University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1995 Video in formal and nonformal education in Malawi : a comparative ethnography. David Scott cM Curry University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation McCurry, David Scott, "Video in formal and nonformal education in Malawi : a comparative ethnography." (1995). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 2265. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/2265 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VIDEO IN FORMAL AND NONFORMAL EDUCATION IN MALAWI: A COMPARATIVE ETHNOGRAPHY A Dissertation Presented by DAVID SCOTT McCURRY Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION May 1995 School of Education 1995 by David Scott Me Curry All Rights Reserved VIDEO IN FORMAL AND NONFORMAL EDUCATION IN MALAWI: A COMPARATIVE ETHNOGRAPHY A Dissertation Presented by DAVID SCOTT McCURRY Approved as to style and content by: Dean |, ucation DEDICATION To the many teachers and educators I have met in Africa who have reminded me out of necessity and choice that only people can truly mediate each other’s education. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Much as I have heard many dissertations do, this one seemingly took much too long to write. The demands of family and home at times diverted my already perpetually divided attention from finishing; always two steps forward, one step back. Reconciling such a multitude of interests has always been both a curse and blessing for me. However, finishing at all simply would not have been possible without the enduring and consistent support offered by Bonnie, my partner in life who was able to complete her own dissertation in this time, and our two boys Scott and Shalon who always equated the end of this project with better times and a much more available "Daddy." Finishing this dissertation barely preceded the arrival of the fifth member of our family, Kevin Lloyd McCurry. Enduring also was the support of my committee chair, Robert Miltz, whose patient temperament fit the task at hand and my own style with great ease. In him I found a colleague, a friend and a neighbor. To my delight, not always in that order. To Jarice Hanson, Chair of the Communications Department, whose "outside" to perspective influenced my studies a great deal, I say "thanks. Her commitment year was read and offer feedback on my draft during her much deserved sabbatical reading this work greatly appreciated. And to Juan Caban who was a willing member, in various forms since 1987. v A special thanks also to my Malawian friends; Dr. Meria D. Phiri for her insightful help in translation and analytic contributions. I wish her luck in helping to build a new Malawi and to Dr. Chris Kamlongera for his committment to making the ivory tower a meaningful entity on the Malawian educational landscape. Also in line for acknowledgement are the many friends and colleagues at the Center for International Education, faculty, fellow graduate students and staff, all of whom served as a community of support through 1 some 1 years. Too many to name here they all contribute in unique ways to a rich development discourse at the Center. We have influenced each other’s thoughts and (hopefully) actions, a process which has been on-going in these halls for over two and a half decades. The best thing I can think to say about this is that I have enjoyed my time participating in this process. Long may it continue. vi ABSTRACT VIDEO IN FORMAL AND NONFORMAL EDUCATION IN MALAWI: A COMPARATIVE ETHNOGRAPHY MAY 1995 DAVID SCOTT McCURRY B.A., UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ M.Ed., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Robert J. Miltz The use of video recording in educational activities in African countries is neither recent or unique. Variously employed in teacher training and extension work over the past two decades, the uses of this technology have been guided primarily by non-indigenous models of communication. This is particularly evident in the teacher training technique known as micro-teaching. After a critical review of educational technology literature covering foundational theories and field experiences, two case examples are presented which describe first the historical use of video in Malawi’s Chancellor College and secondly, the combined use of video production with "Theatre for Development" in a Forestry Extension project. The analysis of these experiences, based in critical social theory, build arguments which show that conventional uses of video in education act as a vii vehicle for dominant, exogenous forms of cultural reproduction through the formal education system. The failure to fully employ and embrace the technology, years after its introduction, may be as much a result of passive cultural resistance to external influence as it is a lack of technical training, infrastructural support, or effects of inadequate staff development, reasons which are most often cited. In ethnographic terms, the institutional case example of video in teacher training describes the general construct of communicaLive behaviors traditionally employed with video technology, characterized predominately by highly institutionalized and non-indigenous patterns. The ethnography of the village based production of a video drama represents a selected discrepant case construct which challenges the defined patterns historically since emerging models of participatory extension communication are recent interventions in Malawi. As documentation of a field technique, the study also describes a unique combination of popular theater and video production used in extension communication. This description should prove worthwhile to practitioners, extension workers and educators interested in the use of video in communication and education in development, especially where its use contributes to the facilitation of authentic cultural expression and the production of indigenous forms of knowledge and culture. viii PREFACE Since the completion of the field experiences in May of 1991, there have been many changes in the political landscape of Malawi. The analysis of these experiences and of the interaction between legal and political policy and the use of video technology were all based in the context of a Malawian political system dominated by the Malawi Congress Party with Kamuzu Banda firmly at its helm. In 1992, beginning with the arrest of trade unionist Chafukwa Chihana in Malawi and following the circulation of a Pastoral letter from the Catholic bishops in Malawi, a multi-party democratic reform movement gained momentum and eventually saw the resignation of the "president for life" and installation of newly elected leaders. Many changes to the existing laws and policies of the Banda regime are currently under way. Many of the cultural characteristics of the country described in this dissertation remain deeply rooted. While political change often precedes cultural and social change, it does not necessarily cause it. While these new laws will undoubtedly have an impact on popular use of video technology, the reformation of institutional practices poses a greater challenge. The following study suggests a review of technology use in a political system now defunct but still present in the cultural and social evolution taking place in Malawian educational systems. IX TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v ABSTRACT PREFACE ix LIST OF TABLES xiv LIST OF FIGURES xv LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS xvi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xvii GLOSSARY xviii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 Big Media, Little Media, and Somewhere in Between 2 The Cultural Context 5 The Issue of Culture in Educational Technology 8 Video in Development Education 10 Background to the Problem 13 Purpose of the Study 17 Significance and Audience 19 Organization of the Study 21 Limitations of the Study 23 Location of the Research 27 n. EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURAL ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION: AN HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL APPRAISAL 31 Introduction 31 Part 1: Theoretical Foundations in the Use of Communications Technology in Educational Development 33 Economic Foundations and Definitions of Development 34 Technology Transfer of Educational Technology 38 x The Technological Culture of Learning and Instruction 46 Educational Technology in Development; Review of Representative Texts 52 Summary 59 Part 2: Critical Review of Technology in Educational Development .... 61 Social and Cultural Theories Which Contribute to a Critique of Educational Technology in Development 61 The Role of Technology in a Critical Education 68 Summary and Conclusions 75 HI. METHODS AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY 81 Methodological Approach; The Choice of Ethnography 82 Linguistic and Cultural Competencies 86 The Field Context: Malawi 89 Political Context 91 Development Context 95 Data Collection and Organization 98 Organization of the Data 106 Analytic Framework of the Research 107 IV. THE AUDIO VISUAL CENTRE, CHANCELLOR COLLEGE: A CASE STUDY OF VIDEO USE IN FORMAL EDUCATION 115 Introduction 115 Organization of the Case Studies 117 Part I: Entrance to the