Communication-based rural adult learning systems

Focus of rural learning systems

In carrying out its field work, much of FAOs early activities in applying communication for development and rural learning were subsumed within two main areas: 1) information dissemination and motivation, and 2) education and training for field workers and rural producers. In practice, the activities are often considered to be interchangeable, as part of a common rural learning strategy. Information dissemination and motivation as the most basic areas of communication were concerned with simply informing rural people of new ideas, services and technologies, and changing attitudes toward improving their quality of life. The outcomes of education and training, however, rested more in the acquisition and development of new or advanced skills, whether intellectual such as the comprehension of concepts and processes, or physical such as the mastery of tools and practices. The movement toward participatory audience involvement, which was recommended as standard practice during the 1990s, is currently assumed to be a pre-requisite in designing each area.

Principles of adult learning in rural settings

Most of adult learning in rural settings falls under the rubric of non-formal education which can be defined as any organized, systematic educational activity carried on outside the framework of the formal system to provide selected types of learning to particular subgroups in the population. Formal systems are highly organized and based upon selective entry dependent upon prior success, with content built around a fixed curricula, and with termination or graduation based upon external standards set by a teacher, organization or governmental certifying body. Non-formal education, in contrast, is flexible, open to anyone, with content dedicated to concrete issues for application in day-to-day life in short, a continuous learning process highly relevant to the immediate environment. At its best, it is founded on a participatory and interactive approach with farmers becoming partners and key actors in their own development projects. The emphasis is placed on sharing of knowledge between technical experts and rural people. The process begins by listening to rural people and a shift to farmer-led identification of learning and training needs through critical reflection based on practical experience. Knowledge sharing among researchers, communicators, extensionists, educators, and farmers thus recognises the importance of indigenous knowledge bases as a priori conditions to examining how new research recommendations might best fit into them, and before grafting on new technologies.

Along with the levelling of extension services to match farmer demands, a shift from teaching them to learning with them through practical applications has assumed vital importance. Labelled as a constructivist approach to education, continuous learning is always a unique product constructed as each individual combines new information with existing knowledge and experiences. And because learning from a constructivist view is so entwined with ones experiences, the primary role of the extension worker in farmers learning processes thus becomes one of facilitating problem definition and prioritizing technology solutions as prerequisites to designing training packages for presentation back to them. This has prompted a rethinking of the design of formal learning systems for extension workers, particularly at the post-secondary level. To ensure relevance to field operations within academic programmes, participatory curriculum development is being advocated among the key stakeholders themselves, the farmers. The farmers’ role in the development of education and training courses is especially important because farmers can voice their needs based upon practical experience and gain a direct benefit from the outputs.