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In the 1960s education was recognized as a legitimate and necessary investment for national development. At the same time, the immense challenge of providing formal schooling for the great majority of children in developing countries seemed insurmountable. In this context, the concept of nonformal education (NFE) was born. In the next decades there was an explosion of interest in the potential of nonformal education as a partial solution to the challenge of educating all children.
CIE was an early pioneer in the NFE movement, working both to develop the conceptual framework and even more so to experiment with a wide variety of methods and materials for implementing NFE in low-resource contexts. During that period CIE was involved in implementing a variety of NFE-inspired education programs. The documents and studies found in this list are the result of those experiences in many different countries. CIE’s interest in NFE and its successor approaches continues to this day
See also the Technical Notes Collection in the CIE community which contains many notes on specific methodologies for NFE.
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Publication Malawi: NFE for Rural Development(2005-12) UnknownThis paper argues for an expansion and consolidation of nonformal education in rural Malawi. Where many rural people for various reasons cannot access formal education and training institutions, nonformal education represents a flexible and often more cost effective way of transferring useful knowledge and skills for self, family and ultimately community improvement. It discusses four areas where nonformal Education can be effective: Literacy and numeracy education, Agricultural extension, Skills development, and Welfare improvement Nonformal education has an important role to play in providing the requisite skills and knowledge, especially in situations where levels of education are low and access to formal training institutions is limited. Its programmes are generally better adapted to realistic needs, have lower costs, probably have better cost/benefit ratios than formal training programmes and are adaptable to the convenience of learners.Publication The Demystification of Non-formal Education: A Critique and Suggestions for a New Research Direction(1975) Bock, John C; Papagiannis, George JThe purpose of this paper is to initiate an inquiry into a currently "fashionable" educational phenomenon presently referred to as "non-formal education." It is hoped that the paradigm resented will provide yet another interpretive perspective by which we can more fully understand the consequences of this educational phenomenon. It is a major contention of this paper that a more conceptually rigorous approach will enable us to understand better how non-formal education might contribute to or inhibit social change and development in societies undergoing rapid modernization.Publication The Meaning of Conscientizacao: The Goal of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy(Center for International Education, UMass Amherst, 1976) Smith, William A.Publication Animation Rurale: Education for Rural Development(1977) Moulton, Jeanne MarieThe first function of this study is to provide such a descriptive introduction to the Animation Rurale concept and experiment. The concept itself is succinctly summarized in Chapter II, which can serve the reader as a single introduction to how the system is theoretically intended to work. The historical context in which it evolved and the two principal African examples of the program in practice are presented in Chapters III, IV, and V. And for the student of this field, there is a critical review of the literature in the Appendix. As the French are fond of noting, in practice there tends to be the paradox of "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose." Indeed, if the change intended by Animation Rurale involves standing educational business-as-usual on its head, it is important to know why in fact so much of the business continues as usual. An understanding of the reasons for this may help future planners to solve problems that need solution if the paradox is to be avoided. For instance, how can a bottom-up program orientation be developed in a setting where initiative and control traditionally come from the top-down, where a new power base from below can be seen as threatening to the political and administrative order? How can a participatory, learning-by-doing pedagogy be encouraged in a situation where program personnel and participants are accustomed to an educational climate where knowledge is seen as being academic and coming from above, and where the most substantive rewards are received for traditional behavior or certificate-oriented learning? Or how can educational programming of this type be integrated with other regional socio-economic development activities when the timing of action and locus of authority differ among various administrative sectors? The second function of this work, then is to analyze the factors affecting the performance of Animation Rurale. In her conclusion the author evaluates the assumptions underlying this approach, incorporating both the critiques of others and observations of her own derived from the study. In addition, she suggests some of the pre-conditions that would seem necessary for such a strategy to be effective. This is one in a series of publications by members of the Center for International Education who have been working on problems related to nonformal education. We wish to share it with other colleagues in the field in the belief that it provides access for the English reader to an important but neglected example of an educational strategy for rural development. It is presented in the hope that such laudable efforts to bring education closer to the head and hands of the learner can be strengthened by constructive analysis.Publication Beyond the Nonformal Fashion: Towards Educational Revolution in Tanzania(The Center for International Education, UMass Amherst, 1977) Gillette, Arthur LaveryPublication Nonformal Education in Ghana: A Project Report(Center for International Education, UMass Amherst, 1978) Kinsey, David C.; Bing, John W.This report presents a description and analysis of nonformal educational activities carried out in Ghana over a two-year period in 1976-77. Its purpose is to share the ideas, problems, and learnings that emerged from this experience with those who are concerned with the improvement of rural nonformal education programs as well as the development of more effective collaborative relationships between American universities and such field programs.Publication Nonformal Education in Ecuador 1971-1975(The Center for International Education, 1975) Andrade, Diego; Alcocer, Beatriz; Barriga, Patricio; Bourbeau, June; Borja, Amparo; Bing, John; Evans, David R.; Hoxeng, James; Moreno, Carlos; Ochoa, Alberto; Pulupa, Pedro; Smith, William; Tasiguano, Enrique; Toaquiza, Enrique; Villacis, RodrigoThis book summarizes the experiences and results of nearly four years' work in a pioneering nonformal education project in Ecuador. The chapters are intended to serve as a reference for the educators around the world who are grappling with the problems of development at the most local level; who are motivated by philosophers like Freire and Illich toward a different outcome of the process of development; who are committed to trying significant educational alternatives; and, who above all, are concerned with the impact of their efforts on the individual lives of people in rural areas. The book describes the many creative and unusual games, simulations and other consciousness raising methods tried in the project. All the materials provide learners with the opportunity to participate in their own education, especially in understanding the factors in their environment that contribute to their local conditions. Many of these innovative techniques are described in detail in a series of Technical Notes which can be found in the Technical Notes Collection on this site. If anything distinguishes our efforts, it is a constant striving to think and act in a way which affirms the legitimacy and the necessity of the participation of local people in the process of development as it affects their lives. The process has not been easy. It has required constant dialogue and confrontation within the staff, and demands a commitment to continual assessment of our activities and their results. We hope that some sense of this process is conveyed by the chapters of this document as different individuals from the staff strive to express in words what the experience was like.Publication An Evaluation of Non-Formal Education in Ecuador(Center for International Education, 1973) Swanson, Donald A.A logical place to begin this study was to list objectives from the original contract. The University of Massachusetts/USAID contract for this Project had some explicit objectives and contractual agreements are briefly outlined here so that we have a common background for discussing merits of this project. They are: Create and field test a range of non-formal educational techniques using local institutions to implement and support these techniques in field situation. Develop a number of non-formal educational methodologies which are feasible for use by existing Ecuadorean institutions. Implement selected methodologies with institutions, including the Ministry of Education, with on-going evaluation system designed to provide both current as well as terminal evidence of program impact. Make methodologies available to other interested agencies and provide support for their efforts. Devise and test training procedures to carry out these methodologies and use of support materials. Provide technical assistance in non-formal education to the Ministry of Education. Assist the Government of Ecuador and other Ecuadorean institutions develop non formal education projects. The Project's implicit goal was "learning skills and knowledge by rural people which would be directly useful to them in their lives and villages." their objective was to develop materials, create conditions of learning and environment which would be conductive to learning at the local community level. A major question of this study is whether they achieved this goal. Since traditional educational materials were found lacking by the Project, they believed new materials should be designed that were "attractive, self-motivating, and usable with relatively little outside input." A major Project concern was to design and develop low cost educational materials that were relevant to lives and rural sector experiences, and that served as learning devices. They believed materials would help generate other learning materials from the community themselves; they would not be ends in themselves, but rather open ended materials that could be adapted to meet individual requirements. Since this was a core contract objective, the study concentrated on evaluating the makeup of these educational tools to discover their efficacy, acceptance, and general suitability for areas where they were introduced. A Project goal although not within the contract confines was to incorporate para-professional manpower into teaching positions in a non-formal educational system. As we shall see, the project aligned itself to an on-going program of "facilitators" and used these para-professionals to introduce their educational materials and methodology. "Facilitators" were to be trained by the Project and other professional groups, and would in turn work with community participants. It was hoped that facilitators would recruit and train other facilitators in an on-going process that would have a "multiplier-effect." While this concept was initially confined to communities where other professional groups were working directly, it was hoped that this model would be applicable for other programs. Can facilitator programs work realistically, and can the process be made systemic? Can it be made systemic without damaging the initial thrust of the idea? These questions were studied in this analysis. An underlying concept running throughout the Project, although not an end in itself, was the idea of "conscientization," a philosophy developed by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. This concept was defined and explained within the context of the Project, and will not be restated here. To effectively learn, program participants must have a "sense of self-worth and a belief on the part of the participants that they could learn and that they could have an influence on their own life situations." Since Freire's philosophy is central to the learning process in this Project, the study analyzed to what degree "conscientization" was taking place, what were its manifests descriptions. Concomitant with Freire's philosophy of "conscientization," the Project meshed the philosophy of Sylvia Ashton-Warner. The Ashton-Warner literacy philosophy encompasses a six stage process of literacy learning. It includes helping students to learn key vocabulary words that interest them and to increase learning by producing material at the students' level. The project did not utilize either the Freire philosophy or the Ashton-Warner method exclusively, but rather combined both into a new method called the "dialogue method." Another Project goal was to design an unconventional delivery system to match unconventional program objectives. Rather than create a bureaucratic centralized delivery system, they proposed developing learning networks, and delivery systems to match those networks. Instead of using traditional channels for diffusing materials, they preferred to cooperate with institutions desiring to implement materials, and search for alternative delivery systems. While they cooperated with formal school systems, their primary objective was to cooperate with institutions outside regular educational systems.Publication ¡Permitan Que Jorge Lo Haga!(1978) Hoxeng, JamesEn el Proyecto de Educación No Formal nos propusimos crear materials y procesos que pusieran en práctica algunos de los principios de este tipo de educación que comenzaban a manifestarse. Diseño Del Proyecto: 1. Los materiales Los materiales se condicionaron a la utilización universal y al manejo por personas no profesionales. Se concetraron en la alfabetización, las matemáticas y algunas técnicas para despertar el conocimiento de sà mismo. El esfuerzo se orientó al desarrollo de juegos que obligan a la participación colectiva y estimulan el diálogo. 2. La Diseminación del programa Hicimos convenios con seis organizaciones para que utilizaran los materiales con nuestra asistencia. El Departmento de Educación de Adultos, una federación de cooperativas, una organización de entrenamiento, grupos comunales y un programa de una escuela de radio. Otros doce grupos utilizaron los materials por su cuenta después de una demostración inicial. Nosotros controlamos los resultados en el uso de los materials y en el transcurso del año. CONCLUSIONES DESPUES DEL PRIMER AÑO DEL PROYECTO DE EDUCACION NO FORMAL EN EL ECUADOR 1. La necesidad de alfabetización es la fuerza motivadora suficiente para que un grupo de personas de una comunidad se reúna en la realización de sesiones diarias durante un perÃodo de varios meses. 2. Los campesinos pueden conducir clases para sus compañeros sin un entrenamiento extensivo; son aceptados por ellos como "facilitadores" se evitan asà el comportamiento tradicional del liderazgo. 3. Las problaciones rurales no tienen dificultad en entablar diálogos y entrar en reflexiones sobre tópicos que surgen de sus ejercicios de alfabetización. 4. La combinación de alfabetización y diálogo facilita la acción de estos grupos hacia la planificación del desarrollo y hacia la marcha de proyectos concretos. 5. No solamente los facilitadores, sino también otros participantes pueden cambiar su comportamiento cuando se encuentran frente a frente a una autoridad, llegando a ser más eficaces en sus relaciones. 6. El proceso anterior está ayudado por los juegos en el reforzamiento, conceptualización de las relaciones y destrucción de imágenes estereotÃpicas en el apreñdizaje. 7. Los facilitadores pueden diseñar y llevar a cabo cursos de entrenamiento para campesinos de otras comunidades, creando asà nuevos núcleos de facilitadores. 8. El concepto de diálogo puede ser extendido tecnológicamente a las escuelas de radio a través del uso de grabadoras de "cassette" como instrumentos de retroinformación, dejando a los participantes en libertad para que decidan lo que desean hacer con la graadora. Esto parece tener algún efecto sobre la imagen que el invidiuo tiene de sà mismo. 9. Las organizaciones y los individuos involucrados en el desarrollo de la educación desean recibir nuevas ideas y técnicas para utilizarlas en sus propios programas sin necistar incentivos externos. IMPLICACIONES 1. Las necesidades básicas de educación de las áreas rurales del tercer mundo pueden ser satisfechas por educadores no profesionales utilizando materiales que promuevan la participación y el diálogo. 2. La unión de federaciones de campesinos, cooperativas, escuelas de radio y otras instituciones conducen a la formación de un sistema complementario nacional de situaciones de aprendizaje, sirviendo cada institución a diferentes poblaciones al nivel de educación elemental y desarrollando un parendizaje básico con información especÃfica, destrezas relacionadas con los objectivos de la institución y facilidades para que los campesinos elijan las actividades en las que desean participar. Estas conclusiones e implicaciones son de interés para las personas involucradas en actividades de desarrollo de la educación en el tercer mundo. Los administradores de programas y profesionales de niveles básicos pueden encontrar en ellas un compendio de ideas útiles - algunas de ellas nuevas y otras simples variaciones de los enfoques ya existentes.Publication The Wayside Mechanic: An Analysis of Skill Acquisition in Ghana(Center for International Education, 1979) McLaughlin, Stephen DouglasThis is a study of skill learning in an informal learning setting in Africa. The purpose of the study is to describe an analyze the nature of the skill acquisition process in one indigenous training system: the apprenticeship of the wayside mechanics workshops in Koforidua, Ghana. The study first examines informal skill training from a broad perspective. The history of the West African craft workshop and its associated apprenticeship is traces. Several major themes in the literature on informal skill training systems such as apprenticeships. The second part of the study describes the specific setting of the wayside mechanics workshops and the general features of the apprenticeship system. Subsequent sections consider contextual factors which may have a bearing on apprentice skill acquisition. Case studies of several apprentice and master artisans are presented to illustrate personal experiences at various levels of the mechanics profession. Finally, the learning/teaching process in the wayside workshop is analyzed intensively using data gathered from general observation, structured interveiws, and structured observation instruments. Apprentice skill competence is assessed through self-reports and administration of mechanics skill test. Results are used to evaluate the effectiveness of apprenticeship training in fostering diagnostic skills and higher-order theoretical understanding. Several possible ways of enhancing apprenticeship training through supplementary training programs are suggested. The implications of the study are of interest to educational anthropologists who are concerned with learning in traditional naturalistic settings. The study is also significant for educational planners in that it calls attention to the strengths and limitations of building nonformal educational programs around indigenous learning systems.Publication L'Evaluation Dans L'Education Non Formelle(1980) Kinsey, David C.L'intérêt que llon a apporté au cours de la décennie passée au développement de l'éducation non formelle n'a pas été par une diffusion suffisante de documentation à ce sujet, soit en français, soit en espagnol. Souvent la documentation qui existe n'est ni largement disponible, ni écrite de façon utile pour les practiciens d'éducation non formelle. Grâce à son travail dans la formation du personnel pour l'éducation non formelle dans les régions francophone et hispanophone du monde, Creative Associates a pris vivement conscience de cette situation. Creative associates est donc fier de ses efforts d'aider le Centre d'Education Internationale à rendre cet ouvrage, L'Evaluation de l'éducation non formelle, disponsible à une plus vaste diffusion pour le personnel éducatif et les practiciens dans le monde francophone. Nous espérons que les autres organisations occupées par un travail homologue et ayant besoin d'une documentation appropriée pour les aider dans leur travail feront de même.Publication Let Jorge Do It: An Approach to Rural Nonformal Education(1973) Hoxeng, JamesIn the Nonformal Education in Ecuador Project, we set out to create materials and processes which would operationalize some of the emerging tenets of nonformal education. Project Design: 1. We developed learning materials usuable by nonprofessionals. These materials concentrated on literacy, math, and consciousness-raising. Most of our effort went into development of games, which oblige participation and encourage dialog. 2. We made agreements with six organizations to use the materials with our assistance. These included the department of Adult Education, a coop federation, an Ecuadorean volunteer organization, a training organization, community groups, and radio school program. About a dozen other groups made use of the materials on their own after an initial demonstration. We then monitored the use of materials and results obtained in the course of the year. Conclusions: We have reached the following conclusions after the first year of the Ecuador Nonformal Education Project: 1. A felt need for literacy is a sufficient motivating force to bring a portion of the people in a campesino community together for daily meetings for a period of several months. 2. Campesinos without extensive training can conduct meetings of their peers, and are acceptable to them as "facilitators" who eschew traditional leadership behaviors. 3. Rural populations have little difficulty entering into dialog and reflection on topics that arise from their literacy exercises. 4. The combination of literacy and dialog facilitates movements of these groups towards development planning and to action on concrete projects. 5. Not only the facilitators but also other participants in the classes can change their behavior vis-a-vis authority figures, becoming more efficacious in their dealings. 6. The above process is aided by games to reinforce learning, to conceptualize relationships, and to break down stereotypical images of the learning situation. 7. Facilitators can design and run training courses for campesinos from other communities, thus creating new cadres of facilitators. 8. The dialog concept can be technologically extended to radio schools through the use of cassette tape recorders as a feedback device, allowing participants freedom to decide what they wish to do with the recorder. This seems to have some effect on self-image. 9. Organizations and individuals involved in development education are open to new ideas and techniques, and will pick on them for use in their own programs without external incentives. Applications: Basic educational needs in rural areas of the third world can be satisfied by non-professional educators using materials which promote participation and dialog.Publication A Working Neighborhood... What does it take?(1978) Franz, Stephen C.; Cain, Bonnie J.; Comings, John P.Publication Publication Los Hermanos: The Streets of Gold(1978)This is a foto-novela about a Hispanic family who live in Puerto Rico and the daughter who lives in Northampton, MA. Her brother and sister are in Puerto Rico and cannot find work. They are torn between staying in Puerto Rico with their family and going to the US to find work. They finally decide to come to the US where they also encounter trouble finding work and experience discrimination and harassment by the police.Publication A Memo to Developers(Center for International Education, UMass Amherst, 1978) Russell, RobertBetween January, 1976 and September, 1977, a nonformal education team from the University of Massachusetts (U.S.A.), Center for International Education engaged in an exploration of cultural groups as potential community development resources. As part of its nonformal education project with the Peoples' Educational Association (P.E.A.) the UMass team also worked closely with the Institute of Adult Education (I.A.E.) at Legon. The P.E.A. has four active cultural group branches in the eastern region and these formed the core of the research. It is our belief that the findings of this study will be of great interest to development agencies and we have prepared this "memo" to communicate these results to development workers and planners.Publication Discussion Papers: Cooperative Learning Communities in Africa(Center for International Education, UMass Amherst, 1972) Rosen, DavidThis is an imaginary transcript of a written and tape-recorded journal of a foreign visitor to the hypothetical national modular learning and labor cooperatives, a system of modern African cooperative learning communities.Publication Evaluation in Nonformal Education: The Need for Practitioner Evaluation(Center for International Education, UMass Amherst, 1978) Kinsey, David C.Issue papers are a series of monographs written by and for theorists and practitioners in the field of nonformal education. Ranging broadly over ethical, theoretical and practical issues in nonformal education, the series is designed to reflect the current conceptual state of the art its pitfalls and potentialities, and to focus attention on fundamental philosophic and behavioral tenets of the fieldPublication Nonformal Education as an Empowering Process with Case Studies from Indonesia and Thailand(Center for International Education, 1979) Kindervatter, SuzanneThis study develops a role for nonformal education consonant with recent thinking on Third World development: nonformal education as an empowering process. A consideration of nonformal education's relationship to the new concepts of development is particularly important today. The effectiveness of traditional models of development has been seriously questioned and new approaches have been defined. As a development sector, nonformal education should adapt to these new definitions. The first part of the study establishes a rationale for the role of empowering. The second part evolves both the concept and practice of nonformal education as an empowering process. To build the rationale, the study begins by discussing new perspectives on the causes of underdevelopment and on the meaning of development, all of which is summarized by a concept called "another development." Next, the work of several institutions and individuals involved in conceptualizing nonformal education is examined in an attempt to discover a role for nonformal education which is consonant with "another development." The role which emerges is one that enables people to develop skills and capabilities which increase their control over decisions, resources, and structures affecting their lives. For the purposes of this study, this role is termed "empowering" and the means by which the role is fulfilled is an "empowering process."