THE ROLE OF ADULT EDUCATION IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (THIRD WORLD).

Abstract

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194 p.

Authors of most international adult education literature consider development to be the goal or the context of adult education. When development is defined in such positively value-laden terms as "increasing opportunities of all people for a better life," it is not surprising that adult educators promote development. However, some critics describe development as the most destructive process in recent decades. This investigation identified the limitations of popularizing the controversial concept of development. This study reviewed selected publications on development, analyzed the concept and its applications, and suggested implications of the findings for adult education theory.Four models of development were identified: Modernization, Dependency, Basic Needs, and Interdependence. Analysis of these models revealed some inherent flaws. Development for some can result in underdevelopment for others. Efforts to reduce human misery have themselves often become sources of increased misery. Development helped many in rich nations but few in poor nations acquire more wealth. It spread a wealth-oriented consumption and behavior pattern not only among the wealthy who can afford it but also among the poor who cannot. Poverty is a structural problem that has seldom been properly addressed by outside experts or foreign aid programs.In spite of expressed interest in development and elimination of poverty, adult education programs demonstrated tendencies to further stratify and impoverish local communities. Poverty as a structural problem has not been properly addressed by adult educators. As in development, the more the politics, economics, and truth are kept out of reach of the masses, the more they are asked to participate in adult education "for their own good" or blamed for their nonparticipation. A more appropriate role for adult educators is to refrain from promoting underdevelopment and to encourage critical thinking about development.