DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 289 024 CE 049 178

AUTHOR Arnold, Rick; Burke, BevTITLE A Popular Education Handbook. An Educational

Experience Taken from Central America and Adapted tothe Canadian Context.

INSTITUTION CUSO Development Education, Ottawa (Ontario).;Ontario Inst. for Studies in Education, Toronto.

PUB DATE Oct 83NOTE 62p.; Some photographs may not reproduce clearly.PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom Use (055)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Adult Education; Classroom Techniques; *Community

Education; Developing Nations; Disadvantaged;Educational Resources; Foreign Countries; *GroupDynamics; Material Development; *Nonformal Education;Postsecondary Education; *Program Development;Slides; Teaching Methods

IDENTIFIERS Canada; *Central America; *Popular Education

ABSTRACTIn this booklet two members of a Canadian educational

development organization share their experiences during 1983 intrying to adapt the popular education they had experienced in CentralAmerica to the Canadian context. The guide is organized in fivechapters. Chapter 1 defines popular education and describes itscharacteristics and the role of the popular educator. Chapter 2provides three program examples of popular education: a workshop forteachers about popular education in Central America, a workshop onworkins people in Canada and Central America, and a workshop onpopular education for community groups. Techniques for building apopular education program are shared in Chapter 3. They includesculpturing, sociodrama, role play, drawing, and songwriting. Chapter4 contains exercises to help the group process, such as ice breakers,group building, and relaxa+ion. Finally. Chapter 5 explains how todevelop resources--in this case, a slide show--and describes fourslide-tape shows produced by Rick Arnold and Bev Burke about CentralAmerica. A bibliography completes the guide, which is amplyillustrated with black-and-white photographs and drawings. (KC)

***********************************************************************Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

from the original document.***********************************************************************

PhotosCover design and illustra,TypesettingPrinting

RICK ARNOLD^ARLOS FREIRE,;LARION TYPESETTINGTHE ONTARIO INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES IN EDUCATION

This material may be reproduced by non-profit organizations if source is credited

APOPULAR EDUCATION

HANDBOOKAn educational experience taken from Central America

and adapted to the Canadian context

Rick Arnoldand Bev Burke

A joint publication of:CUSO DEVELOPMENT EDUCATIONONTARIO INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES IN EDUCATIONADULT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5

CHAPTER ONE: POPULAR EDUCATION 7What is it; where does it come from; characteristics of popular education; what dowe need to know to plan a popular education program; the overall plan or method-ology; what's the role of the popular educator.

CHAPTER TWO: PROGRAM EXAMPLES 15IntroductionExample 1: A workshop for teachers about popular education in Central AmericaExample 2: A workshop on working people in Canada and Central AmericaExample 3: A workshop on popular education for community groups

CHAPTER THREE: TOOLS FOR BUILDING A POPULAR EDUCATION PROGRAM 283.1 Introduction3.2 Sculpturing3.3 $ociodrama3.4 Role Play3.5 Drawing3.6 Songwriting

CHAPTER FOUR: EXERCISES TO HELP THE GROUP PROCESS 46

Introductions/Breaking the Ice; Secret Admirer/Group Building; Tide's in Tide'sout/Relaxation and Fun.

A REVIEW CHECKLIST 49

CHAPTER FIVE: BUILDING OUR OWN RESOURCES: WHY BOTHER? 50

Introduction; How to put together a slide-tape show; A list of slide-tape showswe've put together on Central Amerca.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 58

INTRODUCTION

Events are moving quickly in Central America in the 1980's. Gone forever are labels such as`sleepy banana republics' which were commonly used by journalists just a decade ago. Peoplein Central America are stepping up their fight for fundamental social change in the region andan end to tne repressive military regimes which have long held power in most countries in theisthmus. Although each nation has a distinct history, some of the fundamental questions ofwho has access to land and who controls the levers of political power are questions facingmost poor working people in Central America today.

We had the opportunity to live and work in Central America from 1979 until 1982 with CUSO, aCanadian Development organization which operates on three continents. Just ten days afterour arrival in Central America, Nicaragua's people, led by the Sandinista guerrillas, removedthe dictator Somoza from power. The new government soon showed that it was going to relyon the active participation and creative spirit of workers and campesinos in order to reactivatea shattered economy and build a new social order. A massive literacy crusade and preventativehealth campaign along with a thorough-going land reform were among the first programslaunched by the new government, determined to give the majority of the population a chanceto make history rather than being relegated to the sidelines as they had been during thedecades of Somoza family rule.

As CUSO staff, the new Nicaragua offered us exciting and creative opportunities for the kindof grassroots development work which most Canadian non-government organizations try tosupport. However, we had taken the assignment on a job-sharing basis so that each of us wasalso entitled to spend some of our time on non-CUSO work. As we had both come from abackground in Development EdUcation programming in Canada, we were excited by thedifferent approach to education increasingly being used in Central America, an approachgiven even greater impetus by the Sandinista support for popular participation in building thenew Nicaragua.

We had the oportunity to participate in a number of educational programs in Central Americausing a methodology which could be traced back to Paulo Freire's literacy training work inBrazil in the early 1960's. Subsequently, Freire's methodology became associated with organiz-ing efforts and political action being undertaken by grassroots organizations in South Americain the 1970's. And because this approach took a clear stand in support of the hopes andaspirations of the vast majority of the people in South and Central America, it came to beknown as popular education.

We were excited by what we saw of popular education methodology in Central America andcontinually found ourselves reflecting back to Canada, increasingly convinced that here weresomo new ideas which could benefit education programs back home.

This booklet is an attempt to share the experience we've had over the past year in trying toadapt popular education to the Canadian context. Thanks to support from CUSO Develop-ment Education and CIDA (the Canadian International Development Agency), we were giventhe unique opportunity to travel to a number of provinces in Canada to share some of thetechniques and methods we had seen used by popular educators in Central America. Tenweeks of shorter workshops in the fall of 1982, which gave participants a 'taste' of populareducation's potential, were followed by three months of longer workshops in the spring of

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1983 in which an overall methodology was applied to education programs about CentralAmerican issues and problems.

This booklet will be particularly useful for those people with whom we worked in over fortyworkshops during the past year. However, we hope that our experience will also be helpful forall those people who, like ourselves, have been actively involved in education programs aboutsocial issues, and are looking for new, more effective ways to support efforts for social changeboth in Canada and in other parts of the world.

We are not experts in the field of adult education. None of our work would have been possiblewithout the help of both Canadians and Central Americans. The active participation andencouragement of many people across Canada made it possible to carry out the workshopsand we also learned a great deal from the on-going work of many groups in Canada. We wouldalso like to thank the following people: Jean Christie, D'Arcy Martin, Anita Shilton-Martin, BarbThomas and Brian Tomlinson, who read our initial draft and gave us invaluable critical com-ments; Protessor James A. Draper at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education for hisencouragement and support; and Steve Seaborn of CUSO Development Education for helpingus get under way.

And to all the Central Americans, and especially the educators within the ALFORJA networkwho shared with us their ideas and experience, and gave us so much encouragement, friend-ship and solidarity, we are deeply grateful.

Bev Burke and Rick ArnoldRoseneath, OntarioOctober 1983

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Chapter One

POPULAR EDUCATION

POPULAR EDUCATIONWHAT IS IT?*Educacidn Popular' or Popular Educationforms part of a current in adult educationwhich has been described as 'an option forthe poor' or 'education for critical conscious-ness'. Most of the methodology and tech-niques of popular education are also thoseof adult education. But while many adulteducation programs are designed to main-tain social systems, even when unjust andoppressive, popular education's intent is tobuild an alternative educational approachthat is more consistent with social justice.

Popular Education is called 'popular' be-cause its priority is to work among the manyrural and urban poor who form the vastmajority of people in most Third World coun-tries. It is a collective or group process ofeducation, where the teacher and studentslearn together, beginning with the concreteexperience of the participants, leading toreflection on that experience in order toeffect positive change.

WHERE DOES ITCOME FROM?

Brazil in the 1960'sPopular education is barely twenty yearsold, tracing its roots back to Brazil in the1960's and the literacy training programs ofan educator called Paulo Freire. In contrastto the traditional education system comingfrom colonial times, which taught those LatinAmericans with access to it, to accept theworld view of a small elite, Freire's studentslearned to read and write through discus-sion of basic problems they themselves wereexperiencing, such as no access to agricul-

7

tural land. As the causes of their problemsbecame clear, the students analyzed anddiscussed what joint action could be takento change their situation. The term used byFreire for this process of action/reflection/action was 'conscientization' and it ledparticipants not only to acquire new literacyskills, but also to understand their own real-ity. Brazil's military coup in 1964 put an endto Freire's work there, but the seeds of a newconcept of education had been sown.

*We have chosen to formulate the definitionprimarily in terms of who is taught. Otherways of defining the term related to what istaught or objectives are dealt with to someextent under 'Characteristics of PopularEducation.'

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South America in the 1970'sDuring the 1970's, popular education wasshaped by the growth of mass-based move-ments for social change in South America,leading to the expansion and enrichment ofthe methodology developed by Freire. Inthese years, popular education took a clear'option for the poor', as a methodologydesigned to help people develop the skillsneeded to organize and take more controlover their own lives. Grassroots organiza-tions began their own education programs,often calling for support from popular edu-cation centres which began to appear dur-ing those years. They trained leaders andpromoted theatre and musical groups, effec-tively opening up new avenues of involve-ment for people in their activities. But in theface of an increasingly mobilized popula-tion, hard-line dictatorships were set up bythe mid-1970's in most South American coun-tries, dedicated to keeping things as theywere.

Central America in the 1980'sPopular Education methodology is againmaking new strides this time in CentralAmerica and especially in Nicaragua, where

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the new Sandinista government is encourag-ing the population to actively participate inshaping its own destiny. A massive literacycrusade drawing on 100,000 volunteers taught400,000 people how to read Ind write, re-ducing the rate of illiteracy from 51% to 12%

in just 6 months. The continuing adult edu-cation program drawing on 24,000 formerliteracy students as the teachers, ensuresthat literacy skills will not be lost, and alsobuilds new skills in such areas as basicaccounting, nutrition and setting up coop-eratives. The popular health campaign train-ed thousands of Nicaraguans to developeducation and action programs designed toeliminate such killer diseases as malaria.Within the grassroots organizations, such asthe neighbourhood committees and the wo-men's organization, popular education metho-dology is being creatively adapted to meetthe needs of the new society Nicaraguansare trying to create.

Popular education centres also exist in Pa-nama, Costa Rica and Honduras. In addi-tion, refugee communities are using themethodology to improve their knowledgeand skills and their ability to tackle prob-lems, while they prepare for a return to theirhome countries.

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WHAT ARE THECHARACTERISTICS OFPOPULAR EDUCATION?

A popular education program will have anumber of particular characteristics:

The starting point is the concrete exper-ience of the learner.Everyone teaches; everyone learns.Involves a high level of participation.leads to action for change.Is a collective effort focusing on grouprather than individual solutions to prob-lems.Stresses the creation of new knowledge,rather than the passing on of existingknowledge.The process is ongoing any time, placeor age.And it's fun!

WHAT DO WE NEED TOKNOW TO PLAN A

POPULAR EDUCATIONPROGRAM?

There are a number of stages to planningany education program and a few keyquestions to be answered at each stage:

Stage one: Needs AnalysisWho will the participants be? How willthey be chosen?What will the theme* or topic be?How does the theme relate to the partici-pants' own concerns and work?How do they express these connectionsand concerns?

Stage two: Setting ObjectivesWhat are the objectives of the partici-pants? These are sometimes set by theleaders of the group organizing the work-shop or the membership and/or partici-pants can be directly involved in definingthe objectives.What are your objectives? (as a populareducator)"How will you know if the objectives havebeen met? This question helps build inthe evaluation process and sometimeshelps to clarify objectives.

9

How will follow-up be built into the pro-gram? to build in continuity so that theprogram will not be a one-shot experiencebut rather part of an on-going effort.

Stage 3: Nuts and BoltsHow many participants will there be?How long is the program?Where will it be held?What resources will be available? etc ...

Below is a table which gives an examplefrom our own experience of sample answersto these questions and how they were ar-rived at. The theme was popular education

a sharing of our experience in CentralAmerica and the participants' experience intheir own community trying to see if theCentral American experience is adaptable tothe Canadian context.

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I 44

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*Therne is a bit of jargon we will use to meantopic, concern, issue, problem etc. to beexamined by the workshop participants.

**We've found it helpful to think of 3 levels ofobjectives: knowing (the information to beacquired), feeling (the attitude change),doing (action results)

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Questions We Asked

Needs analysisWho are the participants?

What will the themes be?

How does the theme relateto the participants' ownconcern and work?

How do they express theseconcerns and connections?

How are the participants tobe chosen?

Setting ObjectivesWhat are the participants'objectives for theworkshop?

Answers We Got

Reps. from Central Ameri-can solidarity cmtees, TenDays, learner centres, Inter-national DevelopmentAgencies, Labour Counciland some communitygroups

Overall theme PopularEducation methodologyOne sub-theme: Problemsfaced in doing educationwork about Central Americain Canada

Participants are all involvedin doing community educ.work frustrated with lowsuccess of their efforts.Looking for new ideas. Onlysome of the participantsconcerned about CentralAmerican issues. Othersinvolved in local issues, dis-armament, workereducation.

By saying that people arenot interested in theissuesexpressing personal frus-

tration with their effortsfeeling burned out,inadequate

Voluntary or named byparticipating organizations

to increase cooperationamong organizations work-ing on Central America

to learn new educationmethods and techniques

Who Gave Us The Answers

Workshop planning cmteeof Central American solidar-ity cmtee reps. who con-tacted all potentially inter-ested organizations in theircommunity.

In discussion with workshopplanning committee

Questionnaire sent in ad-vance to participants fromthe planning cmtee

QuestionnaireDiscussion with planning=tee

Planning cmtee decision

Workshop planning cmteeafter consultation with parti-cipating organizations

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11

What are our objectives?(popular educators)

How will you know if theobjectives have been met?or what do you wait to seehappen as a result of theworkshop?

What follow-up will there beto the workshop?

Nuts and BoltsHow many participants , illthere be?

How long is the session?

to familiarize participantswith popular educ. method-ology and several newtchniq!es

to increase their self-confidence in doingeducation programming

to support Central Ameri-can work at the local levelby preparing people toimplement a follow-upeduc. activity

a ccoperation mechanismwill bo set up

participants will find theworkshop useful and willuse some of what they learnin their own education work.

Specific ariiviti:.:s to bedefined by participants as cmteepart of the workshop format

the workshop cmtee totake responsibility to assistin coordinating these activi-ties as required.

Discussion with workshopplanning committ%.,e

Discussion with planning

30-35

1'/2 days

Workshop panning cmtee

Workshop planning cmtee

We also asked at this stage for all of the specific resou ;es we would require such as flip

charts, slide projectors etc. and specified the ideal space requirements.

Some points to note:Whenever possible involve some of the participants in the design of the program. Thismeans that the planning committee members will also be attending the workshop.As lit. workshop begins, it is crucial to find out if the expectations of the participants cor-respond to the understanding the planning committee relayed to you ahead of time.The facilitator should be ready to adapt to meet peoples' needs or !nterests based on theirstated expectations.For longer programs, identify one or two participants to be co-coordinators. They can helpcommunicate problems, needs etc. of the participants to you for the duration of the entireworkshop.Work with someone else whenever possible, both in the design and implementation of theprogram.

ii12

WHAT'S THE OVERALLPLAN?

The methodology involves a process withthree phases. The chart below indicates onthe left the general characteristics of eachstage, with the centre and right hand col-umns illustrating the process through twoexamples one from our own recent exper-ience here in Canada and the other fromNicaragua.

Popular EducationMethodology

1. Begin with realityconcrete needs, specificdemands of the participants

2. Reflect on that reality,broaden it, theorize.

3. Return to concrete action

Example 1: CanadaA workshop for unemployedworkers in Canada on C.A.

Participants identify prob-lems they face as workers inCanadaFacilitator introduces infor-mation on problems facingworkers in Central America

Reflection on similarities ofproblems and links betweenworkers in Canada andCentral America

are there any commoncauses of the problems etc.

What are workers in CentralAmerica doing about theirproblems?

Can we learn from them tohelp solve our ownproblems?

Example 2: NicaraguaA workshop for health bri-gade volunteers on theAtlantic Coast on Malaria*

The experience of partici-pants with malariaproblems it causes in theircommunity

What causes malaria?some information intro-duced on mosquito breed-ing grounds and cycles etc.How does this problemrelate to other problems inyour community? In thecountry?

What can participants doabout malaria in their com-munity? What assistance dothey need?

development Of a plan ofaction

*Before outlining the malaria campaign, participants began by examining their recent exper-ience in conducting the polio vaccination campaign learning from that experience bysharing and analyzing past problems and deciding how they could be overcome in themalaria campaign.

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13

WHAT'S MY ROLE ASPOPULAR EDUCATOR?*

As you might expect, the role of the populareducation coordinator or facilitator differsdramatically from the role of 'teacher' in tra-ditional education programs. The coordina-tor's role is different in the following ways,which reflect the main characteristics ofpopular education we identified earlier:

Everyone teaches and learns so lead-ership is shared.The experience of the participants is thestarting point so there is joint creationof knowledge.There is no 'expert' but rather mutualrespect for the knowledge and experienceall participants bring to the process.With participants, the coordinator helpsdevelop ideas and skills for action andthere is a commitment to action on thepart of the educator.

However, the coordinator is not just a partici-pant and the process of the program is notspontaneous. The coordinator's role is toensure that the process what happensand how it happens encourages learningand the development of leadership in thegroup. How an audio-visual is discussed isimportant; how a technique is de-coded iscrucial for the learning of he group. Thecoordinator must investigate the theme ofthe workshop beforehand and know a gooddeal about it him/herself to assist the partici-pants in working to change the reality whichis being examined. How the process ishandled will determine what role partici-pants can play in shaping the content anddesign of the program as it develops.

For many Canadians, this will be a new wayof learning. Many participants will bring withthem expectations of teacher-delivered in-formation and answers and a feeling thatthey don't know much and so have little tocontribute. Many may even be confused or

13

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acutely uncomfortable with the responsibil-ity a popular education approach places onthem. Others, influenced by past schooling,will see 'real teaching' and 'real learning'only in traditional terms. The popular educa-tor will need to take these factors into ac-count when planning the program andperhaps recognize that an important part ofthe learning for many people may be dis-covering a new, more empowering way tolearn.

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14

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Chapter Two

PROGRAM EXAMPLES

IntroductionThis chapter consists of three examples ofworkshops drawn from our program exper-ience during the past year. They are inclu-ded to give a concrete picture of how wetried to apply popular education methodol-ogy to Canadian education programs aboutCentral America. From our work with a var-iety of constituencies, we have chosen sam-ple workshops of varying lengths designedfor three groups: teachers*, unemployedworkers, and community groups. A numberof techniques and exercises are used ineach workshop. These are fully explained inChapters three and four.

EXAMPLE 1

A Workshop with Teachersabout Popular Education in

Central America

BackgroundThis example is a composite taken fromseveral similar three hour workshops we didwith teachers. In all cases, our contact waswith a planning committee which involvedboth teachers interested in motivating theirpeers to teach about international develop-ment issues, and development educators.All members of the planning committeewere also participants in the workshop.

The need for the workshop was sometimesspecific as for teachers piloting a newGrade Ten Social Studies Curriculum with aunit on Central America or a more gen-eral interest in Central America as an area inthe news requiring some study. In all cases,there was interest motivated through thechance to look at new methods of teaching

and specifically the opportunity to pick upsome new 'techniques' for use in the class-room.We found that a three hour workshop suchas this was maximized if participants wereable to either do some reading or view aresource on Central America in advance. Inthis case, text books used in Canadian highschools during the past three decades werelooked at to discover what impression Can-adian students had been receiving aboutCentral America and its people. This wasdone in the morning by the planning com-mittee along with viewing a recent audio-visual on Central America prior to our threehour workshop on 'Popular Education inCentral America' in the afternoon.

ff

*Although teachers don't fit the category ofa popular or grassroots organization, theydo reach a large number of students andthus are in a position to multiply their ownlearning experiences in the classroom. Itshould also be noted that teachers in someprovinces have begun to speak out on socialissues.

15 16

THEME ofthe workshop:FOR WHOM?

HOW MANY?HOW LONG?

OBJECTIVES(identified bythe planningcmtee)

Popular Education in Cen-tral AmericaSecondary SchoolTeachers20-25three hours as part of alonger session

to provide updated infor-mation on Central America

to motivate interest inteaching about CentralAmerica

to look at innovativeways to teach about Cen-tral America

to provide resourceinformation

Workshop OutlineNOTE: What follows assumes:

some prior knowledge about CentralAmericathat participants have already spent amorning together and have therefore intro-duced themselves.

1. Introductions (20 minutes)Since participants had already introducedeach other in the morning, we simply askedfor their names and what grade and subjectthey taught as well as comments on whatthey wanted to get out of the workshop. Wenoted their expectations on the flip chart.The objectives of the participants coincidedwith those of the planning committee, withmost emphasis on how to teach about Cen-tral America. There was also an expressionof lack of confidence in their level of know-ledge about the region.

2. Introduction of the theme Popular Ed-ucation in Central America (25 mins)To introduce the theme, we asked people totalk briefly in twos about what the term pop-ular education meant to them if anything.The main points from the discussions werenoted on the flip chart. This was followed bya slide tape production on Popular Educa-tion in Central America (16 minutes inlength.)* Before discussing the slide-tape,we suggested participation in a techniquewhich would help add an experiential di-

mension to the information in the slide tapepresentation as well as introduce some in-formation on Central America.

3. Sculpturing (45 minutes)We used the sculpturing technique as des-cribed in detail in Chapter 3.2 using thesame theme described there the mediaview of Nicaragua and our analysis of what'shappening. In the debriefing, we focussedon identifying the messages coming throughthe media about Nicaragua comparingthat to the view of the participants. Finallywe compared the main points to those madeby peasants, trade unionists, church peopleand others from Nicaragua in a drawing ofhow they see events in their country. Wethen attempted to identify reasons for thedifferences in perspective, especially point-ing to some areas of misinformation andgaps in the media portrayal, concluding withthe importance of creating in the students acritical perspective on the information weget.

*See Chapter 5 'Audio-visuals we put to-gether on Central America' for more detail.

16 1

Teachers' (Sculptured) View of Nicaragua

1. Nicaraguans are busy rebuilding theirwar-torn country.

2. Literacy campaign and preventativehealth campaign and other social pro-grams continue.

3. But more effort is now having to be putinto defence,

4. As more people are being killed bycounter-revolutionary forces from Hon-duras and Costa Rica.

5. Ex-national Guard forces in Hondurasare supplied and trained by US forces, asare Pastora's forces in Costa Rica.

6. US surveillance planes and navy shipspatrol both of Nicaragua's coasts.

7. Division in the Church is widening be-tween hierarchy and base Christiancommunities.

8. Some middle class sectors are unhappywith shortages, but others support Nica-ragua's revolutionary process.

Nicaraguans' Drawing of their View oftheir Country

1. The Sandinistas, backed by an entirepopulation, defeat Somoza's NationalGuard on July 19, 1979.

2. Somoza flies out to Miami, leaving behinda legacy of debt and destruction.

3. Nicaragua's population begins to organ-ize itself to reconstruct.

4. A literacy crusade in March 1980 dramat-ically reduces illiteracy and there is afollow -up to prevent loss of literacy skills.

5. Houses and factories bombed by Som-oza, are begun to be rebuilt.

6. Reconstruction has received a punch inthe side by the election of Ronald Rea-gan. $9.1 million in wheat aid is also can-celled by the US.

7. Aid to Nicaragua is cut off, but massiveamounts are redirected to arming andtraining ex-Somoza forces in Hondurasfor raids into Nicaragua.

8. Scarce $$ go for defence voluntarymilitia are being formed.

9. Despite the threat of invasion, Nicara-gua's revolutionary process continueswith a preventative health crusade andagrarian reform.

10. Continued support to Nicaragua comesfrom Europe, Mexico, Venezuela, Braziland the Eastern Bloc countries.

11. Natural disasters have hurt export cropsand destroyed roads and bridges.

12. The revolutionary process is strong butheading towards an unknown futuregiven the build-up in Honduras.

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Break (10 minutes)During the break, we put up on the wall achart of other techniques used in CentralAmerica, as well as drawings done by peo-ple from other Central American countries,refugees, and by people from other work-shops, looking at links between Canada andCentral America. (See Chapter 3.5 for moredetail on drawing.)

4. Other Techniques (15 minutes)We discussed drawing as a way of meetingsimilar objectives to those for sculpturingand referred to the chart of other techniquesof potential interest to teachers.

5. Characteristics of Populrr Education(30 minutes)We then asked the group to discuss brieflyin twos what they would like to add, sub-tract, or change from their original list ofpoints on popular education. (See#2 above)In the larger group we shared points andrevised the list. In the discussion, we tried toemphasize several points:

the methodology - and the role of tech-niques within that. We discussed how wemight apply popular education method-ology in a class where we were going touse a more traditional technique suchas a film.the role of the teacher how the role ofteacher differed in this approach.

6. Application to the situation of participants(60 minutes)We asked the group to divide into groups of3-4 people to discuss the relevance of popu-lar education to their own situation aswell as identify any questions they wouldstill like to raise. We then shared this in thelarger group.

Nt-

7. Evaluation and Follow-upParticipants were asked to fill in a short eva-luation form* and most teachers evaluatedthese 3 hour workshops most highly. Someof the results we had identified as measuresof success for the workshop were: teacherswould apply some of what they learned inthe classroom both in terms of content(Central America) and methodology (popu-lar education approach); more teacherswould become involved in the Committeesof teachers and others who were organizingsuch events.

Follow-up has occurred according to theplanning committees for these workshops.Various participants are using some of thetechniques in their classrooms and a num-ber of teachers are including Central Amer-ica as part of their history, geography, andsocial studies programs. In one centre, someteachers are organizing a workshop which isa creative adaptation of the one we did withthem, and the planning committees pickedup new members.

*A sample form is included at the end of thischapter.

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EXAMPLE 2

A Workshop onWorking People in

Canada and CentralAmerica

BackgroundSeveral people from the community hadcontacted the education committee of thelocal Unemployed Workers Centre to seewhether there would be any interest in put-ting together an educational for the unem-ployed on Central America. We were askedby that group to put together a workshop.

THEME of theworkshop:FOR WHOM?

HOW MANY?HOW LONG?OBJECTIVES:

Workers in Canadaand Central AmericaStaff and members of theeducation committee ofthe Unemployed WorkersCentre and a communitymember105-6 hours

to present the situationof Central Americanworkers

to identify any similari-ties between the situationsof Central American andCanadian workers

to interest the partici-pants in helping to plan aworkshop for unemployedworkers in the area on thesame theme.

Workshop Outline1. Introductions (30 minutes)We used the method of introductions Ca-scribed in Chapter 4, asking people to iden-tify why they had come and what theyhoped would come out of the workshop.That was recorded on the flip chart for eva-luation purposes and it was clear that theorganizer had given us all similar informa-tion.

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2. Problems facing workers here(60 minutes)To explore problems facing the participantsas workers in Canada, we used sculpturing(See Chapter 3.2), asking people to visualizethe problems they faced, and build on whatthe person before had sculpted, changinganything they didn't agree with or addingnew problems or dimensions to the prob-lems already identified. In the debriefingwe recorded the problems identified on theflip chart and in the discussion severalmore were added.

PROBLEMS FACING WORKERS

1. Unionized worker begging for a few centsmore and job security

2. Women workers get even less than men3. Employer alleging hard economic times

to force concessions4. Unemployed worker deep in despair5. Banker arrives to collect debts6. Politician with back to unemployed work-

er, grasping at inflation7. Run-away shop plants relocating else-

where8. Robot technological change worsen-

ing job prospects9. Workers on the soup line and other forms

of welfare

20

3. Introduction to the problems facing work-ers in Central America (45 minutes)We used a slide-tape show called WorkingPeople in Central America* we had puttogether, which looks specifically at the sit-uation of workers in Guatemala, Salvadorand Nicaragua. We asked people as theywatched the slide-tape to try and identifyproblems facing Central American workers,and ways that workers there were trying tosolve their problems. In the debriefing, wediscussed the information provided clear-ing up any points that weren't clear, ques-tions people had etc.

Break (15 minutes)

4. Drawing Out Similarities (60 minutes)We broke into two groups. The task was todiscuss and identify similar problems/situa-tions facing workers here and in CentralAmerica, referring to the list of problems wehad identified in sculpturing and those pre-sented in the slide-tape. After discussion,the group was to visualize the similarities(See Chapter 3.5 for a discussion of drawingas an educational tool.)

Similarities between workers in Canada andCentral America

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1. Workers often face the same company inCentral America as in Canada.

2. Due to the need for greater profits, thereare more layoffs and technologicalchanges, leading to greater unemploy-ment in both areas.

3. Both Canadian and International bankslend to the corporate giants and squeeze,either workers who owe money in Cana-

20

da, or Third World governments deeplyin debt, who in turn victimize their work-ers.

4. Ottawa cuts wages in six and five, andlocal Central American governments cutback civil service and social programs tosatisfy international creditors.

5. Demand for jobs and protest rallies in-crease here and there.

6. Military, using armaments produced byACME, repress the protests while policein Canada are busy photographing 'trou-blemakers' for future reference.

LUNCH

Following lunch, we shared the drawingsand did a synthesis of the similarities pre-sented. There was a discussion of the use ofthe drawings with the suggestion thatthey would like to put them up in the Centre,and discussion there could perhaps gener-ate interest in others to learn somethingabout workers in Central America. (30 min-utes)

5. Solving our problems (60 minutes)We divided into two groups and asked thegroups to consider three questions:

What are workers in Central America do-ing about their situation, acording to the

*For a description of the slide-show, seeChapter 5

21

slide-tape show or other information youhave?What can we learn from them that mighthelp solve the problems facing workershere?How can we support Central Americanworkers in their efforts to change theirsituation?

In the report back we heard ideas from bothgroups. The discussion centred on the pos-sibility of repeating the workshop for othersfrom the Centre and a plan was devisedwhereby the Community person vA.,.; tomeet with the education committee to planthe workshop.

Through a series of similar education pro-grams, the participants felt that unemployedworkers could begin to identify commonproblems and organize to change their ownsituation, while at the same time supportingCentral American workers' attempts to get abetter deal.

21

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6. Review of the methodology* (30 minutes)Participants were asked to refresh our mem-ories as to what we had done first, secondetc. what techniques were used and why

and what each technique had accomp-lished. Thus the methodology was reviewedand understood by all and could be appliedcreatively in future workshops organized bythe participants.

Evaluation and Follow-upWe again used individual questionnaireswhich indicated that participants found theworkshop useful. A major result we hadidentified as:a measure of success for theworkshop was generating interest in organ-izing a further effort for unemployed work-ers on Central America. Such an activity wasdiscussed and planned in the workshop.

*See boxed description of 'methodologicalmarch' included with Example three.

22

EXAMPLE 3

A Workshop onPopular Education forCommunity Groups

Background:We did many variations of this workshop (10in all) with a similar cross-section of groupsrepresented. We were in fact invited to facili-tate others but time and funds ran out. In allcases we worked with a planning committeecomprised of workshop participants. Partici-pants were told in advance either by letterfrom us or from the planning committee thatthe main focus of the content for introdu-cing popular education methodology andtechniques would be Cer.tral American is-sues, since that was our background andcentral to meeting our objectives. However,it was also understood that there would beopportunities to apply the methodology andtechniques to ler issues of interest toparticipants.

The need for this kind of workshop wasidentified as we travelled in the first part ofour project, talking to people from a varietyof organizations interested in Jevelopmenteducation, and especially education relatedto Central America. There was stated dissat-isfaction with past education efforts charac-terized by many people as using a film andspeaker, aimed at the general public, andthen wondering why the same faces alwaysturned up. Many development educatorsexpressed interest in looking at new, freshideas, and were especially excited by thechance to look at approaches coming fromCentral America.

In most cases, workshop participants werepolled by the planning committee (througha written questionnaire, registration form orby phone) for the following information:

your hopes for the workshopneeds of your group related to the work-shopyour understanding of popular educationissues/constituencies important in yourwork

22

Based on the information received, we pre-pared a suggested outline which was re-viewqd and often altered by the planningcommittee. This stage was most importantto the success of these workshops.

I

THEME of theworkshopFOR WHOM?

HOW MANY?HOW LONG?

OBJECTIVES:of the plan-ning cmtee)

(our objec-tives)

"4. "

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Popular Education

Community organizations,Church people, Interna-tional agency staff andvolunteers, Central Ameri-can solidarity committees,development educators,all from one city25-30one and one-half to twodays

to empower participantsso that they are better ableto undertake educationalprograms in their own con-stituencies

to share information onpopular education method-ology and techniques

to increase on-going co-operation among partici-pants and their organiza-tions

as above but including:to contribute to

increased education workabout Central Americanissues

Workshop Outline1. Introductions in pairs (see Chapter 4)(60 minutes)

23

The Secret Admirer introduced (SeeChapter 4)Expectations of the Workshop a listwas put on the flip chart to use in evalua-ting at the endDiscuss plan for the workshop nego-tiate with participants and revise if neces-sary. There was some revision of our ori-ginal plan, but generally the prior workwith the planning committees had en-sured shared expectationsWe asked the group to identify two peopleto work with us (people usually identifiedthe planning cmtee but not always) Func-tions of the two people are:

to receive suggestions and criticismsfrom the group on how the workshop isproceeding and discuss suggestionswith the coordinatorsto assist in steering the workshop bymeeting at breaks with the coordinatorsto help facilitate small groups whennecessary

2. Evaluation of past education work(2 hours)We used Sociodrama as the means to lookat successes and failures in past educationefforts. (See Chapter 3.3 for a 'how to' of thistechnique) The task was to prepare a 5 min-ute sociodrama to illustrate one successfulprogram and one disaster. Groups were firstto discuss their programs, identify one ineach category that was typical of thestrengths and weaknesses discussed in theprogram overview and develop a storylineetc.

In thp debriefing after each presentation, wefocused on the reasons why each was iden-tified as a success or failure and listed thesepoints on the flip chart. Problem areas andstrengths were synthesized and the listswere used later in the workshop

BREAK

3. Introduction to popular education(60 minutes)We asked people to break into pairs and dis-cuss what they knew about popular educa-tion or what the term suggested if theyknew little. We recorded these points on theflip chart.

We then introduced and presented.the slide-tape production on Popular Education in

SECRET AOmi ttr!R A (-Fa R.5 4

Central America which we have produced.*Following the slide show we asked people tobreak into pairs, again to discuss populareducation, this time according to the audio-visual, and how it would differ from tradi-tional educational approaches. We summar-ized this on the flip chart.

4. Popular Education TechniquesTo illustrate the techniques, we used prob-lems which participants had identified in thesociodrama.(i) Problem: Media distortion (60 minutes)

Technique: Sculpturing as de-scribed in Chapter 3.2: In the debriefing,we focused on why when and'how to usethe technique.

BREAK

(ii) Other Problems: (2 hours)From the problems identified in the so-ciodrama, we selected a number ofthemes which could be explored through

*See Chapter 5 for details.

23 24

drawing, role play or song writing. Parti-cipants then could choose from among IL.the possibilities outlined or add one iftheir interest was not covered.

Usually 8 groups resulted from a work-shop of 25-30 people. If many peoplewere interested in one theme, we brokethat theme area into several groups. Thelist often looked something like this:

Problem

People don't see the rela-tionship of Third Worldproblems to their own

We often don't coordinateour efforts or we jump fromissue to issue and don't seeall the commonalities

Labelling

Need to link our educationto action

Theme

Links between Canada &Guatemala (or Nicaragua ...)

Links between Women,Church-people, workers etc.in two areas of the worldCanada and SouthernAfrica, Central America ...)

Links between nativepeople in Canada andGuatemala

Links between CentralAmerican and Development/Disarmament issues, South-ern Africa etc.

various labels people giveyou and how to respond

to the Prime Minister inresponse to his letter on theCruise Missile

to President Reagan re-garding US intervention inCentral America

Technique

A. DRAWING(see Chapter 3.5 for how tofacilitate drawing)

B. ROLE PLAY(see chapter 3.4 for how toconduct a roleplay)

C. SONGWRITING(see a discussion of thetechnique in Chapter 3.6)

24

In the debriefing following the presentationsby each group, we again discussed whywhen and how each technique might beused. We also shared a list of additionaltechniques, as well as other ways of usingdrawing, roleplay etc.

5. Group Building Exercise followed by aBreak (20 minutes)Usually following this high energy output,there was a good deal of fatigue, so we usedan exercise called Tide's In/Tide's Out (seeChapter 4).

25

At

6. Program Development applying themethodology (90 minutes)The purpose of this phase was to relate theworkshop to the educational needs and pro-grams of participants directly. Division intogroups was preceaed by a discussion ofhow to relate the methodology to thosetechniques we already use such as slide-tape shows.

Then we broke into small groups based onconstituency and theme. (i.e. Central Amer-ica teachers). Groups depended on theinterests of the participants. The task was toapply popular education methodology to aneducation program you might actually im-plement taking into account the followingquestions:

with whom (the target group and thesection of that group)why they might be interested in the themehow to make the contact Identitythe participantsobjectives of the program (the length atthe discreVon of the group, depending ontheir work situation)methods for meeting the objectiveshow you would evaluate the program

The groups were also asked to keep in mindtheir past successes, identified earlierthrough the sociodrama, and apply whatthey'd learned from those successes to thenew program.

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7. Program presentation and critic1(60 minutes)Each group then presented their program oras far as they had managed to get to therest of the group. Each program was cri-tiqued in terms of a popular education ap-proach, identifying its strengths and weak-nesses.

25 26

C. Evaluation and review of the methodology(30 minutes)(i) Methodological March (a Spanish trans-

lation)Here the group was asked to refer to allthe pieces of flip chart paper, paperingthe walls. A participant took us through,beginning with the introductions toremind us what we'd done, reflect onwhy, and any comments on whether wehad met our goals. We also attempted toadd to these reflections on the processso that participants would feel confidentabout reproducing the workshop withothers making the necessary adapta-tions to a new context.

(ii) Evaluation forms, as in other programs,were given to individuals who wereasked to evaluate their own learning ex-perience. We were continually surprisedat how positively most participants viewedthe workshops in terms of their ownlearning.

9. Follow-upFollow-up to the workshop was discussedby members of the planning committee. Insome communities, channels were identi-fied for sharing experiences in applying whathad been learned within their own work anda suggestion put forward for a workshop in6 months to share in more depth thoseexperiences and learn more. In some areas,groups decided to undertake one or severalof the programs which had been outlined.We have had some feedback as people havetried to use what they learned but it is tooearly to evaluate the extent to which theworkshops sparked specific action.

26

WHAT DID YOUTHINK OF THEWORKSHOP?

Your Name (If you would like to leave it)

CITYIt would help us to improve our work if youtook the time to answer the following ques-tions and/or give us your comments onthe strengths and weaknesses of the work-shop.

1. WHAT DID YOU LIKE BEAT ABOUTTHE WORKSHOP?

2. WHAT DID YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUTTHE WORKSHOP?

3. WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANTTHING YOU LEARNED FROM THEWORKSHOP?

4. IN COMPARISON TO OTHER WORK-SHOPS YOU HAVE ATTENDED, HOWWOULD YOU RATE THIS ONE? On a scaleof 1-5, with 1 indicating one of the worst and5 indicating one of the best.)

0WOULD YOU BRIEFLY EXPLAIN WHYYOU GAVE IT THAT RATING?

5. OTHER COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TOMAKE?

Thank You.

OP

27

'The Methodological March'The 'methodological march', a direct translation of the Spanish title `marcha metodologica' isused primarily at the end of workshops to review the various stages participants have gonethrough and thus gain an overview of the educational experience.

There are two ways in which we have used the methodological march in wrapping up aworkshop. One way is to ask a participant to take us through the various stages of theworkshop by referring to the pieces of flip chart paper which have been taped to the walls.Alternatively, the facilitator can suggest that everyone walk around the room looking at theflip chart paper, reflecting on the various stages. Either way, it is important for the coordinatorto ask everyone to remember not only what resulted from the use of various techniques, butalso to reflect on why a certain technique was used at a certain stage.

This march depends on the recording of all stages of the workshop on flip chart paper whichcan then be taped to the walls. 'Ordering' the flip chart paper on the walls during the work-shop or at least prior to beginning the march helps smooth the review process. Theobjective of the march is to give participants an understanding of the overall methodologyemployed and the use of specific techniques within the methodology.

The methodological march can take as little as 5-10 minutes if all the participants are circulat-ing around looking at the material. It will take longer if one person is reflecting on content andprocess at each stage of the workshop with other participants encouraged to add points orask for clarification.

With a clear understanding of what was learned and how this learning was achieved, eachparticipant is in a position to run a similar workshop in his/her community or organization,adapting the theme and techniques to their particular situation.

27

28

Chapter Three

TOOLS FOR BUILDING A POPULAREDUCATION PROGRAM

3.1 Introduction

As Chapter 1 suggested, popular educationis a process of creating knowledge whichrequires a high degree of participation bythe learners. it aims to extend the skills peo-ple already have and increase the confi-dence of the participants. Such objectivesrequire alternative techniques, which are thesubject of this chapter.

Why consider alternative techniques?In choosing techniques, we need to thinkabout how people learn and that has beenthe subject of a good deal of research acrossa wide variety of disciplines. In choosing ourbuilding blocks for popular education pro-grams, we made some assumptions aboutthe learning process such as:

learning is maximized through active par-ticipation we learn through doing.people learn in different ways.so, learning is enhanced by appealing toas many senses as possible.we learn more when we see the impor-tance of that learning to our own lives,when we want to learn.greater learning takes place when thelearner is treated as an equalwe learn more when we can enjoy theprocess of learning.

We had also identified a number of prob-lems with the more traditional techniqueswe had been using film, speaker, discus-sion groups. Most of these techniques fav-oured people who are verbal and so pres-ented blocks to the participation of manygroup members. We found that some prob-lems which would not emerge in discussionwould surface in a sociodrama for example,in the non-verbal interaction among the'actors'. While traditional techniques are of-

28

ten helpful for passing on information, somepeople found it difficult to develop a pictureor analysis of how that information fit to-gether.

We were also looking for techniques whichwould not only encourage interaction be-tween the individual learner and the instruc-tor/resource person/resource but also max-imize learning from each other, and thedevelopment of a group understanding oranalysis of the theme.

These considerations led us to use somealternative techniques which you will havenoted within the programs described inChapter two.

N. ftN,1

What are some alternative techniques?There are many techniques you might wantto use.* We will describe only five whichwe've found useful in our work over the pastyear. These are:

*See the bibliography for additional refer-ences.

29

SCULPTURINGSOCIODRAMA

ROLE PLAYDRAWING

SONGWRITING

All of these techniques* are educationaltools which we saw used in Central Americato encourage dialogue, discussion and an-alysis of real problems and situations peopleare concerned about. They encourage agroup to develop together an understandingand analysis of the problems being studied.These techniques also involve the body ingestures, movement, drawing or makingmusic. And since they draw on culturalforms like art, music and drama, they alsoencourage creativity. In our society, wherewe are largely consumers of culture, the actof putting together a short play or writing asong can in itself be empowering for people.

.How do we use them?As we discussed in Chapter 1, before decid-ing whether to use a communication tech-nique and which one to use, we need to aska few questions:WHAT? (the theme)WITH WHOM? (Participants. Also take in-

to account how manythere will be)

HOW LONG? (For example, sociodramaneeds 2 hours, whereassculpture only 1 hour)

WHY? (the objective(s))HOW? (Choose the appropriate

technique)RESULTS? (What do I want to see

happen)

All of the techniques consist of three parts:

A. PREPARATIONB. ACTIONC. DISCUSSION

A. PreparationA theme needs to be identified, either by thegroup or in the planning, but must be ofinterest to the group. In Central America,

themes would be concrete (how to raise agood crop) or general (social justice), butalways directly related to real problems thegroup faced. We worked on such themes aslinks between women in Canada and Cen-tral America, or problems we face doingeducation work about Central America inCanada.

In this stage it is also important to clearlydescribe the technique so that participantsare clear as to what is expected of them.

B. ActionThe action stage involves:

discussion of the theme or problemagreement on the main points and how torepresent themcreation of the representationrehearsal where appropriatepresentation to the rest of the group

C. DiscussionThis phase is most important and is theresponsibility of the facilitator. The discus-sion should be structured as follows:

(i) Reconstruction of the presentation(ii) Analysis of the message(iii) Relation to the reality of the group

(i) ReconstructionThis involves questions like: What has thegroup presented? What was the first thingthey did? The point of this kind of questionis to make sure that everyone is clear as tothe issue presented.

(ii) Analysis or how the group under-stood the problem

what did they want to saysee what problems etc. were presentedhow were they presentedhow were they dealt with

(iii) Relation to the reality of the groupThis is the most important link where welook at what the message means to us.

does this happen in our community orgroupwhy does it happenwhat can we do about it

*In Central America these techniques arecalled 'Tecnicas de CommunicaciOn'Communication Techniques.

2930

Descriptions o

3.2 SCULPTURING

f Different Techniques

What is it?Sculpturing is people positioning them-selves in ways which express power rela-tionships. The result is a human sculpturewhich represents the group's understandingand knowledge of a specific theme.

An ExampleIn our workshops, one theme or issue weoften chose was Media coverage of Nicara-gua. Instead of one sculpture, we had partic-ipants build two the first looking at themain media messages about what's happen-ing in Nicaragua. Then we built a secondsculpture to depict what the group thinks isreally going on.(i) So we choose our theme Media

coverage of Nicaragua.(ii) The facilitator explains how the tech-

nique works and asks for a volunteerfrom the group to be the first sculptor.

(iii) The sculptor can use as many people(raw material) as is necessary and anypositions necessary to best illustrateone message transmitted by the mediaabout Nicaragua. Once this is done,then the person explains what he orshe meant by the sculpture.

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30

(iv) The facilitator then .asks othethey think about the initial sculptureand if they wish to add another idea orchange the one already illustrated. (Aperson in the actual sculpture with anidea can ask for a replacement, stepout, and become a sculptor.)

(v) Another person builds onto the statue,using other people and then explainswhy.

(vi) The facilitator then asks again if some-one else would like to add to or changethe sculpture. This process continuesuntil everyone is in agreement that thesculpture reflects the group's under-standing of how the media has beencovering Nicaragua.

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(vii) The facilitator can ask someone toexplain the various facets of the sculp-ture before everyone sits down so thatpeople can retain a visual image of thesculpture.

(viii) A second sculpture is built immediate-ly after the first to look at the group'sanalysis of what's going on in Nicara-gua. The same procedure is used untilconsensus is reached. Again someoneis asked to explain the parts of thesculpture to ensure that everyone un-derstands what has been agreed to.

(ix) The discussion On a flip chart listthe differences between the two sculp-

31

tures in both content and form. Thediscussion can then take various direc-tions depending on your specific ob-jectives for using the technique.

(A) A discussion of why the differencesoccur. Where does the media get itsinformation? Where do the Churchesand others who produce alternativematerial get their information? Wheredid we get our information for thesecond sculpture?(B) Identify the main areas of distor-tion or lack of information in mediacoverage. Why are these particular dis-tortions occuring? What can we doabout the distortions that take place inthe media? How can we construct aneducation program to deal with them?(C) Gaps in information points themedia is making which we lack infor-mation about. We found for example,that the Miskito situation and the roleof the Church in Nicaragua were majorareas where more information isneeded.

What will you need?Sculpturing takes about one hour, and re-quires at least twenty people and a largeroom. If you have over thirty-five partici-pants and two facilitators, divide the largergroup in two and then present the results toeach other. In that case you will need twoadditional rooms for preparation and oneand one-half hours. You will also need a flipchart and felt pen for the discussion.

31

How is it done?

Preparation: Choose a theme. Sculpturingcan be used to look at a variety of themes.Generally in Central America, sculpturinghas been used to illustrate a group's under-standing of general topics such as religionor democracy. Participants in our work-shops have suggested similar themes:

development and underdevelopment; whatour organization is now what it should be

what it could be in ten years. We've usedsculpturing to share information and buildan analysis of the countries in Central Amer-ica, to look at Canadian involvement in Cen-tral America, to explore problems facingworking people or women in Canada andCentral America.

It is important for the facilitator to clearlydescribe the exercise. Identify for people theways in which a first idea can be changed oradded to: people's positions can be al-tered, new people brought in, gestures ofthe people in the sculpture can be changed.

Action There is no prior discussion of thetheme. After the technique has been de-scribed, ask for the first person to begin.The representation is done by the wholegroup and in the process of putting ittogether the facilitator must make sure thateveryone understands the sculpture as itevolves. Someone describes all the partsand ensures consensus before moving intothe discussion. If two groups are used, onegroup presents to the other followed by adiscussion of the first sculpture, before mov-ing on to the second representation.

Discussion The stages of discussion followthose described in the introduction to thischapter. Particular points to be stressed willobviously vary with the theme you maywant to refer to the discussion possibilitiescoming out of the example outlined above.We also had people discuss the techniqueitself both for feedback on how peoplefelt about the learning experience, but alsoso that participants themselves could usethe technique in their own group or organi-zation.

32

Helpful Hints

If no one volunteers immediately to beginthe sculpture don't worry. You need tobe prepared to wait a little someone.:most always volunteers. It's a good idea

to warn the group that this is the onlydifficult part and takes a courageousindividual to help get started. Others havesuggested that one of the facilitators be-gin the sculpture to help clarify for partici-pants what's expected. People generallytend to like the exercise and it is notthreatening once the first idea is up onthe floor.Make it clear that each person is to sculptone idea. Sometimes an eager beaverwants to build the whole thing whichdestroys participation.It is important to stress that the group willcome up with its own analysis. In Chapter2, example 1, we went a step further andcompared with the teachers their analysisof Nicaragua to that of people from thecountry itself.

If

Why and when might we use it?

There are a number of advantages to sculp-turing. It provides a visual overview help-ing participants see the connections amongpieces of information in a way that stayswith them. Because it is shorter (since itcan be done in a large group) it fits moreeasily into an evening program. It is also anexcellent group builder, involving the partici-pation of the whole group in putting to-gether a shared understanding of the theme.

32

+si

We have used sculpturing in the followingways:

At the beginning of a workshop to findout what people know about a theme.As a tool for evaluating learning. If 99% ofthe group knows very little about thetheme, you can begin with a sculpture ofwhat they do know. Then introduce in-formation via a map, audio-visual, etc.,followed by a second sculpture based onwhat they've learned. Then compare thetwo, analyzing where the informationcame from in each case as in our exampleabove.As a tool for sharing information it isappropriate for groups where there isuneven information and knowledgeamong participants.To identify gaps in the group's under-standing or information and thus canindicate areas for further study.To help empower people There is highparticipation and everyone's knowledgeis drawn on to build the sculpture.To put together a common analysis of thetheme. It has been our experience thateven when there are opposing ideologicalviews in the group, that there is an at-tempt to deal with the differences, draw-ing on available facts.

33

3.3 SOCIODRAMA

What is it?Sociodrama is a technique which involvesparticipants in acting out a situation usingwords, movement, gestures and preps. Byusing sociodrama we can recreate an eventtaken from real life experience which we willwant to analyze afterwards.

An ExampleIn our workshops with community groups,one theme we worked with was 'Problemswe have faced in doing community educa-tion work on Central America'.(i) The facilitator explains what is required

to identify and prioritize the mainproblems they face in doing educationwork on Central America and developthe main points into a story line to bepresented to the full workshop in theform of a 5 minute sociodrama.

(ii) The workshop is divided into groups of5-10 people and the amount of timethey have to prepare is emphasized.

k

h I

(iii) Some of the points noted in the smallgroup discussion prior to preparing thesociodramas were:

lack of information people don'tknow where Central America islack of interest and they don'tcarethe media information that peopledo get is often distortedlack of resourceslabelling 'anti-american', or 'com-munist' if the U.S. role in CentralAmerica is criticized.

(iv) The group then decided that the story-line would revolve around the planning

33

of a public event by the local CentralAmerican committee. The first scenewould be the planning of the event(characters being members of the com-mittee) and the group listed which prob-lems they would deal with in the firstscene. The second scene was the ac-tual event itself focusing on thequestion period afterwards. Charactersincluded Joe Public, an Isolationist, aLabeller etc. The third scene was theevaluation of the event by the commit-tee. They then decided who wouldrepresent each character.

(v) The group then made or identifiedprops they would use (names of char-acters were written on pieces of paperand taped on; table and chairs were tobe used in the event and meeting etc.)

(vi) The sociodrama was rehearsed.(vii) The group presented the sociodrama

to fellow participants and watched theother presentations.

34

(viii) In the discussion, the coordinatorasked the group to identify the prob-lems presented in each presentation,and listed them on a flip chart. Theproblems presented were discussedasking people if the presentation re-lated to problems they had exper-ienced. Finally the problems were syn-thesized on the flip chart, representingthose of most importance to the work-shop. We then used these problems asthe basis for work during the rest of thesession, trying to identify some ways oftackling them. (i.e. the problems be-come 'sub-themes' which are exploredusing other techniques. See Chapter 2Example 3.)

What will you need?A minimum of one hour and 45 minutesbased on three groups presenting. Ideallygroups need 45 minutes of preparationtime, 15 minutes of presentation and dis-cussion of the presentations for eachgroup, and 15 minutes for the synthesis. Itis helpful to keep things moving however;people will get bored if you give too muchtime.Sufficient space to allow one area foreach group to prepare and a larger spacefor the presentations.Paper and felt pens for making signsother props can be drawn from furnitureetc. in the rooms.A flip chart and felt-tipped pen for thediscussion.

How is it done?Preparation:All participants should be clear on whattheme is going to be illustrated by the socio-drama before breaking into smaller workgroups. Examples of other themes we usedare:

problems involved in community educa-tion work on Central Americathe Pope's visit to Central Americaproblems facing workers in Canada andGuatemalathe biggest success and the biggest fail-ure you've had doing education work inyour communityhow to involve people in the development/disarmament issue

34

The coordinator then clarifies the task andhow much time the groups will have.

ActionWhen everyone is clear as to what theyshould be preparing, the workshop isbroken down into groups of 5-10 peopleto discuss the theme what they knowabout it and how it relates to their exper-ience. The main points are noted downand prioritized.When the main points of the previous dis-cussion have been listed and those ofmajor importance identified, the groupwill then need to clarify:

in what order they want to deal with theproblemswhat the scenario will be and whatcharacters are neededwho will take on which characterwhen each character will appear

Once the story line and characters havebeen chosen and ordered, any propsshould be identified and a rehearsal un-dertaken so that everyone is clear as towhat part they will portray. Then proceedwith the presentations.It is usually a good idea to have set a timelimit on the length of the presentation atthe beginning. This will help the group bemore succinct in their protrayal of thetheme. (5 minutes is usually a good tar-get.)

DiscussionDiscussion follows each presentation par-ticulars depending on the theme. Watch forproblems which are unconsciously reflectedin the sociodrama, but were not articulatedin the smaller discussion prior to the presen-tations. A synthesis of the major points com-ing out of the discussions should take placeafter all presentations have been discussedindividually.

Helpful HintsAsk people to speak up so everyone canhear them.Suggest they use body movements as wellas words.Remind people that this is not a talenthunt for professional actors.Encourage the use of any props they can

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find to give a greater sense of reality to theskit and where necessary that peoplemake their own props especially signswhich will help clarify where the socio-drama is taking place and who the charac-ters are.

Why and when might we use it?One of the major advantages of using socio-drama is the identification of problems oraspects of problems that do not emerge indiscussion but are communicated non-ver-bally in the presentations. In a workshop inNicaragua, for example, a sociodrama wasput together by volunteers from villagehealth committees who had conducted thepolio vaccination campaign in their com-munities. It was decided that a sociodramawould be used to illustrate the problemswhich had resuiced when one person hadfailed to arrive with mule transport for thepolio vaccine, leaving a community and thedoctors unable to proceed. In acting out thisproblem, other problems emerged. The wayin which the villagers acted out the role of'doctor' made it clear that they felt the doc-tors were insensitive to the problems of thecommunity. This issue would never havebeen articulated in a discussion but couldbe addressed through the sociodrama.

Plicrro 2 ALFORVIN

We have used sociodrama in the followingways:

To identify how much people alreadyknow about a theme. For example, if thetopic were 'Workers in Canada and Cen-tral America', groups might prepare asociodrama comparing a day in the life ofa worker in their town in Canada with aday in the life of a worker in Central Amer-ica.To look in detail at some aspect of a

35

'..).."...,

theme. For example, what factors maketrade union organizing in El Salvador andGuatemala virtually impossible uncle.' mil-itary governments, or focusing on oneproblem in Canada and Central America

unemployment and preparing a so-ciodrama to compare problems causedby unemployment etc.To see what conclusions we have drawnfrom the study of the theme. In the exam-ple we use here (Workers in Canada andCentral America), the specific theme tobe prepared might be why internationaltrade union solidarity is important forworkers both in Canada and CentralAmerica and what actions can we take asCanadian workers to support the fight forsocial change by Central American work-ers.

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3.4 ROLE PLAY

What is it?Role playing is similar to sociodrama andoften the two get confused. While both usegestures, actions and words, role playingillustrates the attitudes of people, the char-acteristics of occupations or professions,and ways of thinking.

For example:

Roles relating to the individualistattitudes the authoritarianRoles relating to the teacheroccupations the househusbandRoles relating toways of thinking

the Sandinistathe counter-revolutionary

Examples of role playsfrom our experience over the past year.

1. Role playing attitudes(i) The group chooses the theme. In work-

shops with people who were involved incommunity education programs aboutCentral America, a number of attitudeswere identified which were difficult todeal with. Some examples follow:

Nothing I can do makes any differ-ence anyway.It's got nothing to do with me.We have enough problems here inCanada.You always attack Americans. Whydon't you attack the Russians too.Politics and the church don't mix.

(ii) To help us respond creatively to suchcomments, we broke into groups to roleplay the attitudes expressed and possi-ble responses to such comments. Some-times each group looked at only oneattitude; in other sessions, each groupidentified from the general list 3 or 4which they found most problematic anddealt with all of them.

(iii) We then chose our best responses andwent through a trial run.

(iv) This was shared with the rest of theworkshop and others added furtherpoints or discussed the strength of ourreplies.

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?

2. Role playing occupations or social groups(i) Choosing the theme Central Ameri-

can support committees are often in-volved in making presentations to a var-iety of organizations rather than to thegeneral public. Sometimes the commit-tee would be requesting support for anassistance project, such as donations ofequipment from trade unions for theMonimbo boat, heading for Nicaraguafrom Vancouver; or making a first pre-sentation to the local Rotary Club aboutCentral America; or talking to teachersabout receiving a tour of representativesof teachers from El Salvador. To assist inthe planning of such presentations,groups formes to role play the presenta-tion by the commiiiee to the organiza-tion in question.

(ii) We broke into small groups to discussthe theme. Some of the areas discussedin preparing the role play to the unionsrequesting equipment were:

who should we approach the La-bour Council or the individual

37

unions?who are the members of the LabourCouncil?what do they know about CentralAmerica?what previous contacts are there?What is the position of the CLC, theFederations, on Central America? Arethere resolutions we could refer to?what channels do the unions havewith which to respond?what are their attitudes, prejudiceslikely to be?why is it in their interest to partici-pate?how do they view our committee?

etc....

(iii) We then ordered the arguments wewould make for the presentation, andthe responses likely to come back at usand went through a trial run.

(iv) After the presentation, others thenadded further points they felt had beenmissed or attitudes they felt had beenincorrectly portrayed etc.

3. Role playing ways of thinking(i) One such use of role play might be

within a study of Nicaragua to look atthe different ways the Nicaraguan revo-lution is viewed both from within andoutside the country. The group could be

37

asked to identify a number of differentperspectives from materials which theyhad already seen within their study orfrom news sources, from their commun-ity etc. which they felt it important toexamine. Some examples might be: theSandinistas, the Contras, the Reaganadministration, the Canadian govern-ment, the church hierarchy in Nicara-gua, the Christian base communitiesetc.

(ii) The small groups prepare a discussion(perhaps a panel discussion) represent-ing a variety of ways of thinking aboutthe Nicaraguan revolution first outlin-ing the major points each characterwould make about the theme. Researchmaterials (print and audio-visual) mightbe made available if the role play wereto be used near the beginning of theworkshop.

(iii) The group then chooses the best argu-ment for each and does a trial run.

(iv) In the discussion of the presentations, itwould be important to note the argu-ments on a flip chart and analyze eachperspective assumptions on which it

38

is based, interests it represents, meritsetc. Participants might then situate then' -selves within the panorama of perspec-tives.

What will you needThe timing can vary, depending on thenumber of people involved and how manyroles are to be discussed. Using role playto look at ways of thinking, including theresearch time, could take a full half day.Role playing attitudes encountered in de-velopment education work generally re-quired 30 minutes for preparation, 5 min-utes per group for presentation, and afurther 20 minutes for discussion.Depending on the size of the group, onelarge room is sufficient, with sub-groupspreparing in the corners.a flip chart and felt-tipped pen for thediscussion.

How is it done?The same steps are followed as describedfor sociodrama. The difference is that forrole play, the characters and their attitudesare the important element rather than a ser-ies of events which make up the story line ofthe sociodrama.

PreparationChoose the themeBe sure the group is clear as to what rolesthey are to discuss and present, and howmuch time they have to prepare.

ActionDiscuss the theme in small groups of3-5 people is best. The discussion shouldfocus on the role or roles to be presentedand the arguments each person to bedepicted would use in real life.Outline the story or arguments to pre-sent them in a logical sequence. In roleplay it's important that the attitude andreaction of the characters is clear.Present the role play to the larger work-shop.

DiscussionIt is important in the discussion to emphas-ize the characters, their ideas and behaviour.

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Helpful HintsStress that the small group discussionmust centre on the behaviour, attitudesand arguments of the characters in theirrespective roles.The preparation is important in order tounderstand and discuss the roles eachperson is going to represent.Ideally, you should break into very smallsub-groups for role play certainly nomore than 5 people per group.

When and why might we use it?For identifying and understanding differ-ent ways of thinking about an issue orsituation not necessarily from yourown perspective.As mentioned in Role playing occupa-tions or social groups, it is also useful forpreparing an activity.To identify resources within a group. Inexample 2 above Role playing occupa-tions or social groups members wereidentified who had a lot of history andexperience with a particular constituencywho had never had the chance to sharethat knowledge before.To analyze and discuss attitudes or be-haviour related to a theme. (As in exam-ple 3 above Role playing ways of think-ing.)To summarize a theme. For example, ifthe theme of the program had been 'Can-adian policy towards Central America',we could role play a meeting betweenconcerned organizations and the Cana-dian government, outlining the changeswe'd like to see in Canadian governmentpolicy.

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3.5 DRAWING

What is it?Everyone has experience with drawingbut many of us had that experience in prim-ary school. Drawing as an education tool, isa process whose final product is a visualdepiction or drawing of the main points inthe discussion of a theme.

An Example(i) We chose as a theme, Links between

Canada and Guatemala for a workshopwith churchpeople on Central America.

(ii) Following an audio-visual on Guatem-ala, we broke into small groups of 4-5people to discuss and then depict visu-ally any links which had been identifiedin the slide-show or others we thoughtimportant between Canada and Guate-mala.

(iii) A list of points was identified and wethen moved into a discussion of howwe might draw each point.

(iv) Someone suggested that it might be agood idea if we thought about a centraltheme or way of organizing the pointson the paper. The group decided to dothat in two ways situating Canada atthe top of the paper and Guatemala atthe bottom (i.e. geographically) and bymaking the United States the 'commondenominator' both as a mutual neigh-bour and strong influence on both coun-tries.

(v) We chose someone to describe ourdrawing to the others.

(vi) All of the drawings were presentedand the main points noted on the flipchart.

(vii) There was a synthesis of the connec-tions made and among the six groups,all of the major points had been identi-fied.

z

GouP11 LINKS riETtuefN GuNA Agin 6-.1.1ViriAcq

Links Between Canada and GuatemalaGroup 4

1 Uncle Sam sits between Canada andGuatemala and influences events in bothcountries.

2 His left hand pats a well-behaved Cana-dian beaver,

3 While his right hand slaps a rebelliousCentral America.

4 Many of the same companies whichoperate in Canada, do business in Gua-temala, despite the m: lye human rightsabuses by that couqtry .s military govern-ment.

5 Canadian television companies carry U.S.network reports on Guatemala which of-ten give Canadian viewers an inaccuratepicture of real events in that country.

6 Canadian Churches send down observerteams to find out what is really going onin Guatemala and report back to theirChurches and the general Canadian pub-lic.

3940

What will you need?about 11/2 hours. If time constraints existbecause of the length of the overall work-shop, some time limits can be suggestedfor the small group discussion (i.e. about15 minutes for discussion and 30 minutesfor drawing.) For the de-coding, allow 3-5minutes per drawing, and another 20-30minutes to pull out the main points fromthe results of the exercise.

You will need a lot of coloured markingpens with a good variety of colour foreach group, and flip chart paper.

How is it done?Preparation

Drawing lends itself to many themesthe following are examples from our work:

an analysis of what is happening in aspecific country of Central Americalinks between Canada and CentralAmerica or a specific country of Cen-tral Americalinks between the situation facing wo-men, churchpeople, native people, wor-kers here and in Central America or ina specific country of Central Americalinks between the issues of importanceto the Disarmament movement and togroups focusing on Central Americanissues

The Coordinator should clarify the taskand specify how much time the groupswill have to produce the drawing. (45minutes minimum).A group of 4-5 people seems to be optimalto allow for maximum participation indiscussion and drawing.

40

ActionIn discussion, the group identifies thepoints it wants to make.They then need to discuss how they wantto visualize their ideas and proceed to putthem on paper.It is preferable if everyone in the groupdraws and should be encouraged wher-ever possible. However, a group may de-cide to have one person draw the ideasput forward by the rest of the group. Thiscan be almost as 'participatory' providingthe person drawing listens to the othersand tries to draw their ideas.To help move more easily from the dis-cussion to the visual depiction of themain points, while retaining some visualcoherence, it can be suggested that theylook for one central idea or geographicalnotion around which the other parts ofthe drawing can fit into place. Once this isdecided and drawn, then the remainingideas are discussed visually related to thecentral depiction. This 'ordering' of thedrawing makes all the parts to be drawnseem more manageable.The group will need to choose one orseveral persons who will decode theirdrawing for the rest of the workshop. Thedrawings are presented to the othergroups, first by asking if people can figureout the points the drawing is attemptingto make, and then completing the de-coding. If time is a consideration, thedrawings can simply be explained.

41

DiscussionThe focus for discussion will depend onyour objective in using the exercise.If the group comes back with an incom-plete drawing or very little visualizedattempt to use their experience in thediscussion stressing that the process ismore important than the product. Per-haps they had such a good discussionthat they simply ran out of time per-haps they found it extremely difficult tofocus that discussion and so couldn'tcome up with one idea around which toorganize their points. Maybe that sug-gests something about their relation tothe theme etc.

Helpful HintsThe most common resistance to drawingfrom workshop participants centres onthe feeling that 'I can't draw'. So it isimportant to stress at the outset that thistechnique is used not to discover who arethe expert artists, but rather to enrich dis-cussion and come up with a shared under-standing of a given theme or situation.Sometimes showing people the results ofa previous workshop will help give confi-dence and stress that they should usestick people etc. If the resistance is likelyto be very high in your estimation, onetechnique that someone suggested wasto have everyone use their 'other' handto put everyone on the same level. Wenever found it necessary to use the idea.

People should be encouraged to use lotsof colour and bold strokes where possible

41

so that the drawing can be seen at a dis-tance.

Why and When might we use it?Drawing enriches discussion. In movingfrom thought in words to the visual, newideas can be generated to aid the overalldiscussion and thoughts can become morefocused by the demand to visualize them. Itencourages discussion of people who arenot verbal but are gifted with an ability topicture ideas. Obviously in Central America,it was particularly useful in situations wherereading and writing skills were weak orabsent.

otv:t \1L-4:

=

We have used drawing in the following ways:Like sculpturing, to look at what the groupknows about one country (Nicaragua) orregion (Central America) asking themto prepare a visual picture of what theythink is happening in that ountry orregion. However, unlike sculpturing, wherethe entire group comes to a commonanalysis of the situation, drawing produ-ces a series of perspectives which canthen be compared and discussed.

42

We have found drawing particularly use-ful for exploring links between situations,issues or sectors, as in the example abovewhere drawing was used to explore linksbetween Canada and Guatemala or inChapter 2, example 2, to look at linksbetween workers in Canada and CentralAmerica. In exploring such links, one canbegin to answer the question: 'What's thatgot to do with me anyway"?'

As part of the action on a theme. Forexample, the Ten Days for World Devel-opment Program of the Churches had asits theme 'Central America' and anaction component of talking with the Cana-dian government about its policies con-cerning the region, suggesting a numberof changes in that policy. We have useddrawing at the end of a workshop to dis-cuss what the participants think Canada'spolicy should be on Central America, vis-ualizing that policy, and then discussingpossible ways of communicating theirthoughts to the Government. One groupdecided to send it in the form of a giantpostcard to those making Canada's pol-icy on Central America. Such novel ap-proaches could also catch the eye ofother community members and the localmedia.

You can use the product of the exercisethe drawings themselves. Although it is

important to stress that the process ismuch more important than the final pro-duct, sometimes the group drawings canbe re-used in other situations. For exam-

42

ple, the 'de-coding' of the drawing ofevents in one country of Central Americacould be re-used in a meeting to updateinformation for others. A drawing couldbe de-coded following a film or slideshow as a way of updating audiovisualresources that can get dated. Other draw-ings have been used as posters, discus-sion starters in drop-in centres, or asnewsletter material.

Using drawings from others or anexchange of drawings. For example, peo-ple in British Columbia have been in-volved in an exchange of drawings be-tween children here and in the refugeecamps in Central America. The drawingsreceived from Central America have alsobeen used on their own both in commun-ity education programs and in classrooms.A list of questions was prepared to gowith the drawings so that teachers wouldfeel confident about using them. Webrought back with us a series of drawingsdone by Central Americans to depict howthey saw the flow of events in their respec-tive countries as of the time we left Cen-tral America. We were able to use them ontheir own as above, or as a means ofcomparing the analysis drawn by a groupof Canadians with the analysis of peoplefrom the country being studied.

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3.6 SONGWRITING

What is it?As the title suggests, this technique involvesthe group in creating the lyrics of a songrelated to the theme. The melody is usuallyborrowed from a well-known 'sing-along'tune.

An ExampleThe group chose a number of themes

related to specific issues they wereworking on such as disarmarrient, nativeconcerns, unemployment etc.One group chose the theme of Disar-mament and the specific task was toanalyze Prime Minister Trudeau's letterto Canadians on why Canada wouldtest the Cruise Missile, and then write asong to illustrate the main points in theletter.The group read the letter and notedthe main points. They then prioritizedthose which they would include in thesong.They also decided at this stage thatthey would compose a 'take-off' on theletter as a way of illustrating the mainpoints and chose the melody'Solidarity Forever' a union song.One member of the group had a guitar

and other members searched outmake-shift instruments to assist.The lyrics were written in a 'stream ofconsciousness' with someone noting

43

all of the lines as people thought ofthem there was active participationby everyone. Then the verses were re-worked, and checked back against thepoints they had identified earlier.

(vii) A few practices were held and thesong presented to the rest of the work-shop.

(viii) The discussion centred on what themain points were and how the songmight be used.

A sample of the song

SOLIDARITY WITH NATOto the tune of 'Solidarity Forever'

)(a few verses there were 4 in all)Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming

of the Cruise,We'll fight the Soviet menace; we have only

our lives to lose.Uncle Ronnie's made us an offer we must

not refuse,So we're marching arms in arms.

Half those Peace protesters are just simplenaive dupes,

The rest are paid employees of those nastyRussian brutes!

If they don't stop protesting soon we'll haveto call in the troops

To defend our liberty.

What will you need?We usually allowed 30 minutes for prepa-ration 3-5 minutes per group for pres-entation, and 15 minutes discussion. Ifyou're short of time, each group can beasked to create something brief oneverse and a chorus.flip chart and paper and pens for record-ing the verses.

How is it done?Preparation

Choose a theme. The theme can relate toa general area of interest (Disarmament)or be more specific (as in the exampleabove). In our workshops, people wrotesongs related to a variety of themes,including:

U.S. intervention in Central America

44.

UnemploymentUnemployment DisarmamentNative People in Canada

Participants usually chose the themethemselves from a list developed in thelarger group.Divide into groups (4-6 people ideal formaximum participation.) Be sure the taskis clear to everyone.

ActionIn small groups, the main points related tothe theme are noted down and prioritized.The group chooses a melody which iswell-known so that people can sing-along.A recorder notes down the lyrics. Eachgroup finds its own process for gettingthe song written. Most use a stream ofconsciousness approach with people throw-ing out lines or parts of lines as they cometo them.

The lyrics are then checked against thepoints noted down earier to make surethat everything has been covered. Thesong is written on flip chart paper in largeletters so that everyone can see it andat least one practise run held.The presentation should be taped if youhave a recorder there.

DiscussionDue to the upbeat nature of this technique, itmay be difficult to have a focused discus-sion on the content of the songs. More oftenparticipants wish to move quickly to a dis-cussion of how the songs might be used.Both areas should at least be introduced asareas of discussion.

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Helpful HintsMusical instruments, including makeshift`pot and pan' variety, can add a good dealto songwriting presentations.People enjoy writing to a particular per-son their member of parliament, RonaldReagan, the Prime Minister as a way offocusing the song.

Why and when might we use it?One of the main advantages to songwritingis that the presentation of the songs is agood group builder and fun, since manyof the songs are humorous. It is important toremember also that it is NOT a techniquewhich encourages in-depth discussion of anissue. We have used songwriting in the fol-lowing ways:O To help summarize and prioritize the most

important points in the discussion of atheme at the end of a program.To encourage creativity and another per-spective on the arts and culture. Songwrit-ing can lead into a discussion of culture

45

and participants often reflect on how weare consumers of culture in our societyrather than creators of it.The creation of a song is in itself empow-ering for people a way of taking back alittle creative initiative.As part of an action on a theme. When it iswritten in the form of a message whichcan then be delivered, people have in facttaken action through the songwriting exer-cise. In our workshops people identifiedthe following ways they planned to usethe songs in follow-up activities:

in demonstrations, marches, rallysfor printing in newsletters as a con-ference or workshop summaryas something to be performed in ameeting or conference

Examples of verses from songs:

Unemployment(To the tune of 'I walk the line')

I keep my eyes wide open all the time,I read job ads in print that's large and fineBecause my job skills aren't what they have

in mind...I DO MY TIME, I STAND IN LINE.

Native People In Canada(To the tune of "This Land is Your Land")This land was their landBefore being your landFrom Grassy Narrows to the Dene NationNot for the Mackenzie pipelineOr the James Bay projectThis land was snatched from native hands.

Now they're found in prisonsA: id welfar6 lineupsYou give their children, to "nice" white

familiesYou test the Cruise on land that's stolenThis land is now a Liberal bureaucracy!

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Chapter Four

EXERCISES TO HELP THE GROUP PROCESS

What are they?As distinct from the techniques described inChapter 3, these group exercises are notdesigned to meet 'content' objectives, tohelp study a theme. Rather, they are de-signed exclusively to aid in the 'process' ofthe workshop. The main objective of usingexercises within a program of popular edu-cation is to encourage maximum participa-tion. Group members need to get to knoweach other within an atmosphere of mutualsupport, and develop the confidence topermit real participation to take place.

When are they used?A. For introductions Exercises are alwaysimportant at the beginning of the workshopto break the ice and help people get to knoweach other.

B. For group building and participationThroughout the workshop, there are exer-cises which can help strengthen participa-tion and build a spirit of coopbration.

C. For animation, relaxation and funAfter periods of intense concentration orwhen energy is sagging, an e):cercise canhelp relax and energize participants.

A few examples:in Central America, many new exerciseshave been created by 'campesinos', popularchurch leaders and others to meet the needsof their particular audiences. We would en-courage you to do the same adapting theexercises to your own context. The follow-ing are only a few of the tlinamicas' we haveused over the past year. For those who readSpanish, there is a wonderful collection ofexercises we would recommend called:Tecnicas participatories para la educackinpopular. *

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A. Introductions in pairsbreaking the ice

Objective: to have workshop participantsget to know each other

How to proceed In workshops where allparticipants do not know each other well, it'sa good idea to break the ice early by havingthe participants divide into groups of two,selecting a person they don't know well. Thecoordinator outlines what kind of informa-tion should be exchanged: names, type ofwork, where they are from, anything theywould like people to know about them, etc.Expectations for the workshop might beincluded now if most people know eachother somewhat or left for a secondround.

*For details on this and other references,see the Bibliography.

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Participants are given approximately 5 min-utes to talk in pairs. Back in the full work-shop, each person introduces his/her part-ner. It is important to ask each pair to bebrief perhaps suggesting a maximum oftwo to three minutes for the presentationparticularly if the workshop is a large one.

Helpful Hints:The introductions work best when theyare general, brief and simple.Personal information such as: one thing Ilike, some information about my family,children, etc. can help participants get toknow each other.The workshop coordinators should helpthe introductions along so that they don'tdrag.

B. The Secret AdmirerGroup building and

participationObjective: To build group spirit and inter-actionMaterials: small pieces of paper and a penHow to proceed Following the introduc-tions, one of the workshop coordinators canpass around a container asking each personto draw out a blank piece of paper on whichthey are asked to write their name andsomething they like. Then the papers arefolded and returned to the container. Thecoordinator makes a second round, askingpeople to draw out one name without show-ing it to anyone else. This will be the personthat each participant wi:I secretly admireduring the workshop.

Once everyone has a name, the coordinatorexplains that for the duration of the work-shop we should take special note of ouradmiree and communicate with this personwhile ensuring that they don't find out whotheir admirer is. We can admire the personby leaving messages or little gifts in placeswhere they will find them. The idea is to besupportive of the admired person, commen-ting on their participation, making construc-tive comments or suggestions, or giving agift related to their likes (one was identifiedon the paper with their name).

When to use itBegin this exercise at the beginning of theworkshop after the introductions and con-tinue it through until the end. The 'SecretAdmirer' works best in longer workshops oftwo days or more. Communication from thesecret admirers tends to increase as the ses-sions continue and people get the hang of it.An overnight break also allows the admirerto figure out what and how to communicateduring the next part of the workshop.

What to do at the endIn the concluding part of the overall work-shop, the secret admirers are unmasked.Participants can be asked if they think theyknow who their secret admirer is. The per-son named confirms or denies and ifhe/she denies, the real secret admirer identi-fies him/herself. Once all those who wish toguess have done so, the coordinator can askthe remaining secret admirers to declarethemselves until everyone has found out.

4718

Helpful HintsCoordinators might suggest at the begin-ning one or two ways in which the secretadmirer could communicate with his/her"admiree" without being discovered, as away of sparking ideas.A paper noticeboard could be put upsomewhere, and secret messages couldbe written on this board which peoplemight look at during coffee breaks etc.The coordinators participate, and shouldtake an active part as admirers early on tospark ideas through example.

C. Tide's in Tide's outRelaxation and fun

Objective: Animation

How to proceed All the workshop partici-pants stand in a line or in a circle dependingon space restrictions and number of partici-pants. A real or imaginary line is drawnrepresenting the sea shore and everyone isbehind the line to begin with. When theCoordinator says 'tide's out' everyone jumpsforward over the line. At 'tide's in', everyonejumps backwards over the line. The coordi-nator can say 'tide's out' two or more timesin a row and participants who move have todrop out of the game. The coordinator shouldkeep a fast pace, with people who make amistake taking themselves out. The first twoor three times should be trials.

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When to use Exercises like this one aregood for restoring flagging energy levels atvarious points during the workshop. Theyhelp inject a level of relaxation and fun fol-lowing a particularly intense part of theworkshop.Helpful Hints

Sometimes the game can be declared atie while a few good players remain ratherthan pushing for an ultimate winner.The exercise should move quickly onlyenough time taken to see that a little moreenergy has been produced.

A note of caution to the coordinator

The coordinator should be careful to usethe right exercise at the right time so asnot to interrupt the learning process ofthe group.

The coordinator should be clear as toWHY he/she has chosen a particular exer-cise, and share that objective with theparticipants.It's important to limit an exercise once itsobjective has been completed.

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A REVIEWCHECKLIST

Before moving on to a discussion on build-ing new resources, we thought you mightlike a chance to review the questions to beconsidered in putting together a programoutline. We've left some space at the bottomof the page so that you can add the ques-tions we've left out we don't think we'velearned to ask all of the relevant questionsyet!

1. What is the need for this program? Who identified the need for it?2. Who will the participants be? How will they be chosen? How many are there? Why have

you chosen to work with this group3. How can I involve some of the partipants in the planning of the program?4. How long do we have for the program?5. What are the objectives of the program according to the participants, the planning

committee, my own?6. What will the theme(s) be? What do the participants know about the theme(s)? How

does the theme relate to the participants' own concerns and work?7. What techniques will I use to meet the objectives?8. Can I clearly identify the objectives for using each technique I've chosen? Is there an

alternative I could use?9. What results do we expect from the program? How can we measure those results?10. How will this program contribute to change?11. Has follow-up been built into the program e How?12131415

Chapter Five

BUILDING OUR OWN RESOURCES....WHY BOTHER????

INTRODUCTIONThe 1980's hold the promise of more andbetter resources for our educational pro-grams. In preparing for these programs wewill increasingly face the dilemma do wemake or buy the resources that we will need.The temptation will be great to buy what hasalready been made, even if it is not exactlywhat we need, because the technology ap-pears to be getting further from our reach. Inchoosing to 'buy' rather than 'make' our ownresources, we are becoming consumers ofwhat others are producing and we lose con-trol over the content and process of theresource.

Obviously we can't all be filmakers, radioproducers or video technicians and somegood A.V. programs have been producedwhich will fit into some of our programs. Butit is important that in an era of increasinglypassive consumption of everything from food-stuffs to information, that the active produc-tion of our own educational and audio-visual materials be stressed. Popular Educa-tion involves people thinking, creating, act-ing and reflecting so as to bring about socialchange. Producing one's own resources canbe an important part of this learning process.

Many people fear that the technology in-volved in everything from producing a pam-phlet to preparing an audio-visual is toosophisticated for them to be able to master.The truth is that there is a whole range ofeducational resources we are able to pro-duce ourselves. Often there is someonearound whose skills have never properlybeen tapped, who knows how to do layoutor can give a few pointers on photography.A specific training session can be arrangedfor all those wanting to pick up a skill whichwill allow them to produce a resource bestsuited to local conditions.

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Recently we were asked to lead a workshopon How to Put Together a Slide-Tape Showfor people from various development educa-tion centres interested in producing theirown. Although we don't consider ourselvesexperts on the subject, we have put togethera number of slide-tapes dealing with CentralAmerican topics, listed at the end of thischapter. What follows is an attempt to out-line some of the steps that we follow in put-ting a production together. It is neither com-prehensive nor the final word. Rather, wehope that it will help de-mystify this particu-lar medium for those who were hesitant totry their hand at producing a slide-tapeshow.

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NOTES ON PUTTINGTOGETHER A SLIDE/TAPE

SHOW

Initial Considerations

1. Choose the theme of the slide-tape2. Identify the target audience3. Clarify the use How will the potential

audience find out about it and use it?

Major Elements of a Slide/TapeA. The Script involves research and writingB. The Visuals Slides of people, places,

situations. Also graphs, graphics anddrawings.

C. The Sound Track narration, music, in-terviews and sound effects

D. The Mix or the taping which mixes thevoice and sound

A. Where should I start?

THE SCRIPTFor the purposes of this description, we'vewritten about 'stages' which are cut anddried and not related to each other. In fact,work with the visuals, thinking about themusic etc. also begins early on.

Stage 1 Pre-ScriptSet Objectives: what do you want theproduction to accomplish?Who is it aimed at? determine the start-ing point of your target audienceSet the theme: outline the main ideasyou want to coverWhat's the best way to handle the script?

a narration? As a discussion betweentwo people? A direct testimony? A mix-ture?What visual material do I have to workwith? Where can I get more?

Stage 2 Research and Rough DraftIdentify the blocks of information to beincludedResearch these, using as many sourcesas you can get ycur hands onLook for specific events or case studies toillustrate your points. Whenever possible,

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it is better to move to the concrete ratherthan the generalWrite the first draft. We do it in pencil sothat we can be correcting as we go

Stage 3 Second and next to final draftRework the first draft, keeping in mind thefollowing graph:

---emotional curve

xxxintellectual curve

AAxxX>cxxx4/ - i----- - -- -- -

audi

44% .1(

e fatigue. .ii,

% XA'%,.,i,.4

Peoples' senses come alive before theirintellectual faculties peak. And both willeventually be surpassed by audiencefatigue. Therefore the rhythm of the showshould reflect these phases and it shouldnot plod. Otherwise audience fatigue willgrow more quickly.A descriptive or musical introductionmight engage people through their emo-tions and stimulate an interest in knowingmore about the slide-tape's subject mat-ter.To keep the slide show lively, look for pla-ces where sound effects, music, and/orvisuals can complement or replace pointsmade in the script.

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A few judiciously used facts will give yourscript a certain authority too manyfacts work against each other and tire themind prematurely.In doing this second draft, it's not tooearly to re-look at the flow of information,reordering it where necessary for the sakeof clarity.You should also be building links betweenthe various sections often just a linkingsentence will do it.

Before leaving the second draft ... Have you:Looked for places to use questions ratherthan affirmations? An audience will learnmore from a format which asks key ques-tions and provides relevant informationthan from a laid on set of conclusions.Suggested ways to act on the problem orissue analyzed?Had other people read this draft to see ifthey think it flows well etc.?Read it aloud yourself? If it doesn't readeasily it needs more work.Edited out unnecessary words andphrases looked for repetition simpli-fied the language. (Write mostly in simplesentences staying away from exces-sive use of modifiers or linking words.)If you can, we strongly suggest doing ahometaping (section D. below) of thisdraft. This will allow you to make theadjustments to the script necessary forthe music and visuals.

B. What next after I have thenext to final draft of the script?

The next phase Involves doing an initialchoice of the VISUALSSome points to consider in the choice ofvisuals:

Get the best quality possible for the slides.Since the quality will undoubtedly varyuse your best at the beginning and at theendDo not use out of focus slides theydrive the viewer crazy.If you have access to a mix of colour andblack and white slides think of ways ofmixing them consciously (i.e. doing thehistorical section in B&W; talk about re-pression in B&W and liberation in colour)

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You can superimpose one slide on anotherfor special effect some people don'tlike it some do. Matter of personaltaste.Think of the emotional effect a visual willhave. (i.e. things taken from above give asense of inferiority and those taken frombelow a sense of superiority)Do use title slides you can do themyourself with a set of re-usable letters putonto posters, pictures, plain paper etc.You will need about 4x the number ofslides to begin with than you will eventu-ally use.

Sources for visualsyour own photographymagazines and books especially thelatter for historical slidesposters, charts and graphsfor maps you can easily draw your ownand photographother people tours to particular coun-tries for example

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Putting the Slides to the ScriptOnce you have a lot of slides collected, youshould spread them out on a light board(Don't buy one they are easy to makefrom wood, flourescent light bulbs and apiece of smoked glass.) If you plan to do alot of work with slides this is a necessity.

Use your draft script (the next to final ver-sion) which you have written up on paperas follows:

Slide # Slide desc.1.

2.

ScriptCanadians and Central Americanshave had little opportunity to getto know each other.

The media's new-found interest in the ...

Remember to look for slides which canhelp make points without script wheneverpossible. An example: in a slide showon Guatemala, the point about US cultu-ral influence was never mentioned by thenarrator but a song referred to it andslides illustrated it.Put the slides as best you can on thenct 1-to-final-script. Then with the home-taping you've done, run the slides throughwith the tape. That will give you a goodidea of how they work, and you can do aninitial series of changes before you showit to the target constituency.

C. I have the next-to-final draft of thescript and the slides. What next?You still need the SOUND TRACKwhich includes music

Some points to consider in the sound trackConsider the difference between choos-ing music which is instrumental and choo-sing vocal music. Sometimes you maywant to use the words as part of yourmessage other times words will inter-fere with the script if they are behind thevoice.Consider original music if you knowany musicians.The mood of the section. it is important tochoose music in relation to the mood ofthe script and the visuals.Music is a way of breaking up narrationof changing subject and pace and of

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giving people who are watching a re-t.The mi..iic you are going to use shouid bethe best quality possible. (n ..t a copy of acopy etc.)Sound effects can help add immediacy toyour production. There are lots of recordsof sound effects most recording stu-dios have them.Consider the use of interviews, direct tes-timony (if in another language, you canuse a voice-over) You should select andtime the portions of the interview or tes-timony prior to !ieginning the final studiorecording.

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Putting the sound to scriptTime the cuts you need from a piece ofmusic they will most often be takenfrom a longer songDecide whether you want the music underthe narration it's a good idea as long asyou watch for mood changesHometaping gives you a sense ofwhether your music works or not

D. The HometapingThis can be done with the next to final draftof the script, incorporating your preliminaryideas of music. Set up in your living roomwith the following:-- a tape recorder and microphone

someone to reada record playersomeone to change the music

Then let it roll. Minor mistakes with the read-ing or music can be ignored. If there is amajor error, you can take again from thebeginning of the section you are on. Theidea is to get a sense of the flow of the script,and the compatibility of the music. With thishonetaping you will also be trying out a pre-liminary selection of slides. Let other peoplelisten to it and see the slides (particularlypeople from the target audience). Now's thetime to make improvements before goinginto the final draft.

E. Final revisions final script, slide,music selection

This is the last stage before final production.edit and rewrite the script based on all thecomments and criticisms you have re-ceived.make the occassional direct reference tothem i.e. 'As this graph shows...'usually each sentence of your script willhave a slide to relate to. It's best if thesubject big illustrated is mentionedearly in the sentence.make final slide adjustments try to re-place least satisfactory with better qualityvisuals.re-work music and other sound effects ifnecessary.

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F. Final Studio Session(i) Without a budgetDo it at home again. The production shouldbe kept straightforward as errors are moredifficult to correct when you can't splice thetape. A good home job will have acceptablelistening quality but you might find thatcopies of the original tape will lose qualityquickly.

(ii) With a budgetYou'll need a studio with recording facilities.Try approaching university or communityradio stations. Check out costs for studiotime and find out whether they supply atechnician and how much s/he is liable tocharge. If possible, talk to the technician tofind out what you should bring.

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Tips to save $Get ready before the clock starts ticking!O Have you got extra scripts for the techni-

cian and for the readers?O Did you bring all the reel to reel tape

necessary? (see tips below)O Are all of the musical cuts and interviews

timed and correctly placed in the script?(see tips below)

El Do you have a stopwatch to help thetechnician time musical cuts etc.?

O If the readers are not professionals willthey have had a day or two to practisereading the script? (Practising during thestudio time Scan be very costly and itdoesn't impress the technician either!)

El Explain to the technician the overall planfor the session at the beginning and keeptalking with him/her throughout the tap-ing. (A cooperative technician can helpyou get the best results possible but re-member that you are the production ma-nager and should keep the final say.)

Mixing process how it works in the studioFirst you record the narrator(s) voice(s)on tape which can then be edited to elim-inate mistakes.Then on a separate tape, music, soundeffects, interviews will be laid, althoughthe technician may choose to record di-rectly from a record for several cuts.Then the voice tape and music tape cutswill all be mixed onto a clean tape whichwill become your master tape. From themaster tape will come all the cassettecopies you will make of the production,also keep the voice and music tapes incase you wish to make any changes lateron.

TipsCount on 5 hours of studio time to pro-duce a master tape for a 20 minute slide-tape if you are well preparedBest tape For recording voice andmusic, either SCOTCH 176 or AMPEX631 are recommended. Since this willprobably be recorded at 15 ips (inchesper second), you should take at least 2 x1800 ft. reels. For Master Tape themore expensive SCOTCH 206 or AMPEX406 are recommended for sound fidelityand _r storage since they are back

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coated. The master tape may be recordedat 71/2 ips so 1 reel of 1200 feet will coverup to 1/2 hour. If you've gone as far as torecord in a studio and pay a technician,you might as well spend the few $ morefor good quality tape. Technicians usuallyask that whatever tape you buy be 1.5 miltape giving sufficient width to lay downdistinct tracks.To help speed the process of recordingthe music and sound effects, a good dealof preparatory work will ensure less stu-dio time. We suggest preparing a musicsheet which will have all the details atechnician will need to know. Here's asample:

Where possible, ask performer's permis-sion to use his/her music and give cre-dit whether it's possible to ask permissionor not.

G. DiffusionYou will need to number each slide andmake a cassette of your master as well astype up a clean script. You will need todecide if you need to make copies. Thatcan be done by you with some basicequipment at low cost but is very timeconsuming or you can have it donecommercially. Most firms give an educa-tional discount as well as bulk order dis-count. Be sure to ask.At the beginning, you identified the targetaudience for the show. Now you will needto develop a strategy for delivery to them.

Good Lucid

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SLIDE SHOWS WE'VE PUTTOGETHER ON

CENTRAL AMERICA

The following slide-tape productions areavailable for purchase or rental from:B.C. Alberta, SaskIDERA,2524 Cypress St.Vancouver, B.C.V6J 3N2tel. (604) 732-1814

ElsewhereDEC films,427 Bloor St. W,Toronto Ontario.M5S 1X7tel. (416) 964-6896

A number of development education groupsand international agencies (CUSO, OXFAM,etc.) may have copies for rent locally.

PHOTO: ALPOAJA

Popular Education in Central America1983

16 minutesAn educational movement called PopularEducation is developing rapidly in CentralAmerica in the 1980's. The slide-show looksbriefly at the roots of Popular Education inthe literacy work of Paulo Freire in Brazil inthe early 1960's and traces its developmentthrough the 1970's in South America. Theslide show goes on to situate popular educa-tion within the Central American context ofthe 1980's focusing on the creativity un-leashed in popular education programs inNicaragua such as the literacy campaign,the adult education program, and the healthcampaigns. The slide show illustrates thecharacteristics of popular education metho-dology, and visually draws on a variety ofworkshop experiences in the region. Cana-dians, as the show suggests, have a gooddeal to learn from this creative experience.

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1. Jr/

Women in Nicaragua 198318 minutesThe slide show describes the situation facedby Nicaraguan women under the Somozadictatorship and their role in the struggle tooverthrow Somoza. Then, using specific ex-amples such as family legislation, daycare,the organization of a union of domesticemployees, and women in the AMCASA fac-tory, the show examines some of the gainsmade since the victory by the women ofNicaragua, and some of the problems still tobe faced. The slide show concludes bysituating the importance of the gains madeby Nicaraguan women in the Central Ameri-can context.

-

.X1109

(

t.4 Mr. An57

Working People in Central America1983

26 minutesThis slide-tape production looks at the livesof working people in three Central Americancountries: Nicaragua, El Salvador and Gua-temala. The historical context to the presentday realities workers face in each of thecountries is outlined, and the successes andsetbacks currently being experienced areexplored through specific case studies. Therapid growth of working class organizationsin Nicaragua and the problems they arecreatively addressing is contrasted to theuphill fight of trade unionists and unorgan-ized workers faced with massive repressionby the military in Guatemala and El Salva-dor. Suggestions for ways in which Cana-dian workers can help working people inCentral America in their efforts to organizeand fight for social justice are outlined.

-Guatemala's Nightmare 198312 minutesCanadian entertainers, Bruce Cockburn andNancy White, visited Guatemalan refugeecamps in Mexico in February 1983 on anOXFAM sponsored tour. This slide-tape pro-duction shows what they saw in the campswhile also explaining why so many Guatem-alans have been forced to flee their country.Refugees tell their own story through a ser-ies of interviews included in this show. Musicincludes Bruce Cockburn's song 'TropicMoon' which he donated for use in thisaudio-visual, as well as traditional marimbamusic and lyrics from a song by MichaelBehnan.

Earlier TitlesGuatemala Vencera (Guatemala will win)198124 minutes(Distributed through DEC and IDERA)Adelante Nicaragua 198025 minutes(Distributed by DEC and IDERA)

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BIBLIOGRAPHYSome things we've found useful to read or consult. There are many others.

A. Central America(I) BackgroundBlack, George, Triumph of the People: The Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua, London: Zed

Press, 1981.Pearce, Jenny, Under the Eagle: US Intervention in Central America and the Caribbean, Great

Britain: Latin America Bureau, 1982.Shenk, Janet and Armstrong, Robert, El Salvador The Face of Revolution, Boston: South End

Press, 1982Staff of the North American Congress on Latin America, Guatemala, NACLA, 1981.

(ii) Ongoing up-to-delte information and further readingCentral America Update 6 issues per year.Provides up-to-date and incisive analysis of developments in Central America on a bi-monthly basis. A joint publication of the Latin American Working Group and the Jesuit Centrefor Social Faith and Justice.Order from: CAU, P.O. Box 2207, Station P. Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2T2

Latin American Working GroupLAWG has a newsletter, sells the latest books on Central America and has excellent file andperiodical material. They could be contacted for their latest publications list or for advice insorting through the many titles available. They can also help you contact a Central AmericanSolidarity Group in your area.Address: PO. Box 2207, Station P. Toronto, Ontario. M5S 2T2

B. Popular Education MethodologyFreire, Paulo, Education for Critical Consciousness, New York: Herder and Herder, 1972.Jara, Oscar, Educacion Popular. La Dimension Educativa de la Accicin Politica, Panama:

CEASPA, 1981.Kidd, Ross, 'Co-opting Freire: A critical analysis of pseudo Freirean Adult Education', Eco-

nomic and Political Weekly, Vol. XVL, Nos. 1&2 Bombay, January 3-10, 1981.Reed, David, Education for Building a People's Movement, Boston: South End Press, 1981.Vio Grossi, Franciso, 'Popular Education: Concept and Implications', Convergence, Vol. XIV,

No. 2, 1981.

C. Techniques and ExercisesALforja, Tecnicas de Communicacion con Actuacicin, Costa Rica: Arts Graficas de Centro

America, S.A., 1981.To order: Alforia, Apartado 369, San Jose, Costa RicaAlforja, Tecnicas Participativas para la educacion popular; 1 Dinamicas de animacion,

Costa Rica: Alforja, November 1982.Barndt, Deborah et al, Getting There: Producing Photostories with Immigrant Women,

Toronto: Between the Lines, 1983.Barndt, Deborah, Just Getting There: Working Paper No. 7, Toronto: Participatory Research

Group, 1981.Barndt, Deborah, Themes and Tools for ESL , Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation:

Citizenship Branch.

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Brookes, Chris, 'Nicaragua: Notes on Two Theatre Groups, Third World Popular TheatreNewsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1982.

Kidd, Ross, 'Folk Media, Popular Theatre and Conflicting Strategies for Social Change in theThird World', Tradition for Development, 1980.

Kidd, Ross, 'Popular Theatre and Political Action in Canada', Theatrework, Vol. 2, No. 1,Sept./Dec., 1981.

Kidd, Ross and Byram, Martin, Popular Theatre and Non-Formal Education in Botswana: ACritique of Pseudo-Participatory Popular Education, Toronto: Participatory ResearchGroup, (Working Paper No. 5 Revised), August, 1982.

Kidd, Ross and Byram, Martin, Popular Theatre: A Technique for Participatory Research,Toronto: Participatory Research Group, 1978.

Teatro Vivo, 'Community Drama in Guatemala', Third World Popular Theatre Newsletter, Vol.1, No. 1, 1982.

White, Robert, 'Communicacion Popular: Language of Liberation', Media DevelopmentWorld Association for Christian Communication, 27 (3): pp 3-9, 1980.

D. Canadian Equivalents and More ComprehensiveBibliographiesThere is a wealth of material on group exercises, training methods etc. We would suggestwriting to:The Participatory Research Group (PRG)386 Bloor St. West,Toronto, Ontario.M5S 1X4

NEW RELEASEAh -hah! A New Approach to Popular Education describes the educational principles andtechniques developed by GATT-Fly over eight years of practice. The seminars use the deviceof drawing a picture of the world as it is experienced by seminar participants. Starting with aparticular situation, the picture grows to illustrate the connections between personal lives andbroader social and economic structures. This book will be of interest to any organization,group, adult educator or teacher who wants to learn the fundamentals of this approach.Published by: Between the Lines, Toronto, 1983.

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NA,4111111110 9 1WikilliAkilkilitillkilfdkilkilkilkilkl46:1 Viiiiildfidlledirdli,

A NEW WEAVE: Popular Educationin Canada and Central America

by: Rick ArnoldDeborah BarndtBev Burke

For those educators working for social change in community groups, trade unions,churches, the peace movement, women's groups, international development organizations,Central America and other solidarity networks ... for those interested in the dynamics ofeducation for a critical consciousness ... and for those interested in new learning directions inadult education, A New Weave is a timely and challenging resource.

The book begins with a look at our own history of education and organizing work sincethe turn of the century, followed by a brief description of popular education in the CentralAmerican context. The second part, 'Some New Designs', selects four new ideas or designsfrom the Central American experience and reworks them for the Canadian context. In thefinal section, we focus on our tasks as educators in Canada, as artists helping in the construc-tion of a new social fabric. The authors hope that through an examination of populareducation initiatives in Central America and a reflection on our own practice, we will findsome new tools for action.

PRICE: $5.00 paperback, 100 pp amply illustrated

MULTIPLE COPIES: 3-9 copies are $4.00 each

10 or more copies are $3.00 each

PLEASE ADD 20% FOR POSTAGE AND HANDLING WHEN PRE-PAYING ORDER.

HOW TO ORDER

You can order by writing to any of the following addresses:Rick Arnold & Bev Burke CUSO Development Education The Participatory Research GroupR.R. #4 135 Rideau Street 229 College Street (Rm 303)Roseneath Ottawa TorontoOntario KOK 2X0 Ontario KIN 9K7 Ontario M5T 1R4

If this resource is not available at the international resource centre near you or at yourlocal bookstore, please ask them to stock it.

POPULAR EDUCATIONIN CENTRAL AMERICA

A companion audio-visual for this booklet

1983 Slide-tape production16 minutesproduced by Bev Burke and Rick ArnoldThis fast moving slide show looks at an educational movement called PopularEducation which is developing rapidly in Central America in the 1980's. Theslide show looks briefly at the roots of popular education in the literacy workof Paulo Freire in Brazil in the early 1960's and traces its development throughthe 1970's in South America. The slide show goes on to situate popular educa-tion within the Central American context of the 1980s focusing on thecreativity unleashed in popular education programs in Nicaragua such as theliteracy campaign, the adult education program and the health campaigns.The slide show-illustrates the characteristics of popular education methodol-ogy, and visually draws on a variety of workshop experiences in the region.Canadians, as the show suggests, have a good deal to learn from this creativeeducational experience.

Available from:B.C., Alberta & IDERA Films,Saskatchewan: 2524 Cypress St.,

Vancouver, B.C.V6J 3N2

Elsewhere: DEC Films,427 Bloor St. W,Toronto, OntarioM5S 1X7

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