1.6.1 Adult education
The definition and scope of adult education has eluded many and as a result has had to shift positions from various points in time and is possibly still changing. Some people have limited adult education to adult learning, or even in a much narrower sense of adult literacy (Aitchison, 2003; Knowles, 1978), while others have described it in a much broader sense as all learning spanning human life (Lindeman, 1926; Nyerere, 1973). UNESCO’s (1976) definition of adult education, as cited by the sixth International conference on Adult Education UIL (2009), is broad enough to take care of variations in socio-political and cultural conditions in different countries:
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Adult education denotes the entire body of organised educational processes, whatever the content, level and method, whether formal or otherwise, whether they prolong or replace initial education in schools, colleges and universities as well as in apprenticeship, whereby persons regarded as adult by the society to which they belong develop their abilities, enrich their knowledge, improve their technical or professional qualifications or turn them in a new direction and bring about changes in their attitudes or behaviour in twofold perspective of full personal development and participation in balanced and independent social, economic and cultural development, adult education, however, must not be considered as an entity in itself, it is a sub-division, and an integral part of, a global scheme for life-long education and learning (UIL, 2009, p. 13).
However, this definition according to Preece (2009) is too broad, and subject to different ways of interpretation by policy makers, practitioners and researchers, particularly since the notion of adulthood itself is affected by legal, cultural and social contexts. The fluidity of the definition perhaps explains why some development agencies such as the World Bank have over time questioned its practical role in development (Kane, 2008).
Adult Education in Uganda, like in many other countries, has been seen in a narrow perspective of literacy and adult basic education (Aitchison, 2003; Okech, 2004). It ought to be noted, however, that adult education is potentially much more than literacy or basic education.
Successful adult education includes agricultural extension, vocational education, community development and training for active citizenship (Ruud-Van-Der & Preece, 2005, p. 381). The Ugandan government defines adult education as:
... all learning processes, activities or programs, intended to meet the needs of various individuals considered by society as adults, including out of school youths forced by circumstances to play the roles normally played by adults (MoGLSD, 2008, p. 6).
This study will adopt the Ugandan definition of adult education, which tries to capture the tenets of UNESCO but is also considerate of the Ugandan context.
1.6.2 Development
The definition of development remains fluid and changes from country to country and from one organization to another (Frank & Smith, 1999; Indabawa & Mpofu, 2006; Youngman, 2000).
The concept of development has always been associated with positive changes or growth and expansion. In the neoliberal era, it has been equated to modernization which simply means attainment of standards of Western technological, economic and political advancements (Youngman, 2000). According to Frank and Smith (1999), this is not always the case, and in actual sense, development implies both positive and negative change. Sen (1999) talks of development as being more than mere increased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and numerical indicators, but as human freedom informed by education, health care and cultural sensitivity.
The term ‘development’ in this study will be taken to mean a process of change leading to the betterment of society as whole, but also conscious of the individuals’ freedom and wellbeing (Frank & Smith, 1999; Indabawa & Mpofu, 2006; Myrdal, 1974; Preece, 2005b; Sen, 1999;
Swanepoel & De-Beer, 2006; Tungodden, 2001b; Youngman, 2000).
1.6.3 Community development
Although the definition and scope of community development remains debatable (Frank &
Smith, 1999; Hamilton, 1992; Turner, 2009), the essential elements in the classical community development model are not in dispute (Cinneide, 1987). There is common agreement that community development represents bottom-up approaches, focusing on local groups in organizing, planning, co-operating and implementing projects for the benefit of their community with an emphasis on indigenous human and natural resources. It also recognizes the necessity of interaction with outside bodies such as the government and NGOs for necessary advice and support (Abdykaparov & Messerli, 2008; Cinneide, 1987; Kane, 2008; Shaw, 2008; Turner, 2009).
The concept of ‘community development’ in this study will be taken to mean an aspect of development based on local community driven initiatives, though in some instances with
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external support. It is largely a process of social change or educational process towards betterment in the lives of community members as individuals, but also as a social unit (Brennan, 2009; Campfens, 1997; Cinneide, 1987; Frank & Smith, 1999; Indabawa & Mpofu, 2006; John, 2006; Shaw, 2008; Swanepoel & De-Beer, 2006).
1.6.4 Community Development Workers (CDWs)
The concept of CDWs is broad and used to refer to professionals or community volunteers who work with communities in the process of community development by way of taking leadership roles (Swanepoel & De-Beer, 2006). While in the traditional sense, community development workers are officials, most often outsiders with technical expertise (Williams, 2006), there is an emerging belief that these should actually be members of the local communities with special attributes (MoPSA, 2007).
In this study, the concept of community development workers refers to a range of volunteer community members that are, from time to time, elected by their communities to train with EDF in various development related fields to gain knowledge that is later shared with their communities (EDF, 2010b; MoPSA, 2007; Swanepoel & De-Beer, 2006; Williams, 2006). In addition to leading others, mainly by example, they also take on educational roles as novice adult educators.
1.6.5 Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
The concept of NGOs remains ambiguous and sometimes is used interchangeably with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Lekorwe & Mpabanga (2007), citing the World Bank (2001), define NGOs as: ‘Private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, and/or undertake community development’ (Lekorwe & Mpabanga, 2007, p. 4). On the other hand, Van-Der-Veen
& Preece (2005) define NGOs as legally formed autonomous organizations that possess non- profit status and whose primary motivation is to improve the wellbeing of the people. Likewise,
Muhumuza (2005) defined NGOs as privately initiated and funded, voluntary, non-profit, autonomous institutions primarily concerned with relief, advocacy and development.
What is common among all the definitions is the concept of non-profit, the desire for the betterment of peoples’ wellbeing and largely the pursuit of a pro-poor agenda. Therefore, for purposes of this study, the term ‘Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)’ will be taken to refer to legal entities formed on the basis of non-profit and voluntarism to pursue development- related agendas with a major purpose of improving peoples’ wellbeing (Ibembe, 2007; Lekorwe
& Mpabanga, 2007; Makoba, 2002; Makuwira, 2004; Mercer, 2002; Michael, 2002; Muhumuza, 2005; Omofonmwan & Odia, 2009; Shivji, 2004; Van-Der-Veen & Preece, 2005; Werker &
Ahmed, 2008). The term NGO will be used interchangeably with CSOs (Michael, 2002). EDF, the unit of analysis in this case study, is such an NGO in the Ugandan development context.