Health education in cross cultural encounters : an agogical perspective

Abstract

In contemporary multicultural societies, health is emerging as a fundamental right alongside
 education and welfare: a frame of reference endorsed by the Government of National Unity
 in South Africa. Health workers are confronting issues far beyond the more traditional
 modes of health education. The initial thrust of this research was to investigate the most
 relevant social, health and education knowledge bases and issues relative to health education
 in cross cultural encounters in order to formulate universal guidelines applicable to the
 national situation. Differences inherent in allopathic and traditional health systems are
 explored in historical time, in conjunction with concepts of social change, communality in
 diversity and the co-existence of multiple realities. An understanding of common
 denominators across all human and group experience emerges and, with it, insight into
 problems that occur when universalistic conceptions of human behaviour are linked to
 communicocentric hegemony. The parameters within which cross cultural health education are viewed are extended through
 an analytical, empirical evaluation of the andragogic consequences of a broader conceptualisation
 of culture and the patterned relationships existing between elements within society.
 The ontic fact that similar variables may have widely different meanings and be differently
 construed by people whose life experiences differ is affirmed. Culture shock becomes a
 potential personal reality for all engaged in cross cultural encounters. Radical reflection on human nature and the eidos of man constitutes the foundation upon
 which the aims and various theories of health education are systematically and progressively
 evaluated. Evidence surfaces that the original intent of the research was rooted in the
 Western medical tendency towards standardisation, specialisation and the creation of
 scientifically validated routines for professional practice and that gaps exist between the
 theory and practice of health education and the everyday experiences of people. On the basis
 of scientifically based insights, guidelines have been formulated to narrow the divide between
 the factual, linearly based procedural aspects of health education and the human experience
 of learning. The guidelines embody the notion that the health educator's role in cross
 cultural encounters is one of facilitating meaningful, appropriate and informed choices on the
 part of adult learners.

Educational Studies

D.Ed. (Philosophy of Education)