In March 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledged that the situation in the Chinese countryside is desperate and claimed new resources would be devoted to healthcare and education. This announcement should have pleased architects of the Chinese "learning initiative" who are building learning cities and villages. The authors describe why…

During the past 25 years, when Northern Ireland has been a divided society in which structures and processes have broken down, the country has witnessed tremendous growth in community growth in both Catholic and Protestant communities. The Ulster People's College combats social deprivation and exclusion through community development and education.…

Women in Nigeria are often treated as second-class citizens and relegated to the background. Many women are denied education and are subjected to difficult conditions because of sex discrimination, cultural bias, early marriage, and religious beliefs and practices. (Author/JOW)

Participatory education conducted by a women's organization in a low-income area raised these issues: to serve marginalized persons, the organization must counteract external power relations; it should focus on empowerment for self-confidence and for self-sufficiency; and it should advocate for the needs of single mothers who constitute much of…

Nonformal education can have a significant impact on community development only when education is introduced into the total development process. Content must answer actual needs of the community, and community members should participate in planning, organization, and implementation of education. (SK)

A participatory research project sought to define community education needs, locate resources, and ensure the sustainability of educational development. Results were used to expand Hall's participatory research model by describing the project through four perspectives: concrete (what was done), communicative (what was said), cognitive (what was…

The Canada-Asia Partnership used participatory action research to promote participation of marginalized communities in development. It was hampered by the positivist research model dominating academic institutions and lack of clarity and consensus among stakeholders. (SK)

Presents a history of four phases of Canadian adult education: (1) agrarian radicalism, 1910-1945; (2) women's organizations and community development sites; (3) adult education and the crisis of democracy, 1929-1945; and (4) community building in Nova Scotia, 1954-1957. (SK)

The colonial nature of relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people undermines effective adult education programs. A genuinely participatory mode of program development that enables Aboriginal communities to control their own education is essential. (SK)

The nature of villagers' involvement during community theater programs initiated and implemented by some Malawi nongovernmental organizations was analyzed. Findings indicate that, contrary to the purposes of community theater, the productions were planned and remotely controlled from outside the community. (Contains 22 references.) (JOW)

The adult basic education program of the University of Natal (South Africa), in conjunction with a rural development agency, is intended to train literacy teachers and develop English-as-a-Second-Language teaching materials. One implication was that what may have worked at the village level needs reconceptualization for large-scale adaptation. (SK)

The author became familiar with the work of Paulo Freire while studying at university in the 1980s in Aotearoa/New Zealand. At the time she was involved in a community development project where groups of solo mothers were brought together to be politicised. She then became involved in the anti-racism movement and in international aid and…

This 25-year index contains annotations of feature articles by subject and by author. Representative subjects include basic education, development education, empowerment, human rights, lifelong education, peace education, popular education, rural development, social/political action, technological advancement, and transformative research. Articles…

This study examines the role of adult education in bringing about social change through community development initiatives at a grassroots organisation called SUCCESS (United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society), an immigrant community organisation in Vancouver, Canada. It adopts a case study approach. The study focuses on the historical…