community development (DVA1502)

101 documents
University:
University of South Africa

Patricia Serumula2024/2025
0

Discussio
n Class 2
DVA1502:
Developm
ent
Problems
and
Institution
s
• Topic:
Learning
Unit 2:
Education
and
Developm
ent
• Purpose
: To
identify
and
discuss
issues
concerned
with
education
and the
role of
education
in
developm
ent
Date: 27
March
2024
Time:
10h00 –
12h00
Why is this page out of focus?
Preview text
Discussion Class 2

DVA1502: Development Problems and Institutions

• Topic: Learning Unit 2: Education and

Development

• Purpose: To identify and discuss issues concerned

with education and the role of education in

development

Date: 27 March 2024

Time: 10h00 – 12h

Table of Contents

1. Opening by the Facilitator

2. Outcomes of study unit 2

3. Introduction: education – the key to success

4. The relationship between literacy and development

5. Barriers to adult education

6. Importance of education in development

7. Traditional vs formal education

8. Changes in views on the role of education in development

o Neo-classical views

o Reformist views

o Radical views

9. Colonial inheritance

10. Setting the goals for education/ key milestones

11. Problems in Africa’s formal education systems

12. Main problems in formal education systems in Africa

13. Tendency to overrate the value of education

14. Conclusion

15. Q&A
 16. Closing
Introduction: education – the key to success

Education is central to the development process.

 Kagia (2007:1), emphasises that education “is one of the most

powerful instruments for promoting sustained economic growth and
reducing poverty and inequality”.

 It gives people access to opportunities and enables them to meet

their basic needs, which is an important measure of the Human
Development Index (HDI) and an integral component of the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP).

 To achieve the goal of education for all, there firstly has to be a

gender balance in access to education worldwide. - We cannot
achieve “universal” primary education if boys and girls do not have
equal access to education. - The education of both boys and girls
should be prioritised equally in order for this goal to be achieved.

 In this learning unit on education, we start by examining the nature

and importance of education in the development process.

 In order to understand the context in which these matters occurred,

we look at the colonial legacy and then the problems within the
formal education system. (Reading box 2, on page 8, which explains
the progress made in the education system between 1999 and 2012).
The relationship between literacy and development

 What is literacy?
o Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create,
communicate and compute, using printed and written materials
associated with varying contexts (UNESCO)

 UNESCO's 2010/2011 report explains literacy as follows:

 o As a fundamental right, literacy serves as a springboard for
achieving Education For All as well as for reducing poverty and
increasing social inclusion.
o The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are supported by
literacy, which also empowers the underprivileged in particular.
o Literacy is essential to advancing human potential and securing
many other rights because it is a part of fundamental education
and the basis for lifelong learning.
Barriers to adult education:

Some of the categories of barriers that adults face in pursuing education

opportunities (Cross in UNESCO, GEM, 2021): THREE CATEGORIES OF
BARRIERS - determined by previous learning experiences - they did not
particularly enjoy learning for their own reasons; (1) Life Circumstances (2)
Dispositional

 – family responsibilities and lack of time; (3) Institutional

 determined by structural conditions such as costs, lack of support,

rigid timetables, etc.
Importance of education in development

 Most literate people see illiteracy as a personal tragedy, however, it

also has serious implications for national development.

 Achieving the goal of good education levels will reduce the number of
adult illiterates and create more opportunities for a better life for
many.

 The significance of education as an essential tool in the development

process cannot be underestimated:

 Literacy – and therefore education – is directly linked with

development.

 Noor (1981:2) and Toure (1983:12–14) point out that:

 o Education imparts knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that
make people more adaptable and eager to accept novel
concepts and methods.
o Peasant farmers, for instance, must obtain the essential
technical knowledge through schooling in rural areas where
mechanization is becoming more prevalent.
o Education gives people the tools they need to meet other
fundamental needs.
o People are socialized into the predominate political and cultural
value systems through education.
o Those who are educated and literate are less dependent on aid
and less susceptible to exploitation and the results of official
corruption.
Changes in views on the role of education in development

 Different people have different expectations of education and how it

can contribute to development.

 Cornwell (2000:160–167) distinguishes between the following

schools of thought:
 Neo-classical views ➢ Education, according to neoclassical theorists,
will modernize economies, societies, and governments/political
systems ➢ Neoclassical theorists believe that investing in people, like
investing in infrastructure (physical capital), creates the potential for
this capital to produce goods and services. ➢ They believe that
education boosts productivity (Cornwell 2000:162). ➢ Neoclassicists
believe formal education will reduce social inequality.
 Reformist views ➢ Both reformists and neo-classicists believe
education promotes development and economic growth. ➢ They
argue that the current education system is unsuitable for developing
economies and that education should be linked to labour planning. ➢
Reformists believe everyone needs communication, general
 knowledge, life, and production skills. ➢ Formal education can
transfer these skills, but non-formal education is best.

####### Changes in views on the role of education in development:

 Radical views ➢ The radical school of thought rejects the reformist
claim that poverty is caused by a lack of education; but they also
emphasise the social and economic context in which education
operates. ➢ They claim that Western education models and curricula
promote capitalism and increase developing countries' dependence
on the West. ➢ Paulo Freire, who is particularly critical of the existing
formal schooling system, proposes a dialogue-based, liberating, and
problem-solving education. As you read through these perspectives,
which of these three schools of thought; Neo- classical, Reformist, or
Radical views, in your opinion is the most appropriate for education
and development? Explain your answer.
Setting the goals for education/ key milestones

African leaders pledged to expand education after the UN declared it a

human right in 1948.

 Addis Ababa Conference

o The 1961 Conference of African States on the Development of
Education in Africa set short- term and long-term goals to
increase primary school enrolments by 5%, secondary school
enrolments by 3% to 9%, and adult education.
o Long-term goals included free, compulsory, universal primary
school education, secondary education for 30% of primary
school leavers, higher education for 20% of secondary school
leavers, and improving African school and university education.

 Nairobi and Thailand conferences

o The late 1960s Nairobi conference addressed rural education
issues.
 o It was clear that, in many parts of the world, a quality education
is still primarily the privilege of urban elites, with the majority of
urban poor and rural children lagging in terms of grade levels
achieved at school
o A 1990 international conference in Jomtien, Thailand set
educational expansion goals and agendas. “Education for All”
was adopted, which ranged from early childhood education to
adult literacy;
Setting the goals for education/ key milestones

 The conference in Senegal

o A 2000 conference in Dakar, Senegal assessed countries'
progress toward "Education for All" (EFA) and set national
educational development goals.
o Two of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were
education-related. To meet the other MDGs, the Dakar
Framework stressed universal education.

 The conference in Scotland

o At the 15th Commonwealth Conference of Education Ministers
in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2003 ( years since the Addis Ababa
conference), the realisation that instead of shaping society,
education is shaped by social, economic, and political
conditions, and this changed expectations of education's role in
development.
o Bellamy (2003:1–2) assessed universal primary education
progress, and found that:.

 121 million children are still denied education, making

universal education difficult.

 Girls still lack education due to gender inequality.

 Since Dakar, over 40 million more children are in primary

school.
  Sustainable Development Goals and Agendas
o Since many MDGs were not met, and to address this issue, the
17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including
Education 2030 were developed.
o NB: Read through the Reading Boxes 2 to 2 (pages 20-24 of
SG) to understand the differences and similarities between the
MDGs and the SDGs
Main problems in formal education systems in Africa

The 4 main problems in the formal education system in Africa are: , namely
the learner explosion, quality of education, inequality in education, and
education of girls and women.

1. The learner explosion

 The learner explosion/pupil explosion refers to the relationship

between high population growth rate in African countries and the
resultant youthfulness of the population, which has serious
implications for education.

 The learner explosion should not be solely seen as a barrier to

education but also as an impact of the success in getting countries to
aspire for higher literacy rates.
1. Quality of education: developing skills

 According to the World Bank (2011:3), "growth and development, and

poverty reduction depend on the knowledge and skills that people
acquire, not the number of years that they sit in a classroom".

 Education, skills and technology interact in important ways to create

a "virtuous cycle".

 Therefore, the "quality of education" remains an essential component

in any education system.

 However, research shows that quality education is a challenge to

every country in the world and the disparities are large (Kagia
 2007:3). NB: READING BOX 2 asks whether South Africa has made
qualitative or quantitative progress wrt education
Main problems in formal education systems in Africa (cont.)

1. Inequalities in education In African countries, formal education and

the provision of education are characterised by inequalities:

 Inequality between countries:

o First, there are considerable inequalities in the provision of
education between different African countries.
o Other countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and
Benin have a large proportion of children out of school, which
means that they have never enrolled in school; and of those
who were enrolled, 30% dropped out.

 Inequalities between regions in the same country. Note the statistics:

o Table 2 shows the differences in the numbers of learners, and
teachers in the public school system in each province in South
Africa
o Table 2 shows differences in the numbers of learners, and
teachers in independent schools in each province in SA
 Urban-rural inequalities
o Despite the fact that up to 80% of the population resides in
rural areas, the vast majority of schools are located in urban
areas.
o The children in rural areas face challenges such as high levels
of poverty, poor health and limited services. Also read:
READING BOX 2: Inequality in South African Education
Tendency to overrate the value of education

 Political leaders feel that a substantial investment in education will

not always result in quick economic growth.
  These days parents are more likely to keep their children out of
school if they do not perceive any immediate benefits and if the cost
of education is prohibitive.

 However, while parental attitudes are beginning to shift, academics

and educationists continue to hold high standards.

 One of the reasons why people overestimate the value of education

is their expectation that education will give a potent, long-term
mechanism for more evenly distributing earnings and wealth.

 It is believed that formal education expands access to work skills and

that these skills impact the distribution of economic rewards within a
given society.

 In light of this, we cannot expect formal education expenditure alone

to result in greater equality and justice.

 Also read READING BOX 12: The Impact of Covid on Education

o As the number of patients with COVID-19 rose in Wuhan,
China, national health services were mostly affected.
o Social separation, crowd control, and avoiding closed settings
were recommended to contain the spread.
o The countries' responses and the extent to which schooling
was interrupted showed the global education gap.
Conclusion

 This study lesson covered education, a crucial sector in emerging

nations. We discovered African issues and proposed solutions.

 Apartheid in South Africa introduced a dynamic of racial exclusion to

Africa's challenges.

 The EFA Global Monitoring Report and the Global Education

Monitoring Report stress the importance of developing the capacity to
measure, monitor, and assess education quality, including
infrastructure, textbooks, and class sizes.
  Think about Education for All, weigh the pros and cons, and decide
how education affects development.

 OUTCOMES CHECKLIST Question Can do Cannot do (1) Describe

the meaning of literacy and lifelong learning. (2) Describe the ways in
which education can contribute to development. ( 3 ) Explain the
problems encountered in formal education systems in Africa, taking
into account the education provided during the colonial years. ( 4 )
Analyse the causes of inequalities in education and their impact on
the quality and quantity of education.
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