the field of adult education, where w o m e n represent large proportions of those w h o teach, as well as those w h o are taught. In the Caribbean w o m e n constitute the majority of adult educators.

Nevertheless the case does need restatement. A n d in that context recent and striking manifestations of women ' s part in the dynamics of national progress deserve mention. T h e past two decades or so have witnessed the remarkable mobilization of large sectors of the female population in the liberation movements of Africa, Asia and Latin America, in particular the countries of Viet N a m , Cuba, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau. In these peoples' wars, where no one is a civilian, w o m e n , fully understanding the political forces at work, have performed strategic functions as educators, c o m municators, informers and active combatants;

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they have quickly learned some of the new skills needed for the people's victory, and they have transmitted as they have learnt. In the process they have also enlarged their o w n horizons as w o m e n . Thereby they have maximized the resources available for the challenge, not only of

national liberation, but also of national reconstruction.

T o harness that latent dynamism in w o m e n could open up vast possibilities for expanding developmental concepts and goals, as indeed for adult education as well.

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Formal and non-formal education and social justice

The nature of formal education

Education in most of its prevailing concepts and practice in general, and the formal system of education in particular, have been subjected to an ever-intensifying barrage of criticism in both the industrialized and developing countries. T h e assault on formal schooling is multi-dimensional: it is held that schools teach largely useless and irrelevant knowledge to the young; that they promote competitiveness and discourage cooperation; that they lead m a n y to equate education with schooling; that they kill the desire to learn in children and alienate them from their society; that they are isolated from the c o m munity; that they stifle creativity and the development of an inquiring mind; that they are examination-ridden, and so on. This inventory of criticisms which is by no means complete, consists largely of the pedagogical criticisms of formal schooling. But by far the most serious and crucial criticisms of formal schooling have been articulated in relation to the interrelated roles it plays in perpetuating a hierarchy of power and privilege in society, of maintaining the control of the ruling élite, of promoting class stratification and discriminating against

Yusuf O. Kassam (United Republic of Tanzania) is Senior Lecturer, Department of Adult Education, University of Dar es Salaam.

the working and underprivileged classes, and so on. There is no doubt that formal schooling operates as a highly sophisticated instrument for denying social justice and perpetuating social inequities.

It m a y be useful to m a k e a brief analysis of the nature and extent of social inequities resulting from formal schooling in order to examine h o w and to what degree non-formal education, accompanying overall egalitarian transformations of society, can help in achieving social justice, or to put it in another way , h o w it can remedy and rectify the social differentiation created by formal schooling.

Carnoy rejects the 'colonized' and mystified interpretation of schooling's function that 'in unjust, inequitable and economically stagnant societies, schooling has provided and continues to provide the means for individual and societal liberation. T h e formal educational system—according to this view—acts to offset social inequalities and inefficiencies by being an objective selector of intelligent and rational individuals for highest positions in the social, political and economic hierarchy.'1

In analysing the function of schooling as an allocator of social roles, it is necessary to understand the factors that influence access to the hierarchical system of formal schooling and the

I. Martin Carnoy, Education as Cultural Imperialism, p. 2-3, N e w York, N . Y . , David M c K a y Co. Inc., 1974.

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subsequent performance and success in the system. In countries where elementary education is free and universal, everyone has an equal access to that education. In countries where primary education is not universal and free, definite patterns of differential access to that education emerge. A n d w h e n it comes to secondary and higher education, irrespective of whether or not there is universal and free primary education, there is ample evidence of unequal educational opportunity. T h e evidence further reveals that access to post-primary formal education and the subsequent performance therein is largely determined by the social class to which children belong. So that children of the working and other underprivileged classes, by virtue of such factors as their generally poor environment, the parents' low occupational status and low level of education, poor nutrition and inadequate health care, absence of reading materials and books in the h o m e , and so on, are already at a disadvantage and consequently perform poorly in schools. Hence, those w h o succeed in acceding to higher education are the children of the already privileged classes and since access to higher education controls access to higher income, power, and privilege, the whole system reinforces the status quo of social, economic, and political inequalities. It does happen, however, that a very tiny proportion of the underprivileged manages to pass through the 'sieve'. T o quote Carnoy again:1

. . . schooling in capitalist societies does serve as a means to higher status for a small percentage of the urban poor and an even smaller n u m b e r of rural poor, and it also m a y contribute to dissent and original thinking, which m a y be important intellectual forces for societal change. Nevertheless, these are not the primary purposes or functional characteristics of school systems. T h e y are by-products of schooling . . .

Various euphemisms such as merit, intellectual ability, and talents have been used to disguise an essentially unjust social screening function

of schooling. T h e measurement of ability and intelligence has been institutionalized in the form of examinations which are ostensibly designed as part of the process of democratization and social justice. But the content of examinations (and of I Q tests) is geared to the norms and values of the already privileged classes.

In most of the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, the role of formal education vis-à-vis social justice is of even more critical significance. Against a general background of poverty, a high rate of illiteracy, lack of universal primary education, and very limited secondary and higher education, those few w h o manage to m a k e it through formal education constitute a tiny and highly privileged élite and get jobs that earn them an income that is m a n y m a n y times higher than the nation's per capita income. In other words, a wide educational and economic gap emerges between a small and well-to-do élite and the great masses of the people w h o have had little or no schooling. Yet another distinct differentiation develops between the relatively privileged urban areas and the rural areas inhabited by the vast m a jority of the population. Although m a n y of the newly independent countries have tried to achieve a greater degree of social and economic justice, 'a formidable gap often exists between egalitarian ideology and harsh reality'.2

There is no doubt that ever since national independence, formal education in developing nations has undergone a substantial and impressive increase in gross enrolments and educational opportunities. However, there is a lot of empirical evidence to show that increasing the average level of schooling does not necessarily equalize educational opportunities. Foster, for example, basing his studies on a number of Asian and sub-Saharan countries concludes that a dramatic increase in gross educational

i. Carnoy, op. cit., p. 13. 2. Philip Foster, 'Access to Schooling', in D o n Adams (ed.),

Education in National Development, p. 13, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971.

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opportunities did not produce cany substantial change in the relative pattern of opportunities as between regional or ethnic groupings or socio-economic categories within national populations'.1 In another recent study which has covered m a n y Western European countries, the United States and some African countries, A . L e Gall rejects 'the oversimplified idea that the democratization of higher and secondary education is achieved once such education is m a d e available to the greatest possible number of students'.2

M a n y educational critics have argued for radical reform of the school system while others have proposed a total abolition of formal schools and 'alternatives' in education. Yet it is becoming increasingly clear that education cannot succeed in bringing about any significant and far-reaching change towards achieving social justice if the society at large is essentially characterized by an inequitable and unjust organization of social relations in production and political power. A s Chañan and Gilchrist put it, 'schools are not source of social ills but rather a faithful reflection of ills stemming from society at large'.3 There is, therefore, a fundamental necessity to change the social and economic structure of a society before embarking on reforming its educational system. Carnoy4

argues that

the alternative to the present schools is not the 'open classroom' as Silbermann has suggested, or methods of teaching or curricula which present colonising knowledge more effectively. These reforms are designed to improve legitimization of a pyramidal social structure and hierarchical relations in production. T h e n e w education should instead be designed to create or reinforce a nonhierarchical society, in which property will not have rights over people, and in which, ideally, no person will have the right of domination over another. This would not be an 'egalitarian' society in the sense that everyone is the same: people would have different work, but that work would not give them authority over the lives of others. W o r k would be done for each other, out of c o m m o n agreement and understanding.

What can non-formal education do?

Non-formal education has often been suggested as a supplementary alternative to formal education for the purpose of achieving a greater measure of social justice. While a number of developing countries have seriously embarked on the hard and long struggle of transforming their colonially moulded societies and demystifying social and economic myths inherited from the Western imperialist and capitalist domination, let us examine in a general way h o w and to what extent non-formal education can rectify social injustice that is perpetuated by formal schooling.

MASS EDUCATION

In the developing countries, since formal education caters for a very small proportion of the population, a massive strengthening of non-formal education can provide a variety of educational opportunities to m a n y more people, and thereby help in reducing the mass-élite gap. T h e first priority of non-formal education is6

to bring the vast numbers of farmers, workers, small entrepreneurs, and others w h o have never seen the inside of a classroom—and perhaps never will—a spate of useful skills and knowledge which they can promptly apply to their o w n and their nation's development.

Second, non-formal education can provide continuing education and serve as a supplement to formal schooling to the large number of primary- and secondary-school leavers as well

1. op. Cit., p . 22.

2. A . Le Gall, 'Differentiation and Democratization in Secondary and Higher Education', in A . Le Gall et al., Present Problems in the Democratization of Secondary and Higher Education, p. 23, Paris, Unesco, 1973.

3. G . Chañan and L . Gilchrist, What School is For, p. 13, London, Methuen, 1974.

4. Carnoy, op. cit., p. 366. 5. Philip H . Coombs, The World Educational Crisis, p. 138,

N e w York, N . Y . , Oxford University Press, 1968.

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as drop-outs in order to train them for productive employment or to help them in self-employment; and third, non-formal education can help to upgrade the skills and competence of those w h o are already employed.1

As already stated, the first priority in non-formal education ought to be placed on the vast majority of the people w h o have had very little or no schooling at all. For otherwise, an overall quantitative expansion of non-formal education, as was noted in the case of formal education, does not necessarily change the picture of unequal educational opportunities. As recorded by the Third International Conference on Adult Education in Tokyo in 1972, an increase in the numbers of participants in adult-education programmes2

did not necessarily lead to democratization, although it was fully recognized that democratization could be furthered by the development of such skills as literacy. T h e people benefiting from expanding non-formal education were very often the already privileged; to those w h o had, more was given. There were in m a n y countries vast numbers of adults w h o were denied educational opportunities or w h o did not avail themselves of the opportunities open to them. T h u s , a purely quantitative expansion might well increase rather than decrease social inequalities.

Rather than offering an 'extra-mural' type of education which is usually confined to the urban areas and profited from by those with some level of formal education, priority should be given to 'mass education' designed to raise the living conditions of the majority of the people. Part of this mass education is usually literacy or functional literacy, instrumental in liberating the people from exploitation, m a nipulation and other social injustices. In cases where people seem to be apathetic and weakly motivated to utilize educational opportunities offered to them, it should be the task of non-formal education and adult education to engage the people in what Paulo Freiré calls the process of 'conscientization' and the raising of critical

awareness of their reality, and what Nyerere phrases as cto shake the people out of a resignation to the kind of life they have lived for centuries past'3 in other instances, where a host of different factors prevent, let us say, the workers, from utilizing educational opportunities, a provision should be m a d e , as has been done in the United Republic of Tanzania, to m a k e a statutory allocation of time within the working hours for workers' education.

URBAN AND RURAL DIFFERENTIATION

T h e great inequalities of all kinds that exist between urban and rural areas are largely the outcome of the nature of formal education and of the employment structure. Non-formal education, by focusing most of its programmes on the overwhelming majority, the rural population helps to break d o w n the sharp urban-rural differentiation. Non-formal education for rural development should not consist of merely literacy, agricultural and other vocational education. In the interests of social justice, education and improvements in housing, health, nutrition, child care, h o m e economics and other related subjects which are of immediate and practical use in uplifting rural peoples' living conditions are necessary parts of any prog r a m m e .

EMPLOYMENT AND FORMAL CREDENTIALS

All these different attempts in achieving a greater measure of social justice through

1. See also James R . Sheffield and Victor P. Diejomaoh, Non-Formal Education in African Development, N e w York, N . Y . , African-American Institute, 1972.

2. Unesco, Third International Conference on Adult Education: Final Report, p. 13, Paris, Unesco, 1972.

3. Julius K . Nyerere, 'Adult Education Year', Freedom and Development, Dar es Salaam, Oxford University Press, 1973.

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strengthening and diversifying non-formal education can be largely frustrating for the recipients of this education w h e n it comes to the question of securing paid employment, since employment criteria are mostly based on formal educational qualifications. Until and unless the value and importance of formal paper qualifications are de-emphasized, non-formal education cannot significantly equalize access to employment. After all, as some studies have shown, that while people with higher levels of formal education m a y secure better-paying jobs, better performance in the job and higher productivity are not necessarily a reflection of more formal schooling.1 On-the-job training, for example, for certain types of skills required for production in industry is on the whole m u c h more effective and leads to better performance and higher productivity.

BREAKING THE HIERARCHICAL NATURE OF FORMAL EDUCATION

Along with upgrading the status of non-formal education and the corresponding reorientation of employment criteria, there is a great need to change the hierarchical and pyramidal nature of formal education. O n e of the ways to prevent the formal system of education from perpetuating social inequities is to break d o w n its hierarchical structure by blocking the 'automatic' passage from one level to the next higher level. In the United Republic of Tanzania, for example, it is no longer automatic for secondary school graduates to get direct access to university education.2 Instead they have to work first for a number of years and only after proving their work competence and other abilities and attitudes and obtaining recommendations from their work places and the Tanganyika African National Union ( T A N U ) branches will they be considered for university education. Such a revolutionary change is a positive step in de-emphasizing formal educational credentials. Put in other words, the ability to pass examinations

in formal education is no longer considered as the only criterion in selecting people for higher education.

PEOPLE'S PARTICIPATION IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS

Non-formal education can promote social justice on yet another plane. Formal education is generally characterized by its rigidity and regimentation in curriculum, methods, duration, and timing and also by its largely academic type of learning. In formal education, the learners typically have little control over the kind of education they receive or its organization. Since non-formal education is in principle more diversified and should be flexible in response to the learning needs as identified by the learners themselves, it can contribute towards achieving a greater degree of social justice. T h e participants in non-formal education have a comparatively greater measure of control of the educational process. This process is related to the larger question of achieving social justice by giving power to the people to control their o w n affairs, and w h e n this is interpreted in the light of the historical analysis of colonialism and capitalism, the T A N U Guidelines state:3

For people w h o have been slaves or have been oppressed, exploited and humiliated by colonialism and capitalism, 'development' means 'liberation'. A n y action that gives them more say in determining their o w n affairs and in running their lives is one of development, even if it does not offer them better health or more bread.

1. See Ivar Borg, Education and Jobs: The Great Training Robbery, N e w York, N . Y . , Praeger, 1970.

2. This step was taken in one of the resolutions, popularly known as the ' M u s o m a Resolutions', passed by the National Executive Committee of T A N U in M u s o m a , United Republic of Tanzania, November 1974.

3. T A N U , TANU Guidelines 1971, Dar es Salaam, Government Printer, 1971.

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PRIMARY SCHOOLS AS CENTRES OF ADULT EDUCATION

Another way of optimizing social justice through education is by integrating non-formal education in some form and degree with formal education. In this way, the huge resources that are normally allocated to formal education for the few—resources such as teachers, study m a terials, equipment and buildings—can also be utilized in providing educational opportunities to the m a n y through non-formal education. O n e way of doing this, as has been done in the United Republic of Tanzania, is to m a k e all primary schools to simultaneously operate as centres for adult education:1

T h e general principle is to place the main organizing responsibility (for adult education) on the primary school. T h e school will then become a community educational centre, at which the provision of primary education is only one function. A school so conceived will increasingly become a focal point for the total educational needs of the community, rather than serving as a somewhat detached institution for the education of children.

T h e headteacher is charged with the general responsibility for the adult education activities of the centre; he should identify c o m munity needs, find suitable instructors from various adult education agencies as well as other competent and knowledgeable individuals from the neighbourhood, and arrange the necessary classes. In addition to these instructors, teaching adults and other non-school-goers has become an integral part of the duties of the primary school teachers. In order to enable the primary school to run adult-education programmes, the school is given a small additional grant for equipment and materials, but the main reliance is on the m a x i m u m utilization of existing resources at the school.

T o prepare the primary-school teachers to carry out their added task in adult education, all teacher-training colleges in the country have

incorporated training in adult education methodology in their curriculum. In other words, all teacher trainees are n o w trained to teach both primary-school children and adults, and the practical training component involves the teacher trainees in carrying out teaching practice in both primary education and adult education.

C O M M U N I T Y EDUCATION CENTRES

T h e use of primary schools as adult-education centres is extended a step further into establishing what will be k n o w n as 'community education centres' in the United Republic of Tanzania. According to the government plan, this is an attempt to integrate formal and non-formal education on the one hand, and on the other, it is an attempt to integrate the primary school with the community in a more thorough way. T h e source of inspiration for this n e w proposal has been derived from Kwamsisi Ujamaa Village in Tanga Region where a pilot project of integrating the work and curriculum of the primary school with the activities of the village has shown encouraging results. At Kwamsisi, the traditional and academic type of academic study is giving way to a meaningful, relevant and practical preparation for village life. T h e pupils themselves are involved in the planning and implementation of their self-help activities in the village, and the villagers, besides attending various adult-education classes at the primary school, also have a say in what they think should be taught to their children.

T o start with, a total of thirty-two community education centres are planned to be constructed in Ujamaa villages in four regions. T w o of the centres are nearing completion in D o d o m a district.

i. United Republic of Tanzania, Tanzania Second Five Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (1969-74), Vol. 1, p. 157-8, Dar es Salaam, Government Printer, 1969.

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In addition to having the seven grades of primary education for the children, the community education centre will consist of workshops for carpentry, masonry, plumbing, tinsmithery and crafts. Training will also be carried out in agriculture, cottage or small-scale industries and h o m e economics. A dispensary, a child-care centre, a library, and an open compound for film-shows and other cultural activities will be an integral part of the community education centre.

T h e various educational facilities as well as other social services will be made available to both the enrolled primary-school pupils and the youths and adults of the entire community. T h e educational provision of the centre is expected to operate on a very flexible basis so as to cater for the peculiar needs and problems of any given village.

CO-ORDINATING AGENCIES

OF NON-FORMAL EDUCATION

Non-formal education in many countries is characterized by a wide spectrum of different programmes under a wide assortment of agencies and institutions—both government and non-government—as well as voluntary agencies. In order to maximize their impact and effectiveness for mass education, it is necessary to harness and co-ordinate their efforts and resources through some kind of a structure. In the United Republic of Tanzania, this task has been attempted by establishing an elaborate committee structure at all administrative levels under the Ministry of National Education. At the national level, the National Adult Education Committee, which is a subcommittee of the

National Advisory Council on Education, consists of members drawn from T A N U , N U T A (National Union of Tanganyika Workers), U W T (The W o m e n ' s Organization of Tanzania), T A P A (Tanganyika Parents' Association), T Y L ( T A N U Youth League), C U T (Cooperative Union of Tanganyika), Institute of Adult Education, other ministries and organizations engaged in adult education and voluntary agencies. The regional, district, and ward adult-education committees are subcommittees of the development committees at the respective levels. T h e Regional Adult Education C o m mittee is chaired by the Regional Secretary of T A N U with the Regional Co-ordinator of Adult Education acting as the Secretary. The m e m bers of the committee comprise the heads of the various government ministries dealing with adult education such as agriculture, health, co-operatives, etc., representatives of U W T , N U T A , T A P A as well as representatives of missionary and other voluntary agencies. A similar composition of membership characterizes the District Adult Education Committee and is chaired by the District Secretary of T A N U while the Distria Adult Education Officer acts as the secretary. The Ward Adult Education Committee chaired by the T A N U Branch Chairman comprises heads of formal education institutions such as the primary school, secondary school, teacher-training college, etc., as well as heads of other institutions that may exist in the ward such as a national service camp, prison, factory, etc. Finally, every school and college and all other institutions are supposed to have their o w n adult-education committees down to the class committee.

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V. S. Mathur

Workers' education and the organizations of the rural poor

T h e role of workers' education in particular, and that of education in general, in rural development in developing economies can only be properly appreciated in the context of the prevailing socio-economic conditions in the countryside, goals to be achieved and the need for promoting institutions and organizations crucial for such development. It seems essential, therefore, to make a rapid review of the efforts already m a d e in the field of economic development and to assess the results obtained, in order to identify problems in the way of progress and perhaps indicate possible lines of action. E d u cators might obtain therefrom a better perspective on the role and functions of education in development.

T h e overwhelming majority of the working people in all developing countries live and work in the countryside. It is here that the larger proportion of national wealth is created and therefore any change in the economic and social situation in this sector is bound to have a tremendous impact on the economic and social developments of the country as a whole.

V. S. Mathur (India). Asian Regional Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

Rural poverty and development

W h a t is the economic and social situation in the developing countries of the world? T h e acute conditions of poverty and deprivation in which the overwhelming majority of the rural and urban poor live and work are too well k n o w n to need any recapitulation. T h e Agencies in the family of the United Nations perhaps surpass all the rest in the graphic description of poverty, unemployment, underemployment, undernourishment, incidence of disease and mortality, illiteracy, deplorable housing and environmental conditions, to mention only a few. Despite two decades of earnest efforts on the part of governments for promoting rapid economic and social development and with considerable emphasis on the spread of education, the results have been far from satisfactory.

Political leaders all over the world have clearly pointed out that peace and stability in the world must be on social justice and that if w e ignore the s u m m o n s of the times and continue to tolerate and protect injustice w e will have to pay a high price in terms of economic and social stagnation and political instability. Nevertheless, success in overcoming the above problems has been, to say the least, limited. There is n o w again an urgent need for a thorough review of economic, social and educational policies.

T h e developing countries of the world, though they differ widely from each other in


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m a n y respects, have a few c o m m o n characteristics. T h e conditions of poverty and unemployment are generally most acute in the countryside. There is almost a continuous flow of unemployed, poverty-stricken rural folk to the cities, accentuating further the conditions of urban poverty and unemployment and depressing further the already deplorable social conditions in the cities. There appears to be a link not only between poverty and unemployment as such but also between such conditions in the city and in the rural areas—the exodus from the rural areas making problems in the cities more intractable. It is obvious therefore that in order to achieve any tangible results w e will have to concentrate our attack first on the problems of rural poverty and unemployment.

T h e overwhelming majority of the people in the countryside are engaged in agriculture or in processing or other industries or trades related to agriculture. A m o n g the more important factors which have been responsible for the slow progress in the agricultural sector are retrograde land relations and outmoded technology, although during the recent past, considerable efforts of governments have been concentrated on both of them. There has indeed been a spate of land reform legislations in the various countries of the developing world. With regard to technology, truly epoch-making achievements have been m a d e giving rise to what has been appropriately termed as green revolution, the potentialities of which are immense. However, the fact is that despite progress in both the above fields, namely land reforms legislations and technology, there has not been m u c h improvement in the conditions of the rural poor.

A s regards progress in agricultural technology, termed as green revolution, it has opened up three possibilities of great significance: a sorely needed increase in agricultural production, greater opportunities of employment in the countryside, more equitable income distribution. However, none of the above possi

bilities have yet been realized to any desirable extent.

T h e green revolution (improved variety of seeds, greater inputs of fertilizers and other inputs, more irrigation and more intensive cultivation) has certainly led to increased agricultural production but the potentialities of the technique have not been exhausted. While the experts claim that the technology is neutral, the access to such techniques, as well as credits, are available mainly to the rural rich.

A s a result it has m a d e the situation of the rural poor still worse by increasing income disparities. A s there has been a tendency on the part of the rural rich to have bigger and bigger farms and to cultivate them with sophisticated agricultural machinery and implements, the employment opportunities in the countryside have been even further reduced.

Efforts at changing the economic and social structure of the countryside through legislation alone have not been entirely successful. Further, the emphasis is changing from mere economic development to social transformation and change, of which one of the corollaries is the emphasis on greater participation of the people in economic and social development. All this is very welcome, but w e have to go further and realize the rational implications of these changes in concepts: for participation to be effective, realistic and constructive, it must be through the organizations of the people. Again, in case people are to be assured a just share in the gains of growth there must be an effective mechanism for that purpose. In the modern technological age trade unions and organizations of the people alone are the effective mechanisms for distributive justice.

T h e Asian Regional Organization of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has taken initiative to promote organizations of the rural poor precisely for the above purpose, In its project at Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh (India), an Organization of the Rural Poor has been established with broadly two functions: pressure

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and development. While it seeks to put the necessary pressure for land reforms and other progressive social and economic measures and helps in their effective implementation, the organization undertakes as well considerable developmental activities on co-operative lines such as provision of agricultural inputs, securing of irrigation facilities and providing of other ancillary services to small and marginal farmers for more efficient and more productive agriculture. T h e organization also undertakes creation of employment opportunities for the landless and provision of training, raw material and other assistance to artisans to profitably practise their respective trades. In addition it is undertaking a number of economic activities to supplement meagre incomes of rural poor households through schemes of cattle breeding, backyard poultry and dairying. But the e m phasis in all these activities is to help the rural poor to have a better appreciation of their problems and the possible lines of action they could undertake for their solution and help them to protect and promote their interests through their united effort. T h e need is to help them recover confidence in themselves and in their c o m m o n effort to bring about desirable change in the countryside. T h u s the most vital and crucial input for such ventures is indeed education of various types and of various forms with the aim to equip the rural poor to bring about desirable social transformation and change—a none-too-easy a task.

Workers' education

Workers' education has acquired different meanings in different countries. While in the countries of North America it is almost synonym o u s with trade-union education, in countries of Europe it seems to have a wider connotation covering in addition general adult education for workers as well as vocational education. T h e emphasis, however, is always on the problems

of workers and the most prominent agencies often are the organizations of the working people or those created on their initiative or with their co-operation. It is obvious that joining and participating in the working and functioning of an organization itself is education. Moreover, an organization of the working people having a better understanding of the needs and requirements of its membership and enjoying their greater confidence are often better equipped to arrange educational programmes for them. T h e limiting factor, however, quite often is the lack of resources, particularly financial. A linkage of the educational efforts of the organizations of the rural poor with those of the community m a y perhaps be very appropriate.

T h e areas of educational concern for organizations are roughly three. T h e y are of course concerned with the general education of their membership, catered for mainly by adult-education agencies. T h e y have also often the responsibility of helping their membership to equip themselves better for their different trades and responsibilities in their economic pursuits and occupations. A n d , finally, they must both enable the membership to have a better understanding of the aims, objectives and role of the organization, and equip them for effectively participating in its functioning at the different levels of its hierarchy. While the education for leadership of trade unions and rural workers' organizations, and for conscious and purposeful participation in their functioning, is best undertaken by the organizations concerned, there could indeed be a good amount of co-operation and collaboration with other agencies in respect of general adult education for the m e m b e r s as well as in respect of vocational education. For example, rural schools could usefully play a role. Investment in general adult education results in early returns in terms of better attitudes to production and productivity and greater co-operation with developmental efforts; but is also useful for the education of the children.

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Considerable cultural, educational and informational activities are being conducted in every country by other departments of the government than the education department, such as health and agriculture, not to mention radio, television and the other media. However, if the different resources used for education, information and culture were pooled together and their activities effectively co-ordinated and integrated, it m a y help to go m u c h further and achieve m u c h better results.

As organizations of the poor have a crucial role in economic and social transformation, all educational activities must fully appreciate their role. Indeed education must lead people to forge suitable instruments for progress and change. There has to be greater involvement of the individual in the process of education, both to enable adults to learn better and to further personality development. All the forms of education—informal, formal and non-formal—may have to be suitably used; the emphasis for adults must obviously be on informal and non-formal education. T h e structure of education should be time-free, space-free, age-free and admission-free, which requires that it be provided at times convenient to the

learner. It also means the learner should be free to begin to leave and to return to a programme to suit his o w n convenience.

There should, furthermore, be no bar to education in respect of age; adults possess life experience which equips them with some understanding of the problems which concern them and society at large. They should be given an opportunity for further learning without the preconditions of a diploma or a degree.

There is need for a better appreciation of the role of education and particularly adult education, in bringing about socio-economic changes and transformations in developing economies. This will be possible only when the role of education will not be the accumulation of inert knowledge, but would be to lead to action enabling its recipients to forge powerful instruments for the protection and promotion of their interests and to m a k e a constructive contribution to the development of their respective societies. T h e role of organizations of the rural poor is crucial for economic development and for education to play its effective role in building up a better tomorrow, by creating an atmosphere of hope and progress in the countryside.

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Hilary Perraton

Learning about anything

But what is adult education? Quite simply it is learning—about anything at all which can

help us to understand the environment we live in, and the manner in which we can change

and use this environment in order to improve ourselves. Education is not just something

which happens in classroom—Julius Nyerere, 1969.

T h e case for distance learning—the combined use of printed materials, broadcasting and face-to-face learning is a simple one: more people want to get the benefits of education than our teachers can ever hope to teach in conventional classrooms. If education is necessary for development (and it is) and if ever-growing numbers of people want education and development (and they do) and if the number of trained teachers is not growing fast enough (and it is not) then w e have to find alternative ways of helping people to learn. Distance teaching is one of those alternatives; it can be used in school to help children get a better education than would otherwise be available to them. But it is probably more important for adult education, and for adult education of the kind Nyerere was discussing in the above quotation.

M y aim here is to examine the ways in which face-to-face learning has been linked with the use of broadcasts and printed materials in an attempt to promote development. I shall try to summarize what has been done already both as a guide to further work and to highlight the problems to which solutions have not yet been found.

T h e problem is easy enough to state. Until • very recently in the history of mankind, face-to-face learning has been the norm, and has met the needs of most societies. Even today, most of us probably learn more in our families and in our neighbourhood than w e do in school. But neither this traditional, informal education, nor the newer formal education that comes from schools, can meet the demand for education to enable us to cope with, benefit from and improve a changing world. This crisis in education has led to many attempts at finding alternatives to face-to-face learning where w e are hampered by a world-wide shortage of teachers: among the important of these are broadcasting projects which have tried to help solve educational problems from El Salvador to Samoa, from India to Peru. But, as one study recently pointed out, 'their impact has been minuscule in comparison with the magnitude of the problems they attacked'.1 Broadcasting has the obvious advantage that it can reach, literally, round the world. Provided receivers are available (and can be repaired when they go wrong) broadcasts can be heard, for example, in villages almost anywhere in Africa. But, it is very difficult to learn simply by listening to broadcasts, or solely from the printed word. Thus , w e have a dilemma:

Hilary Perraton (United Kingdom). Co-Director of the International Extension College, a non-profit consultative organization on distance teaching.

1. R . Nwankwoi, 'Educational Uses of Broadcasting', in S. W . Head (ed.), Broadcasting in Africa, p. 303, Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1974-

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Hilary Perraton

w e cannot get teachers into every village; w e can get radio signals, and printed matter, almost everywhere but it is not a particularly effective way of learning by itself. Perhaps one way of getting the best of both worlds is to link broadcasting with group study. There is n o w enough evidence from projects done in Africa during the last ten years to suggest that this is an important, perhaps crucial, educational technique for adult education and development. (I concentrate on Africa because m y experience, and that of the International Extension College, is mainly in that continent. But I believe one could produce comparable examples from Asia or Latin America.) Group learning offers the possibility for people to participate in learning, and in action which follows from learning.

Nyerere wrote in 1968:1

W e have to be part of the society which w e are changing; w e have to work from within it, and not try to descend like ancient gods, do something, and disappear again. A country, or a village, or a community cannot be developed; it can only develop itself. . . . If real development is to take place, the people have to be involved. Educated people can give a lead—and should do so. But they can only succeed in effecting changes in the society if they work from a position within the society.

M a n y broadcasting projects have been a bit like those gods, coming out of the ether, and hoping for changes in village life as a result of the transmissions from the metropolis. But if an educational project links distance teaching—using radio and printed materials—with group action within the community, it offers a way of integrating valuable information coming from outside the community with the strengths which lie within that community. Various different ways have been tried of linking face-to-face learning with broadcasts and print. They differ in the style of broadcasts and the type of printed materials used: but I believe face-to-face contact is the most important and the most difficult element to get right. (Broadcasts and printed

lessons are difficult enough to create, but getting a h u m a n situation right is even more difficult. A n d a good learning group will learn, or do something even if they miss their broadcast: the best radio programme in the world is useless if no one listens to it, and little use if no one does anything as a result of it.)

T h e linked projects fall into four groups: learning groups like the farm forums in Ghana or the groups set up by bodies such as the African Institute for Social and Economic D e velopment ( I N A D E S ) in West Africa or Agri-service in Ethiopia; programmes aimed at existing social or political organizations, to support them in their work; short, intensive campaigns, as developed in the United Republic of Tanzania from 1970 on; and programmes which try to extend the work of schools to new audiences outside their walls. I want to look at each of these groups in turn and then draw some general conclusions from them.

Farmers' learning groups2

T h e idea here originally came from Canada. Groups of farmers, suffering from the effects of the 1930s' depression in farming, came together to follow farm radio programmes and act together in response to the programmes. C o operative action, especially in marketing, developed from these meetings. T h e idea was transplanted to India and to Ghana and elsewhere and farm forums remain an important aspect of agricultural education in various parts of Africa. Information on better farming or m a r keting practices is broadcast; groups of farmers listen to the broadcasts, discuss h o w to benefit from what they learn and then implement what they have decided.

A somewhat different approach has been used

1. Nyerere, Freedom and Development, p. 25, Oxford University Press, Dar es Salaam, 1973.

2. T . Dodds, Multi-media Approaches to Rural Education, Cambridge, International Extension College, 1972.

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by I N A D E S , based in Abidjan. They have done little broadcasting but offer printed agricultural courses designed for group study. 'These are produced in the form of a series of booklets, each one containing material for three or four lessons. Courses are taught in a simple and straightforward manner' using a vocabulary of no more than 600 words.1 (Technical terms are defined by words from the basic 600.) I N A D E S encourage the formation of groups to follow the courses, and base these groups where possible on existing social units—a village, a family or an age group. From the outset groups are encouraged by an extension agent, w h o works with them and with the materials, to farm some land as a group. Feedback to the headquarters of I N A D E S is arranged: groups of farmers together complete a questionnaire as they work through each booklet and send this back to be marked and commented on.

Thus in both the farm forums and the I N A D E S groups emphasis is put on group discussion and action, stimulated by the m a terials coming from outside the village. T h e groups are intended to be long-lasting and, while they m a y rest on existing social institutions, they have generally been set up for the purpose of agricultural education.

Support for existing institutions

Distance-teaching methods can also be used to support existing institutions. In Botswana, for example, the Botswana Extension College was asked by the relevant ministry to work out a programme of education for Village Development Committees (VDCs) ; in a country the size of Botswana it would not have been feasible to bring all V D C members together for training so that it seemed particularly appropriate to use distance-teaching methods for them. T h e purpose of the course was to provide them with more information about the committees' role, their relationship both with their community and with

the government, and about the range of things that they could do. (One chapter of the V D C handbook prepared by the college is entitled ' H o w to Get Money ' . ) T h e course consisted of a handbook, a radio series, and a set of 'lesson notes' designed to be used by V D C members meeting together to listen to each broadcast. T h e intention was that each broadcast should be followed by a discussion which would, in turn, lead the V D C on into more effective action.

Thus , in this case, broadcasts and printed materials were being used to support the work of political organizations which already existed. T h e structure of the V D C s provided a framework within which group study, and action, was possible. While the organizations were permanent, the course ran for a limited period of time: it was thus more like the Tanzanian study group campaigns than the farmers' learning groups described above.

Learning group campaigns

In 1970 a nation-wide adult education study campaign on the purposes and conduct of elections was run in the United Republic of Tanzania, using a radio series, supporting printed materials and organized radio study groups. Three years later8

a m u c h larger radio study group campaign was run, called Mtu ni Afya (lit. ' m a n is health'). It reached nearly two million citizens. For the first time this was not a civics or economic campaign; its theme was health education. There is evidence that it had a dramatic effect on certain health practices a m o n g a very large number of people.

T h e course ran for a limited period, involved the training of 75,000 group leaders and was planned to lead not only to more knowledge

1. ibid., p. 22. 2. B . L . Hall and T . Dodds, Voices for Development: the

Tanzania National Radio Study Campaigns, p. 9, Cambridge, International Extension College, 1974.

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Hilary Perraton

about health but also to better health practices; in the first two weeks of the campaign, for example, 1,200 group actions against malaria were reported, while it seems that hundreds of thousands of latrines were constructed as a result of the campaign.

T h e radio learning group campaign approach —of a large-scale, intensive campaign, using m a n y different government agencies and focusing national attention on one issue for a short period of time—has also been transferred to Botswana. A campaign on the 1973-78 National Development Plan organized by the university in 1973 is n o w being followed with a campaign by a combination of government agencies on tribal grazing land. Radio learning group campaign methods are being used to inform the public about changes in the traditional ways of holding land, and to provide feedback to the government on its new policy and the way it is to be implemented both locally and nationally. Here, the campaign approach is intended to lead both to action at the local level, and to political decision-making at national and district level, based on feedback from learning groups. A n d the campaign is seen as the starting point for a m u c h longer drawn out programme of rural education on the themes of land use and improvement.

Extensions from school

Throughout Africa, many of those w h o would like to go on from primary to secondary school cannot do so: many different attempts to meet their demands have been made . In Mauritius, the private sector has stepped in and 'mushroon colleges' have sprung up over the island, offering a (usually) poor alternative to the State system of education. T h e Brigades in Botswana and the Village Polytechnics in Kenya are attempts to offer an alternative kind of secondary schooling, relevant to the needs of society. Throughout Africa many would-be students try to do a sec

ondary education by correspondence—and are often fleeced by unscrupulous commercial correspondence colleges into the bargain. In an increasing number of countries, government correspondence institutions are n o w offering at least a decent and honest way of getting a secondary education by correspondence. T h e provision of correspondence courses to those w h o cannot get to school and have to learn this way is, for example, the main activity of the Zambia Ministry of Education's Correspondence Course Unit.

But that is a hard and lonely way to learn and, in a handful of places, attempts have been made to set up study centres attached to schools to help the correspondence students. This means that the students' main learning comes from their correspondence lessons, and from linked broadcasts, but they can get help and celbow teaching'—advice, encouragement and help with difficult problems—from a teacher w h o has that counselling function rather than a teaching function. Study centres of that kind have been started in Botswana and in Swaziland; proposals to run them on a larger and more ambitious scale in Mauritius only await money.

This sounds undramatic, especially when compared with the scale of the radio learning group programmes in the United Republic of Tanzania, for example. But it m a y be more important than it seems if it is seen as a way for a school to get involved with the unfortunate children outside its walls as well as the more-favoured ones inside. A n d it is potentially important in suggesting that groups of students getting m u c h of their teaching from outside the community can still be helped by using resources which exist within the community.

What have w e learned?

That is a very quick tour round a wide and complex educational landscape; the purpose of the tour is to put into context what w e have

258


learned about face-to-face learning in multimedia, or distance-learning, projects. For while I have touched on a wide range of different kinds of educational projects, there are some general conclusions which can be drawn, as a starting point for more work of this kind. These concern four aspects of this work: dialogue, feedback, development and practicalities about h o w best to set things up.

Dialogue has been seen by educators from Socrates to Freiré as being central to education. A n d one of the dilemmas with which w e are faced is the need to reconcile the economics of scale, which w e can get by using centrally prepared learning materials, with dialogue, which is necessary if our education is going to be liberating and avoid what Freiré calls 'banking'. ('In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those w h o consider themselves knowledgeable upon those w h o m they consider to know nothing'.)1 If development is to be useful and effective, it needs two kinds of knowledge. It needs the technical knowledge—of better ways of cultivation, or health care, or family planning, for example—which our technologists and scientists have produced.

But it also needs the knowledge of local conditions, of local h u m a n situations, which ordinary people have. T h e scale of our emotional problems is such that our few technologists cannot themselves undertake the job of nationwide education. A n d the job of bending their solutions on to a local situation, with all its local particularities, must rest with the people living in that situation. This is where a learning group approach is relevant.

It would be possible for a government department simply to produce radio programmes, or pamphlets about better agricultural practices, say, and distribute them widely. But if it is done like that, it imposes a solution on the countryside which fails to take account of local differences and reduces the citizens of the countryside to the status of objects, not subjects. If on the other hand, the same materials are used as

the starting point for group learning, then the people w h o are hoping to benefit from the n e w information can themselves discuss it, see h o w it relates to their situation, and play an active part in the development they are seeking. A n d there is evidence that group discussion is a better way of changing attitudes—as opposed to learning n e w facts—than learning from didactic instruction.2 But aside from these moral and theoretical concerns, it works better. T h e evidence for this is, perhaps, the latrines built in the United Republic of Tanzania in 1973 as a result of Mtu ni Afya; evidence is coming from Botswana about the increased effectiveness of Village Development Committees which have worked through our course there and are doing more development in their villages as a result.

T h e combination of learning in a face-to-face situation with well-planned, centrally produced print and broadcast materials, enables n e w information to be made available more quickly and widely (and probably more cheaply) than through relying on traditional face-to-face methods alone. Dialogue within this system allows for local knowledge to be taken into account as well, and makes for more effective learning.

Feedback naturally follows from dialogue. A learning group, with a single literate m e m b e r , can provide feedback to the people w h o are designing the learning programme. T h e feedback has at least three functions. First it enables a learning group to be involved with the prog r a m m e ; questions from learning groups can, for example, be used in broadcast programmes. Second, it enables those planning a programme to modify it as it goes on, or to plan the next stage, in the light of local needs and responses. Thus , one of the functions of the feedback w e sought in Botswana from Village Development Committees was information about the kinds of

1. P. Freiré, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, p. 58, N e w York, Herder, 1972.

2. E . M . Rogers and F. L . Shoemaker, Communication of Innovations, p. 288 et seq., N e w York, Free Press, 1971.

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Hilary Perraton

development project villages wanted to undertake in order to design later, more specific courses tailored to these needs. In Mauritius, feedback from groups on a family-planning series M a Vie Demain provided the college there with information which could be the starting-point for whole n e w areas of family-planning education. A n d feedback of this kind m a y have a more modest but vital function: to enable the organizers to improve what they are doing.

Third, feedback can be used to affect and modify political decisions and policies. A n example comes from the Tribal Grazing Land learning group programme in Botswana. For reasons of ecology, economy and social justice it has proved necessary to change the system of land tenure in the tribal lands of Botswana—about half the total land surface. Land, which has traditionally been held and grazed in c o m m o n will, in future, be divided into three categories: communal land, to be farmed communally and without individual, fenced, ranches; commercial on a lease; and reserved land, to be reserved for the future. As part of the programme of public education which precedes these changes, the Botswana Government has set up a learning group project with aims described in a white paper as follows:1

. . . the first aim of the public information programme is to provide information on the policy. But it has three other aims as well: to stimulate public discussion; to provide information to Land Boards, District Councils, and Central Government on h o w people feel the policy should be implemented locally; and to start a long process of helping people to k n o w h o w they can benefit from the policy by, for example, forming groups or syndicates of small cattle owners . . .

Having obtained the views of the public in the ways described above, the Government will take appropriate action to give effect to these views. If necessary it will revise the policy set out in this paper and present for Parliamentary approval the changes brought about by the process of consulting the people.

Thus feedback will be used not merely to guide the educators, but as a guide to policy on a key issue. Its impact will be felt at two levels: nationally, on the policy as a whole, and district by district on the allocation of land to each of the three categories and on the district rules for land holdings. T h e programme starts in June 1976 and it is therefore too early to guage the effectiveness of this political feedback. But a pilot programme run in December 1975 revealed that the study groups were identifying exactly those areas of difficulty on which the policy will stand or fall and on which government policy was still being developed—problems of interdistrict movement, of the breakd o w n of boreholes and their effect once cattle movement is more restricted, of the modalities of forming cattle syndicates and so on.

Thus , one of the functions of face-to-face groups in a learning situation is to provide feedback; there is evidence that this creates a feeling of involvement for those taking part and provides crucial information for both educators and policy-makers.

Changes in individual or family life are the aim of most of the educational programmes discussed. T h e evidence from I N A D E S , from the various radio farm forums, and from the Tanzanian campaigns, is that practical changes do follow from group discussion. But this remains a difficult area: w e need to know far more about h o w to m o v e from having a learning group to having a group which does attempt to improve its o w n environment: I come back to this point below when considering what w e still have to learn.

Practicalities are the rules of thumb w e are gradually learning about running projects of this kind. O f course w e cannot generalize about some of these: the time of day for broadcasts, or the style of learning materials to be used, or

1. Government Paper No. 2 of I97S- National Policy on Tribal Grazing Land, p. 18, Gaborone, Government Printer, 1957.

260


whether you have m e n and w o m e n in the same or separate groups—those and m a n y other questions will have to be answered individually for each project. But experience generally suggests that the training of group leaders is a crucial issue, and perhaps a more difficult one in m a n y countries than it is in the United Republic of Tanzania where the primary-school teacher already has an accepted role as an adult educator as well. Elsewhere there have been difficulties in getting group leaders—and especially primary-school teachers—to adapt to a role in which their function is not to provide information but to stimulate discussion. Again, preliminary findings from Botswana m a y be relevant: in the pilot grazing land programme last December, w o m e n group leaders performed better than m e n ; housewives performed better than teachers; leaders recruited through a village meeting (kgotla) performed considerably better than those recruited by an extension worker visiting a potential leader's h o m e , work, club or organization.1 A tentative but fairly obvious conclusion from all this is to recruit and train group leaders by very close reference to the values of the society within which they are to work. It is not enough for leaders to k n o w h o w to run an adult learning group—although that is a big enough demand; they must also, ideally, be people w h o can be accepted as leaders, and as innovators, in their o w n society.

T o summarize, then, w e m a y n o w be able to draft a first set of principles for three-way teaching projects—derived mainly from practice and justified by success. Briefly, I would put them like this. Distance teaching projects which use group

learning are effective. Projects should be designed so that there is a

dialogue within the groups. Feedback is important and has at least three

functions: to involve the learner with the project; to educate the educator so that he is more effective; and to provide information for political decisions.

Group learning should be designed—at least for non-formal education—so that the group go on from learning to action.

Selecting the right group leader is vitally important.

Group leaders need to be trained; their role is different from that of a classroom teacher.

Problems

A n d that experience is a guide to the outstanding problems—to the difficulties m a n y projects have faced and to which w e have few firm answers. I list them here—briefly as they are identified rather than solved.

Long or short programmes: D o w e aim at short campaigns, on the Tanzanian radio learning group model, or long programmes like radio farm forums? Often the answer depends on the nature of the educational programme. But there are a lot of issues where an analysis of the objectives of an educational programme does not demonstrate which solution to go for—nor what combination of the two will work best.

Feedback is always difficult to handle, especially on a large scale. If it is collected from very large numbers of groups, there m a y simply be too m u c h of it for an educational body to handle. Is it enough, in this case, to sample the feedback? This m a y be fine for the educators, but does not provide the individual response which a learning group, or a village m a y want.

Action ought to follow from learning, in very m a n y cases. But it is one thing to get a group of people together to listen to the radio, or to study, and m a y be quite different to get them to m o v e on into sustained action. A n d , to solve questions of this kind, w e must think far more about the nature of social organizations—more

I. Evaluation Unit Botswana Extension College, Interim Evaluation Report to Grazing Committee, Gaborone, BEC, 1976.

26I

Hilary Perraton

about the groups of learners and their situation than about the production of materials. It is at the learning end, not the teaching end, that the difficult and important problems lie.

Study centres for correspondence students m a y sound a long way from the learning groups discussed at more length; but in fact the same people are likely to be involved in both. (The community development officer working at Botswana Extension College on the village development programme found himself repeatedly answering questions about examination courses, when he spoke at village meetings.) There are two problems: (a) Can these groups relate in some way to non-formal education too? (b) Can w e do something to ensure that such centres are more than third-rate schools, for those w h o are unfortunate enough not to be able to get to the first- (or second-)rate alternatives?

Extension agents play an important role in many non-formal projects, but sometimes one which conflicts with their traditional job. A n agricultural extension officer is often seen as the m a n w h o has the answers on agricultural problems. But, if new information is becoming available through other channels (print and broadcasting) his role m a y become more of an animateur and less of an informant or guide to n e w practice. This change of role m a y be one w e welcome, but it is still hard for the individual extension agent.

T h e existing social organizations, whether these are formal or informal, matter more to most people than learning groups or farming forums. I do not think anyone has yet solved the problem of h o w you fit a learning system into such organizations so that they fit more closely

with the rhythms, and the needs, of everyday life. Finally, there are major educational problems

to which this varied experience cannot provide more than the first hints of a partial answer. M a n y educators, for example, argue at length about the inadequacies of traditional secondary education, but it is far more difficult to see what to put in its place, or alongside it, which will meet the needs both of students for w h o m it will be the last phase of full-time education and of those w h o are going on further . . . as well as of society. But perhaps part of the answer to that lies in the inspired combination of centrally produced learning materials and group learning. Or , perhaps more important, w e are a long way from a situation where most people can define and articulate their o w n learning needs—or even from one in which helping with this process is seen as a central role for adult educators—a job commended to them by Paulo Freiré in Dar es Salaam.1 But again part of the answer m a y lie in using the face-to-face element in a distance-learning system, and feedback from learning groups, as a way of learning and teaching about basic h u m a n educational needs.

That is what it is all about. A n d that is w h y the combination of media for learning can be a humane way of helping education and development. In a situation of world educational shortages it m a y be a vitally important way if it can yoke together the understanding and knowledge of ordinary people about their o w n lives and the information about h u m a n potentialities which is n o w available from technology.

I. P. Freiré, 'Research Methods', Studies in Adult Education, N o . 7 , 1973, p. 9 et seq. (Institute of Adult Education, Dar es Salaam).

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Gottfried Schneider

Adult education in the German Democratic Republic

Constant further training, lifelong study, permanent education. These and similar demands are today encountered in m a n y countries and m a n y languages. They are not worn-out clichés but rather an urgent request of our times. Higher qualifications, n e w knowledge, abilities and skills are necessary to deal with problems which have emerged in all spheres of social life. This problem is either identical or similar in m a n y countries; the solution, however, is very differentiated and socially determined.

Adult education in the G e r m a n Democratic Republic is based on the central position of m a n in socialist society, the further development of the characteristic traits, talents, abilities and moral qualities of m a n .

In this context it is of great importance to increase the responsibility and active participation of the people in running and planning the State and in all social processes. Scientific and technical progress is closely linked with the training, education and development of the people. In the G e r m a n Democratic Republic the role of m a n is increasingly becoming the key problem of the scientific and technical revolution. T h e goal of adult education then, is

Gottfried Schneider (German Democratic Republic). Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Vocational Training of the German Democratic Republic and lecturer at the Technical University of Dresden.

the development of universally educated socialist personalities.

Accordingly, the aim and the content of adult education are marked by the following essential aspects:

high Socialist all-round education based on well-founded Marxist-Leninist knowledge, education in modern mathematics and natural sciences and languages;

modern scientific vocational and technical training; constant development and consolidation of Socialist

consciousness.1

Consequently, adult education in the G e r m a n Democratic Republic is in line with the goals set by Unesco at the Third World Conference on Adult Education (Tokyo, 1972). T h e resolution adopted there states:

Adult education is an instrument designed for the formation of consciousness, for changes and socialization. . . . It is an instrument designed to develop m a n as a whole. It thus covers both work and leisure-time, as well as his participation in political life, in family life and in cultural activities. It contributes to perfecting m a n ' s physical, moral and intellectual qualities.

That is w h y any qualification measure in the framework of adult education is always centred

1. See 'Grundsätze für die Aus- und Weiterbildung der Werktätigen', Aus der Tätigkeit der Volkskammer und ihrer Auschüsse, N o . 19, 1970, p. 58.


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Gottfried Schneider

on m a n as a whole. T h e unity of general and special education, of vocational-technical and ideological education, and the interaction of theory and practice are, therefore, basic principles of any measure of qualification.

Adult education as part

of the educational system

Adult education is an integral part of the educational system in the G e r m a n D e m o cratic Republic. In this respect it is also fully in line with the thesis advanced at the Second World Conference on Adult Education in Montreal (i960), 'that adult education should be considered an integral part of the overall system of education and training' (Fig. 1).

Under the system of adult education everybody w h o already pursues his profession, every working person is given the opportunity to improve his knowledge and reach a higher degree of qualification; be it on the job or in his spare time.

T h e opportunity for adult education in the G e r m a n Democratic Republic exists in the following forms (see Fig. 2): Training and further training of semi-skilled

workers, skilled workers, leaders of working groups, and foremen1 in the educational facilities of factories, of agricultural production co-operatives, or groups of co-operating farms.

Consolidation and extension of general education in evening classes and in clubs and cultural centres.

Qualification for university-level or technical study of the best skilled workers, co-operative farmers, leaders of working groups, and forem e n ; the educational facilities of plants cooperate closely with evening schools, vocational schools, universities and technical schools in this area.

Propagation and popularization of the latest findings in social, natural and technological sciences, above all through social organiz

ations (e.g. U R A N I A , C h a m b e r of Technology, scientific associations).

Further education of graduates from technical schools and universities and of subordinate managerial staff in the educational facilities of factories, in industrial branch academies, technical schools, universities and schools of social organizations.

Further education of managers in institutes for socialist management of the economy, in party and trade-union schools.

Qualification of teachers and other personnel working in the field of adult education, in enterprise and industrial educational facilities, technical schools, colleges and universities.

T h e citizens of the G e r m a n Democratic R e public m a k e ample use of these possibilities. S o m e 90 per cent of all university and college graduates, some 88 per cent of all technical school graduates, about 75 per cent of the foremen and 68 per cent of skilled workers professionally active, acquired their training after 1946 in the G e r m a n Democratic Republic.

Adult education has a great share in the successes of the integrated socialist educational system. T h e following examples testify to this: In 1974 about 800,000 working people employed

in industry, including the building industry, attended qualification courses.

F r o m 1970 and 1974 some 60,000 adults e m ployed in the sphere of trade acquired a skilled worker's certificate.

In the same period more than 100,000 citizens prepared in evening classes for technical school or university studies; 450,000 grownups acquired a tenth-form or twelfth-form education by attending evening schools, and about 110,000 enrolled in foreign language courses; a total of more than 1.5 million citizens attended evening classes.

In 1974 more than 8 million people listened to over 200,000 lectures organized by the U R A N I A society.

1. A general supervisor with special training.

264


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FIG. 3. The role of socialist adult education in increasing the number of qualified workers.

T h e share of skilled workers in agriculture increased from 9.2 per cent in i960 to 54.3 per cent in 1971 and was about 75 per cent by 1975. Share of socialist adult education in the growth of the number of skilled workers.

T h e system does not set any age limit: anyone can benefit according to his o w n interests and in a way which benefits him and society most.

Thus , m a n y people over 40 years of age attend evening classes where they can improve their general knowledge. A n example is provided by the nationally owned V E B IFA-Getriebewerk Brandenburg: 200 out of 300 working people w h o attended courses at the factory academy in 1972 were between 25 and 40 years old and thirty-one were older than 40.

At present every fourth worker participates

267

Gottfried Schneider

in a planned and systematic qualification course in compliance with the present and future needs of his profession and of society as a whole '. . .to develop his abilities to the full and to unfold his talents . . ., in free decision, for the welfare of society . . S1 as the Constitution of the G e r m a n Democratic Republic says.

The State and scientific character of adult education

State character and scientific character of education have always been demanded by the proletariat and all progressive forces. Today they are pillars of the whole educational system in the G e r m a n Democratic Republic, adult education included.

Legal documents, such as the 'Constitution of the G e r m a n Democratic Republic', the ' L a w on the Integrated Socialist Educational System', and the 'Resolution of the People's Chamber on the Principles for the Training and Further Training of the Working People' place adult education on a State and scientific basis, c o m prising both fundamental and minor questions.

T h e State character of education is, a m o n g other things, manifest in the fact that all educational measures leading to an intermediate or final examination irrespective of the level of qualification, are carried out on the basis of uniform and nation-wide compulsory training and study programmes. Consequently, all qualifications acquired in the different facilities, have a uniform standard and are recognized by all institutions for further training. This implies that working people can pass on to the next higher level and, if necessary, change from one institution to another during a course. E d u cational institutions and centres at factories and co-operatives, in the communal sector, in health establishments and elsewhere work according to uniform principles and nation-wide compulsory curricula. T h e y are instructed by the competent State organs and are controlled by

them. T h e State character of education ensures that adult education too is oriented towards the development of the whole personality. W e are firmly opposed to one-sided development of skills, primarily of manual ones, for a narrowly restricted activity, without the simultaneous development of intellectual capacities, without well-founded basic knowledge and a general education.

Public spending on education which nearly doubled between 1962 and 1973 does not reflect, however, the overall expenditure in this field, especially in the sphere of adult education. Practical vocational training of apprentices and the major part of the expenditure on qualification measures organized by factory workers' academies are covered by factory funds. A s a rule, the industrial enterprises also bear the costs involved in the participation in seminars and courses and in the preparation of examination papers, and the examination fees. M a n y enterprises have m a d e a practice of granting m o n e y for the purchase of the relevant technical literature. Industrial enterprises pay in any case all fees for special courses, meetings and conferences.

T h e scientific character of adult education is ensured above all by the precise content and goal of further training. In order to solve these problems, experts from the relevant disciplines, experienced workers, educators and representatives of the social organizations, especially of the trade unions participate.

Teachers for adult education are highly qualified. All educational facilities, be it enterprise academy, evening school or village academy, are staffed with full-time teachers thoroughly trained in social sciences, in their o w n field and in pedagogy. Most of them have a university degree. Scientists, engineers and managers are invited to give lectures on special subjects on

1. 'The Constitution of the German Democratic Republic', p. 19, of 6 April 1968, published by Staatsverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik.

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a part-time basis: their high qualifications and their ample experiences are another guarantee of the scientific character of adult education.

Adult education and vocational qualifications

Vocational qualification, which is always linked u p with an increase in gerenal education, is an essential part of adult education in the G e r m a n Democratic Republic. This cannot and must not be otherwise if the goals set by the Third World Conference on Adult Education in Tokyo for making adult education can instrument for preparation for work in production and for participation in running the enterprise' are to be fulfilled.

This is one of the reasons w h y the directors of plants and industrial enterprises carry the responsibility for the qualification of the working people of the enterprise concerned. T h e required present and the future educational standards of the workers figure in the planning activities of the enterprise as m u c h as do the economic, technical or technological indices. Each conception of rationalization has educational consequences. Vocational qualification is thus an essential element of any plan, and an important basis for the continued development and social security of the working people until retirement. T h e executive committees of the trade unions watch over the fulfilment of plan targets.

T h e aim of measures of qualification is above all to train semi-skilled workers to be skilled ones, and to enable people to advance from narrowly profiled jobs to modern vocations. In addition great attention is given to the further training of workers, skilled workers, work-team leaders and foremen. T h e goals and content of it are derived from the social, scientifico-technical development and from the development of the enterprise itself.

A special area in further vocational qualifi

cation is the training of foremen (see Table i). After a lengthy period of testing this kind of training has been carried out since 1973 along the following lines:1

Basic training (uniform for all specializations of foremen).

T h e development of foremen as leaders of socialist collectives, and includes education in Marxism-Leninism, the fundamentals of pedagogics and psychology, the science of labour and industrial economics.

Technical training (differentiated in accordance with the different types of specialization which are partly overlapping).

Specialization (practical work for future forem e n in line with the requirements of the special sector of production).

All the training programmes are carried out by factory workers' academies, village or cooperation academies. This is done in the form of theoretical lessons in modern instruction rooms by classes or groups, in the form of practical training at the places of work, in teaching laboratories or at simulation or training apparatus. In addition there is the form of individual instructions by lecturers or sponsors during and outside the process of work. Private studies on the basis of literary and audio-visual teaching aids, consultations and individual discussions with teachers, enterprise managers and workmates are other forms of adult education.

Equality of w o m e n and adult education

In the G e r m a n Democratic Republic over 84 per cent of all w o m e n and girls of working age carry on a trade, a proportion far above that in m a n y other countries (see Fig. 4).

O n the basis of directives on the promotion of w o m e n , specific regulations have been laid

1. See: 'Verordnung über die Aus- und Weiterbilding der Meister; Lazo Gazette I, N o . 33-173, p. 342-4.

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F I G . 4 . Share of female workers in industry.

d o w n in the different spheres of social life, including adult education. T h e 'Order on the promotion of fully employed w o m e n to be skilled workers in production'1 lays d o w n among other things: Prior to training, enterprises conclude agree

ments on qualification with the w o m e n concerned, which contain: aim and duration of training, employment of a mentor, hours of release from work, a secured conclusion of training (for example in cases of illness, illness of a child, pregnancy), personal talks with managers.

T h e training has to be carried out in a rational way taking into account the qualifications already acquired, experiences in work, in professional and personal life as well as the profession exercised.

T h e directors of the enterprises have to provide w o m e n with jobs in accordance with their qualification.

W o m e n with one or more children will be released from work for one day a week to be able to take part in theoretical classes; w o m e n with three or more children can be released from work for two days.

W o m e n have to be paid a compensation equal to their average wages.

All these stipulations covers above all social and socio-economic aspects. But they are important pre-conditions for the qualification of fully e m ployed female production workers.

With regard to the goals and the content of qualification there are, however, no differences between m e n and w o m e n .

T h e organization of adult education takes into account special burdens to which w o m e n are exposed—family and children, shift-work, etc. For this reason, special classes have been set up in which only w o m e n are taught, in order to

1. See Law Gazette II, N o . 74-1972, p. 860-1.

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T A B L E I . Training of foremen (up to a m a x i m u m of two years)

Duration Subject Comment

Specialization 2-3 months

Technical training 5-6 months (at least

480 hours)

Basic training 10 months (or 851 hours)

Specialization of foremen in practical courses (to be carried out, as a rule, in the future sector of employment); preparation for running a foreman's section

Technology Machine apparatus and instrument engineering Material economy Testing, measuring and control techniques Other subjects in line with special fields Also includes health, labour and fire protection and

civil defence

Socialist management of the economy (237 hours) Socialist science of labour (120 hours) Pedagogical and psychological foundations of socialist

managerial activities (142 hours) Fundamentals of Marxist-Leninist philosophy

(74 hours) Fundamentals of political economy (126 hours) Scientific communism and lessons of the struggle of

the German and international working-class movement (52 hours)

Individually and object-oriented employment

Different for 115 specializations

For all specializations the same

adapt the organization of further training to times of special stress for w o m e n . M a n y enterprises invite the best teachers, and m a k e available modern instructional material for these classes.

In this way adult education contributes to finally overcoming the historically conditioned, and in some sectors still visible, backwardness of w o m e n in the field of qualification.

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Adult learning in

Ontario, a province located in central Canada, has a population of over 8 million people. Although the totalarea of the province is over 400,000 square miles (over 1 million square kilometres), the overwhelming majority of the population lives in southern Ontario, which includes less than one-third of the area of the province.

The Ontario school system offers elementary and secondary education to all children and young persons able to profit from instruction. The school programme covers kindergarten, eight years of elementary instruction, and five years of secondary school. Compulsory school attendance has been enforced since 1870. At present the age of compulsory attendance is 6 to 16; kindergarten is voluntary at the age of 5, but nearly all children of this age are enrolled. Since the second half of the 1960s, junior kindergarten is being offered in many schools, and by 1974 the percentage of Ontario's 4-year-olds enrolled in junior kindergarten was 33 per cent. As far as the secondary school is concerned, in 1974/75 the net enrolment rate1 of

Ignacy Waniewicz (Canada). Journalist, television producer-director and social researcher. He is Director of the Office of Planning and Development of the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, Toronto, and author of numerous educational films, television programmes and publications, among others, Broadcasting for Adult Education: A Guidebook to World-wide Experience ( Unesco Press).

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Ontario

persons age 16 was 87 per cent; of age 17, 69 per cent; and of 18, 34 per cent.

The post-secondary educational system consists primarily of two major components: community colleges with over ninety campuses serving all the major economic regions of Ontario; and universities.

The community colleges were introduced in the 1960s with the main purpose of providing job-oriented programmes beyond the secondary level for high-school graduates who require post-secondary training and education other than university. They also offer programmes to meet the educational needs of adults and out-of-school youth, whether or not they are secondary-school graduates.

In 197 s 176 the post-secondary enrolment of full-time students in community colleges was about 60,000, and in universities about 160,000. However, the number of part-time credit students enrolled in colleges considerably exceeds full-time enrolment, while the number of part-time university students reached 75,000. In addition, many hundreds of thousands of adults participate in non-formal learning opportunities offered by the colleges and universities, as well as by a great variety of other organizations, such as the local school board, social, community and cultural organizations, municipal authorities, private schools, sports and interest clubs, etc.

I. i.e. the total enrolment in the secondary-school grades of persons of a specific age, divided by the total population of that age.

Adult learning in Ontario

The demand for part-time learning

W h a t is the nature and scope of deliberate involvement of adults in formal and non-formal part-time learning activities in a region containing an abundance of institutions of formal education?

T o answer this question, a major probability sample survey was carried out by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority ( O E C A ) . 1 T h e study, which was recently p u b lished,2 indicates that the number of Ontario adults w h o are actively engaged in learning can be considered indeed as very high. T h e incidence of learning, as well as the interest in learning by those w h o are not yet engaged in a deliberate learning process, spreads over the entire spectrum of adulthood and early old-age. At least 1.4 million adults (about 30 per cent of the adult population) are actively engaged in a systematic learning activity; 80 per cent of them have the intention of continuing systematic learning in the near future, and over 800,000 adults (about 18 per cent of all adults) w h o currently are not engaged in such an activity—at least in their o w n perception—express the intention to study in the next year or two.

O n e of the main conclusions that m a y be derived from these data is that Ontario's educational opportunities are numerous and relatively accessible to m a n y parts of the population. T h e educational services in Ontario are, to a significant degree, 'open'. Judging, however, from the number of 'would-be-learners' and their specific demographic and socio-economic characteristics, and from the reasons w h y the 'non-learners' do not participate in learning activities, the educational services in their present state are not sufficiently adapted to the needs of numerous specific population groups.

A m o n g those w h o require a more easily accessible educational system are w o m e n , and persons of certain types of occupations, for example clerical workers, unskilled labourers

and persons living in rural areas. H o m e - m a k e r s and home-bound people in general, are also in search of educational facilities appropriate to them.

T h e results of the study indicate clearly that working adults need n e w and a greater variety of educational services and opportunities. These newly required services would have to take into account, to a greater degree than existing services, people's constraints in time, in geographic location, in ability to leave h o m e , in ability to travel, etc. Opportunities better adapted to particular needs are also required by both the youngest adults and the middle-aged.

In large urban centres, despite the high incidence of learning, more learning opportunities are needed for numerous groups of adults unable to take advantage of existing ones.

M o r e efforts are needed to m a k e learning accessible to various ethnic groups, particularly the French-speaking population of Ontario.

Income level and the level of educational attainment are closely related to participation in adult learning. T h e more people are educated and the more m o n e y they earn, the more actively they are interested in learning. T h e variable that is most responsible for the incidence of learning seems to be educational attainment: if the incidence of learning is higher a m o n g those with a higher personal and family income, it appears to be so because their educational attainment is generally higher.

T h e gap between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' in education seems to widen, in spite of the fact that the level of educational attainment of the population in general seems to be increasing. N e w initiatives and more efforts are needed if

1. O E C A operates a network of educational television stations in Ontario (Canada), and provides programme services through cable television systems and distribution of video tapes to educational institutions.

2. Ignacy Waniewicz3 Demand for Part-Time Learning in Ontario, published for the Ontario Educational Communications Authority by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Toronto (Canada)s 1976. This article is based on its findings.

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there is to be any change in the chronic situation in which the lower socio-economic classes are consistently 'under-represented' a m o n g adult-learning participants, while those of the middle and upper groups are consistently 'over-represented'.

Without, however, belittling these obvious gaps and limitations in delivery of educational opportunities (which will never be entirely eliminated as increasingly effective education creates more demands for further education), Ontario exhibits a fresh and dynamic approach in understanding the needs for adult learning. This results in an immense variety of teaching-learning situations.

Where do adults learn?

Most adult learners are usually engaged in learning activities through more than one institution or facility. T h e average number of learning projects in which an average 'learner' is estimated to be 'enrolled' is 2.6. In other words, those w h o are conscious of their learning efforts can usually identify more than one subject of study in which they are involved. Institutions of formal education, such as universities, colleges, evening and correspondence schools, trade school, etc., have only a 30 per cent share of the total learning projects of adults; 70 per cent of all deliberate learning activities take place outside the system whose primary objective is education.

W h e r e else, then, do people learn in Ontario? Nearly every second learner participates in at least one learning project in community, cultural, service and similar organizations (for example, community groups, libraries, m u seums, Y M C A , R e d Cross, churches, etc.). O f all learning projects, 16 per cent are somehow related to people's place of work: they are either part of one's work, they m a y be carried out at the place of work even if they are not related to one's occupation, or else they m a y be carried

out through other organizations and institutions but are sponsored by the employer or trade union. A similar number of activities take the form of self-directed learning, i.e. the deliberate acquisition of defined bodies of knowledge and skills undertaken by people on their o w n and planned by themselves. (It should be stated that in all probability, m a n y more people than the number w e estimated are engaged in this type of learning.

O u r rather conservative estimate is due to the fact that the study was based on personal interviews with people on the basis of a questionnaire which put emphasis on 'educational' practices. M a n y people w h o are learning various subjects on their o w n do not realize that they are engaged in an educational activity, and therefore tend to ignore or even to deny their existence. Studies by D r Allen T o u g h 1 indicate that almost every individual undertakes at least one or two learning efforts a year, and some individuals undertake as m a n y as fifteen or twenty. It m a y be of interest to note that all self-directed 'learners' w h o identified themselves as such during our survey, were engaged in at least one other study project of a more formal nature. This seems to indicate that those w h o participate in learning facilitated by an educational institution or other organizations are more conscious of the learning efforts undertaken on their o w n .

Quite a number of people participate in learning opportunities offered by clubs or groups which meet for specific interests or hobbies, such as book clubs, film clubs, drama groups, sports clubs, etc. Altogether, 9 per cent of the learning projects are facilitated through interest circles. For about 5 per cent of 'learners', radio and television broadcasting is one of the sources of their learning efforts: 2 per cent of all study projects undertaken by adults are based on radio and television programmes.

I. Allen Tough , The Adult's Learning Projects, Toronto, T h e Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 1971.

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It m a y be worth while to describe briefly some of the centres of adult learning.

Universities. Each of the seventeen Ontario universities offer a variety of credit and non-credit courses for part-time learners. Formal degree-oriented part-time learning is available in m a n y disciplines at the undergraduate and graduate level. Nearly one-third of all credit course enrolments are by part-time learners. T h e non-formal courses embrace a great variety of subjects ranging from professional and vocational interests to crafts and recreational skills. T h e majority, however, of the university non-credit programmes consist of professional development courses with most of them offering some kind of certificate or diploma.

S o m e universities have established special colleges dedicated entirely to part-time learners. For example, Woodsworth College of the University of Toronto makes available the resources of the University of Toronto to adults w h o are prepared to undertake systematic study on a part-time basis. There are about 20,000 part-time students, at the university as a whole, with m a n y of them registered in programmes of study leading to a degree, diploma or certificate. A large number of students pursue courses by correspondence. In addition to such degrees as bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of education, the following programmes m a y be undertaken through part-time study: the first and second year of most engineering programmes; the first and second year of the nursing programme; and an upgrading prog r a m m e leading to a degree of B.Sc. in occupational and physical therapy.

A similar college, the Atkinson College of York University in Toronto, is the evening faculty of undergraduate arts and science offering courses leading to four degrees: bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of arts (administration), and bachelor of social work. T h e college operates on the course-credit system, not the year system. In s u m m e r , courses

are offered during the day, as well as in the evening.

T h e University of Waterloo is offering a correspondence programme which consists of courses with series of lectures recorded on audio cassettes with accompanying sets of lecture notes and textbooks. Although the majority of students reside in larger population centres, a number of students live in the isolated areas of the north, as well as in others provinces of Canada. In 1975-76, approximately 2,500 students were taking correspondence courses at the University of Waterloo. A n u m ber of degree programmes can be taken either completely or for the most part by correspondence: B . A . degrees in general psychology and general history; B . M a t h general degree; general science B.Sc. degree and similar. In addition to degree courses, the correspondence programme offers also general interest courses in such domains as accounting, computer science, general literature, history, etc.

Community Colleges. Ontario's twenty-two colleges of applied arts and technology, generally k n o w n as the community colleges, have branched out into over ninety campuses in m a n y Ontario municipalities. In addition to their highly diversified full-time programmes, they offer m a n y opportunities for adult learners through: (a) post-secondary courses, leading to the regular diplomas and certificates offered by the colleges; (b) non-credit general interest and career oriented courses; (c) adult retraining courses sponsored by the Department of M a n power and Immigration of the federal government, and provincial agencies; (d) training in business and industry, and management development courses, organized in co-operation with employers of different sectors; (e) apprenticeship programmes.

Nearly 300,000 adults participate in these activities. Registrations in post-secondary credit programmes constitute about one-fifth of the total registrations, while registrations in

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general-interest, non-credit learning programmes constitute one-third of the total registrations.

School Boards. Almost every school board offers some form of continuing education programming. Non-formal programmes constitute well over 80 per cent of the activities. T h e highest concentration of registrations is in the area of 'hobbies and recreation', constituting more than one-quarter of all school board registrations.

Libraries. Ontario libraries carry out a great variety of cultural activities such as lectures, film demonstrations, drop-in sessions, coffee gatherings, tours, expositions, etc. M a n y of them offer also more structured and systematic non-formal learning programmes. T h e extent of participation in these programmes does not lend itself to the same kind of measurement as those of universities, community colleges and school boards. Records of registration are often not readily accessible or available in the 300 library boards and over 700 local libraries.

T h e township, village and rural libraries which constitute 30 per cent of the libraries in Ontario are usually not involved in continuing education programmes. Hobbies, recreation and personal development are the subject of most of the learning opportunities offered by libraries. T h e nature of the programmes usually offered and the hours (mornings and afternoons) suggest that libraries attract more w o m e n than m e n .

Y M C A - Y W C A . T h e sixty Y M C A s (Young M e n ' s Christian Association) and Y W C A s (Young W o m e n ' s Christian Association) in Ontario offer a variety of non-formal learning opportunities.

Programmes offered under the categories of 'personal development' and 'hobbies and recreation' attracted nearly 90 per cent of the total number of participants recorded. Within these two categories, programmes devoted to

structured learning in the domain of sports and physical education accounted for over 40 per cent of the activities offered. A considerable number of programmes are offered in the domain of language teaching, arts and crafts.

Geographically, the educational activities of these associations are concentrated in the rather densely populated urban areas, and except for sports and recreational education, their activities usually overlap with programmes of other educational and cultural organizations.

Business and industry. Job-related vocational and professional training is probably one of the most prevalent forms of adult learning, but it is extremely difficult to collect related statistical data.

M a n y business and industry organizations sponsor programmes through universities and community colleges. For example, the Institute of Canadian Bankers is one of the major sponsors of credit programmes, offering courses through fourteen Ontario universities and two community colleges. Business associations, like boards of trade, manufacturers' associations, bankers' institutes, etc., offer seminars and courses on topics of interest to their members .

M a n y of the programmes offered by the trade unions take the form of week-end, or three- to five-day seminars and workshops. T h e majority of the programmes deal with six subject areas: personal development, skill training, steward training, union organization, collective bargaining, and grievance and arbitration.

Health organizations. Hospitals provide educational services which are concerned with in-service training and upgrading of nurses. Other health service agencies offer first-aid, home-nursing and pre-natal programmes. For example, the St John's Ambulance offers a variety of first-aid courses for both children and adults throughout the province. H o m e -nursing courses are organized by the Canadian Red Cross. Pre-natal care courses are offered

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by agencies such as the Prenatal Education Committee of Metropolitan Toronto. Canadian Mothercraft and T h e Childbirth Education Association of Canada. Certain health-service agencies such as the Canadian Hemophilia Society, the Ontario Epilepsy Association and the Canadian Hearing Society provide programmes that are tailored to the needs of afflicted individuals and their families. It seems, however, that public health education on a wide scale is not conducted through structured programmes but rather through news media, posters, brochures, etc.

Educational broadcasting. Thanks to the O n tario Educational Communications Authority ( O E C A ) and its close co-operation with universities and colleges and other learning institutions throughout Ontario, an increasing number of educational opportunities are being m a d e available through television. A combination of off-air broadcasts and more traditionally structured learning systems complimenting one another are beginning to serve as an effective resource for continuing education. A non-credit extension course in chemistry based around a series of television programmes Dimensions in Science, is offered by six Ontario universities. A correspondence history course ' T h e Meaning of Civilisation' offered by the University of Waterloo is being built around the known television series Civilisation. T h e Seneca College Without Walls in Toronto is offering a course on Canadian political science ' T h e Government W e Deserve', based on a television series of the same n a m e produced by O E C A . Laurentian University in Sudbury uses an OECA-produced television series Planet of M a n , plus a number of programmes produced by the university itself, to offer a credit course in first-year geology. T h e series The Prisoner, a futuristic, psychological thriller shown on the O E C A television network, serves as a base for a non-credit course offered by the Seneca College Without Walls under the n a m e 'Explorations',

with the purpose of examining problems related to h u m a n values. T h e O E C A ' s S u m m e r Acade m y , designed for the general public is a relatively n e w successful venture. Last s u m m e r , two courses, combining broadcast, telephone conversations, tapes, print materials and face-to-face meetings were offered under the titles 'Brush U p Your French' and 'Brush U p Your Math ' .

ITEM: metropolitan Toronto

T h e programme originating agencies and the variety of continuing education opportunities are so numerous that the dissemination of information about available courses has become a major problem. In recent years, interesting initiatives have been undertaken, aimed at integrating information and making it available across different constituencies. For example, the Metropolitan Toronto Library Board1 is publishing a continuing-education directory with at least two editions each year. It lists most of the part-time courses, extension courses, night-school courses, correspondence courses (cultural, academic, technical, recreational, vocational, self-improvement, etc.) in all subjects at all levels of knowledge and skills which are being offered in the Metropolitan Toronto area during a given term.

T h e Fall 1976 edition of the directory, listed about 5,500 courses and programmes available, and this does not include degree courses or courses given by professional, trade and other occupational associations exclusively for their o w n members , nor programmes given by churches, unions, clubs, voluntary associations, civil services, etc., exclusively for their o w n members .

1. O n e of Ontario's regional library systems which coordinates library services among the six boroughs of Toronto, and whose task is, among others, to provide centralized reference services.

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Altogether, well over 200 different subjects are being offered within such areas as arts, business, communication arts and technology, computer and data processing, crafts, health and medical sciences, humanities, languages, mathematics, performing arts, recreation, science, social sciences, sports and games, technical engineering and trades. A variety of courses are offered on elementary- and secondary-school subjects for those w h o want to complete their formal education on these levels. In addition, there are general interest subjects on such topics as animals and pets, antiques, cooking, dress-making, gardening, landscaping, nature study, self-improvement, travel, wines and spirits, yoga and m a n y others related to hobbies, and h o m e and family interests.

Nearly eighty different Metropolitan Toronto institutions and organizations are listed a m o n g those w h o sponsor courses. W h o are these organizations? T h e boards of education, the parks and recreation departments, the public library systems of all six boroughs of Metropolitan Toronto. They include the two Toronto universities and their colleges, and the four community colleges w h o offer (in addition to their degree and diploma courses) a wide variety of special and general interest programmes addressed to the 'lifelong learner' w h o seeks intellectual, cultural and professional enrichment without the rigours of formal learning. Amongst them are the Toronto art galleries and m u s e u m s ; theatrical, ballet and music societies; health societies; ethnic groups and associations; professional associations; religious societies and institutions; sports and recreation clubs; science societies; and government agencies.

Although the duration of courses listed in the directory varies considerably, the majority are ten and twenty-five weeks long. Also, fees differ, depending on the duration of courses, type of subject-matter and type of sponsoring organization. For example, the fee for a four-week Defensive Driver Training Course offered by the Toronto Board of Education is $5, while a

thirty-four week correspondence course on International Economics offered by the U n i versity of Toronto School of Continuing Studies costs $100. But there are also m a n y courses offered free of charge, particularly almost all courses on 'English as a second language', all the secondary-school-level correspondence courses organized by the Ontario Ministry of E d u cation, m a n y of the arts and crafts courses organized by the parks and recreation departments of the boroughs, programmes for senior citizens, etc.

Geographic disparities and obstacles to learning

While it would be unjustified to claim that educational opportunities for adults exist only in large metropolitan centres, considerable discrepancies exist between different areas of the province.

It would appear that, regardless of population size, the presence of a post-secondary education institution in a given county, predetermines the level of participation in adult learning in the area. For example, in counties in which there are no community colleges or universities, the participation of adults in learning activities is considerably lower. T h e presence of a university or college seems to activate other agencies in initiating the provision of learning opportunities.

Southern Ontario has undoubtedly the greatest diversity of learning opportunities. Universities located within fifty miles of the southern border of Canada have 90 per cent of the registrations in part-time credit programmes , while this area has only about 80 per cent of the Ontario population. Southern Ontario also abounds in non-credit university programmes; Toronto alone—accounting for only one-quarter of the province's population— has more than half of all registrations in university non-credit programmes. Similarly, Toronto

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and its environs has well over half of the total registrations in all adult-learning programmes in the community colleges, with the remainder being shared by other industrial and mining centres.

Perhaps the best way of summing up the findings about barriers to learning and reasons for not learning would be to look at the data from the perspective of the total population. It should, first of all, be stated that only 23 per cent of 'non-learners' state lack of interest as a reason for not participating in learning activities.

Nearly 2 million adults in the province consider that being busy is an obstacle to learning although m a n y of them are able to undertake learning despite this obstacle. Nearly 700,000 persons (15 per cent of the total adult population) consider that they could not in the past or cannot at present afford learning activities. Over 500,000 found, in the past or at present, that it was too hard to get out of the house. For nearly 500,000 people, courses were or are located too far away. However, m a n y people refer to their dislike of schedules and exams, uncertainty about the value of available courses, as reasons for not learning.

Relatively few people state explicitly that their lack of self-confidence or lack of prior education are obstacles to learning.

If w e set aside such reasons as being too busy, being too tired and lack of interest in further learning, assuming—rightly or wrongly—that they belong to those about which the educational planner or administrator can do little, the major group of obstacles to which solutions have to be sought will then be those related to financial problems, mobility, and problems with adapting to existing opportunities. It might be worth while to have a look at h o w they affect

the major clusters of cwould-be-learners' and 'non-learners'.

W o m e n of age 18 to 34 and 45 to 49 have been identified as a major group seeking an opportunity for learning. W h e n w e look at the obstacles which respondents mentioned most often, financial and mobility problems are on the top of the list for female 'would-be-learners' of age 18 to 24; for w o m e n of age 25 to 44, they are in second, third and fourth place, immediately after 'being busy'. For another major cluster of 'would-be-learners' (men of age 25 to 29) financial problems are the second most frequently mentioned, and those related to m o bility problems are fourth on the list of obstacles.

Seen from the perspective of other variables, 'would-be-learners' with children at h o m e list the financial and mobility problems a m o n g the most important. T h e same three obstacles related to financial problems and mobility are on the top three or four places on the list for 'would-be-learners' w h o are home-makers, for those with only some and completed post-secondary education, and for white-collar workers and unskilled labourers.

T h e patterns are very similar for 'non-learners', except that the problem of adaptability to existing opportunities, and problems related to the lack of self-confidence seem to be of somewhat greater importance.

T h e analysis of geographical disparities in educational opportunities and of obstacles to learning and reasons for not learning seem to point once again to the great role that media-based educational systems could play in meeting the learning needs of the Ontario population, particularly if they were combined with a variety of interactive teaching/learning situations adapted to people's requirements in terms of time, location and approach.

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Filippo M . D e Sanctis

A victory by Italian workers: the '150 hours'1

In Italy, the term '150 hours' means the study time entitlement w o n by metal-workers in then-struggles at the time of the renewal of their contract in March 1973. But it has acquired tremendous political and cultural importance over and above this primary, original meaning.

T h e aim of this article is to give a brief account of the '150 hours' system and the history of this experiment, to show h o w the system developed during the first few years, to give the reader information on the basis of which he can judge of its main features and, lastly, to indicate what its future is likely to be in the Italian context.

The '150 hours' system as a victory for the workers

T h e right to study is specifically laid d o w n in the Constitution of the Italian Republic (Article 14), as well as in the Universal Declaration of H u m a n Rights approved by the United Nations in 1948 and ratified by the Italian Parliament in 1955. But the opportunity to

Filippo M . De Sanctis (Italy). Professor of adult education at the University of Florence, and professor of methodology of adult education at the University of Rome. He has been involved in various capacities in lifelong education activities and has written widely on the subject.

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exercise this fundamental right in practice was the outcome of struggles which the workers had to pursue at the political and trade union levels.

T h e first step forward was the Workers' Statute (a law passed on 20 M a y 1970), Article 10 of which provides for workers to have paid leave on days w h e n examinations are held and gives them the right to work special hours so that they can attend classes and prepare for examinations and the right to refuse to do overtime or to work on public holidays. These provisions do not apply to university studies, except for leave in order to take examinations.

But real progress was m a d e when the work contracts were signed for 1972-73, and the metal-workers obtained a 'study time entitlement' of 150 hours. T h e collective contract for metal-workers drawn up in April 1973 stipulates that:

Workers w h o , in order to improve their standard of education, whether in connexion with their occupation or not, intend to follow courses at approved or recognized public institutions, m a y be granted paid leave from a three-year study time entitlement available to all employees.

1. This article is based mainly on the following works, from which I have taken facts and figures: L . Dore, Fabbrica e Scuola, le ISO Ore, R o m e , Editrice Sindacale Italiana, 1974; G . Bini, T . D e Mauro, S. Fanelli, M . Lichtner, L . Lombardo Radice and W . Maraschini, Didattica delle i¡o Ore, R o m e , Editori Riuniti, 1975; Quindicinale di Note e Commenti Gensis, N o . 228-9, 15 June 1975. A full and comprehensive bibliography appears in the review Scuola e Città, N o . 7-8, 1975.

A victory by Italian workers: the '150 hours'

T o obtain this paid leave, a worker must attend a course that takes at least twice the number of hours requested (that is, a course lasting at least 300 hours). H e m a y not be absent from his work more than 2 per cent of the time.

Similar victories were w o n by other categories of workers during the ensuing years. Under their contract of 17 June 1973, workers in potteries have 120 hours annually, of which 40 are paid, and they must not be absent for more than 2.5 per cent of their working time. W o o d and cork workers (23 June 1973) have 120 hours, of which 40 are paid, and the m a x i m u m time of absence is 2.5 per cent. Textile workers (20 July 1973) have 120 hours, 40 being paid, m a x i m u m time of absence 2.5 per cent. Glass workers (9 January 1974) have 50 paid hours. Rubber, plastics and linoleum workers (18 March 1974) have 150 hours, 50 being paid; m a x i m u m time of absence 3 per cent. Other categories that have w o n the right to study include workers in book production (15 January 1974) and tanneries (15 February 1974), those employed on cargo boats, municipal employees, workers in local institutions, toy factories, food industries, plant nurseries, and municipal aqueducts.

A law was also passed (on 12 July 1974) giving agricultural workers 'the right, for an indeterminate period, to 60 hours' paid leave a year in order to attend special intensive courses for late beginners'. T h e contract also stated that cat the provincial level, when agreements are renewed, it m a y be possible to grant an additional number of hours' leave'.

O n e thing that happened will give the reader some idea of the difficulty of the negotiations, apart from difficulties due to differences in the number of hours of paid leave w o n by the various categories of workers. W h e n the leaders of the metal-workers' trade union went to the bargaining table, where they found cnot some poorly-dressed employer, but the heads of the largest, the most important, the most advanced and most enlightened of Italian industries', the

requests of the trade-union leaders were classified as being absolutely unacceptable, questionable and highly questionable. A m o n g the absolutely unacceptable requests was that for the '150 hours', because 'apart from reasons of cost and practical considerations regarding the organization of the firm', it was regarded as can absurd request to give the working class access to culture'.

Yet this was what the workers really wanted. W e are told that, during the controversy with the metal-workers, the employers met their claim to the right to study with the exclamation: 'But what are you going to do with your 150 hours? Are you going to learn to play the harpsichord?' T o which the workers replied that that was quite possible.

The significance of the acquisition of the right to study

In point of fact, the victory w o n by the Italian labour movement since 1973 must not be confused with similar forms of leave. It is part of

the trade-union move towards worker control over the organization of work (pace of work, breaks, working conditions, the non-mobility of the labour force), and of an egalitarianism in line with the 'single salary' system.

In other words, as it has been stated, the 150 hours system, on the one hand, helps to overcome the objective differences in the qualifications of workers (differences that the e m ployers use to set the workers against each other), and aims at making the single salary system not only a matter of salary, but of the attainment of real equality among workers. O n the other hand, by raising cultural standards the system will not only help the individual, but will make it possible for the working class, the trade unions and the factory councils to increase their power of group control over working conditions and resistance to the hegemony of the employer in

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the organization of work. Since this resistance is based on cnon-delegation' and on the denial of the so-called objectivity of science and technology, it demands ca capacity for autonomous cultural development on the part of the working class'.

In short, the 150 hours system is different in kind from training or retraining for merely occupational purposes or for the individual's advancement; the first of these is connected with the firm's interests, and the second tends to isolate a worker within his aspirations towards social advancement.

T h e whole Italian trade-union movement, which includes the three federations of Italian Trade Unions (the Confederazione Generale Italiani dei Lavoratori ( C G I L ) , the Confederazione Italiani dei Sindicati Liberi (CISL) and the Unione Italiani dei Lavoratori (UIL)) considers that the acquisition of the right to study is an innovation of profound importance. It regards study as an 'instrument for social mobility', in the sense that general cultural advancement makes it possible to reconstitute the labour force at higher levels, eliminating all forms of non-specialized, unqualified work. It is obvious that this view is

incompatible with the present organization of work, which is based on the stratification and the hier-archization of the labour force at various levels, failure to use workers' capacities to the full and the lack of qualifications on the part of the broad masses of workers. Hence , in this context, the right to study is closely bound up with the struggle against the present organization of work.

T h e basis of the importance of the 150 hours system is the increasing conviction that culture is needed because

the cultural progress of the workers is exposing anomalies, creating a state of crisis, showing that the present system, in which capacities and knowledge are not used to the full, is objectively indefensible, and making the present organization of labour impracticable.

The application of the 150 hours system: institutions, content and methods

These aspects of the 150 hours system are the result of the specific choice m a d e by trade unions regarding the schools themselves, the content of the workers' studies and the methods used.

As regards the problem of institutions, the trade-union movement rejected outright the suggestion that the 'workers' school' should be separate from the school system. O n the contrary, it supported the principle that the 150 hours should be used within the State school system. This meant that the trade-union movement should have an impact not only on the factory, but also on the community; it was an aspect of the workers' movement for the reform and democratization of the school. As trade-union publications state, the present school system weighs heavily against the children of workers; it does not provide a good education; it is still based on authoritarian methods and relations; and it takes no account of the real social and democratic progress that the country has m a d e . Seeing that this is the kind of school system provided, the trade unions want the '150 hours' system to set the standard for the whole school system. Thus it is maintained that the norms governing the right to study could provide an opportunity to put pressure on the State school system, as regards curricula and content as well as methods. A dialectic between the old and the n e w , and especially the return to school of a growing number of workers, could help to ren e w the school system, setting in motion a real, basic reform which goes beyond the demand for the reform of education which has so often been promised.

T h e choice m a d e by the trade unions therefore means applying the constitutional principle of the right to study, which is guaranteed by a radically renewed public system. In view of such a policy, which reflects the global strategy of the trade-union movement , attempts to

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confine the '150 hours' system to schools for workers are being dropped; but at the same time an attack is being m a d e both on public action—in the form of'education for the people' (because it is a 'poor' subsystem to enable late beginners to catch up , a system instituted in Italy in 1947 and called the 'people's school')—and on private courses offered (because they take advantage of adults w h o wish to obtain a higher diploma).

As regards the content of studies, the importance which the trade unionists attribute to the 150 hours system 'goes beyond a mere statement of the right to study—it involves a n e w cultural demand' . It is m a d e clear that the cultural content must be linked 'to the experience of workers, trade union struggles and the labour movement's heritage of ideas', that culture must

provide students with tools for discovering and analysing facts, that it must help workers to gain a higher and more general awareness of the economic and social processes in which they are involved, and that it must enable them to challenge and outdo the present organization of work in the factory and in society.

At a congress held in November 1973, it was stated that the 150 hours system should be applied in the light of the actual need for k n o w ledge which had become evident in factories and in the course of trade-union struggles. A m o n g the m a n y arrangements for the application of the right to study, the factory councils should select those 'which are best suited to each level of awareness and to the struggles in each factory'. T h u s , 'in order to strengthen an egalitarianism which is making little progress in a factory because of the differences in the workers' standards of education', the factory councils could decide, as a group, to use the 150 hours for workers w h o do not hold the secondary school certificate. Moreover, 'in a sector where the conditions are particularly bad and an inquiry is to be opened', the factory council might consider the idea of a course on working conditions. In general, there must be

a close relationship between the subject-matter of the courses and the actual state of affairs in industry and in society.

T h e courses were instituted by a Ministry of Education circular, and it was provided 'that the work plans and syllabuses should be established for each course by the teachers and the workers'. T h e C G I L - C I S L - U I L federation has succeeded in ensuring that, in line with the political significance of the right to study, there should be no rigid teaching programmes (beyond the four interdisciplinary units: the first c o m prising mathematics and scientific observation; the second, geography, civic education and history; the third, Italian; the fourth, a foreign language). O n the contrary, the federation has arranged that only the duration of courses and the syllabus in broad outline shall be laid d o w n , the detailed formulation of the programmes being left to the teachers, the workers w h o are to take the courses 'and the leaders of the trade-union movement; even if this has not been formally provided for, it has in fact been so on m a n y occasions'.

As regards study methods, apart from the rejection of traditional conceptual teaching and the affirmation of the principle of group work and that of interdisciplinarity, it should be noted that the principle of the collective use of the 150 hours is a fundamental part of the victory w o n in securing the right to these hours and also of the use to be m a d e of them. T h e trade unions consider this principle as valid as that applying to courses in State schools. Collective use of the study-time entitlement means, not merely the realization that individual solutions are illusory, but also an affirmation of the advantage to be gained from a n e w conception of the educational relationship.

T h e right to study must, in substance, 'be exercised and used collectively by all the workers', both in school and out of school. Study methods are based upon this principle.

T h e n e w practice m a y be introduced either at the time w h e n the courses begin or while they

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are going on. With regard to the first stage, a clause in the metal-workers' collective contract 'asks the factory council to determine, in agreement with the management, objective criteria for the identification of workers w h o will have this right'. However, it should be noted that the trade unions do not merely enrol students and m a k e their selection; their aim is 'to involve all the workers in a debate on the profoundly innovative significance of the right to study in relation to initiative in the factory and beyond it', so that the political confrontation m a y reveal the priority requirements to be met, the type of courses, methods and content, and criteria to determine w h o is to participate. In short, the course has already begun at this stage.

At the second stage, while the courses are going on, collective management determines methods of study, for it provides a n e w basis for relations between the workers and the teachers, between all the participants and between the teachers themselves, and also for relations between the school and its environment.

The development of the courses

In order to understand the principles followed by the trade-union movement with respect to the use of the 150 hours, the situation as regards school attendance must be borne in mind. T h e majority of workers do not hold the lower secondary school certificate; 'according to investigations relating to industry alone, in 1970 only 18 per cent of the workers had completed the period of compulsory schooling, and 65 per cent held the primary school certificate'.

In order to rectify this extremely ill-balanced educational situation, the trade unions decided, as a priority, that the study time entitlement should be used for obtaining the lower secondary school certificate. T h e emphasis is placed upon the development of courses for people w h o must catch up with compulsory schooling, but 'sem

inars' have been organized in the universities, and these are open to both workers and students.

T h e importance of the courses can be seen from data relating to those w h o attended them in 1973/74 and 1974/75 and from trends in 1975/76. In the first year there was a total of 931 courses; in the second year there were about 2,200; in the third year about 3,600. T h u s , there are about a thousand n e w courses every year.

As regards the courses leading to the lower secondary school certificate, the following points should be noted: the courses take place in State schools; the teachers hold their posts for a fixed period of time; the courses are organized in a 'modular' form, in groups of four courses (four courses m a k e up a module); no more than twenty-five workers can take any one course; the courses last one school year—not less than 350 or more than 450 hours of teaching (the normal length of a course in the secondary school is three years).

For lack of space, I shall describe only the first year's work, mentioning a few special points about the following years. In 1973/74, the 931 courses were attended by 18,500 workers. Six hundred and eighty courses (73 per cent) were held in the north of Italy, 135 courses (or 14.5 per cent) in central Italy, and 116 courses (or 12.5 per cent) in the south.

As to the participants, w e must remember that, from the first year onwards, they were either workers w h o had acquired the right to study under their respective collective contracts, or workers in other categories w h o had not yet reached that status, or else unemployed persons and housewives. A study of 8,082 participants carried out by Censis shows that they included the following categories: agricultural workers (0.3 per cent); manual labourers, apprentices, unskilled workers (28.6 per cent); ushers, janitors, messengers, shop assistants (2.1 per cent); skilled and specialized workers (60.9 per cent); craftsmen (2 per cent); traders (0.6 per cent); farmers (0.2 per cent); employees (1.8 per

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cent); nurses (1.3 per cent); housewives (1 per cent); others (1.2 per cent). As for the proportion of m e n to w o m e n , there were 6,848 m e n (84.7 per cent) and 1,234 w o m e n (15.3 per cent).

T h e same inquiry revealed other interesting information about the participants. O f the m e n (84.7 per cent) most were over 25 years old, married and generally (77.7 per cent) employed in m e d i u m or fairly large metal works. T h e w o m e n (15.3 per cent) were generally younger than the m e n , unmarried, and mostly had poorer qualifications. About 70 per cent of the participants came from working class or peasant families whose level of education was rarely above that of the primary school. As for leaving school during the period of compulsory schooling, 73 per cent of those interviewed had dropped out of school before reaching the age of 14. T h e school record of those interviewed was as follows: 1.8 per cent had not gained the primary school certificate; 59.7 per cent had done so; 21.4 per cent had attended the first class after primary school; 16.9 per cent had got further than the first class after primary school; and 0.2 per cent did not reply.

W e can get some idea of a participant at the '150 hours' course from his motivations and hopes. T h e motivations which can be brought together under the heading 'aspirations to change', arising also from their n e w cultural awareness of their o w n condition, certainly loom larger than those relating to 'work mobility', the acquiring of a school certificate or the search for employment. T h e m a n y replies to questions relating to the first group give us interesting information. For example, the statement: CI think that a higher level of instruction could help m e to understand more about what I a m doing at m y work', was endorsed by 54.8 per cent. T h e statement: 'Attending courses is a good way to meet people and to discuss things with others w h o have the same problems as I have', was endorsed by 53.5 per cent. T h e questions relating to professional mobility gave

the following results. T h e statement: 'I hope to gain a diploma which will enable m e to obtain a better position in the firm', was endorsed by 23.6 per cent. T h e statement: 'I should like to change m y job, and the secondary school certificate will certainly help m e in the search for a n e w position', was endorsed by 12.9 per cent. As regards questions concerning motivation connected with the acquisition of a school certificate, only 11.3 per cent endorsed the statement: 'I wish to obtain a diploma in order to be able to go on to higher studies.' Very few gave affirmative replies to questions concerning the search for work. Only 1 per cent endorsed the statement: 'I a m unemployed, and without a school certificate it is very difficult or impossible for m e to find work.'

Here is some information about the teachers. As regards the ages of the 575 teachers, 53.9 per cent are in the 26 to 30 age group; 32.3 per cent are 25 or under; 10.4 per cent are between 31 and 35; 63 per cent of the total are w o m e n .

Thus most of the teachers are young, and received their diplomas recently; the majority of these are w o m e n . As for their social origins, most of them (over 56 per cent) are from the middle or lower middle class (craftsmen, traders, farmers, employees, technicians, minor officials); 7.5 per cent are the sons or daughters of agricultural workers, labourers or unskilled workers; 8.9 per cent are the children of skilled or specialized workers. T h e others (15.8 per cent) are the children of directors, businessmen, members of the liberal professions, higher officials or university teachers. As regards their principal motivations, the teachers' attitudes were as follows. T h e motivation most frequently met with was the desire 'to gain personal experience of teaching; 67.5 per cent gave this reason. Immediately after came the following: ' T o enable the workers to get a better understanding of things' (66.8 per cent); 'to have h u m a n contacts with the workers' (44.3 per cent); and, 'to give this category of pupils a higher level of culture' (36.3 per cent).

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T h e proportion of time given to the topics dealt with in these courses is as follows: work conditions and environment (64.8 per cent); social conditions (51.8 per cent); cultural instruction in the interdisciplinary units (40.5 per cent); m u c h less time is given to discussions about the trade-union situation (12.4 per cent), the political situation (10.2 per cent) and family problems (4.2 per cent).

In developing the methods of work, which are based on the collective management of the courses and interdisciplinarity, the following aims have been taken into account: to enrich the personal experience of the participants; to point out, in the course of group discussion, the subjective limits to the interpretations which everyone gives to his o w n experience, and help participants to take an objective view of things; to help them develop correct research methods by seeing the problem clearly, formulating hypotheses, searching for information and making tentative conclusions, developing the habit of systematization, classification, deduction and calculation; to get participants to carry out research on the historical background, so as to enable them to see the factors which have determined or modified the principal phenomenon being investigated. A s Dore observes, the experiment was based on methods profoundly different from those in use in traditional schools:

T h e teacher did not give the pupils—i.e. the workers—the information he possessed in an uncritical manner—on the contrary, a topic was chosen by c o m m o n consent, and the group tackled the problem collectively, starting from what each m e m b e r of the group knew and really investigating the problem independently. It was important not only to show them h o w to use certain educational tools, but also to discover w h y so m a n y workers were not able to learn h o w to use them when they were at school.

In particular, the Censis inquiry showed that the methodological practices applied were as follows: in 76.3 per cent of the cases, 'discussions' were held 'very often'; in 51.5 per cent

of the cases, sessions for giving supplementary explanations were held 'very often'; in 49.7 per cent of the cases, 'group work' was undertaken 'very often'; in 8 per cent of the cases, 'meetings' were held 'very often', and in 55.8 per cent, 'from time to time'. If w e add the methods used 'very often' and those used 'from time to time', w e get the following results: 'discussions', 91.3 per cent; 'group work*, 80.8 per cent; 'meetings, 63.8 per cent. O n the other hand, there was almost no 'questioning' ('very often' in 3 per cent of the cases; 'from time to time' in 6.6 per cent; 'very rarely' in 12.2 per cent; 'never' in 50.6 per cent; 'not indicated' in 27.6 per cent). With regard to teaching equipment, school textbooks were little used (about 60 per cent of the teachers interviewed said that they did not use them. M o r e use was m a d e of books other than school books (regarded as being of the first importance by 27.7 per cent and of secondary importance by 25.6 per cent), newspapers and periodicals (given first place by 4 per cent, second place by 25.9 per cent and third place by 25.4 per cent of the teachers). Material prepared in the school was m u c h used (leaflets, questionnaires, bibliographies, roneoed material, etc.); 51.5 per cent gave them first place, 13 per cent second place, and 8.5 per cent third place. N o audio-visual equipment was used; 92.2 per cent of the teachers did not mention it at all among the materials they used.

As regards the use of the study time entitlement during the 1974/75 school year there were 2,206 courses, 1,409 of which (63 per cent) were held in the north, 369 (17 per cent) in central Italy, and 429 (20 per cent) in the south of Italy. T h e percentage of courses in the Mezzogiorno has therefore increased. But courses that receive assistance from the regions and c o m munes are deducted from the total number of courses (2,206). Courses organized by the ministry in 1974/75 numbered 2,028; they were attended by about 38,000 workers.

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Some attempts to evaluate the experiment

T h e following brief comments are based on data available. They relate to the general value of the experiment, specific problems encountered while the courses were being held, ideas for the development of the project, and future prospects.

Both those w h o see the '150 hours' system from the trade union and political point of view, and those w h o see it from the angle of adult education, consider the experiment as a whole to be profoundly innovative. Seen from inside the labour movement, it appears to be a cgreat victory, unprecedented in the capitalistic world' (such was the statement m a d e by G . Napolitano in opening the debates of the Central Committee of the P C I (Italian Communist Party) on ' T h e battle of ideas and cultural renewal', held from 13 to 15 January 1975). It is not regarded as a cultural achievement, but as a stage on the way to the 'intellectual progress of the masses', an organic part of the workers' struggles, and an important aspect of the 'proposals for a n e w social model' (G. Trentin).

F r o m the point of view of adult education, anyone w h o knows the history of adult education in Italy (from the first mutual aid societies to today) realizes that winning the right to the '150 hours' is a break with the past and an important step forward. O f course, w h e n one looks back over the past thirty years, one is aware of the time it has taken to establish conscious relations between the labour m o v e ment and adult education. But it must be said that the '150 hours' system has m a d e up for this delay in a single bound. In m y opinion, the possibility of a mutation—in the biological sense of the term—in the theory and practice of adult education has been opened up. Studies on this subject should be taken m u c h farther than it has been possible to do in this article. I merely state that the possibilities of the '150 hours' system open up the prospect of a system of adult education in which the acquisition of knowledge

will no longer be 'neutral' (that is, fundamentally concerned to maintain the status quo), but closely linked to the social control of the educational processes at work in the spheres of labour, public information, leisure and daily life.

T o carry out such an exploration of future prospects would be no small undertaking. T h e specific problems arising during the courses are due to resistance to innovation. Difficulties have been encountered at various levels and at various junctures. T o avoid misunderstanding, account must be taken of the fact that certain aspects of the old educational system have persisted a m o n g the workers themselves, in so far as some of them wanted a 'school' with all the faults of the school they had had to leave prematurely. But other problems have arisen because teachers had to tackle tasks for which they were not trained. This lack of preparation—in both attitudes and methods—has led traditionalists to close institutions or to disparage the system, while it has encouraged the innovators to engage in excessive abstraction and improvisation. T h e most serious difficulties, however, have been caused by the impact of the world of labour on the school system. Schools are accustomed to do their work without being disturbed, preserving an illusion of autonomy, and this has led to disagreements and clashes, at the level of relations between the Ministry of Education and the trade unions, and, in the schools, between headteachers and workers. Over and above the positions of ministers, regional inspectors or rectors, these disagreements and clashes must be interpreted as healthy evidence of the separation between school and society, a gap in the course of history which should not be filled in by evading the truth. It would be a mistake to attenuate them or hide them. All contradictions should be seen as they really are. In m y view, only if institutional, ideological, administrative and methodological arguments are set clearly and explicitly side by side will it be possible to achieve one of the main purposes of the '150 hours' system: school reform.

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Jonathan Gunter and James Theroux

Developing mass audiences for educational broadcasting: two approaches1

According to Unesco figures, there are at least 75 million receivers in the Third World which would average one for every thirty to forty people. Access to the m e d i u m has been extended to the majority of Latin Americans, and to sizeable minorities of Africans and Asians. T h e needs of these primarily out of school, primarily adult audiences for basic continuing education are vast. For m a n y , radio represents the only regular contact with the world beyond the village or neighbourhood. Yet, less than 5 per cent of the Third World's total hours of radio programming were classified by Unesco as educational.2

Clearly, educators have failed to conquer the world's dominant mass m e d i u m . This is not due to lack of recognition of the reach of radio. W e contend that educators drawn to radio because of its low cost and mass audience potential, have chosen to use the m e d i u m in ways which usually preclude their attaining truly low costs and truly massive audiences.

After explaining this paradox, w e will describe two strategies used in Ecuador for reach-

Jonathan Gunter (United States). Director, Clearinghouse on Development Communication Academy for Educational Development (Washington).

James Theroux. Director, Radio Software Research Project, University of Massachusetts (Amherst).

2 8 8


ing and teaching mass audiences. O n e stresses professionalized, ctop-down' communication, the other participatory, cbottom-up' communi cation. O n e adapted American commercial advertising methods, the other extended the c o m munity development methods of the rural Latin American parish priest. While the scale, philosophy, objectives and results of the two experiences differ, both approaches have reached mass audiences of adults with educational messages.8

The radio educators' paradox

Mass media tend to be given over to those w h o can c o m m a n d mass audiences. Mass audiences must be courted and w o n on their o w n terms.

1. T h e views expressed herein are those of the authors, and do not necessarily correspond with those of their employers.

2 . These figures are taken from the Unesco Statistical Yearbook 1974, and are based on reports from eighty-five countries. T h e category of educational programming encompassed out-of-school education for children, youth and adults, as well as formal education. T h e other categories were informational (news and public affairs) cultural, scientific, entertainment, special audience advertising and other. These non-educational, and largely non-developmental uses of radio accounted for over 95 per cent of total programming.

3. Other types of radio programming are frequently reviewed in the quarterly Development Communication Report, available free of charge from The Clearinghouse on Development Communication, 1414 22nd St., N . W . , Washington, D C 20037 (United States).

Developing mass audiences for educational broadcasting

Adult educators often fail to realize the implications of these basic facts. Unlike the class rooms, farm forums, or radio schools, mass audiences are not 'captive' audiences.

It is not enough to promise desirable long-term rewards (learning, job skills) to a mass audience, and to proceed to teach over radio in traditional ways. Success with a mass audience means reaching more than those highly motivated enough to join and stay in a farm forum or a radio school. O n e must assume that the mass audience, although interested in learning and self-improvement, lacks the peer reinforcement of group listening and is susceptible to emotional appeals. With other stations on the radio dial offering music, soap operas and light entertainment, mass audiences m a y flick the dial the m o m e n t they become bored, tired, or unable to follow radio instruction.

Thus , mass audiences differ from organized, group audiences in their desire for entertainment and escape. T h e surest way to lose a mass audience is to presume to preach or teach. T h e surest way to attract and hold a mass audience is to offer immediate and continuous emotional gratification—as well as education.

Commercial and entertainment c o m m u n i cators know h o w to approach audiences on these terms (on the audience's o w n terms) but, unfortunately, lack any larger educational or developmental purpose. T h e insipid and sensation-alistic excesses of programmers seeking only to maximize audience are too well known to bear repetition. However, these excesses should not obscure the fact that educators can draw valuable lessons from commercial and entertainment techniques.

M a n y radio educators think not in terms of audience needs, but in terms of achieving long-term educational or developmental objectives. Departing from a tradition of classroom and adult education practices, they generally insist upon tying the radio message to group learning activities within the context of long-term, multi-faceted programmes. In fact, supplemental print

media and face-to-face learning are considered to be essential by m a n y international authorities, in order for radio to have any deep or lasting effects upon learner populations.

Group learning strategies, w h e n well executed, probably do provide more profound learning than mass audience, open broadcast. These strategies have also attained sizeable audiences in a few Third World settings. However, w e contend that most countries are not in a position to develop truly mass audiences for group learning. Training of group learners, production of print materials, distribution and co-ordination problems all divert resources from the one component which a radio project can best control—the quality of the broadcast message!

W e also contend that, strategies producing less learning by more listeners might represent a better allocation of resources in m a n y circumstances. Unfortunately, the dominance of group-learning strategies in the literature has caused the mass audience open-broadcast alternative to be underemphasized.

In a recent review of sixty-five development-oriented radio projects, only five involved open broadcast to an unorganized, non-captive mass audience.1 All the rest involved programming directly linked to participation in a long-term programme of group discussion, study or action.

O f the twenty projects for which audience data were supplied, all programmed to organized, group audiences. Only three of the projects claimed anything like mass audiences. These were the Brazilian Movimento de Educaçào de Base ( M E B ) of the early 1960s (with 111,006 participants), Colombia's A C P O Radio Sutatenza schools (with 167,451 learners in 1968) and the United Republic of Tanzania's Health C a m paign of 1973 (with 2 million participants). In

1. Emile McAnany's Radio's Role in Development; Five Strategies of Use is available free of charge from die Clearinghouse on Development Communication, 1414 22nd St., N . W . Washington, D C 20037 (United States).

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these instances, unusually favourable circumstances m a y explain the attainment of these audiences.

First, it should be noted that only in the United Republic of Tanzania did the audience surpass i per cent of the country's population. President Nyerere's stature as a leader, his commitment to rural development, and his creation of rural party and ministry organizations probably explain this most successful of group learning projects.

In the early sixties Brazil's government was committed to grass-roots mobilization for rapid social change. In fact, w h e n a conservative government took power in 1964, audiences of M E B fell dramatically. In Colombia, A C P O ' s audience is the result of twenty-five years of dedication and hard work on the part of dynamic and well-funded private organization.

Therefore, there is reason to doubt whether group-learning strategies can attract mass radio audiences in most of the developing countries, which lack the circumstances of the three exemplary projects. Indeed, the other seventeen projects reporting audience data in the above review claimed audiences of less than 15,000. Below, w e will review two methods which m a y help projects like these attract larger audiences, and achieve more cost-effective use of the world's dominant mass m e d i u m .

Advertising

W h e n they employed a successful N e w York advertising firm to assist in their educational programme, Ecuador's National Institute of Nutrition was guaranteed an innovative project.1

Never before had radio advertising techniques been systematically applied to educational needs in a developing country.

T h e difference in philosophy between traditional educators and commercial advertisers is extreme. Educators generally attempt to instil great changes (literacy, numeracy, job training)

in small groups of people. Advertisers court a mass audience, and aim at more modest behavioural changes (switch from brand X to brand Y of an established consumer product).

While educators recognize individual differences and spend great amounts of time with their relatively 'captive' audiences, advertisers relate quite differently to their audiences. A d vertisers build on mass needs and on cultural stereotypes.

Advertisers use the 'reach and frequency' method, repeatedly injecting the same short message into the pauses between the entertainment programmes most popular with their target audience. In Ecuador, nutritional 'spots' were repeated ten to fifteen times a day for over a year on popular radio stations in two provinces.

Each of the minute-long 'spots' was designed to discuss a specific nutritional problem, and to offer a realistic and economical solution. Using a drama format each message was aimed at achieving very specific objectives:

Message on protein-calorie malnutrition T o increase the frequency with which beans

and other low-cost sources of protein are served.

T o increase the knowledge about which foods are sources of protein.

T o increase the knowledge about the function of protein in the body.

Message on early departure from breast-feeding T o increase the status of breast-feeding among

low-income families as compared with giving other milk to their babies.

T o increase the recognition of the valuable attributes of breast milk as compared with other types of milk.

T o increase the knowledge about the steps for preparing other kinds of milk.

1. Our account of this project is based on répons from the contractor (Manoff International) to U S / A I D .

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Message on unsanitary drinking water T o increase the incidence and frequency of

boiling drinking water for the family. T o increase the understanding that drinking

unboiled water results in illness. T o increase the number of families w h o consider

their drinking water to be contaminated or not pure.

T o increase the number of families that cover their drinking water.

Message on parasites, diarrhoea, and other intestinal problems T o increase the frequency of adults and children

washing their hands after using the latrine, before eating or preparing food.

T o increase use of soap w h e n washing hands. T o increase the number of respondents w h o

understand that washing hands m a y kill parasites and will help to avoid illnesses.

Message on iodized salt T o increase the frequency of purchasing iodized

salt. T o increase the number of respondents w h o

understand the cause of goitre. T o increase the number of respondents w h o

k n o w that iodized salt is sold only in a distinctive package.

T o increase the number of respondents w h o understand that goitre is a serious illness.

Each objective and its corresponding message, represented the outcome of thorough and painstaking process. Experts in health and nutrition were consulted regarding priority problems. R e c o m m e n d e d solutions were screened for their ability to be achieved by the target audience with only informational and motivational inputs. For example, experts in one country using this technique recommended that rural dwellers eat more liver. However, this type of meat was found to be both overpriced and unavailable to rural people. As a result, this solution was found unacceptable for advertising.

Once a small number of appropriate themes had been chosen, messages were written, circulated to experts for comment and then produced in draft form. T h e messages were then pre-tested by playing them on cassette recorders in ioo to 200 target group households and discussing their attractiveness, effectiveness and credibility for the audience.

Once revised on the basis of pre-test data, the messages were recorded, pressed on discs and distributed to the co-operating radio stations. A schedule was developed that responded to the target audience's media habits. According to project personnel, regular follow-up with the station was extremely important to ensure adequate frequency. Once station personnel had heard the spots several hundred times themselves, they assumed the spots must have had their effect upon the audience, and stopped playing them. However, according to United States commercial advertising experience, the spots were having their greatest impact at this m o m e n t , and needed to be continued.

RESULTS

In interviews at the end of the campaign, most people in the target groups claimed to have access to a radio: 83 per cent of coastal mestizos, 85 per cent of highland mestizos, and 64 per cent of the poorer highland indians.

In a majority of households sampled, respondents demonstrated awareness of the 'spots' through unaided recall of specific information from each message. Attitudes toward breast feeding improved despite competition from advertisers of formula and powdered milk. T h e messages about the importance of eating protein, boiling drinking water, and washing hands before eating were also successful at the levels of awareness, knowledge and attitude.

T h e mass impact of this learning is amazing for the educator to contemplate. Despite planned oversampling of rural areas and low-income populations, projecting results to the

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level of the two provinces covered by the broadcasts gives a rough sense of the messages' impact. According to such a projection, the messages on protein, boiling water, washing hands, and lactation each reached over 100,000 households. Even if these figures were off by a factor of 50 per cent, some 50,000 households—probably a quarter of a million people—learned the basic nutritional concepts portrayed in the spots. A n d this audience resulted from a project active in only two of Ecuador's twenty-one provinces.

O n the level of behaviour change, the iodized salt message was immensely successful. Whereas only 5 per cent of highland mestizos used iodized salt before the campaign, fully 98 per cent of those sampled after the campaign were using iodized salt. O n the other hand, few of the other messages—which were so successful at the level of awareness and knowledge—achieved significant behaviour change. W h y was this the case?

Iodized salt had been widely available to the target group, but not recognized as a nutritionally superior product. In addition, there was an established habit of non-iodized salt consumption. There was no difference in price between the two types of salt. T h u s , the situation was not too different from the 'brand X -brand Y ' situation where commercial advertising has performed so well.

T h e other messages involved m u c h more significant changes in behaviour. Several of the protein-rich foods recommended were relatively expensive. Legumes m a y not have been available. People m a y not have been used to eating legumes as a major part of their diet. In addition, boiling drinking water is tedious, and requires expensive fuel.

Part of the inability to document behaviour change was methodological. People aware of the benefits of boiling drinking water or washing hands before eating tended to respond to interviewers that they do these things—whether or not they actually do them. Without participant

observation research, it is very hard to verify such statements. O n the other hand, iodized salt consumption can be verified by sales data, and by looking for the products in the households of interviewees.

Another standard verification technique was recommended but could not be implemented. Commercial advertising research has shown that people w h o will not talk openly about their o w n behaviour, often will do so in references to their neighbours. A n d , in answering such 'reference questions', they often in fact describe their o w n true behaviour. Ecuadorian authorities decided that this approach was not compatible with their culture, and would not allow its use.

Another type of limitation on behaviour change might be described as policy-related. W h e n a message is sponsored by a national institution, and is broadcast throughout two provinces, it must be in full accord with national policy. For high impact, the messages must be clear, simple and direct. This requires a consensus on complex policy issues which is not always present.

For example, the most powerful message on breast-feeding would have held that mother's milk alone is the best diet for infants. S o m e experts believed this to be true. Other experts, including several from Ecuador's National Institute of Nutrition, felt that breast-feeding should be used only in conjunction with solid foods. T h e message used accommodated to this difference of opinion.

T h e most powerful message about boiling water would have been that all drinking water should be boiled. S o m e experts believed this to be true. However, other experts believed that the drinking water in large areas of the country was safe to drink without boiling. Thus , the message used on this topic was also weakened in impact because of a type of unresolved policy issue which affects all governments.

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IMPLICATIONS

In spite of these problems, w e do not wish to leave readers with the notion that advertising is only effective in 'brand X-brand Y ' situations. M u c h was learned from the initial Ecuadorian experience, which has improved the methods and results n o w being reported in subsequent projects. For example, in two countries, strategic decisions are planned for either building consensus in ambiguous policy areas, or for abandoning the planned messages in those areas. M o r e extensive training of interviewers and use of additional research for cross-checking results are being incorporated into subsequent projects.

Furthermore, tentative results from other countries have already demonstrated success in more ambitious attempts to change behaviour. In Nicaragua, nationally broadcast advertisements have motivated mothers of infants with diarrhoea to prepare and administer in the h o m e large quantities of fluids—an idea which was previously unknown to them. T h e recipe for the beverage was learned from the radio and memorized. In this case, there had been consensus among Nicaraguan nutritionists that this was the correct remedy for dehydration. Information had also been collected on the cost and availability of the ingredients needed to prepare the remedy. As a result of the messages, the infant mortality rate should drop. Since one in five deaths in the country have been attributed to infant diarrhoea, this short message could have a major impact upon the health situation in Nicaragua.

T h u s , it would seem possible for advertising to deal with objectives larger than switches from uniodized to iodized salt. Although the range of objectives suited to this method remains undefined, certain basic limitations upon the method can be mentioned. Aiming at the mass audience, advertising treats problems which affect everyone and about which anyone can take individual action. T o date, the method has been applied

to small, high-impact behaviour changes which do not require input of n e w goods or services. While it could be used in conjunction with programmes delivering goods and services (in health, nutrition, or agriculture), advertising does not seem to be suited to promoting profound psychological changes in individuals, or groups. This type of objective is perhaps better treated by the type of radio communication to be described below.

Tabacundo

In sharp contrast to the highly professionalized advertising approach is a programme produced by rural people for rural people in Tabacundo (Ecuador). In the reach of Radio Mensaje's transmitter are an estimated 42,000 illiterate adults. Less than 3 per cent of them are involved in the Tabacundo radio school.1 Since late 1972, the forty radio school centres have worked with Padre Isaias Barriga to generate programmes which are reaching the broader mass audience through open broadcast. In fact, these broadcasts are said to draw bigger audiences than any of the entertainment programming available to the area's listeners. Does this sound improbable? Here is h o w they do it:

With an equipment grant of $1,500 from the University of Massachusetts Nonformal E d u cation Project, Radio Mensaje acquired forty simple audio cassette recorders and a large supply of tapes. This equipment was entrusted to the auxiliares, unpaid non-professionals from the local communities around Tabacundo w h o act as teaching assistants in the radio school centres. Each auxiliar has taken possession of and responsibility for a cassette recorder, which

1. For more detailed information, see James Hoxeng, Alberto Ochoa and Valerie Ickis, Tabacundo: Battery-Powered Dialogue, which is available in Spanish or English from the Center for International Education, University of Massachusetts Hills House South, Amherst, M A 01002 (United States).

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she/he uses to prepare and deliver tapes which are edited and broadcast by Radio Mensaje in two half-hour programmes each week.

Called Mensaje Campesino ('The Farmer's Message') they are unlike conventional rural radio programmes. Instead of using professional communicators to reach a farm audience, Mensaje Campesino is a programme made by farmers for farmers. T h e programme is not aimed at the organized listening groups of the radio school, but at the general open-broadcast audience. T h e premise was that farmers would be so interested in hearing themselves and their kind of radio that Mensaje Campesino could attract its o w n broad audience. This has been proved to be the case.

T h e cassette recorder became the tool of the auxiliares to be used by them in or outside of the radio school classes. Training was minimal (two hours) since the recorders are simple to operate. Everyone was interested in what the auxiliares would decide to do with the recorders, so the staff wanted them to feel free to use the recorders in any way that seemed worth while.

T h e project set out to create a new kind of radio communications that differed from the highly polished and artificial style of entertainment broadcasts transmitted from the capital. T h e major hypothesis was that popular expression could help define communications objectives and elaborate those objectives. In this way the traditional mass-media concepts of 'communicator' and 'audience' would blur. T h e project staff conjectured that programmes which give voice to peasants might produce (a) heightened feelings of self-worth; and (b) increased community development knowledge.

OBJECTIVES

A n earlier report by A I D (Astle, 1969) describing a radio school programme in Honduras credited m u c h of its success to the feeling

participants had of 'being part of an awakening group'. This 'groupness' is as important as the sense of individual accomplishment and harnessing of unused capability that comes with learning to read. Awareness of the similar experiences of other people in Honduras was supported by training sessions and monthly meetings of the monitors or auxiliares. T h e report linked those factors closely with a growth in 'confidence, concern and group awareness'.

T h e UMass-Tabacundo team surmised that heightened 'groupness' is important to a growing sense of individual confidence. B y increasing cross-fertilization and reinforcement through intervillage communication, the project felt that possibly confidence and a sense of efficacy would grow.

That community development-related knowledge would increase was a relatively safe prediction. It seemed likely that if Mensaje Campesino reported on a development project in one community, other communities would listen—and possibly with more interest than they had previously shown to programmes on community development.

A study done in 1971 (Vega) for Catholic Relief Services of Ecuador, O X F A M , and A I D had concluded that although community development was given considerable emphasis by the station, the programmes had an insignificant impact on radio listeners. It was hoped that cassette tape recorders would increase the impact of broadcasts by adding the dimension of grass-roots expression from the many small communities served by Radio Mensaje.

PRODUCTION

Blank tapes are provided to the auxiliares, w h o assume responsibility for getting them back to the station in Tabacundo as soon as they have some material they wish to be used on Mensaje Campesino. Once a tape is received in the station, it is reviewed by Padre Barriga or his assistant. They use two cassette recorders to

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edit the material and compile a half-hour programme each week. T h e programme cassette is saved, and the other cassettes are sent back to the communities.

T h e programming has been expanded since the project began. At first a single half-hour programme was aired both Saturday and Sunday. After the first couple of months Padre Barriga decided to produce different programmes for the two days. Then following the meeting of auxiliares mentioned above, the station began to re-broadcast the Sunday programme on M o n d a y afternoons just before the first cycle class of the radio school.

During training, the auxiliares brainstormed possible ways in which the recorders could be used. T h e U M a s s staff did not recommend or require any particular use, and Padre Barriga promised that the station would be interested in whatever was produced.

Results did not come in immediately as the pickup and exchange of the cassettes proved to be slightly more difficult than had been imagined. Padre Barriga waited until the initial meeting of the auxiliares to pick up the first recordings, and the first programme was broadcasted on the weekend of n November 1972. In a meeting with Padre Barriga, the auxiliares decided that half-hour programmes aired on Saturdays at 5 p . m . , with a repeat on Sundays at the same hour, would have the greatest potential audience of farmers.

CONTENT ANALYSIS OF SELECTED PROGRAMMES

T h e first programme consisted of comments about the radio schools, together with a little music produced by a group from one of the communities. The commentaries were collected from a number of centres, as well as from a group of eighteen seminary students w h o were working in some of the radio school communities. The general tone was predictably solemn and self-conscious. A seminarian:

I want to work with campesinos on both a cultural and religious plane, to help them advance. I plan to acquire a greater experience in order to be more effective as a country priest when I return to m y province.

The auxiliar in the centre at Chaveznamba:

W e want to send our best greetings to Padre Isaias Barriga, to our dear teachers in the radio school, and to our fellow students in the province of Pichincha, as w e begin this n e w course. Everyone is interested in the recorders, although they're a little afraid of talking. However, w e hope that little by little we'll be able to adapt to this n e w idea. A s yet, it's a little strange.

All of the students interviewed professed their great happiness at being in the radio school, and their assurance that this would be the best year yet.

By the third programme (25 November), there was more content of a community development nature. T h e community of U c -shaloma, high on the mountain behind the town of Tabacundo, recorded a meeting in which they decided to get together the following Saturday for a minga, or community work project. They were in the process of upgrading their living conditions, having formed a co-op and jointly built a new house for each of the members. Having recorded this meeting, they proceeded to record the sounds of work when the minga took place. O n e heard hammers behind the voices of the workers as they discussed their progress and needs.

T h e programme of 30 December consisted entirely of a 'Christmas Special', put together by the auxiliar and students of the centre at Cananvalle. T h e auxiliar, a campesino farmer, preached; the students read from scripture, and gave greetings to their fellow students in the other radio schools. Despite this, the broader audience still tuned in.

T h e programme of 20 January began with a recording of the January general meeting of auxiliares. They did not discuss the recorders

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specifically, but there was a unanimous request for more programming time, possibly just before the beginning of classes. This was acted on in February, with a M o n d a y repeat of the regular Sunday programme presented at 4.30 p . m . , just before the 5 p . m . class.

Another effect of the recorders was obvious in the 20 January programme. Musical groups presented songs in Quechua, with participation of w o m e n ; members of the Simon Bolivar School read original poems, and yet another school, Cochas, presented music especially prepared for the Mensaje Campesino programme.

Indian power was mentioned in the programme of 24 February, as it opened with an auxiliar interviewing the president of the new National Indigenous Movement ( N I M ) , Jose Antonio Quinde. Quinde described the organization's aims and progress to date, and m e n tioned a series of meetings to learn whether N I M was seen as useful by the indigenous population. More Quechua music preceded a n e w element: new readers practised reading pages from the text, Cultivemos Hortalizas, providing a possibly comforting standard of comparison for the other students for w h o m reading aloud is still a painful experience.

T o summarize the programmes: music will apparently continue to be an important part of the content, and community development e m phasis will be substantial. T h e students seemed to have a strong sense of participation, and fear of the recorders was not mentioned after the first programme. S o m e communities have begun to produce and record dramas with moral and/or social messages. Taking different roles, community members act out and discuss problems which are then shared with other communities by means of the radio.

Auxiliares showed considerable capacity for innovation in the use of the recorders. Padre Barriga tells the story of a group w h o convinced an engineer from the Hydraulic Resources M i n istry to be interviewed for the Mensaje Campesino programme. His answers to their questions

about the possibilities and difficulties in obtaining running water provided valuable information to members of other centres.

RESULTS

W h e n in January 1977 o n e °f the authors visited Tabacundo, he did not meet passive, timid campesinos. Before sharing anything with him the villagers asked, 'Where are you from? W h y are you here? W h o do you represent? W h y should w e talk with you?' U p o n receiving satisfactory answers to these questions, they were most cordial. But these people were unlike others this author had encountered in rural Ecuador. They possessed a sense of dignity, equality and self-confidence. What accounts for this? H o w m u c h can be attributed to the radio broadcast? N o one knows for sure. A n d frankly, it m a y not be possible to sort out the complex causes and effects with known methods of evaluation.

Yet some attempts were made to measure the impact of Mensaje Campesino objectively. Rather crude survey research indicates that campesinos have something to say and are willing to listen to each other. Awareness of community development information increased between 1972 and 1973. Although the questionnaire did not detect any increase in feelings of self-worth and efficacy, these results clash with the author's experience and with the following anecdote—typical of many .

A n agronomist volunteered to produce a series of radio classes. H e prepared the scripts and broadcast them himself. People soon reacted, however, saying 'We ' re sure he knows what he's talking about, but the way he says it, nothing stays in our heads'. N o w a Tabacundo campesino sits down with the agronomist, goes over the script until he is satisfied he understands it, and reads the script on the air.

Padre Barriga explains the effectiveness of Mensaje Campesino in two ways. First, it gives the farmers the 'power of the word'. It enables

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them to communicate with each other and with him, the head of the radio station and of the radio school. Previously, their only alternative had been to scrawl letters to him, which he read over the air. They were not at ease with writing and could not express themselves fully; what they managed to say was then transmitted back to them through the cultured tones of the Padre's voice.

A n even greater change cited by Padre Barriga is the transformation of radio—a m e dium which had previously transmitted only urban music, urban voices and urban values—into a rural medium which spreads what he termed the 'mystique of the countryside'. H e sees the new type of radio communications as a re-inforcer of the goals and satisfactions of country life.

Perhaps this final point highlights the potential of the Tabacundo model for development education. Realizing that radio reaches the world's rural masses is not enough to make it into a rural med ium, which can build rural culture, and contribute to healthy rural development. If radio reaches farmers from the cities with urban massages, it m a y speed the migration to the cities rather than promote rural development. T h e Tabacundo model offers a starting-point for making radio a rural mass med ium in the true sense. Such participatory communi cations can tailor the style and content of rural radio to the needs and desires of the audience.

REPLICABILITY

Most students in the Third World's radio schools would never be able to buy recorders and cassettes on their o w n . It does seem possible, however, that the typical radio school would be able to take care of maintenance and operation costs. Padre Barriga actually paid all of those costs during the year, atlhough with a view to recovering at least part of them from the University of Massachusetts project.

By the standards of any funding agency, the

cost of the recorders and tapes ($1,500) is minuscule. Labour is provided on a volunteer basis. T h e attractiveness of such a project in other settings will depend upon several factors. Inexpensive cassette recorders, which have functioned well for four years in highland Ecuador, will have to prove themselves in other climates. T h e interest of other populations in grass-roots radio will have to be shown to be as strong as it is in Tabacundo. Finally, governments will have to be willing to allow radio to be used for free public expression.

Another question regarding replicability is the difficulty of producing a similar show that could have the same drawing power for a more diverse, national audience. Radio Mensaje has an effective broadcast radius of about twenty miles. W e wonder whether the personal touch that seems to make the show so popular in its area could be duplicated on a regional or national scale. O f course, in Latin America, where there are so m a n y local transmitters, this is a relatively minor issue. In Africa, where m a n y countries have but one national system, there is a potentially major problem.

Probably a more serious problem of replicability is the availability of people like Padre Barriga. T h e trust he has developed with campesinos seems essential to the smooth and constructive flow of communication between the villages and the station. That trust has been built on the Padre's genuine love for Tabacundo's people, expressed through his service to the communities during the last twenty years. Radio in Tabacundo is more a vehicle for building and extending this relationship than a series of programmes or messages.

T h e two types of radio communication discussed above would seem to derive from opposite and incompatible cultures and philosophies. T h e approach derivative of American advertising breaks the development process down into a series of small manageable problems, which can be subjected to technical analysis,

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and to treatment by specialized professionals. T h e Tabacundo approach is holistic rather than reductionist. It assumes that the development process is primarily one of individual and community awareness and of ongoing dialogue. Solutions to development problems are to be found primarily in the community, and are to be implemented by the community, rather than by outside specialists.

However, w e feel that these two approaches should not be seen as contradictory. A rather more constructive interpretation is to view each approach in terms of the situations and objectives to which it is suited. In this light, the approaches can be viewed as complementary.

Advertising has an ability to reach great numbers of people and to promote small but high-impact changes. Resources can be brought to bear quickly on a problem, and can produce quick results. Indeed, the accountability imposed by agencies which fund these expensive methods demands measurable results within a

short-time frame. In addition, they depend upon a well-developed media infrastructure, and upon a pool of trained production, research and management personnel. As the methods become perfected they should be applied widely.

Tabacundo points the way towards building mass communications from the ground up. This approach takes time to develop. Padre Barriga has served Tabacundo for twenty years, and will probably be there in another twenty years. His approach depends upon people's commitment to grass-roots development rather than their level of technical expertise. T h e results are bound to come more slowly, and m a y be largely unmeasurable in Western social, social science terms.

However, Tabacundo's strengths in the areas of individual awareness and community solidarity might help mitigate the disturbing anomie, alienation, and social disintegration which can accompany the onslaught of advanced Western technology.

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Trends and cases

The impact of transnational book publishing on knowledge in less-developed countries1

Keith B . Smith

Books are frequently a central feature of intellectual activity and intellectual communications. T h e y are vehicles for transferring knowledge internationally and within countries. Along with other media they capture and carry the k n o w ledge, culture, information and entertainment of societies. Although books are one of the oldest media products, book publishing is the least researched communications industry. It has never received the attention given to the newer media such as broadcasting and newspapers. In most countries publishing remains shrouded in a fascinating blend of trade folklore and mystique, breached only by publishers' memoirs and company histories. Yet it is k n o w n that books are influential. T h e y have provided resources for religions, inspiration for revolutions; they have taught, destroyed, guided, humoured and in hundreds of ways influenced peoples' lives.

Writers, publishers, educationalists, librarians and book distributors determine what books people can read. Publishers also appear to decide the fate of authors and their manuscripts, w h e n they select from the vast number of manuscripts they receive. W h a t real control do publishers have over manuscripts and what guides their

Keith B. Smith (United Kingdom). Publisher and

consultant with Inter-A ction, aLondon community media

co-operative. A Director of Third World Publications

of Birmingham. Formerly a teacher in Kenya, an export

manager with the publishers William Collins and a

researcher on international aspects of publishing at the

Institute of Development Studies at the University of

Sussex.

choice? In particular what results from p u b lishing being transnational rather than local or national? In what way are the intellectual activities and structures of societies affected by publishers acting as agents of knowledge?

N o particular category of book has exclusive influence on the development of intellectual knowledge. T h e division of books into intellectual and cultural categories is itself a cultural distinction dependent on h o w functionally a society views art and culture. Nevertheless this paper focuses primarily on non-fiction p u b lishing rather than fiction publishing and within non-fiction on the areas of publishing variously termed scholarly, academic, tertiary, educational and reference. T o widen the focus would be to overgeneralize. These categories cover the books most likely to be found in use by university and college personnel, in schools and non-formal and informal education, in reference libraries and being read by individuals wanting to learn and inform themselves. I will generalize so widely over the continents of Africa, Asia and Latin America that the exceptions m a y sometimes prove as instructive as the generalizations. Part of the fascination of looking at the international aspects of publishing is that it is largely this very trade in books that distributes theories on the transnational system. Yet this book trade m a y be a part ofthat very system.

i. First prepared at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, for the Division of Applied Social Sciences of Unesco in April 1976. Presented to the Meeting of Experts on the Study of the Impact of Transnational Corporations on Development and International Relations within the Fields of Competence of Unesco in Paris, June 1976. Revised at Inter-Action in November 1976 for Prospects.


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Trends and cases

Transnational book publishing

T h e recent United Nations definition of transnational corporations covers publishing enterprises that vary in the degree of their trans-nationalism. In the slightest form a transnational publisher can merely sell books to expert m a r kets. Most of the companies n o w referred to as transnationals started their foreign operations in this way but are n o w distinguished from national enterprises by owning or controlling branch offices or subsidiaries outside their h o m e country. In some areas of the developing world, particularly South America, the transnationals operate through agents rather than by opening their o w n offices.

Educational systems followed the British and French imperial expansion throughout the world. Colonial schools taught the same curriculum as that used in schools in the imperial country. Standard British and French textbooks were imported to accompany the imported syllabuses.

At the turn of this century British firms began the growth to transnationalism w h e n companies such as L o n g m a n , Macmillan and Oxford University Press opened offices in India. Shortly afterwards the French publishing company Hachette began expanding into countries in the French sphere of influence, starting with Turkey and Egypt. Publishers based in the United States of America did not start exporting beyond North America until the 1940s. They are n o w major exporters of college and scientific books to some developing countries.

Following Christian mission publishing and the colonial education systems, the growth of transnational publishing has resulted in a large net inflow of books from the United Kingdom, France and the United States to less-developed countries ( L D C s ) . In most L D C s with market or mixed economies, the transnational publishers dominate the areas of book publishing which have the greatest impact on intellectual k n o w

ledge, except where governments have reserved primary-school and sometimes secondary-school publishing for State publishers.

Metropolitan orientation

Initially the transnationals confined themselves to exporting their metropolitan titles to the developed countries, where they were read by the expatriate colonialists and used in the schools set up to educate a local middle class. In some Asian countries, following the lead of the missionaries, these publishers started issuing books in local languages and at least one publisher was reporting this a profitable line by 1909. B y 1925 the colonial governments of some areas felt it necessary to encourage the writing and publication of schoolbooks that were more suited to local conditions; slowly this change occurred, with the first titles for anglophone Africa appearing in the 1930s.

Because of the acknowledged role played by books in the cause of peace and international understanding and the prominence given to education in national planning, books have remained largely free from tariff barriers. This allows the transnational subsidiaries in L D C s to concentrate on distributing their parent company's titles. This is particularly true of United States tertiary and scholarly publishers. W h e r e subsidiaries also engage in import-replacement publishing it is largely because the national school system, through its syllabuses, demands localized books. These books have only marginal sales outside that particular country. Such local lists have grown during the 1970s, so that in some cases they account for up to 80 per cent of the transnational publisher's turnover from that geographical region. T h e peripheral offices of the transnationals have a third function, that of referring manuscripts to the editors in their head-office, w h o decide whether they will constitute books with an international or continental market. It is these three

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functions that locate transnational publishers in the wider international pattern.

T h e world book pattern contains a set of imbalances and a pervading metropolitan orientation. In 1950 the L D C s of the world contained 37 per cent of the world's literate adults and 42 per cent of the school population for w h o m they produced 24 per cent of the world's books. B y around 1970 their share of book production had dropped to 19 per cent while their share of the school population had increased from 42 per cent to 63 per cent and of literate adults from 37 per cent to 50 per cent.

Less-developed countries import most of their academic books. This is not surprising since the major exporters, Europe and the United States, have been the major generators of scientific knowledge and intellectual literature over the last few centuries. Most L D C s are signatories of one or both of the international copyright conventions and therefore import from the West the books containing this n e w k n o w ledge. That transnational publishers (TNPs) and metropolitan authors benefit from this trade is evident from the distress copyright piracy causes them and from the vigour with which they reinforce the conventions in spite of the demands for relaxation coming from groups of L D C s .

T h e predominance of metropolitan books combined with other transnational forces has led to the polarization of intellectuals in L D C s into a larger metropolitan-oriented transnational class and a smaller fervently nationalist protest class. Book publishing is just one agent in the creation of this transnational intelligentsia. Other agents are overseas study schemes sited in metropolitan centres, the 'brain-drain', and the growth of metropolitan-oriented colleges. Wealth plays a direct role too, for the central countries can positively select which research programmes to fund and thereby influence the resultant publications. This wealth also funds agencies exporting culture, such as the United States Information Services, the British Council and various French and U . S . S . R . government

agencies. Intelligence agencies will sometimes subvert academic institutes and publishers in the cause of furthering metropolitan interests.

Transnational book publishing, international languages and transnational intelligentsias are closely linked together. Imperial expansion imposed the English and French languages on large areas of the world and brought in its wake transnational publishing. International languages of metropolitan origin are still commonly used for intellectual writing and reading in Asia and Africa. T h e situation is somewhat different in South America where, rather than relying entirely on Spanish, academic intellectuals give m u c h attention to books written in English, French, G e r m a n and Russian. They find that Spanish-language publishing does not link them sufficiently to the metropolitan-linking international languages. O f all the international-language publishing industries, Spanish-language publishing is the least metropolitan centred. Spanish publishers have to compete with Argentinian and Mexican p u b lishers.

Publishers in other European countries have become aware of the advantages of publishing in international languages. T h e Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, Federal R e public of G e r m a n y and some East European countries have publishers w h o are expanding their English-language publishing, and m a y thus begin to challenge the traditional book exporters to L D C s . T h e activities of the transnational publishers, as I will show later, tend to entrench the metropolitan-focused international languages in L D C s .

Within L D C s where international language books predominate, they reinforce the intellectual division between the formally educated w h o have access to them and the poorer literates w h o are confined to the more parochial books in their o w n local language. There are, of course, m a n y historical precedents of an imported language providing a barrier between élites and others in societies.

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National book policies in some L D C s have modified this divisive metropolitan trans-nationalism. In C u b a the extensive literacy campaign, the rejection of international copyright and the creation of a State publishing monopoly under the Instituto del Libro have ensured that books do not become instruments of transnational dependency. T h e United R e public of Tanzania's less centralized programme of using the Swahili language and insisting on local content, local orientation and local m a n u facture but using some of the resources of transnational publishers in their Schoolbook publishing, is a milder policy. O n the other hand Indonesia's policy of switching to Bahasia Indonesia as the m e d i u m of learning, without either instituting sufficient State book publishing or encouraging commercial book activity, has led to acute shortages, instead of a break with dependency.

The impact on readers

Transnational publishing has transferred m u c h knowledge from the advanced centres of the world to the peripheries and has helped build up the intellectual resources of m a n y L D C s . This trade and the development of a transnational intelligentsia has led to the transfering of metropolitan influences on to the local production and consumption of intellectual knowledge. T h e next two sections will explain those transfers that take place within transnational publishing and through it on to reading publics. A later section will investigate h o w these transfers affect national publishing in L D C s .

T h e T N P s that dominate school-book p u b lishing in so m a n y of L D C s transfer aspects of metropolitan education to the L D C . O n e aspect of L D C education that is affected is pedagogic methodology. In this case the transfer often occurs through the adoption of a course of books that has been developed in the metropolitan centre. This procedure has been a

feature of school-book publishing ever since British school-books were superficially adapted for African schools; a process captured in the adage 'potatoes to yams'. T h e T N P s vary in the extent of their adapting activities in relation to their United Kingdom publishing. T h e most c o m m o n background for adaptation is large involvement by parents in a n e w development in secondary-school maths or science in the United Kingdom, such as the n e w maths or the Nuffield pupil-centred discovery method science of the 1960s. These teaching trends have been transferred to African education through professional educational channels with the help of aid and publishers' adaptations. Whether this modernizing influence on African education is developmental is a moot point. F r o m the p u b lishing viewpoint it depends mainly on the degree of adaptation. Changes m a d e to a maths series to incorporate the local environment of the pupils are insufficient if they ignore such features as cultural variations in perception and cultural attitudes to and relative familiarity with abstraction, ordering and measuring.

T h e degree of adaptation in major courses depends largely on the size of the potential market and on the adapting team, w h o are n o w usually an official or ministry approved group. For example the School Mathematics Project originally published by Cambridge University Press for United K i n g d o m schools was partially adapted for Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland but more extensively rewritten for the larger East African market. Three n e w features of this adaption trade are appearing. T w o of these indicate that the trade, though benefiting the metropolitan publishers, is not entirely confined to an intra-transnational circuit. First m a n y of the requests for adaptations are official and, second, some of the originating publishers such as Blackie/Chambers and John Murray, though British, are not transnational and a few of the adapting publishers are quasi-indigenous firms such as the East African Publishing House.

T h e third n e w feature is a small flow of

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adapted geography and ecology material to métropoles and between Third World markets.

T h e transfer of n e w pedagogic methodologies is rarely initiated by transnational school-book publishers. M o r e often they provide support for the transfer which is taking place as a result of direct international contact between educationalists or as a result of professional writing.

Another aspect of educational transfers from métropole to periphery results from the colonial transposition of metropolitan educational systems already mentioned. T h e books that followed this transposition were a major instrument of transferring metropolitan culture. For decades African and Asian pupils were learning Western history, geography, constitution and temperate science. This package of knowledge has formed m u c h of the formal intellectual base of the transnational intelligentsia found in most L D C s . As exam boards have been localized and national cultural regeneration brought into the school curricula, metropolitan schoolbooks have become less acceptable and T N P s have had to respond to local demand or the guide-lines laid d o w n by Ministries of Education. Ministries of Education in countries with small school enrolments do not have the same influence over T N P s and on occasion m a y decide that curricula reform is impossible unless the n e w textbooks are published by State houses.

At tertiary level L D C s have little power to influence transnational publishing, except when they have large tertiary educational sectors as in India. Except for basic textbooks the L D C market is usually too small to exert m u c h influence on the publishing programme of T N P s .

T h e basic ideology of transnational publishers like that of all capitalist enterprises is focused on making a profit. Amongst the projects launched by the commercial companies there are, of course, some series and titles which are not planned to return a profit but to embellish the company's image. M o r e interestingly though, there is an occupational ideology prevalent amongst groups of metropolitan editors

which diminishes the profit orientation; this ideology is particularly influential in British and United States university publishers: with the partial exception of school textbooks conditions of high market uncertainty and a high rate of n e w product initiation generally prevail in the publishing industry. This makes it difficult to judge a manuscript's sales-appeal and easier to justify other selection criteria such as intellectual importance or literary worth. T h e nature and operation of these criteria will be determined by such factors as the structure and tradition of the company, the self-image and reference group of the editor and whether the editor takes a largely prescriptive or largely interpretative view of the editorial function.

T h e different T N P ' s head-offices distribute various degrees of editorial power to the subsidiaries. Editorial ideologies, operating through these structural variations within T N P s , determine the nature of T N P influence on intellectual knowledge. T h e larger T N P s appoint a local editorial manager w h o is granted a considerable degree of autonomy to publish school-books and titles in local languages but has to refer back to head-office non-fiction and literacy manuscripts written in international languages. In these situations the local editor's apparent power is far greater than his or her real influence, for school-books are more closely tied to visable market forces than any other category of book. Textbooks in L D C s are usually addressed directly to the syllabus and the large commercial school-book T N P s are the least disposed to waver from the pursuit of profit.

There are, though, types of manuscripts that are less tightly bound to the local market forces and allow the selecting editor a greater chance to exercise creative judgement. Adult non-fiction, academic and literary books in international languages are such. But most of the decisionmaking power in these cases lies with editors w h o are metropolitan based and are therefore most aware of the tastes and interests of readerships in the metropolitan countries. S o m e power

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m a y lie with subsidiary offices but where it does, it is usually only the authority to report back whether the local readers and institutes are likely to buy the book. This amounts mainly to interpreting the taste of a local but metropoli-tanized transnational intelligentsia. T h u s , even w h e n the transnational are publishing m a n u scripts by authors from L D C s , the selection process and therefore the publishers' lists tend to reinforce L D C intellectual dependence on the metropolitan countries.

This dependency would not be so extreme if there were a larger and wider reading public in L D C s ; it is not an aim of metropolitan p u b lishers to extend their market through long-term support of literacy schemes or of an extended rural library service. T h e main occupational ideology outside profit-seeking is a search for high-quality manuscripts rather than for breadth of readership. T h e extension function is usually adopted by the State, using libraries and sometimes literature bureaux which publish commercially unattractive manuscripts. In spite of such State action it is probable that the dominant book distribution pattern leads to an even-more marked version of the c o m m u n i cations effect gap amongst book readers than amongst users of the mass media. That is, as the book industry increases, segments of the population with higher socio-economic status tend to acquire information at a faster rate than the lower status segments, so that the gap in knowledge tends to increase rather than decrease.

So in spite of T N P s pluralist ideology the major influences determining the distribution of intellectual knowledge outside school-books are metropolitan editorial decisions and the metropolitan dominated international market.

It is interesting to note in passing that politically critical and sensitive manuscripts on specific L D C s sometimes find a metropolitan publisher w h e n no local or truly transnational publisher could issue them.

The impact on authors

T h e activities of book publishers affect not only intellectual consumption but also intellectual production. This impact is located in the relationship between writers and publishing.

In spite of recent agglomeration in metropolitan book publishing the industry's ideology is essentially pluralistic. Even w h e n they have become part of a conglomerate companies often retain a large degree of independence. T h e T N P s have carried this attitude into L D C s , where the extension of State publishing m o n opoly is greatly feared. This fear sometimes becomes one factor in motivating transnational to assist the development of a local commercial publishing industry as a force against State publishing. T h e pluralism allows authors a wider choice of opportunity channels than there is in countries with more centralized industries. But the range of titles published is not merely a product of pluralist attitudes, it is also determined by publishers' interpretation of the market and by the pervading editorial ideology.

A s w e have seen, w h e n a writer submits a manuscript to a transnational, it is judged against an international market unless it is a school-book, basic textbook or written in a local language. Because T N P s have access to m a n y markets around the world they can often accept a manuscript and publish it as a commercial venture, w h e n a nationally limited publisher would not have been able to do so. This can be of great benefit, particularly in the more internationally transferable disciplines such as science and technology where, for instance, a book on some aspect of tropical forestry might become viable by reaching a tropical market rather than a merely national market. This international reach is most important to very small countries. It has also been of increasing importance in the academic market where the global expansion in scholarship has led to greater specialization and smaller markets for

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the resultant highly specialized publications. This same advantage to the extension of k n o w ledge could be gained if L D C publishers reached a world-wide market, but they do not. Very often they do not even reach their o w n continental market, though there are some n e w and promising ventures which m a y extend their markets.

It is in the more closely culture-bound fields of social science, literary, general and children's books that transnational publishing distorts intellectual production. M a n y writers, particularly those based in universities, write from two motives—to communicate and to gain status and/or money. W h e n metropolitan editors receive the manuscripts of these writers they will usually pass them to an external reader for an opinion on their merit. Unfortunately no research has examined the interaction between editors and these advisers but it is probable that the decision on whether to publish is m a d e in the light of metropolitan opinion, international taste and the standing of the author in the transnational élite. It is therefore a metropolitan-based or metropolitan-oriented authority that is acting through the T N P s as the main gatekeeper to intellectual knowledge in the L D C s . It is within this framework that the legitimacy of work can be conferred or withheld, for it is only very rarely that unpublished ideas gain authority. For the university writer in some academic systems, publishers also hold the key to personal promotion. T h e need to satisfy these authorities must influence L D C writers in their work. M a n y will be writing with an eye on what they think is wanted by the metropolitan-oriented transnational nexus. In some regions with particularly small readerships for certain types of books, such as academic books in the West Indies, authors must almost inevitable concentrate on the international readership.

In some L D C s writers have the alternative of submitting manuscripts to local commercial publishers or local non-commercial publishers. Except in India, there is very little academic

commercial publishing. Although the number of subsidized university presses is growing in both Asia and West Africa, the number of titles they publish is still small. It usually carries less prestige for authors to be published by these local publishers than by transnationals. A few esteemed African literary authors are reacting to the T N P dominance by consciously placing some of their manuscripts with local p u b lishers. This is part of the small antithetical protest movement I referred to earlier.

So, on the one hand T N P s ' access to the international market confers commercial viability on a variety of titles. O n the other hand T N P metropolitan orientation operates along with L D C transnationalism as a powerful control on the legitimizing of L D C intellectual writing.

S o m e forms of book-aid have a disincentive effect on local writing; in particular those schemes by which T N P s attract subsidies for their titles. This lowers the retail price and enables buyers to purchase a book which without the subsidy they might not be able to do. At the same time the subsidy allows the T N P s ' title to undercut equivalent local books and, by the same token, render some unpublishable. This acts as a disincentive to local authors. That is not to say that book-aid schemes are on balance harmful but they do require more thorough evaluation than they have received.

National and local publishers in less-developed countries

Transnational publishers also have an indirect impact on intellectual knowledge by means of their impact on national publishing in L D C s . T o examine this w e must first distinguish between the importantly different types of national publishing.

T h e patterns of local and national publishing in less-developed countries are products of a wide variety of factors which include: the extent

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of literacy and education; the governments' political policies on State educational publishing; the development of library services and purchasing power; the availability of inputs and infrastructure, from manuscripts through printing to bookshops; access to capital and k n o w -h o w ; government policy towards capitalist, foreign and State publishing; and the power and influence of transnational publishers compared to that of national and local publishing. Out of these factors come two basic types of book-publishing organizations operating in L D C s , the commercial and non-commercial. T h e noncommercial are usually either State organizations publishing school-books, or academic publishing operations subsidized by universities or institutes. T h e State publishers are nearly always given a monopoly on primary textbooks. These State houses usually c o m e somewhere between being a reflection of national political ideology, such as the Instituto del Libro, in C u b a and an interventionist organ set up to conserve foreign reserves, produce cheaper books and ensure that school-books are in accordance with government thinking, such as the Educational Publications Bureau in Singapore. T h e resultant monopoly consists of the government's curriculum development department and the State publishing house controlling the intellectual content of school-books. In the case of the subsidized non-commercial publishers it is usually the academic staff of a university or institute that take the publishing decisions.

Commercial profit-oriented local publishers tend to originate in three types of situations. S o m e are entrepreneurs, possibly starting as self-publishers such as the Onitsha publishers of Nigeria. Others have developed publishing as an offshoot from a bookshop; several Indian importers developed in this way. Yet others are the outcome of political or cultural movements or are intellectuals keen to publish certain types of books. Very little L D C publishing has followed the pattern, c o m m o n in metropolitan

countries, of editors leaving established p u b lishing houses to set up their o w n small companies.

All these types of commercial publishers at some time or other encounter the dominance that T N P s exercise over the most profitable areas of the market open to commercial p u b lishers. Advantages allow the T N P s to retain this position, thereby largely confining the local publishers to marginal areas of a fairly marginal industry. Resentment of this dominance has also shown itself in Canada and Australia during the 1970s. Australian publishers have suffered as a result of the British Traditional Market Agreement which has been attacked by the United States Justice Department in a cartel busting action. This agreement prevented the signatory British publishers from trading in rights with United States publishers unless the British publisher is offered the title in the whole 'traditional market', which consists of almost all the old British Empire. This mechanism has allowed British publishers to retain control on their markets and limit United States incursion. British publishers argue that if their market fragments, their print-runs will fall and book prices will increase. While this m a y happen, it would not c o m e about if publishers in all countries had access to the international market and thereby could print in the longer runs and achieve the wider distribution which are still largely the preserve of T N P s .

T w o extensive exceptions to the confinement of L D C publishers are the fields of popular and light local fiction, books of social and personal advice and cram books for school students. T h e major T N P s have concentrated on their areas of metropolitan expertise which have not included light fiction. Light fiction is therefore open to local publishers and to the importers w h o bring in books and magazines from other metropolitan publishers. T h e editorial ideology of transnational publishers and their urban marketing orientation have accounted for their espousal of respectable and educational school-books

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and their avoidance of cram books designed merely to help students through exams. L D C publishers find it difficult to compete in the school-book field. A few have been able to use cram books to give themselves a secure base from which to extend into more serious intellectual publishing.

As a result of this historical imbalance, an unplanned schism has grown up in most of those L D C s which do not have a large academic market. This leads readers to expect the more intellectual work in the commercial field to appear from the T N P s and tends to lower the credibility of the few intellectual works produced by local commercial publishers. In m a n y L D C s where it is found, the imbalance is at least partly redressed by the publishing activity of local subsidized publishers, such as university presses. Recently a trend has appeared for transnational publishers to start issuing both cram books and light fiction but it is not yet clear whether this will reduce the schism or threaten local publishers' staple markets. O n e of the historical benefits enjoyed by metropolitan T N P s is that their metropolitan head-offices are at the centre of African and Asian transport and communications systems. T h e local L D C publishers are at the peripheries and the interperiferal sending of books and of information about books is constrained by this radial pattern. These restraints on L D C publishers tend to route inter-LDC intellectual communications through the metropolitan centres, rather than allowing them to flow directly from country to country. T h e pattern is less marked in East Asia where books flow between countries like H o n g K o n g , Singapore and Malaysia. It is also less marked in South and Central America where books published in Argentina and Mexico are sold elsewhere on the continent.

Amongst the more intellectual African and Latin American publishers there is a tendency to try to match metropolitan styles and standards in book design and production. S o m e

times it is in the quality of the paper or the binding, other times it m a y be the illustrations. T h e distinction between functional design features such as legibility and durability and opulent design such as high-quality paper and full-colour covers has been eroded. S o m e local publishers feel forced into this position by the taste transfer that has occurred in the market as a result of book-buyers' acculturation to metropolitan styles of book design. These p u b lishers quote occasions on which the staff of ministries of education have rejected their books as unsuitable because, although cheaper, they did not look as attractive as books published by T N P s . O n other occasions it seems more a psychological dependence on the part of the L D C publishers, w h o wish to achieve the standards of metropolitan publishers without m u c h regard for appropriateness. This always increases the price of books and therefore restricts the distribution of their contents.

The three major impacts of transnational publishing

T h e most evident feature which emerges from the above is the international range that transnational publishers give to intellectual k n o w ledge, the spreading of learning, knowledge, ideas, creative work, etc., to those literate in international languages and occasionally to readers using local languages. This has an international distributive effect and acts as a force for international intellectual appreciation and understanding. This transfer is not totally one way; T N P s take on the manuscripts of L D C authors and market them internationally. F r o m this point of view the internationalism of transnational publishing benefits readers and writers alike.

I have also pointed to a less recognized feature of transnational publishing which results, not from its internationalism, so m u c h as from its metropolitan base. Almost all T N P s are based

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in the metropolitan countries or if not then in the dominant country of the area. This leads to a metropolitan orientation, which combines with other forces to reinforce intellectual dependency in L D C s . This syndrome is the outcome of patterns of knowledge generation and colonial history and is n o w reinforced by elements of world capitalism and intellectual, linguistic and academic transnationalism.

This debilitating impact is encouraged by a somewhat symbiotic relationship between the élites of L D C s and the transnational corporations, tending to retain the benefits of transnational publishing for the élites. Unfortunately some instruments of the beneficial internationalism entrench the one-way flow in books and therefore also retard the growth of intellectual independence. There are forces acting against this dependency, even within the transnational publishing system of metropolitan transnationalism. Probably the most interesting and unusual amongst these weaker counter-forces is the intermittent T N P distributes the L D C publisher's books in the metropolitan

country. Outside the transnational system there are other counteracting forces ranging from writers tiring of the T N P domination, to p u b lishing houses such as Quimantu in Chile, which are set up in full awareness of the weakening effects of dependency on the métropoles.

T h e third area of T N P impact is through L D C publishing. I have shown h o w L D C publishing is stymied by the power and global reach of the T N P s and h o w T N P s determine the market space open to L D C publishers, except when the State intervenes and declares a State monopoly. A large-scale study would be required to measure the impact of T N P s on L D C publishing and in particular to uncover the power and potential of small, independent publishers. Books and pamphlets have appeared from such sources and had enormous impact in the literacy and intellectual fields and even on national history.

O n the whole, therefore, while the internationalism of transnational publishing is an intellectual benefit, its metropolitan domination reinforces dependency.

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Notes and reviews

Book reviews

Language, pedagogy, politics and society: bilingualism on the move

A y o Bamgbose (ed.), Mother Tongue Education: The West African Experience, London and Paris, Hodder & Stoughton, and the Unesco Press, 1976, 153 p.

Frances Willard von Maltitz, Living and Learning in Two Languages: Bilingual-Bicultural Education in the United States, N e w York, N . Y . , McGraw-Hil l , I9753 221 p.

Collectif d'Alphabétisation, L'Alphabétisation des Travailleurs Immigrés, Paris, François Maspero, 1975, 326 p. (Collection Textes à l'Appui, Série Pédagogique.)

Diana E . Bartley, Soviet Approaches to Bilingual Education, Philadelphia, Center for Curriculum Development, 1971, 281 p . (Language and the Teacher: A Series in Applied Linguistics, N o . 10.)

Merrill Swain (ed.), 'Bilingualism in Canadian Education: Issues and Research. L e Bilinguisme dans l'Éducation Canadienne : L a Recherche et les Problèmes', Yearbook of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education. Annuaire de la Société Canadienne pour l'Étude de l'Éducation ( S C E E / C S S E , Edmonton) , Vol. 3, 1976, 136 p.

T h e basic tenet of pedagogy is that teaching methods should be adapted to the learner. In an ordinary primary school w e would not expect classes of 8-year-olds to be lectured on the differential calculus, nor would they be expected to pass examinations on the chemical equations associated with the cracking of hydrocarbons. If a topic is far beyond the capabilities of the majority of learners, it is grossly inefficient to try to teach it to them. Nevertheless, the educational systems of m a n y countries are based, at least in part, on the violation of such elementary principles: Subjects are taught in a language which at least a part of the pupils—and in some colonial and post-colonial settings almost all of the pupils—barely understand. For historical, ideological and 'practical' reasons, most educational systems are based upon the use of one official language, at least within a given geographical area; sometimes two official languages share the same territory; rarely is diversity allowed to proliferate beyond this point. T h e educational consequences are usually disastrous for the majority of children (and adults) forced to study in a language other than their mother tongue.

In recent years there has been a dramatic awak

ening of m a n y nations to the possibility of going beyond the monolithic model of one official language. T h e 1976 issue of Prospects, on bilingual and multilingual education, is but one example attesting to the widespread interest aroused by the problem of speaking to learners in their o w n language—a problem which, one might have thought, would be a starting-point for designing curricula, rather than a recent 'innovation' in method.

F r o m the outpouring of publications describing national attempts to deal with mother-tongue education, four have been selected as representative of the types of literature being generated. T h e publications are related by an explicit concern with the problem of h o w to use the mother tongue of learners in the instructional process; implicitly they are unified by a c o m m o n underlying socio-political phenomenon: T h e dominant language of instruction in most contexts is related to a pattern of social and economic dominance in which language differences single out one or more groups as being subordinate. Pedagogy and politics are interwoven in a complex pattern.

Mother Tongue Education: The West African Experience is a collection of essays contributed by

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educators in West Africa (Sierra Leone, Benin, Ghana and Nigeria). It provides a snapshot of efforts to deal with the problem of language in countries whose borders were dictated by the interests of Western European colonial powers in the last century, rather than by the ethnic or linguistic affinities of the peoples concerned. B y comparison with m a n y other parts of the world, the linguistic diversity is absolutely staggering. Sierra Leone, with a population of something less than 4 million, has at least eighteen recognized languages, some with major dialectical differences; the chapter on Ghana notes that 'nobody has been able to ascertain the number of languages spoken within the country's borders' (p. 84). With the aid of a chapter on historical background and an excellent introduction on the changing policies of contemporary States, the reader is able to grasp the gradual emergence of policies by which English and French—currently the main languages of education (particularly in secondary and higher education)—are beginning to make way at the primary level for African languages. T h e movement towards the use of the mother tongue of the pupils is embryonic, though the authors do predict that ' T h e introduction of the mother tongue into primary education will probably be an accomplished fact in the next decade in most of the countries that n o w have a rigid policy of French or English teaching only' (p. 23).

T h e essays provide no surprises for experienced students of Africa, but they will be useful for readers interested in obtaining an overview of the linguistic factors affecting educational change in African nations. Political leaders must try to develop the bases of a national identity while struggling against problems of economic underdevelopment and ethnic diversity. T h e potential divisiveness of emphasizing one indigenous language at the expense of all the others has functioned as a brake on decision-making, resulting in odd anomalies. O n e author notes, for example, that in Ghana 'the year which marked the peak of nationalism was also the year in which the role of national languages in education was d o w n graded' (p. 93). T h e essays are generally at a high level, though differences in local circumstances and the background of contributors cause some uneven-ness of treatment. O n e author describes at excessive length a pilot project in a single school, involving use of a single African language, whereas the article on the Rivers (State) Readers Project in Nigeria reports coherently (in fewer pages) on a large programme involving the development of first-year reading books in fifteen languages, together with related guides for teachers and documentation on the orthographies used.

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the activities described is the rapid development of scientific study of the African languages. T h e authors document in some detail the work of linguists to develop orthographies for the numerous languages which, d o w n to the present, have never had a written form. There is something enthralling and exciting about the enormous achievement of dozens of cultures emerging in parallel from the world of oral tradition into the harsh, analytical light of literacy. T h e m o v e ment, begun in various places during the last century, primarily by Christian missionaries, has been accelerated rapidly by the advent of modern linguistic techniques. T h e article on the Rivers Readers Project, mentioned above, portrays the process of language standardization being used in parallel for more than a dozen languages at once; the detailed description of h o w orthography is modified by both tradition and practice to suit the needs of readers is relatively rare outside specialist journals, and is well worth reading.

If one were to find a single major fault with the book, it is that the reader is left with a desire to know more about the approaches being taken in the rest of West Africa. O n e has the fragments of a mosaic which one day should be completed.

Living and Learning in Two Languages: Bilingual-Bicultural Education in the United States transposes us to an entirely different setting: educators in the United States face a bewildering array of language groups in the classroom—immigrants from every part of the world, native American Indians, and Spanish and French-speaking United States citizens whose ancestral homes were absorbed by the country's expansion across the continent and into the Caribbean (Puerto Rico). In the homeland of the 'melting pot' concept, the combined stimulus of ethnic pressure groups, State and federal legislation, and rulings by the courts, have set in motion a vast movement to change traditional goals of cultural and linguistic assimilation in the schools.

T h e major shortcoming of the book by von Maltitz is its failure to deal with the underlying sociological and political implications of recognizing minority languages in United States classrooms. Although the introduction says that the subject of 'educational politics' is left largely untouched, the text accepts de facto the dominant 'Anglo' majority view of the content of bilingual programmes: these should assist Anglo pupils to learn a foreign language as well as teach English to minority language pupils. There is little sympathy for the minority groups w h o endorse a 'separatist' approach, in which the minority language students are grouped together without English-language pupils, in order better to preserve

31O

Notes and reviews

their native culture and language heritage. T h e recognition of minority language rights is closely related to the recognition of their social and political equality; obviously progress is being m a d e , but the author does not appear to have a consistent view of h o w the inevitably resulting conflicts are related to the general issues of bilingual education. Nowhere is there a clear s u m m a r y of United States policy on the topic, and there are some apparent contradictions: O n page 178 the opinion is given that federal m o n e y will be provided only for 'integration of (English and m i n ority language) pupils', even though the next paragraph remarks that this concept was specifically written out of the revised policy statement prefacing the Bilingual Education Act (of the Education Amendments of 1974). A chapter, ' H o w Other Countries Deal with their Language Minorities', contains errors and uses inadequate source materials. T o take a single example, it is said (p. 101) that 'both English and French are official languages in Canada'; a note then explains: 'except in the Province of Quebec' (p. 119). T h e statements ignore the differences between the official language policy of the federal government and those of the ten provinces. Although m a n y Canadian provinces have one official language, English, the text leaves the incorrect impression that the recent decision of Quebec to m a k e French the only official language in that province somehow makes it an exception. T h e discussion of the Soviet Union is singularly weak and could have been documented by reference to standard works such as those of Lewis1 or Bartley. T h e book would also have been m u c h improved by better editing to eliminate digressions from the main line of exposition.

T h e author, a teacher with considerable experience in bilingual classrooms, is at her best in short descriptions of the bilingual experiments she visited while preparing the book. But her occasional insights into pedagogy and atmosphere are sometimes difficult to find in the masses of data, such as a chapter which summarizes, one by one, the responses to questionnaires m a d e by officials in all the fifty state departments of education: a useful mine of information, that could have been better exploited by a thematic approach. In short, the study attempts to deal with the entire range of bilingual-bicultural education in all the states of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico, a task which would have severely tested the abilities of the most knowledgeable and experienced writer. Unfortunately, even if m u c h information is summarized, it fails to give the reader a clear understanding of events. T h e topic deserves a better treatment.

Numerous volunteers have been working over the years in France to improve the lot of immigrant

workers, particularly those from Africa and the countries surrounding the Mediterranean basin. O f the groups in this field, the 'Literacy Collective' (Collectif d'Alphabétisation) represent one of the most outspoken groups critical of current public policy in this domain. Their most recent collective work, L'Alphabétisation des Travailleurs Immigrés, characteristically places politics and pedagogy on the same level. O f its two sections, the first is dedicated to presenting an ideological framework, in which literacy is viewed as part of a struggle for social transformation. For the m e m b e r s of the collective, only the most revolutionary (or supposedly revolutionary) approaches are deserving of praise: the functional literacy programmes of Unesco are roundly criticized for 'simultaneously reinforcing the exploitation of the dominated classes by their integration into capitalist developments and reinforcing the ideological control of the latter by the dominant classes'; although certain positive elements are noted in the work of Freiré (a 'great step forward' by comparison with traditional methods), it is also criticized for being restricted to a 'liberation of consciences' and failing to link literacy training to ideological struggle; an entire chapter critiques ongoing work in France. Praise, by contrast, is reserved for only two models of literacy programme, those of China and Guinea-Bissau. T h e document maintains a consistent ideological stance for its criticism—a strong point perhaps, but m a n y readers will find the self-righteous, superior tone of the authors to be monotonous. O n e is hard pressed to find any traces of ideological humility—even though the Literacy Collective readily confesses to pedagogical shortcomings in its earlier work (cf. p . 93-5).

O n the other hand, even readers w h o disagree with the ideological stance of the collective m a y find the first part of the book valuable as a document illustrative of ongoing work. In fact, the analysis of the diverse groups and interests represented in the literacy movement in France is fine-grained, often accurate (if polemical) and sometimes very perspicacious—for example, the brief note on the divergent 'class interests' of subgroups a m o n g immigrant workers (p. 53-4).

T h e second portion of the book differs in tone and has as its core the exposition of rather conventional, but up to date, teaching methods. It is addressed to

1. E . Glyn Lewis, Multilingualism in the Soviet Union, Aspects of Language Policy and its Implementation, The Hague and Paris, Mouton, 1972. See the review by Z . Zachariev, Prospects, Vol. IV, N o . 4, 1974, p. 583-7.—Ed.

3"

Notes and reviews

the literacy trainers, and provides a general outline of the major linguistic theories on which an approach to literacy can be based a m o n g adult minority language speakers. T h e authors correctly reject approaches whichj dealing with workers w h o do not speak French, begin by teaching them to write and read a language they do not understand. Their pedagogy gives priority to oral expression in the early stages of training; after the adults can speak and understand French, they go on to writing and reading. T h e authors have learned, however, through experience that, because of previous conditioning in their h o m e countries (particularly in Africa), m a n y workers expect and demand the opposite approach. In this case the collective suggests a responsive pedagogy where the trainer {animateur) adapts the course to these expectations and gradually brings the students to accept the need to develop oral skills first. T h e book concludes with a dossier of more than forty suggested teaching themes (lessons are called 'exchanges'—échanges).

T h u s the book presents an integrated approach to teaching immigrant workers—a political stance, a theoretical guide to linguistic pedagogy and a set of suggested lessons. T h e work appears suited to its purpose—training teachers for literacy tasks among immigrant workers in France, though its audience m a y be limited by its political outlook. Unfortunately, no data are furnished on the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, but it is clearly based on experience. In summary , the book is written with consistency, rigour and clarity.

T h e final selection, 'Bilingualism in Canadian E d u cation: Issues and Research', Yearbook of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, provides a panora m a of bilingualism problems as seen by educational researchers. T h e most unusual aspect of this collection of articles is its focus on problems outside Quebec, which are rarely treated in the literature: among native North American Indians and Eskimos (Inuit), the large Francophone minorities outside Quebec, and the large non-British and non-French groups (particularly Ukrainian) in the prairie provinces. In addition, there is an article dealing with the development of programmes to teach French through 'early immersion' techniques: English-speaking children are taught entirely in French in kindergarten and the first one or two grades of elementary school, after which English is introduced gradually into the classroom in the following years.

This emphasis will be of interest to those w h o wish to understand Canadian problems as a whole but will be a disappointment to the reader avid for insights into current problems of Quebec and the relationship of language to separatism in that province. Similarly,

the non-Canadian reader m a y have trouble understanding some of the legal and constitutional c o m plexities which the authors take for granted as background to the articles (the discussion of Indian and Inuit education being an exception).

Despite the failure to include a discussion of Quebec issues, which is a serious cause of imbalance, the collection makes an otherwise invaluable contribution by revealing a Canada of greater linguistic and cultural diversity than is usually perceived in available sources. Several authors discuss the political, social and educational implications of policies which would go beyond the stereotyped English-French dichotomy and permit use of other languages in the classroom. T h e contributors are frankly polemical at times and, without exception, discuss the political context of bilingual education. In fact, researchers in education or linguistics will note that some of the articles dwell more on politics than research issues. Only one article constitutes a major state-of-the-art review backed by a full bibliography.

A m o n g the research topics discussed, one in particular deserves mention as a conclusion to this review: At several points, the authors attempt to come to grips with a major apparent contradiction in research findings. Serious evaluations have been undertaken in several places in Canada to assess the effects of 'early immersion' techniques; most of the available research confirms that the programmes are highly effective in teaching French and, moreover, produce practically no harmful side effects for the English of the learners. T h e repeated success of such pilot programmes has caused, in fact, widespread attitude change among m a n y parents and has prompted educators to reassess the traditional approach of delaying study of a second language until secondary school or at least until late elementary school. T h e research underlying this trend is basically sound and yet contradicts a m u c h larger body of research on social disadvantage in which, as mentioned at the beginning of this review, instruction in a second language results in seriously harmful effects for both child and adult learners. T h e different authors turn to non-linguistic factors to explain the apparent contradiction: T h e effect of using a second language would appear to depend on contextual factors and attitudes, rather than on the language m e d i u m itself. Children from a dominant social group (in economic, political and/or cultural status) seem to benefit from such exposure, whereas the exact opposite results are observed among those from subordinate social groups—thus the cultural deprivation characteristically experienced by socially underprivileged minorities (e.g. minority French-Canadians outside

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Notes and reviews

Quebec, Indians, immigrants, etc.). These data, derived from the Canadian experience, require careful verification from other sources: for example, in some of the newer African States, can the majority of the population represent a 'subordinate' group when they face the obstacle of learning in schools where the language of instruction is that of a former imperial power? Even at the level of pedagogy, it is clear that the question of bilingualism in education cannot be

T h e spread of schooling in virtually all countries of the world, accounted for or justified by political, social or economic aims, has naturally brought with it the phenomenon of diploma inflation and a corresponding escalation of requirements on the labour market. For jobs which a few decades ago did not call for a diploma, employers have n o w decided, in view of the proliferation of diploma-holders, to raise the level of qualifications required. A s for those seeking employment, they realize that if they are to get a job, they must press on with their studies and obtain more and more certificates. T h e combination of these two developments conduces to the outbreak and spread of the 'diploma disease' in the developed and the developing countries alike. This was the conclusion reached by the majority of those analysing world trends in schooling ten years ago. In this context, what food for thought is offered to us by the work of an eminent specialist like Professor Ronald Dore, w h o has spent m a n y years studying these problems, and whose profound experience covers a great variety of countries?

In the first place, aiming at strict accuracy, Dore rejects mechanistic or non-historical explanations. Having briefly reviewed the problem of diploma inflation in its specific context (since the end of the colonial period), the author shows by four case studies bearing on countries as different as the United K i n g d o m , Japan, Sri Lanka and Kenya h o w the role of education and the significance of diplomas have been closely connected with the historical conditions determining those countries' economic and educational development. In this way the author leads up to his propoistion concerning the 'late development effect'. T h e educational system of Japan has developed very differently from that of the United Kingdom; some of these differences m a y be attributed to the cultural traditions and social structures of the two countries; but the most pertinent for the author's

treated in isolation from the general issues of social and political relationships.

STACY C H U R C H I L L

Associate professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and at the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Toronto (Canada)

argument are the differences due to the fact that Japan embarked on its process of industrialization later than the United K i n g d o m . T h e case of Sri Lanka is perhaps more complicated in that linguistic factors have been especially instrumental in delaying the 'digestion' of Western knowledge; the lateness in starting industrialization, however, has produced an even more dramatic effect on diploma inflation and the use of diplomas in occupational selection processes. In Kenya, which has a younger and less complex educational system than Sri Lanka, the 'late development effect' is even more striking. Dore brings his diagnosis to a close as follows:

the later development starts . . . the more widely education certificates are used for occupational selection; the faster the rate of qualification inflation; and the more examination-orientated schooling becomes at the expense of genuine education.

Part II of the book is entitled ' T h e Conventional W i s d o m ' . Here, the author makes a critical analysis of the theories and solutions proposed by specialists in educational problems. H e also describes conventional approaches to the problem of diploma inflation, more particularly in those countries where the determination to introduce educational reforms is very strong, such as the United Republic of Tanzania, C u b a and Sri Lanka; and he shows w h y these reforms had little chance of succeeding. In so doing, he naturally changes course and enlarges upon his subject in order to take in what seems to m e to be the most vital question dealt with in the work as a whole, namely, the role of education in the social system and the futility of any study of the 'diploma disease' that does not cover the ideology and socio-political options of the countries concerned. In this respect, the author has brought out very clearly the contrast between declared aims and the measures actually taken and has not fallen into the trap of drawing superficial

R . Dore, The Diploma Disease: Education, Qualification and Development, U n w i n Education Books.

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conclusions full of praise for the proclaimed options of the countries studied. T h e passages on the United Republic of Tanzania are a particularly good illustration of this.

Apart from Chapter XII (a digression all the more superfluous in that the author has already dealt very brilliantly with the whole question of deschooling in a paper that has since become a classic, 'False Prophets: T h e Cuernavaca Critique of School', I D S Discussion Paper N o . 12) Part III deals with 'radical' solutions: total abolition of the school's social selection function; aptitude tests rather than academic achievement tests; 'apprentice-ship; mid-career, rather than pre-career, education and training'. E x periments conducted in China are mentioned as an extreme example of this kind of strategy. T h e ethnic and political implications of radical solutions; their meaning in terms of value systems for society (and especially the meaning of effort and justice), prospects from the point of view of equality and democracy, etc., are other subjects touched upon in the closing chapters.

W h e n he gets to the end of this amply documented and excellently constructed book, the reader will note: (a) the fact that it is both rewarding and necessary to introduce a historical dimension into any analysis of educational problems; (b) the merits of the multi-disciplinary approach of Ronald Dore, w h o does not hesitate to draw, at the same time and occasionally in a contradictory manner, on psychology, sociology, economics, educational science and political science in support of his interpretation of the experiments studied; (c) the futility of suggesting educational reforms or trying to assess the feasibility of any solution (to the problem of diploma inflation, for example), without reference to the socio-political context, the declared objectives, the means available and the measures taken by the countries concerned to attain those objectives. For all these reasons, this book undoubtedly makes a useful and significant contribution to the progress of educational science and is well worth reading.

Nevertheless—regrettably, because of the quality of this work—it is impossible to see eye to eye with the author on some basic points in his conclusions. In spite of the precautions he has taken and his references to socio-historic contexts, the problems of inequality and democracy are in fact approached from what might be called a 'functionalist' and 'deter-minist' angle, and not from a 'dialectical' one. In other words, Dore seems to see inequality as an almost inevitable feature of any social system. T h e Confucian world is Utopian. Inequality is the result

of, or is determined by, the w a y in which aptitude, qualifications and experience differ from individual to individual. It is functional in that it is compatible with the administration of any society organized according to the responsibilities and qualities of the different social groups. T h e aim (whose?) is to keep inequality within tolerable limits by minimizing it. W e are to believe and hope, therefore, that the social system m a y be able to m o v e naturally towards a less unequal, more democratic world, and that there will be a gradual change in the attitudes and mentality that help to create inequality. W h a t this amounts to is an admission that, providing suitable measures are taken (behavioural orientation and encouragement), it will be possible to eliminate the stratification of society into fundamentally conflicting groups. T h e 'dialectical' approach postulates that the relationships between the different groups shape and determine their existence and, in the last analysis, are what really count most. A change in the relationships between the groups is rejected by the ruling classes, whereas it is the objective of those w h o m they dominate. Only the struggle for change can bring about a modification of social relationships and alter the realities of an unequal society. Obviously, it is a practical, dialectical struggle. F r o m this point of view, the proposals contained in Chapter XIII, which Dore calls modest, are legitimate and realistic only if they come from the dominated groups and presuppose action in depth to modify social relationships. T h e origin or paternity of the proposals is as important as their contents, if not more so. Another characteristic of the functionalist and determinist point of view is, in the present case, the confusion between the sociopolitical analysis of the problems of inequality and the reductionist interpretation of it in psychological and individualist terms. It is not by chance that, in the last paragraphs of his book, Dore advances the argument of the diversity of individual talents and of social needs, and expresses, despite his optimism, some doubts about the future. A s long as w e refuse to consider that the problem of inequality is also (some would say above all), of a dialectical nature and essentially one of power between groups—and not solely between individuals—we shall opt either for the resignation that Dore, to his credit, rejects, or for the conjecture that history will end by transforming m a n in an unequal society (Diplodocus) into Confucian m a n in a (classless?) society.

JACQUES HALLAK International Institute for Educational Planning

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Notes and reviews

C . A . Bowers, Cultural Litert on Teaching, Curriculum and, Elan Publishers, 1974, 184 p,

This is an always stimulating, often provocative and sometimes irritating book, whether you agree with all, some or none of the author's novel suggestions for improving American public (State) schools. There is m u c h that educationists—including those w h o share Professor Bowers' reformist penchant—will at very least find puzzling.

Paolo Freire's work in Brazil is mentioned but The Pedagogy of the Oppressed is dismissed with the incomplete explanation that it is of dubious applicability 'in a technocracy such as ours'. Incidentally, 'technocracy' is never defined, although used repeatedly to describe and criticize contemporary American society. Also undefined are the author's crucial interpretations of 'culture' and 'literacy'.

M a n y readers will also be daunted by the jargon, occasional fuzziness and sheer wordiness of this volume. O n e of numerous examples:

M a n y of the reinforcers used in classroom situations are related to the consumer-oriented culture that some social critics consider responsible for the kind of disturbed behavior that alarms the behavior modifier.

Despite these weaknesses, Professor Bowers points to enticing paths toward educational change. Using earnest if iconoclastic amunition, he fires broadside after broadside at currently trendy innovations that he (like m e ) fears will reduce the h u m a n acts of teaching and learning to knee-jerk technology. These fashions include the theory and practice of B . F . Skinner's 'operant conditioning' (children are not pigeons); the 'voucher system' (a managerial ploy to avoid addressing the real issue of ' h o w youth should be educated to live meaningful lives'); and 'competency based teaching' (incompatible with 'a genuine process of inquiry where answers are not k n o w n in advance').

T h e author points out that even w h e n not technocratic, a faddish innovation cannot do m u c h to improve education. ' T h e small reforms that are achieved often become undermined by the unre-formed aspects of the school system.' Practising what he preaches, Professor Bowers proposes—and this is the heart of his book—nothing less than an across-the-board reform with hard-to-summarize ramifications in all parts of the educational establishment.

Professor Bowers begins by describing American State schools as, 'aside from the family . . . the most systematic attempt to socialize youth to the dominant view of reality as shared by adult middle-class society'. This view is m a d e up of'cultural assumptions,

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explanations and sanctioned explanations'—all with respect to 'current social and environmental realities'.

B y what yardstick m a y this education qua socialization be judged?

If the schools are providing realistic explanations, then we can say that schools are not falsifying the student's consciousness by perpetuating dysfunctional myths. But if there is a significant discrepancy between what is taught in the schools and the real world people live in, then it will be necessary to give up our illusions about the schools . . . and seek fundamental changes in education.

In perhaps his best chapter—'Social Realities and Educational Myths'—Professor Bowers judges present schools and finds them grievously wanting. Quoting from eight textbooks and curriculum guides, for example, he concludes that, in general:

there is a sense of unreality that permeates most of what is taught about society in the elementary grades. The explanations of work, technology, progress and community reflect the atavistic folk myths given credibility by the early days of industrialization but n o w hopelessly inadequate as a source of understanding or vision.

T h e alternative proposed by this book is 'a protected environment where students can freely explore the nature and implications of their o w n culture'.

M o r e specifically:

The school could be viewed as providing a psychosocial moratorium whereby the student would be encouraged to examine his culture without fear of punishment. . . if he does not reach the same conclusions legitimated by the dominant society.

Such a reform would, obviously, have manifold and complex implications for policy and logistics. Professor Bowers suggests a sample 'psychosocial m o r a torium' curriculum unit on technology and another on time. H e further points to the need for recruiting and training n e w kinds of teachers ('high tolerance for complexity, a positive self-identity, a capacity to avoid pre-figuring . . . a sense of joy in participating with others in creative situations') and more open-minded school administrators.

This book avoids two pitfalls c o m m o n today in m u c h American speculation about reforming education. It is neither fancifully futurological nor flippantly faddish. But it will probably leave most readers with a n u m b e r of doubts. I have two in particular.

First, h o w realistic is the 'psychosocial moratorium' idea from a pedagogical point of view? T h e n e w

Notes and reviews

school would be a 'protected environment' but—Professor Bowers asserts—not a 'cloister'. Indeed, his sample curricula call for considerable direct student experience and observation of ambient social reality. But is it possible to plunge students into reality and shield them from reality simultaneously? T o engender a hybrid of Ivory Tower and O p e n University at the school level? T o be in but not of society?

Second, by what political magic would the 'psychosocial moratorium' school be brought into being and generalized? In his conclusion—'What C a n B e Done?'—Professor Bowers proposes elements for a strategy of action. But they are unconvincing because they do not even begin to suggest w h y those with the power to do 'what could be done' should actually do it. Earlier in the book, it is suggested that the 'folk belief of local community accountability should be

Records of the General Conference. Eighteenth Session, Paris, 17 October to 23 November 1974 Vol. 3: Proceedings (Part 1) 1976, lxxxv+638 p. (ISBN 92-3-001390-0) Multilingual : Arabic/English/French/Russian/ Spanish 46 F

Records of the General Conference. Eighteenth Session, Paris, 1974 Vol. 3: Proceedings (Part 2) 1976, xxvii+632 p . ( ISBN 92-3-001390-0) Multilingual : Arabic/English/French/Russian/ Spanish

Vol. 3, Parts 1 and 2 : 92 F

Records of the General Conference. Nineteenth Session, Nairobi, 26 October to 30 November 1976 Vol. I: Resolutions 1977, 119 p . + Annexes 63 p . ( ISBN 92-3-101496-10) Also published in French and Spanish T o be published in Arabic and Russian 30 F

replaced with self-management of schools by teachers and older pupils. But w h o is to initiate such a radical move? Apparently not the local community—which, by the author's account, is inherently fearful of and opposed to radical change in education.

The discussion of substantive social issues or even the accurate description of social problems will usually be perceived as a threat by some individual or social group in the community who will protest that the tax dollars are being spent to promote subversion in the schools.

That is the strategic Achilles' heel of Professor Bowers enticing proposal: it is subversion.

A R T H U R GILLETTE

Youth Division, Unesco

Unesco statistical yearbook 1975 Reference tables Education; Science and technology; Culture and communication 1976, 767 P-(ISBN 92-3-001412-5) Bilingual: English/French

T h e latest edition of Unesco's indispensable reference book contains statistics available at the end of 1975 in 210 countries and territories presented in 63 tables and 4 annexes. Population Education: S u m m a r y tables at all levels of education,

by continents, major areas and groups of countries; educational structures and enrolment ratios by country, education at the pre-primary, first, second and third level; educational expenditure.

Science and technology: Scientific and technical m a n power; expenditure on research and experimental development; selected indicators of scientific and technological development.

Culture and communication: libraries; book production; newspapers and other periodicals; paper consumption; film and cinema; radio broadcasting and television

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Some recent Unesco publications

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Notes and reviews

Institutions et services de jeunesse: formes actuelles et évolution (Études et documents d'information, 23) 1977, 61 p. ( I S B N 92-3-201398-3) T o be published in English and Spanish This study analyses the role of institutions and services in different societies, as well as their function as agents of social integration.

T h e study takes into account the large amount of work carried out by Unesco, and also makes use of the results of several studies and inquiries undertaken by research centres, youth organizations and international institutions.

Contents: I. Educational institutions and services; primary education; secondary education; higher education; selection and differentiation within educational institutions; attempts at transformation of institutions; services to help pupils and students; participation of pupils and students in the management of educational institutions. II. Out-of-school institutions and services; institutions favouring e m ployment of young people; voluntary service; culture, sports, leisure activities; political institutions; policies for youth. 8 F

Statistics of students abroad 1969-1973 (Statistical reports and studies, 21) 1976, 345 p . , tabl. ( ISBN 92-3-001386-2) Bilingual: English/French

This study analyses international trends in student exchanges. It constitutes a follow-up to and updating of Statistics of Students Abroad, 1962-1968, published in 1972. Part O n e contains a methodological introduction and an analysis of world and regional trends. Part T w o contains *country tables' for 171 countries and territories in which students abroad are presented according to: (a) their host countries; and (b) field of study.

This is a useful reference source for those interested in international educational flows—governments, educators, administrators or students. 32 F

Study abroad International scholarships. International courses XXIst edition. 1977-78, 1978-79 1976, 558 p. ( ISBN 92-3-001391-9) Trilingual: English/French/Spanish N o w in its twenty-first edition, Study Abroad lists and describes over 200,000 offers of scholarships,

assistantships, travel grants and other forms of financial assistance for foreign study at post-secondary level in all academic and professional fields, available in almost every country of the world.

With these is included a directory to university-level or adult courses either specifically designed for multi-national participation or with specially appropriate provisions for a number of foreign participants. T h e international course section has been considerably augmented and n o w contains 566 different entries for study in 62 countries under the auspices of some 500 national and 30 international organizations. Conceived by Unesco to serve the youth of the world, Study Abroad is invaluable, too, for teachers and counsellors. 28 F

De l'équivalence des diplômes à l'évaluation des compétences Procédures et pratiques courantes. Voies nouvelles par Jean Guitón (Études sur les équivalences internationales de diplômes) 1977, 143 P-( ISBN 92-3-201419-X) T o be published in English This book is composed of comparative studies, the aim of which is to establish the bases of the comparability of studies and diplomas at the different stages of training and to seek out the criteria which would facilitate international recognition and validity.

Contents: lines and dimensions of the problem; present situation; information, current forms of cooperation and understanding, legal and administrative provisions, implementation; organisms and institutions, criteria and methods of evaluation; c o m parability of studies and evaluation of competency; general contributions, problems of comparability, by disciplines or fields of study; methods and means of apprenticeship and education; comparability of types and means of evaluation; towards the unity and harmony of education; reality and utopia; towards an integral comparability of studies; n e w and multilateral conventions; practical action; conclusion; biographical notes. 30 F

Selected applications of the Unesco Educational Simulation Model (Reports and papers in the social sciences, 34) 1977, 74 P-j tabl. ( ISBN 92-3-101358-4) T o be published in French

317

Notes and reviews

This publication describes the applications of the Unesco Educational Simulation Model ( E S M ) in selected countries in the fields of education and manpower, as a tool for helping the decision-making process and long-term planning in these fields.

Contents include: alternative educational strategies for R w a n d a , 1969-85; educational strategies and employment in Chile; educational projections for the Philippines, 1970-85; regional educational projections for Nepal, 1974-85.

T h e Unesco Educational Simulation Model ( E S M ) (No. 29 in this series), published in 1974, describes the development of the model. 10 F

Éducation permanente et potentiel universitaire (Le développement de l'enseignement supérieur) I977J 202 p . , tabl. (ISBN 92-3-201397-5) Unesco: Association Internationale des Universités T o be published in English

This publication makes a concrete contribution to a vast field of study, still poorly explored, by presenting a small number of case studies which are characteristic and representative of the various situations in universities throughout the world.

Subjects: on the threshold of new reforms in Sweden by Hans Löwbeer; achievements and questions in Quebec by Paul Lacoste; thoughts based on the experiment of the University of Geneva by Bernard Ducret; the case of the University of Zambia by A . W . A . Yousif; policies of lifelong training in Venezuela by Victoria Heredia de Hernández; the example of a socialist country—Poland by Ryszard Wroczynski; the situation in Ghana and other African countries by K . A . B . Jones-Quartey; a French experiment in private education by G . L e m a n .

42 F

Alternatives and decisions in educational planning by John D . Montgomery (Fundamentals of educational planning, 22) 1976, 66 p . (ISBN 92-803-1074-7) Unesco: International Institute for Educational Planning T o be published in French

A n analysis of the range of options open to planners in designing educational programmes to serve major developmental and social goals. Three areas (technology, institutions and motivating policies) are exam

ined, and the challenge to educational planners posed by the responsive behaviour of students and other social groups is discussed.

T h e booklets in this series are written primarily for two types of clientele: those engaged in educational planning and administration, especially in developing countries; and others, less specialized, such as senior government officials and policy-makers seeking a more general understanding of educational planning and its relationship to overall national development.

12 F

Les techniques de groupe dans la formation (Études et documents d'éducation, no. 24) 19775 53 P-J figs., tabl. (ISBN 92-3-201411-4) T o be published in English and Spanish

This book is an attempt to synthesize the contribution of research on group dynamics and of its technical applications according to three categories: those of functionability, structural organization, and finally of institutional analysis and action. It examines w h y and h o w the system of grouping works and under which conditions a mechanical group of individuals becomes an animated group.

It goes on to outline a practical classification of the group, and finally offers us a rapid review of the various strategies of the diffusion of the multiple forms of the techniques and dynamics of the group.

8F

N e w trends in physics teaching. Volume III Edited by John L . Lewis, Senior Science Master, Malvern College, Malvern, Worcs. (United Kingdom). Secretary, International Commission on Physics Education

Based on the proceedings of the International Conference in Physics Education held in Edinburgh (United Kingdom), 29 July to 6 August 1975 (The teaching of basic sciences) 1976, 282 p . , tabl. (ISBN 92-3-101410-2)

T o be published in French and Spanish

T h e present volume offers a pool of ideas and information on various approaches to physics education drawn from the best international experience. T h e twenty chapters, based on papers presented to the International Conference on Physics Education held in 1975, cover such aspects as: n e w teaching methods; the role of experimental work; educational technology; curriculum development; assessment of

318

Notes and reviews

student achievement; pre-service and in-service training of secondary school physics teachers; the interaction of science and technology with society; out-of-school science activities. Each chapter contains a bibliography for further reference.

T h e book is addressed to all those interested in the improvement of physics education at all levels: teachers in universities and teacher-training institutions, secondary-school teachers, officials at ministries of education, members of examination boards and of teachers' associations, school inspectors, curriculum supervisors and students. 38 F

Communication and rural development by Juan E . Diaz Bordenave 1977, 107 p . , figs. (ISBN 92-3-101370-X) Published in English only

Over the last twenty years a host of projects using the mass media for rural development have been launched, covering such diverse fields as agricultural technology, health and hygiene, family planning, literacy and so on. D r Díaz Bordenave describes a representative selection of projects in Colombia, Brazil, India, Senegal, Peru, Iran, the United Republic of Tanzania, Canada, Tobago and the Philippines. H e examines the projects, what they hoped to attain

and what they in fact accomplished and attempts to evaluate the reasons for the relative successes and failures. This is a useful reference book for specialists working in rural communication programmes and it provides practical and specific advice to planners.

18 F

The economics of book publishing in developing countries by Datus C . Smith, Jr. under the auspices of Franklin Book Programs Inc. (Reports and papers on mass communication, 79) 1977, 44 P . , tabl. (ISBN 92-3-101422-6) T o be published in French and Spanish

Based on a survey of publishing in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, this study identifies particular problems of the book industry in these regions and indicates those issues meriting further attention. Topics covered include: manufacturing, editorial and overhead costs; price and discount practices; the question of national languages; co-publishing possibilities and government co-operation.

Market: of interest to government officials and planners as well as all those connected with the book industry, whether publishers, printers or booksellers.

6F

319

Just published by Unesco , the first in a n e w series . . .

The Economics of N e w Educational Media

200p. Present status of research and trends 36 French francs (Educational methods and techniques, N o . 1)

A reference book which examines the cost effectiveness of different media approaches to education. This inventory does not claim to be exhaustive but will be brought up to date as new developments warrant. Contents include: methodological studies on cost effectiveness, including standard tables for working out cost per unit; directory of specialized institutions and experts; inventory of published studies; abstracts of selected studies; case studies on cost effectiveness of educational radio and television programmes, programmed instruction and audio-visual centres; conclusions; glossary of technical terms.

Just published

by Unesco...

Study Abroad

International scholarships " V " V " T 1977-78 and courses T Y T Y I 1978-79

Gives easy-to-use information on w h o can study, what

subject and where, details of the award, h o w and where

to apply.

More than 200,000 opportunities for scholarships,

assistantships, travel grants and other forms of financial

assistance are listed for foreign study at post-secondary

level in a wide range of academic and professional fields

throughout the world.

The international course section has been considerably

augmented and n o w contains 566 different entries for

study in 62 countries under the auspices of some

500 national and 30 international organizations.

560 p . 28 French francs

Composite: English/French/Spanish

International Review of Education

Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft

Revue Internationale de Pédagogie

Special N u m b e r XXII/1976/3 'International Research Institutions' edited by Kenneth Robinson and Peter Sachsenmeier

Linda Priscott The Unesco Institute for Education, Hamburg: 25 years in the Service of Educational Research,

Wolfgang Mitter Komparative Forschung in der Erziehungswissenschaft,

Eve Malmquist and International Co-operation in Educational Research, Hans U. Grundin

M . Dino Carelli Educational Research at International Level: Features, Expectations and Limitations,

Prem Kirpal The Role of the Asian Institute of Educational Planning and Administration in Promoting Educational Research,

Peter Sachsenmeier International Educational Research Institutions

Peter Sachsenmeier First 'All-European Conference for Directors of Educational Research Institutions', Hamburg, April 1976

Book Reviews and Bibliography

Subscription: 40 Dutch guilders (postage extra). Martinus Nijhoff, Lange Voorhout 9-11, The Hague, Netherlands

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C O N G O : Librairie populaire, B.P. 577, B R A Z Z A V I L L E . C O S T A R I C A : Librería Trejos, S.A. , apartado 1313, S A N

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ción, Obispo 461, L A H A B A N A . C Y P R U S : ' M A M ' , Archbishop Makarios 3rd Avenue,

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E L S A L V A D O R : Librería Cultural Salvadoreña, S.A. , calle Delgado n.° 117, S A N S A L V A D O R .

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F I N L A N D : Akateeminen Kirjakauppa, 2 Keskuskatu, SF-00100 HELSINKI 10.

F R A N C E : Librairie de l'Unesco, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75700 PARIS. C C P Paris 12598-48.

F R E N C H W E S T INDIES: Librairie ' A u Boul' Mich', 1, rue Perrinon et 66, avenue du Parquet, 97200 F O R T - D E -F R A N C E (Martinique).

G E R M A N D E M O C R A T I C R E P U B L I C : International bookshops, or Buchhaus Leipzig, Postfach 140, 701 LEIPZIG.

G E R M A N Y ( F E D . R E P . ) : Verlag Dokumentation, Pössen-bacherstrasse 2, 8000 M Ü N C H E N 71 (Prinz Ludwigshöhe). 'Le Courrier' (German edition only): Col-mantstrasse 22, 5300 B O N N . For scientific maps only: G E O Center, Postfach 800830, 7000 S T U T T G A R T 80.

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G R E E C E : Large Athen bookshops (Eleftheroudakis, Kauff-m a n , etc.).

G U A T E M A L A : Comisión Guatemalteca de Cooperación con la Unesco, 6.a calle 9.27, zona 1, apartado postal 244, G U A T E M A L A C . A .

H A I T Í : Librairie C A la Caravelle', 36, rue Roux, B . P . 111 B , P O R T - A U - P R I N C E .

H O N D U R A S : Librería Navarro, calle Real, Comayaguela, T E G U C I G A L P A .

H O N G K O N G : Federal Publications Division, Far East Publications Ltd., 5A Evergreen Industrial Mansion, W o n g Chuk Hang Road, A B E R D E E N ; Swindon Book Co. , 13-15 Lock Road, K O W L O O N .

H U N G A R Y : Akadémiai Könyvesbolt, Váci u. 22, B U D A P E S T V ; A . K . V . Könyvtarosok Boltja, Népkoztársaság utja 16, B U D A P E S T VI.

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I N D O N E S I A : Bhratara Publishers and Booksellers, 29 Jl. Oto Iskandardinata III, J A K A R T A . Gramedia Bookshop, Jl. Gadjah Mada 109, J A K A R T A . Indira P . T . , 37 Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangie, J A K A R T A P U S A T .

I R A N : Commission nationale iranienne pour l'Unesco, avenue Iranchahr Chomali n° 300, B.P. 1533, T E H E R A N . Kharazmie Publishing and Distribution Co . , 229 D a -neshgahe Street, Shah Avenue, P . O . Box 14/1486, T E H E R A N .

I R A Q : McKenzie's Bookshop, Al-Rashid Street, B A G H D A D .

IRELAND: The Educational Company of Ireland Ltd.,

Ballymount Road, Walkinstown, D U B L I N 12.

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P O R T - L O U I S .

M E X I C O : For publications only: C I L A (Centro ínter-americano de Libros Académicos), Sullivan 3161s, M E X I C O 4 D . F . For publications and periodicals: S A B S A , Servicio a Bibliotecas, S.A., Insurgentes Sur n.° 1032-401, M É X I C O 12, D . F .

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M O R O C C O : All publications: Librairie 'Aux belles images', 281, avenue M o h a m m e d V , R A B A T (CCP 68-74). Por ' The Courier' {for teachers) only: Commission nationale marocaine pour l'Unesco, 20, Zenkat Mourabitine, R A B A T . (CCP 307-63.)

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Bookshop, Ibadan, P . O . Box 286, I B A D A N ; The University Bookshop, N S U K K A ; The University Bookshop, L A G O S ; The Ahmadu Bello University Bookshop, ZARIA.

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P A N A M A : Librería Universitaria, Universidad de Panamá, P A N A M Á .

P A R A G U A Y : Argencia de Diarios y Revistas, Sra. Nelly A . de Garcia Astillero, Pte. France 104, A S U N C I Ó N .

P E R U : Editorial Losada Peruana, Jirón Contumaza 1050, apartado 472, L I M A .

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S E N E G A L : La Maison du Livre, 13, avenue Roume, B.P. 20-60, D A K A R ; Librairie Clairafrique, B.P. 2005,

D A K A R ; Librairie 'Le Sénégal', B.P. 1594, D A K A R .

SINGAPORE: Federal Publications (S) Pte Ltd., No. 1 N e w Industrial Road, off Upper Paya Lebar Road, S I N G A PORE 19.

S O M A L I A : Modern Book Shop and General, P . O . Box 951, M O G A D I S C I O .

S O U T H AFRICA: Van Schaik's Bookstore (Pty) Ltd., Libri Building, Church Street, P . O . Box 724, PRETORIA.

SPAIN: EISA-Ediciones Iberoamericanas, S.A., calle de Oñate 15, M A D R I D 20; Librería Al-Andalus, Roldana 1 y 3, SEVILLA 4; Mundi-Prensa Libros S.A., Castelló 37, M A D R I D I. 'The Courier' only: Ediciones Liber, apartado 17, O N -D Â R R O A (Viscaya).

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S U D A N : Al Bashir Bookshop, P . O . Box 1118, K H A R T O U M . S W E D E N : All publications: A / B C . E . Fritzes Kungl.

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SYRIAN A R A B REPUBLIC: Librairie Sayegh, Immeuble Diab, rue du Parlement, B.P. 704, D A M A S .

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T O G O : Librairie évangélique, B.P. 378, L O M É ; Librairie du Bon Pasteur, B.P. 1164, L O M É ; Librairie moderne, B.P. 777, L O M É .

TUNISIA: Société tunisienne de diffusion, 5, avenue de Carthage, T U N I S .

T U R K E Y : Librairie Hachette, 469 Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoglu, I S T A N B U L .

U G A N D A : Uganda Bookshop, P . O . Box 145, K A M P A L A . U N I T E D K I N G D O M : H . M . Stationery Office, P . O . Box 569,

L O N D O N S E I 9 N H . Government bookshops: London, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester.

U N I T E D R E P U B L I C O F C A M E R O O N : Le Secrétaire général

de la Commission nationale de la République unie du Cameroun pour l'Unesco, B.P. 1600, Y A O U N D E .

U N I T E D R E P U B L I C OP T A N Z A N I A : Dar es Salaam Bookshop, P . O . Box 9030, D A R ES S A L A A M .

U N I T E D STATES O F A M E R I C A : Unipub, Box 433, M u r ray Hill Station, N E W Y O R K , N . Y . 10016. For 'The Courier' only: Santillana Publishing Company Inc., 575 Lexington Avenue, N E W Y O R K , N . T . 10022.

U P P E R V O L T A : Librairie Attie, B.P. 64, O U A G A D O U G O U ; Librairie catholique 'Jeunesse d'Afrique', O U A G A D O U G O U .

U R U G U A Y : Editorial Losada Uruguaya, S.A. Librería Losada, Maldonado 1092, M O N T E V I D E O .

U .S .S .R. : Mezhdunarodnaja Kniga, M O S K V A G-200. V E N E Z U E L A : Librería del Este, avenida Francisco de M i

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11—001 B E O G R A D ; Drzavna Zalozba Slovenije, Titova C . 25, P . O . B . 50-1, 61-000 L J U B L J A N A .

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Contents of preceding issues

Vol. VI, No. 3, 1976Jean Thomas Thirty years in the service of educationJacques Berque Towards a better transfer of

knowledge and valuesS. C. Dube Theories and goals of education:

a Third World perspectiveViewpoints and controversiesJean-Marie Hamelin Beyond the conception of

school as a factory/. M . Omari Cross-cultural studies on the abilities

of childrenElements for a dossier:Schooling in the m o t h e r tonguein a multilingual environmentJyotirindra Dos Gupta Language, education and

development planningYunus Desheriyev and Vita Youozovna Mikhalchenko

A case in point: the Soviet experience withlanguages

Maurice Houis The problem of the choice oflanguages in Africa

C. O. Taizuo Nigeria: language problems and solutionsA . Mahinda Ranaweera Sri Lanka: science teaching

in the national languagesConsuelo Alfaro Lagoria and Lourdes Zegarra Ballon

Peru: institutionalizing QuechuaEla Ulrih-Atena National linguistic minorities:

bilingual basic education in SloveniaStacy Churchill National linguistic minorities: the

Franco-Ontarian educational renaissanceTrends a n d casesAlbert F. Meiika Curriculum development trends in

African countriesDennie Briggs One method of peer teaching for

schoolchildrenLena and Borris Nikitin A capable child is not a

gift of nature

Vol. VI. No. 4, 1976Christopher Colclough and Jacques Hallak S o m e

issues in rural education: equity, efficiencyand employment

Fred E . Crossland T h e equilibrist's query:equality, equity, or equilibrium?

Viewpoint s and controversiesAH Mazrui T h e impact of transnational corporations

on educational and cultural processes:an African perspective

Marie Eliou Educational inequality in Africa:an analysis

Elements for a dossier:Aid to educationand the n e w international orderIntroductionAmadou-Mahtar M'Boio Co-operation and

development

Le Thanh Khôi Aid to education: Co-operationor domination?

Jacques Bousquet Experts under fireJoseph Ki-Zerbo Concerning a borderline case:

aid to the least developed countriesHans Reiß Towards a re-examination of aid

to the least developed countriesBernardin Sambou Co-operation among developing

countriesRaja Roy Singh A n example of regional

co-operation: A P E I DAsher Deleon Aid in the light of new development

prospects

Trends and casesV. V. John T h e search for alternatives:

thoughts on nonformal educationEberhard Mannschatz Special education in the

German Democratic Republic

Vol VII. No 1, 1977Elie A . and Joan B , Shneour Malnutrition

and learning5. Tanguiane Education and the problem

of its democratization

Viewpoints and controversiesDennis Meadows and Lewis Perelman Limits to

growth, a challenge to higher educationGilda L. de Romero Brest Catastrophe

or n e w society?—A challenge to lifelongeducation

Elements for a dossier:Aspects of educational administrationRaymond F. Lyons S o m e problems in educational

administrationGraciela Ruiz Duron A conceptual framework

for the reform of educational administrationAlberto Gutiérrez Reñón Training administrators

and educational administration requirementsAlberto Gutiérrez Reñón Problems of

decentralizing educational administrationMichael J. Wilson T h e computer and school

management in developing countriesErwin Aiiklos Educational administration:

future directionsMohammed A . El-Ghannam T h e administrative

crisis in education in the Arab countriesJean-Francois Bernède Training educational

administrators in Central AmericaRaja Roy Singh and A . W. P. Gurugé Administration

of education in Asia region

Trends and casesMikhail I. Kondakov Educational prospects

in the U . S . S . R .N . J. Small Alternative educational systems:

the Zambian proposals

biological unity of mankind_unesco

Documents