A study of three Nigerian villages produced the following suggestions for improving the problems facing rural community development: democratic participative decision making, care in project selection, government incentives, promotion of adult literacy, and well-trained community workers. (SK)

The case study examines the work of a coalition between certain women's groups in India and a nongovernmental charitable trust. The mission of the coalition is to empower Indian women, who generally possess neither land nor power, to care for their livestock. (CH)

The paper documents and analyzes the nature of community self-help efforts in rural areas of Anambra State, Nigeria. It notes that community perceptions of development are based on a social and economic yardstick and differ from the prevailing public policy on agricultural development. (Author/SB)

This special issue contains nine articles on labor-intensive public works, social investment funds, rural infrastructure projects, grassroots socioeconomic rights, remuneration systems for self-help projects, road construction and rural transport, employment and environmental rehabilitation, and water as a source of employment. (SK)

A study to examine literacy programs for women in rural villages in India interviewed all program directors and staff and some women involved in nongovernmental (NGO) projects in the Pune area. NGO officials were universally disenchanted with government programs. NGOs' goals varied from preschool education in the villages to agricultural reform to…

A qualitative study examined how formal and informal social and cultural learning for political action was incorporated into two women's organizations in Colombia: the Association of Daycare Mothers and the Community Mothers. Research was guided by the historic hermeneutic method, which identifies experience through the narrative testimonies of…

The five articles in this report explore issues of rural and urban development, formal and nonformal education, and local and national needs in Africa. "Partnership for Productivity" (PFP) and "Brigades in Botswana: Their National Impact" focus on the development of managerial and nonagricultural vocational skills in rural…

Of the total number of illiterate people in the world, half are in India. National programs for adult education in India are the Community Development Program, Farmers Functional Literacy Project, and National Adult Education Program, participants in which include voluntary agencies, state resource centers, and district resource units. When the…

Education has long been a development priority in Africa. The failure and limitations of formal education have led to the emergence of nonformal alternatives of various types. They include extension education, training programs, multipurpose educational programs (for middle-level professionals), cooperative self-help programs (community…

Participatory adult education programs assist individuals to substitute interdependent, mutually beneficial relationships for unrewarding, dependent relationships. Indicators of changes in dependency, however, are absent or imprecise in evaluations of participatory projects. A study explored facets of dependency by relating practitioners'…

This compedium volume summarizes a study on the characteristics and underlying assumptions of education beyond schools. The three chapters in Part I present a method for analyzing and comparing 10 distinct approaches to out-of-school education and demonstrate the important kinds of generalizations this method can generate. Chapter 1 is an…

This book documents the experiences that were gathered in project DELSILIFE, Development of a Coordinated Educational Intervention System for Improving the Quality of Life of the Rural Poor through Self-Reliance. The project was carried out by the Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (INNOTECH) for the South-East Asian…