Adult Education and Development
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ADULT EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT Supplement Non-formal Skills Training Adult Education for Decent Jobs and Better Lives Sponsored by 77 2011 ADULT EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT Adult Education and Development is a forum for adult education practitioners from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Published biannually, the journal is specifically designed to facilitate exchange and discussion around practical and theoretical issues, innovative methods and ap- proaches, projects and experiences, as well as political initiatives and positions. In this respect, “Adult Education and Development” is a tool for South-South exchange. The journal also seeks to provide opportunities for readers in Europe, North America, and other industrialized parts of the world such as Japan or Australia to acquaint themselves with current sector developments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, so as to contribute to their becoming more effective partners in practical and intellectual cooperation. As such, “Adult Education and Development” also serves to foster North-South and South-North exchange. Authors are responsible for the content of their articles. Signed contributions do not necessarily reflect the opinion of dvv international. Reproduction of any material in this issue is permitted provided the source is acknowledged and a copy of the reprint is sent to dvv international at the address listed below. dvv international Institut für Internationale Zusammenarbeit des Deutschen Volkshochschul-Verbandes e.V. Obere Wilhelmstr. 32 53225 Bonn Germany Phone: +49 228 97569 0 Fax: +49 228 97569 55 E-Mail: [email protected] Internet: www.dvv-international.de Publisher: dvv international, Roland Schwartz Editor: Michael Samlowski Editorial Assistant: Gisela Waschek Editorial Board Marcela Ballara (ICAE) Heribert Hinzen (dvv international South and Southeast Asia Regional Office) Caroline Medel-Añonuevo (UIL) Roland Schwartz (dvv international) Composition, Layout, Repro and Print: in puncto druck + medien gmbh, Bonn ISSN: 0342-7633 Our publications are printed on 100 % chlorine-free paper Cover: dvv international Backcover: dvv international 77 ADULT 2011 EDUCATION Supplement AND DEVELOPMENT CONTENTS Michael Samlowski Introduction EFA Goal 3 and the Outlook for Non-formal Education and Informal Learning 3 Wolfgang Schur New Skills for Afghanistan 15 Alicia González Education for Rural Development 29 Vanya Ivanova / Matthias Klingenberg / Nazaret Nazaretyan From “Learning to Listen” to “Speaking to One Another” 43 Anita Borkar ASPBAE’s Basic Leadership Development Course 55 Sonja Belete Literacy, Skills Training and Entrepreneurship – Support for Rural Women in Ethiopia 67 Romualdo Huanca de la Cruz Experience in Community Health through the Strengthening of Knowledge and Intercultural Skills in Bolivia 83 Alejandra Elizabeth Velásquez Competencies and Skills Created within the Scope of Development of the Local Communities of Totonicapán, Guatemala 95 Astrid von Kotze/Lynn Stefano Building Skills for Wellbeing: an Integrated Approach to Health Education in South Africa 107 1 Contents Mana Chanthalanonh/Heribert Hinzen/Mathias Pfeifer/ Dokham Xomsihapanya Non-formal Education, Learning Needs, and Skills Training in Lao PDR 117 Janet Wicks Men on the Side of the Road 135 Allah Bakhsh Malik Adult Literacy with Vocational Skills for Adult Illiterates in Punjab: An Effective Intervention for Skills Development 145 Maja Avramovska/Britta Schweighöfer Where Time Doesn’t Pass – Skills Training in Tetovo Prison in Macedonia 151 Kamol Jiyankhodjaev The Case of Central Asia: Non-formal Skills Training as a Tool to Combat Poverty and Unemployment 157 Feliciano Aguilar Hernández/Irma Estela Aguirre Pérez CESDER: Meeting, Encounter and Dialogue – Creating Other Worlds of Hope 171 2 Michael Samlowski I Introduction N T EFA Goal 3 and the Outlook for Non-formal R Education and Informal Learning O D U “We do not really know how we are doing on skills, because we have not figured out properly how to define them and measure them.” 1 C Nick Burnett, Assistant Director-General, Education, UNESCO T I At the World Education Forum which was held in Senegal in April 2000, UNESCO, the World Bank and a global community of governments, development agencies, O and civil society organizations adopted the “Dakar Framework for Action”, reaf- N firming their commitment to achieve Education for All (EFA) by 2015 at the latest. They pledged themselves to achieving six goals to give all people in every society access to the benefits of education: the expansion of early childhood care and education, the guarantee of primary education for all children, a 50 % reduction in illiteracy rates, the elimination of all forms of gender discrimination, and the achievement of universal quality education. The goals are designed to ensure recognized and measurable learning outcomes for everyone, particularly in the areas of literacy, numeracy, and essential life skills. The UNESCO Global Monitoring Report (GMR), issued annually since 2002, evaluates how far the more than 160 signatory countries have come toward meet- ing the six EFA targets by the agreed deadline of 2015. The report traces their progress in policy development and alignment of policy and practice, describes the challenges that must be met, and promotes international cooperation aimed at strengthening education. Topics already covered include gender parity, qual- ity education for all, literacy learning, early childhood education, the elimination of inequality, reaching the marginalized, and the implementation of the right to education in areas affected by armed conflict. The reporting process has yet to be completed. Progress toward the achievement of Goal 3 will be dealt with for the first time in the next issue, which is scheduled to be released in 2012. 1 Gaitskell Lecture, 22nd May 2008, in: “Skills for Work, Growth and Poverty Reduction: Challenges and Opportunities in the Global Analysis and Monitoring of Skills”; Report by Kenneth King and Robert Palmer, (UK National Commission for UNESCO, British Council, Sept. 2008), p.1. 3 Introduction Learning and Life Skills – the Domain of Non-formal Adult Education und Informal Learning The object of EFA Goal 3 is to ensure “that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes.” Broadly stated, this is precisely the object of Adult Education as understood by dvv international and its partners throughout the world: helping people and giving them opportunities to learn and practice the skills they need to improve the condi- tions under which they live and shape their own lives. We are therefore keenly interested in bringing our experience and convictions into the ongoing debate on the achievement of EFA Goal 3 to guarantee the acquisition of appropriate learning and life skills. It is our firm belief that special consideration in this respect must be given to the many and varied efforts in the non-formal and informal education sector that are so frequently conducted by civil society organizations in the interest of marginal and socially excluded groups and populations. We are fully committed to ensuring that their significance not be overlooked. For this reason we have decided to publish a special issue of “Adult Education and Development” to highlight examples of projects that are seeking to develop a broad range of diverse skills in different regions and countries of the world. When speaking of life skills here, we mean those basic skills that are not trans- mitted through formal schooling. Life skills include technical and manual skills that are required to secure gainful employment, skills of the kind that enable people to feed their families, to keep them healthy, and to protect them from illness. They are the kind of skills people need to be able to help themselves when health services are lacking or not affordable. In multicultural societies with significant indigenous populations, the development of intercultural skills is especially important. In ru- ral areas, small farmers need to learn how to profitably market the fruits of their labour. Where social welfare systems fail, people need to learn how to take the initiative to organize self help. Where jobs are scarce or exploitation is rampant, people must learn to earn a living as self-employed or independent workers. In such situations they also need to acquire business skills. Citizens need to learn how to participate in making political decisions that affect their communities. They need opportunities to acquire practice in protecting their interests. There are benefits for both men and women in overcoming traditional gender roles and in learning to develop the potential of women to increase family income and promote the welfare of their communities. People need practice in analyzing their problems and conflicts. They need to learn how to find common solutions and to implement 4 decisions reached by consensus. They must come to recognize ways in which each I and every individual can help reduce negative impacts on the environment so as to make the world more sustainable. The creation of opportunities for people to learn N life skills makes it possible to successfully link general education with vocational T and employment-oriented education so that the different components reinforce and R build on one another. O It is our firm conviction that a wide range of knowledge, skills, and competen- D cies must be acquired not in isolation, but rather