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Reconceptualizing non‐formaleducationBarrie Brennan aa University of New EnglandPublished online: 09 Jul 2006.

To cite this article: Barrie Brennan (1997) Reconceptualizing non‐formaleducation, International Journal of Lifelong Education, 16:3, 185-200, DOI:10.1080/0260137970160303

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFELONG EDUCATION, VOL 16, NO. 3 (MAY-JUNE 1997), 185-200

Reconceptualizing non-formal education

BARRIE BRENNANUniversity of New England

The paper seeks to present a reconceptualization of non-formal education (NFE). The argumentis based on developing nations of Asia, Africa and the Pacific. The reconceptualization is basedon bringing together three different types of NFE: NFE as complement, alternative andsupplement to the formal education system. The first type represents the role of NFE in providinga means of satisfying unfulfilled provision from the school system; the second type is equated withthe use of traditional or indigenous learning; the third is related to the sorts of educationalactivities associated with development activities following the end of the Cold War. While it isargued that NFE is nation and culture specific, analytic tools are suggested that allow NFE in itsthree types to be discussed across nations as well as for any individual developing nation. The toolsused for the analysis consist of methods to describe the providers of the various forms ofNFE-agencies and institutions-and three concepts to examine the three types of NFE, namely asa system, setting and process.

Introduction and outline

The argument of the paper is that non-formal education (NFE) is a very significanteducational sector. However, it is further argued that NFE is usually inadequatelyconceptualized. As a result, NFE policy and planning are limited and NFE provisiondoes not reach its potential.

A major problem in seeking to develop an adequate concept of NFE is that while itappears to be a universal phenomenon, it is also culture and nation specific (Khawajaand Brennan 1990: 15). So, general principles need to be able to be related to thespecifics of a nation and/or culture for the development of policy and programmes. Theexamination in this paper is restricted to the developing nations of Asia, Africa and thePacific, and does not focus on the NFE in developed Western nations. However, thereis a strong historical link between these two types of nations because most of thedeveloping nations were former colonies of the European nations or European-likenations such as the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand.

The particular goal of the paper is to argue that NFE can and should be a holisticconcept. The problem is that it is seldom considered in that way. The paper argues,however, that NFE as a total concept consists of three types of educational provision. Whilethe three types of provision may be given varying degrees of recognition in a particularnation, all three types are not generally included in discussions of NFE. Each of thesetypes has its own origins and purposes. Although not necessarily discrete — and needing

Barrie Brennan is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Administration and Training at the University ofNew England, Armidale 2340, Australia. Tel: 61-67-732442: Fax: 61 67 733363. His interest in non-formaleducation resulted from visits to developing nations in Asia and the Pacific and involvement withpostgraduate candidates from these areas and Africa who had come to the University of New England forresearch and study. He has been involved in research, development and evaluation consultancies forinternational agencies, higher education institutions and governments in Asia and the Pacific.

0260-1370/97 $12·00 © 1997 Taylor & Francis Ltd

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to be considered together in NFE policy development - each will be examinedseparately. The proposed concept of NFE as representing three distinct types ofeducational provision is offered as a basis for more integrated and effective NFE policydevelopment and programme provision in developing nations, i.e. when the three typesare all included in the conceptualization of NFE.

It is argued that the origins of each type of NFE and its subsequent purpose aredirectly related to the policies, practices and very importantly the limitations of formaleducation. Therefore in explaining each type of NFE the goal is to highlight similaritiesand differences between formal education and the particular type of NFE beingdiscussed. To facilitate the explanation, concepts and tools that have been developed toexplain and examine formal education and Western adult education will be used.

The paper is structured into four parts:

(1) the definitions of NFE and the three proposed types of NFE;(2) the conceptual tools used in the analysis;(3) the examination in turn of the three types of NFE;(4) the implications of the concept of the three types of NFE for policy

development and programme provision in NFE.

Definitions

The term non-formal education is an expression in the negative. Denning concepts in anegative way may be illuminating but also confusing and limiting. In recent times in theWestern world when adult education was defined as being 'non-credit and non-vocational', there were concerns that the positive aspects of the field were not stressedin that negative definition. For example, Johnson and Hinton's (1986) review of adultand continuing education in Australia referred in its title to 'non-award' adult andcontinuing education. However, in the current discussion of NFE the negative aspectsof the term are not avoided or considered as limiting but rather are used as a centralfeature of its explanation and exploration by contrasting NFE with formal education.

The point of departure for the discussion of the definition of NFE is the work ofCoombs and Ahmed (1974) in their advocacy of more integrated rural development.Their discussion is adopted because it has been widely used and because it relates threeterms: informal, formal and non-formal (1974: 8) and particularly 'formal' and 'non-formal'.

Informal education will not be examined here but in the discussion below. Formaleducation is 'the highly institutionalised, chronologically graded and hierarchicallystructured education system' - spanning schools and university (1974: 8). Non-formaleducation is 'any organised, systematic educational activity carried on outside theframework of the formal system to provide selected types of learning to particularsubgroups of the population, adults as well as children' (1974: 8).

The definitions note a relationship between formal and non-formal education inthat the NFE is 'outside' the formal. In establishing the three types of NFE there willbe further exploration of the interpretations of'outside'. The other two points to noteare that NFE is accepted as 'educational' apparently provided it is 'systematic', andthat there are specific target groups for NFE.

The Coombs and Ahmed definition of NFE notes that NFE is targeted educationalprovision that is beyond the range of formal education. In the discussion of the three

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proposed types of NFE, each will be shown to be clearly educational but 'outside'formal education, having various sorts of targets' and, very importantly, clearly relatedto formal education in origin and purpose.

The first NFE sub-type is described as NFE as a complement of the formal system. Thistype of NFE appears to have been the first to be recognized and notes the type ofeducational provision designed to target those for whom formal education had not beenable to deliver its educational purposes. The target groups include school dropouts oradults who are found to be illiterate. The complementary nature of this type of NFE wasrequired to perform functions which formal education was designed to fulfil but had notbeen able to achieve, partially perhaps but not totally.

The second sub-type of NFE is described as NFE as an alternative. This type of NFEseeks to recognize the area of indigenous or traditional education and learning. Indigenouseducation and learning refer to structures and practices that existed beforecolonialization and continued to exist in some form for some features of personal andcommunity life after colonialization. It is argued that formal education has consciouslyor subconsciously sought to repress or just disregard existing teaching and learningcustoms and practices evident in the culture of the indigenous peoples. An importantfeature of this type of NFE is that its strategies and techniques of teaching/learning mayneed to be rediscovered and revalued.

The third type of NFE is described as NFE as a supplement to formal education. Thistype of NFE is designed to represent the sorts of educational responses that are relatedto recent important stages in the development of the nation. The origins of this type ofNFE are to be found in the changes as result of the collapse of the communist world, theacceptance of a capitalist approach to economic and political issues and theglobalization of commerce and trade. This type of NFE is related to those sorts ofdevelopments that are associated with ' economic take-off'. This type of NFE is requiredas a quick reaction to educational, social and economic needs because formal educationis too slow in its response (if it does in fact decide to respond) to these needs.

The three types of NFE proposed are closely related to formal education - thoughcertainly 'outside' and not part, or the direct and accepted concern, of formaleducation. The three types of NFE are represented as reactions to the limitations orfailures of formal education. Therefore the understanding of these types of NFE may befacilitated by understanding formal education and the reasons why the need has beencreated for the different NFE responses. Expressed in another way in the words ofNewman (1994), it may be important to 'known the enemy'. Newman was concernedthat in developing adult education with a social activist orientation it was important toknow and understand the forces that opposed such a stance. In the situation underexamination, it is suggested that it is important to understand how formal education hasoperated and does operate and where it has problems and limitations, particularly inresponding to emerging needs. NFE should not, then, reproduce the inadequacies offormal education.

Conceptual tools

The Western concept of' adult education' has not always been very useful in discussionsof educational provision in developing nations because 'adult' is variously defined. Inaddition, many of the sorts of activities associated with NFE — particularly NFE as acomplement of the formal system - have involved school dropouts (sometimes referred

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to as 'out of school youth') who may not be considered as adults in a Western sense.However, because adult education in the West has needed to mark its distance anddifferences from other sectors of educational provision, it has developed descriptive andanalytical tools. Two of these are used in the examination of the three types of NFEnoted in developing nations.

Formal education is based on institutions that are established primarily to delivereducation, e.g. schools and universities. In Western adult education and in theidentified types of NFE, many other organizations are involved, or have the potentialto be involved, in the provision. Therefore two tools that note the degree of centralityof ' education' to an organization's purposes and the possible range of educationalprovider organizations are noted.

Schroeder (1970: 73) has noted four types of organizations according to the degreeof centrality of adult education to their purpose. In the following definition of the fourtypes, 'NFE' has been substituted for Schroeder's 'adult education'.

Type 1: Agencies that were initially concerned with the education of youngpeople, but now have assumed the additional task of NFE provision.

Type 2: Agencies created primarily to serve NFE.Type 3: Agencies created to serve the whole community.Type 4: Agencies primarily concerned with other goals but which need NFE in

order to achieve them.

In moving from the formal education sector, it is important to recognize, and be able tocategorize, agencies (i.e. providers or potential providers of NFE) but also to note therelationship that NFE provision may assume with respect to the overall objectives of theorganization. The assumption is made that, for NFE provision to become effective,agencies other than Type 2 may need to be used, and that there may be few agenciesestablished solely to offer NFE. Type 2 agencies may be represented by community (orvillage) organizations which need NFE to serve their community. Developmentagencies in health or agriculture will need NFE to achieve their goals in those fields, asexamples of Type 4. Note also the way the Schroeder typology allows for themaintenance of the relationship between formal education and NFE, through Type 1.

But if there are few agencies whose role is primarily to deliver NFE (Type 2), whatare some of the agencies or organizations that may be considered as real or potentialNFE providers? The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) (1971: 91) has provided a classification of what are described as 'institutions'that may offer adult education. They are applied in the context to NFE.

(1) government or local government (LG) institutions existing primarily orexclusively for an educational purpose (e.g. residential colleges, adulteducation centres);

(2) government or LG institutions including an educational aim in theirprogrammes (e.g. ministries of health/agriculture, local welfare services);

(3) independent institutions existing primarily, or exclusively for an educationalpurpose and also in receipt of financial support from public funds (e.g.universities and colleges);

(4) independent institutions including an educational purpose among their aimsand in receipt of financial support from public funds;

(5) independent institutions existing primarily or exclusively for an educationalpurpose and not in receipt of financial support from public funds (e.g.commercial colleges and correspondence schools);

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(6) wholly independent institutions including an educational purpose amongtheir aims (e.g. YM/WCA);

(7) wholly independent institutions including a specific educational purposeamong their aims or using education as one of the means of achieving theiraims (e.g. churches, trades unions);

(8) auxiliaries of education (e.g. museums and libraries);(9) the mass media, in so far as they consciously fulfil an educational function;(10) voluntary local associations including an educational aim among their

activities (e.g. clubs, hobby societies).

In establishing a concept of NFE that adequately addresses planned educationalactivities outside formal education, two considerations are noted by the conceptual toolsand their classifications above. The NFE provision may assume various levels ofcentrality within the organization's overall purposes and that a wide range oforganizations/agencies may be providers of the NFE activities. Both of these factorshelp establish major differences from formal education, but in both classifications notedmention is also made of formal education institutions, so they too are potential NFEproviders.

The existence and relative importance of these agencies and institutions will bedefined in different ways at different times in nations and cultures and history andculture will be definers of their status and role.

However, to focus only on organizations as providers and on their purposes isunlikely to provide a sufficiently broad concept of NFE in its three types. Therefore anadditional means of providing not just background points of reference for the analysisof the three types of NFE but a structure for their examination is offered. The structurehas been used before (Khawaja and Brennan 1990) but only in relation to NFE as asupplement to formal education. The schema results in the discussion of the three typesof NFE under three headings: NFE as a system, setting and process.

The discussion of the concept of a 'system' is particularly important to drawcontrasts with the 'formal system'. The formal system is a known of which educators andleaders in developing nations have experience that is also shared by many in the localcommunities. Therefore it is deemed to be important to show how the NFE systems mayneed to be different - and perhaps radically different — from the known and well-established formal system.

The developing nations have generally adopted a highly centralized, bureaucraticadministrative system to manage their formal education systems. They appear to havebeen attracted to the sort of centralized systems (or had them imposed) so well describedin France and Australia by Kandel (1961). The need for close supervision and thegathering of data on enrolments and examination results from widely scatteredinstitutions was appropriately controlled in this way, and particularly as the systemslowly emerged and was not required to be responsive to public needs or make drasticor rapid changes. When and if rapid and significant changes were required - in theearly independence period for example - then the weaknesses of these centralized,bureaucratic systems became evident. The discussion of the systems to be developed forthe three types of NFE needs to recognize the inappropriate features of the systems usedto control formal education.

The concept of a 'setting' is important because of the strong link between the formalsystem and specific educational institutions. The recognition of learning outside theformal educational institutions, only now being readily accepted in Western nations

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through concepts such as the recognition of prior learning (RPL) and ' workplacelearning', is important when the variety of agencies likely to be involved and the manypossible locations for teaching/learning are likely to be needed in an understanding ofthe many settings of NFE.

The concept of a 'process' provides a vehicle for an emphasis on how the teachingand learning strategies of NFE need to be appropriate to the learners, their culture andthe objectives of the programmes concerned. Are the processes readily accepted andused by formal education in developing nations really appropriate for formal education?Whatever the answer, the parallel question is: what are the appropriate teaching/learning methods for NFE in its various types?

The potential relevance of Coombs and Ahmed's third type of education - informal- is noted with respect to both the setting and process of NFE but not discussed in detail.

So the three types proposed are closely related to formal education, as noted byCoombs and Ahmed. However, the approach does not suggest a merely negativeattitude towards NFE but rather that in terms of objectives and purposes, NFE iscentrally concerned as a response (or responses) to failures or limitations of formaleducation in achieving specific educational objectives with particular target learners.

The point should also be reiterated that although NFE in these three types isgenerally common to all developing nations, and therefore a worldwide phenomenon,it must be planned and designed on a culture/nation-specific basis for the different waysin which the types are evident, and the different stages at which the three types becomeimportant for each culture/nation vary considerably. As a result, the degree ofimportance of any of the three types in any specific national situation cannot be assumeda priori. However, these particular conditions do not reduce the value and importanceof a soundly based overall conceptualization of the worldwide phenomenon to beinterpreted at any particular time by specific nations in terms of their own traditions,history, needs and goals.

NFE as a complement of the formal system

This type of NFE was probably the first identified in developing nations and appears tobe the most commonly accepted type of NFE. The roots of the problems that have givenrise to this type of NFE are partially the result of the apparent success of the schools setup in the colonial and early independence period. They became a focus for theaspirations of parents for their children and their children's (and their own) futures. Forhad not the new leaders of the independent nation (e.g. Sukarno in Indonesia andNkrumah in Ghana) gained their education, and resulting status, in the formaleducation system adopted from the West?

But the provision of formal education, especially at the school level, was a majorproblem for independent nations. There were not sufficient schools or teachers or books,or they were not evenly distributed geographically or culturally throughout the nation.As a result, there were the problems of the young not being able to enrol or thoseenrolling not being able to complete the elementary level or being excluded through acompulsory examination system. There were vast numbers of'dropouts'. There werealso problems with provision for remote groups or ethnic minorities and, as the country'progressed', concerns about the comparative disadvantages for girls. Developingnations were thus faced with a major problem. They did not have the resources toexpand the formal school system to cater for all these children — yet there was

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international and internal pressure to achieve this goal. The answer was sought inanother system, one that was supposedly less expensive. So a sort of'catch up' strategywith fewer financial resources was established. In terms of Coombs and Ahmed'sdefinition, these educational activities outside the formal system were targeted towards' dropouts' or ' out-of-school youth'. The strategy came to be known as NFE, as a meansof complementing the school system and mopping up some of its failed or excludedstudents.

Another area in which this type of NFE was developed was in relation to adultliteracy. The literacy was primarily focused on the national/native tongue rather thanan international language. In this respect special written resources were developed (e.g.Kejar Paket A in Indonesia — Napitipulu 1982); efforts were made to use the media -radio and television (e.g. in Pakistan - UNICEF Consultants' Report 1988, andThailand — Sunanchai 1988); tutors for the programmes were sometimes sought fromoutside the 'school teacher' ranks (e.g. in Indonesia - Iskander et al. 1982, and Pakistan- Khawaja and Brennan 1990: 244—247). In Indonesia, retired public servants, widowsand even the ' graduates' of literacy programmes were used, while in Pakistan theIQRA project involved paying volunteers for successfully helping a non-literate adult toread and write. No evaluation of the effectiveness of these projects is noted, just the waynon-school teachers have been used. The literacy programmes and campaigns were anextension of the problem of school dropouts.

NFE as an alternative

This type of NFE emerges from the unwillingness or inability of the colonial educationaladministrators and those of the early independence period to accept and recognize thatthere had been pre-existing teaching and learning structures and processes in thesociety/culture before the advent of the colonial power, and that some of these may havebeen acceptable, even preferable and more successful than the modes adopteduncritically from the West.

The writer has suggested in other places (Brennan 1987) that the lack of attentionto the indigenous learning structure may have been initially the work of missionarieswho viewed indigenous culture as inferior and non-Christian and therefore to beignored or if necessary repressed. The attitude was certainly adopted by the schooladministrators - church or colonial government — and then independence personnel.

What is surprising is that the work of Western anthropologists did not seek topromote some corrective to this imbalance. However, the fact that indigenous learningwas not even recognized in the recent International Year of the World's IndigenousPeoples (IYWIP) is remarkable, and requires further exploration (Brennan 1993).

Therefore, the objective of this brief discussion is to establish a link between learningand culture. As Hall has noted (1986: 159) physiologically the human species is alearning organism. While that may be central for the individual human, what is thesituation when the human lives in groups?

The focus chosen for the discussion on culture and learning is the work of RalphLinton (1947). One reason for selecting his approach is that it has been significant forseveral generations of people who may have been involved in education in developingnations. A second reason is that his approach, though making a clear link betweenlearning and culture, provides an insight into why 'Western' educators have been slowto recognize and accept indigenous learning.

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The argument is that humans living together in societies develop a culture. Thisculture, according to Linton (1947: 21) is 'learned behaviour'. From one generation toanother this culture is 'transmitted' (1947: 24). Linton also notes a distinction betweenthe 'overt' aspects of culture - the products and behaviour — and the 'covert ' - theknowledge, skills and values (1947: 25). What is interesting is that there is very littleelaboration as to what processes or techniques are used to learn the behaviour in the firstinstance or what teaching/learning techniques are used to transmit the culture.Further, by making a distinction between the overt and covert aspects of culture, usinga very Western dichotomy between the observable and not so easily observed, no effortis made to suggest how the learning and transmission aspects of culture in these societiesare carried out and if different strategies are associated with the transmission of the overtand covert aspects of the culture. What techniques and strategies are used in thetransmission of the society's culture, whether in relation to knowledge and values or themaking of a canoe or the preparation of gardens? Accepting the basic relationshipbetween learning and culture that Linton proposes, those involved in education indeveloping nations have not been encouraged to seek to identify local strategiesassociated with these learning and transmission processes.

In relation to the overall work of the anthropologist, Linton notes (1947: 27) thefailure to ' distinguish clearly between the reality of a culture as a configuration ofbehaviours, and so on, and the construct he [i.e. the anthropologist] develops and usesas a tool for the description and explanation of the cultural data'. It is suggested thatWesterners, in dealing with the teaching and learning aspects of education as a formalor non-formal process, like the anthropologists, bring a Western developed constructabout teaching and learning to the situation. Just as the anthropologist was blinded toseeing or understanding indigenous learning because of the Western-style construct he(or she) brought to understanding and explaining the society, so Western-socializededucators likewise cannot see, and if they do will interpret in Western terms, theindigenous learning that is centrally involved in the transmission and the learning thatis associated with the culture of the society.

Learning is linked with learning a culture: culture is related to particular waysdifferent societies decide to live and work. Learning is a product of culture. Althoughlearning is a central part of Linton's approach to culture, there are few discussions ofwhat learning involves, and only two index references to the term in his 1947 work. Oneof the priorities for appreciating NFE as an alternative is to emphasize the importanceof understanding what learning means and how it is carried out in every cultural setting.

The advantages of indigenous learning processes or even their serious considerationare not recognized or encouraged by some from the developing nations themselves (e.g.Mushi 1990). However, the growing weight of research and advocacy suggests that thisform of NFE may have become sufficiently researched and have gained sufficientsupport in some nations/cultural groups to be able to be adequately represented in NFEplanning and policy.

There appear to be four stages that can be identified in the progress of the recognitionof indigenous learning. Though not proposed as being applicable in all cultural settings,they do provide a means of noting the degree to which this type of NFE may be able tocontribute to NFE overall in a particular national/cultural location.

The first stage is identified by the recognition of single approaches/techniques or agroup of activities that may be potentially relevant to educational or developmentactivities. Examples of work at this stage are those of Brandon (1967) on the role oftraditional dance in Thailand and Kidd (1982, 1984) and Kidd and Golletta (1980) on

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the potential of dance for non-formal activities. Though important as a basis for furtherresearch and experimentation, work at this stage is not able to be broadly generalized.The second stage involves the development of means by which techniques andapproaches in indigenous learning can be categorized and/or related to classificationschemes used with Western-derived techniques and thus dealt with on the same basis asWestern techniques. The work of Adams (1987) provided categories, e.g. music andsong; song and dance; games and toys; hobbies; myths, legends, tales and proverbs;dreams and visions. Ocitti (1988) noted the distinction between 'personally-initiatedlearning' and 'socially-initiated learning strategies'. The third stage is associated withadvocacy for the exploration of a broader indigenous learning 'system'. Such advocacywas proposed by Ocitti (1988) in Africa and Brennan (1987) for the Pacific. The fourthstage is represented by the development of more detailed and comprehensive learning'systems' for a particular cultural group. This stage is represented by Harris (1984) inwhich he defined the five key strategies for learning in the culture of the AustralianAboriginal group at Milingimbi in the Northern Territory and Ocitti (1994) whopresented an extensive report on indigenous learning systems in East Africa.

The degree to which indigenous learning strategies and systems are extant, knownand accepted is a limiting factor on the extent of the contribution this type of NFE canmake. However, the very focus of attention on the potential of this type of NFE mayencourage further research in the area. NFE should not follow the practice of earliereducational planners - missionaries, colonial governors or Western-orientated inde-pendence leaders — of ignoring indigenous learning systems and strategies.

The target for this type of NFE is the whole cultural group.

NFE as a supplement

This type of NFE is of more recent origin and reflects the world situation after the fallof communism and the globalization of economies and trade with emphases oncompetition and development. This type of NFE is a response to the issue of thechanging role of governments and the private sector in the life of a nation and itseconomy and the acceptance of education as a commodity. To what extent in thissituation is the provision of education a major responsibility of governments ?

It is suggested that in this political and economic climate, NFE, as broadly definedin this paper, or more specifically a special type of NFE, is being used to help developingnations gain a share of world prosperity and become or remain competitive. Theprovision may be evident but the rationale for the provision and its implications foreducation as a whole may not have been explored in detail or in a systematic way.

The reason why it is suggested that it is a form of NFE that is active in this role is thatthe formal system of schools and universities is inadequate to meet the needs, unable orperhaps unwilling in a short space of time to adjust to rapidly changing demands andconditions. The point should be conceded with regard to the formal educational system- and especially the universities - that there may be strong reservations about theassumptions and outcomes for the developing nation of its participation in the newworld order. However, it is unlikely that universities generally would be critics of newdevelopments favouring rather a pragmatic or unquestioned embracing of the currentof emerging paradigm.

While this form of development may be occurring without clear policy guidelines orgovernmental pronouncements, it is happening. Perhaps this type of NFE more

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appropriately wears the brand of maverick than the NFE as complement type to whichTownsend-Coles (1982) applied the term.

In this type of NFE the process is being driven by the private sector, interestingly notstressed in the OEGD list of agencies noted earlier though clearly able to be identified,being spread across groups 4 to 7. The private sector, frequently in co-operation orpartnership with governments or quite independently, is heavily involved in this type ofNFE.

The target in this type of NFE is less likely to be a particular group of people as withNFE as a complement, but rather an industry or particular type of knowledge or skill- with links between the two categories. Among the categories of knowledge and skillare the whole range of technologies, particularly computers, but also those associatedwith agriculture, aviation and medicine (and even some old or alternative technologies),and languages, particularly the international languages such as English, Spanish andFrench and perhaps Chinese or Japanese, rather than the local, 'mother' tongues of thefirst and second types of NFE. The industrial foci of this type of NFE include tourism,building and construction, forestry and mining.

Australia provides two examples of this type of NFE as a supplement. Since 1991,one of the oldest private colleges in Australia has established with local partners twocolleges in Ho Chi Minh City and one in Hanoi, Vietnam. Though the programmefocus of the college in Australia is management, hospitality, computing and secretarialstudies, in Vietnam its courses relate - at this stage - to types of English, formanagement, accounting, computing, banking and hospitality (Gray 1995: 105-109).Archer (1995: 119-122) has described the initiative of his company in a developingnation in Southeast Asia in a long-term ship-building project. In addition to the actualship-building, a whole support system of specialized vocational training will beintroduced to the country, as a supplement to the existing system, through a trainingcentre with dual control by the local country's government and the company.

In these two examples, note the providers, the partnerships, the clear focus, the driveto satisfy unmet needs, and note also the absence of the involvement of the local formaleducation system.

Examining NFE as the complement of the formal system.

As a system

The way NFE has been used as a complement, to shore up the formal education, has notbeen extensively evaluated. However, the conclusion can be offered that it has had somesuccess but has, like the formal system, not achieved all its goals. One reason perhaps forthis lack of success is that the NFE's organization and structure has mirrored that of theformal system, a large (or small) centrally directed bureaucracy. In Thailand andIndonesia there has been a 'department' within the Ministry of Education but inPakistan and Fiji it is on 'office' within the Education Ministry. Perhaps the part of theNFE programme that is directed towards mopping up the problems of the formal systemrequires a totally different systemic approach from that of the formal system. Twoalternative systemic approaches have been noted by writers.

In relation to the problems of literacy in developing nations, Bhola (1983) hasargued that the programmatic and project approach carried out by bureaucracies is

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ineffective and has advocated the delivery of literacy by means of campaigns andcrusades. There is some evidence to support such an argument in the experience ofNicaragua (Duke 1985).

For a wider range of programmes, but certainly relevant to this aspect of NFE,Tandon (1987: 1988) and Hall (1986) have been advocates of the use of non-government organizations (NGOs) for programme delivery. NGOs can be moreflexible, more decentralized and thus be closer to the people and the source of theproblem. There may be problems with NGOs as NFE providers, as they are conductedby humans with all the subsequent possibilities for good or ill. The important point isthat in many developing nations NGOs do offer an alternative delivery mode for NFE,and have been found to be valuable in some contexts. The role of NGOs, however, willbe expected to be locally denned in terms of history and culture.

These two examples illustrate the use of agencies that are noted in the Schroeder andOECD lists. In the campaign the agency would be, for example, literacy specific andcreated for that singular purpose (Type 2 of Schroeder) — and probably for a specifictime duration. NGOs are associated with Schroeder's Types 2 and 3 and though notspecifically mentioned are included in the OECD classification in categories 6 and 7.The advantage of the classification schemes is that agencies can be compared in relationto their function and the centrality of NFE.

One of the points that appear to be relevant to the sort of systemic approach used innations to carry forward this role of NFE is in the priority that is given to schoolteachersto provide instruction and general leadership in these activities, especially in remoteareas. Frequently they are used for out-of-school and adult literacy programmes. Whilenot wishing to comment on the ability, sensitivity or skills of these schoolteachers, sucha policy seems to reflect the lack of initiative in seeking to find other resource people butmore importantly indicates the ' accepted' reliance of the NFE system on the formalsystem. Using NGO personnel or setting up a campaign structure outside the formalsystem - whatever the results - makes a significant statement about the relationshipbetween the systems. With regard to this point, the training of schoolteachers in NFEmay provide some linkages between the systems, but there are resources outside theformal system that can service the NFE system, and reliance on formal system resourceswill not develop these other areas of human potential (UNICEF Consultants 1988).Even variations of the traditional 'teaching' function, such as the Thai walking teachers(Cholatit 1988, Department of Non-Formal Education 1989) need to be explored inparticular cultural settings.

As a setting

Perhaps the most important aspect of this feature of NFE as a complement is that theschool may be the most inappropriate setting for the teaching/learning. The villagemay have other centres: perhaps the open air or even the 'workplace', be it factory orfield, may be preferable.

A key factor is that the learners are 'comfortable' in a psychological as well as aphysical sense for the learning. Such 'comfort' will be a culturally defined factor. Alsodegrees of formality and informality will be defined by the cultural setting of NFE. Anexample of the provision of cultural comfort is provided in the Thai reading centres,buildings in the traditional style that were located in or near the village and used tohouse reading materials (Sunanchai 1988).

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As a process

The potential of the indigenous learning system will be noted below but it should alsobe recognized in terms of the complementary role of NFE. Are the methods of the schoolappropriate for this type of NFE, or are there more culturally acceptable methods?

The use of the mass media to fulfil this role of NFE is worthy of consideration. Radioand television may be costly and may have social consequences that are inimical to localcultural processes and values. For example Conboy and D'Cruz (1988) have noted whatthey have defined as ' second-order consequences' or the culturally detrimental effectsof the introduction of mass media for educational purposes in developing nations. Whatis the impact of the introduction of television in a culture where the communication isoral because the local language has not become a written language? Nevertheless thenewspaper can potentially be an important teaching resource for literacy with adultsand has the additional advantage of being a means by which the neoliterate canmaintain their literacy skills.

Examining NFE as an alternative to the formal system

As a system

In many cultures the initial step is to rediscover and record the degrees to which thesystem in which indigenous learning operates is extant, and the extent to which it isoperating as a system within various groups and locations within the wider cultural(including the Western) system. This step will allow for an understanding of where thevarious approved methods and specific roles of the' teachers' fit in to a wider system. Forexample, in Samoa indigenous learning does not operate as a series of unrelated orindividual learning processes or teaching roles. The indigenous learning system is justone, but an important, part of faaSamoa, an overall cultural system of roles andresponsibilities, the Samoan way of life (Fairbairn-Dunlop 1991) or ' the wheel on whichSamoan society turns' (Aino 1986: 104).

Without a wider cultural and social understanding of the society, the planning forthe use of aspects of the indigenous learning system will be at the least token andpiecemeal and at the worst socially disruptive and doomed to failure. An understandingof the structures and values associated with the indigenous learning system will helpdefine not only specific methods but the roles played by key educational models.

In the indigenous learning system, the Western-derived Schroeder and OECDclassifications may take on a new meaning, though there will be groups - family, clan,tribe, council of chiefs — with important roles and functions.

As a setting

If the culture is understood and adequately mapped, then the issue of the setting for theindigenous component of NFE will have been revealed. Experience suggests that theschool and university may not be the settings, that a new breed of teachers may beidentified, and that there will probably be a different mix of the formal and informalactivities.

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As a process

A different range of processes is likely to be favoured in the indigenous system from thoseof the Western-derived formal system — and increasing the range of options may be veryadvantageous to the education planners.

What may be a problem with which Western educators find difficulty in dealing iswhen the ' oral' tradition and process (especially in cultures where the language is notwritten) takes precedence over the written. A problem in many developmentprogrammes is that the basis of their operations is the written word.

The investigation of the indigenous learning systems in developing nations is areminder of the significant cultural differences between the Western way of doing thingsand those of many other cultures. In this paper the traditional Western approach isused, i.e. to develop an understanding of a concept by analysing it and breaking it intoits separate parts. In seeking to deal with indigenous learning systems, the unity andinterrelatedness of the system may indicate how different are the cultural approaches ,and how Western styles of analysis and operation are inappropriate.

Examining NFE as a supplement to the formal system

As a system

The immediate impression gained of this aspect of NFE in developing nations is that itdoes not appear at all to be a system but a rather chaotic hive of activity involving awhole range of agencies, local and international, government and non-government, andespecially private enterprise.

The involvement of government in special agencies concerned with technologydevelopment with local entrepreneurs or international companies or the appearance ofshop-front colleges for this or that requires some overall policy from government.Certainly in this aspect of NFE there appears to be a major role - because they havetaken it already - for the private sector (not given strong recognition in the OECD list).In fact, all except the formal sector seem to be involved. What, then, as a matter ofgovernment policy since the government contributes heavily to the formal system, is therole of the formal system in this type of NFE ?

To ignore this aspect of NFE is to make education - as perceived by governmentsand educators in the formal system — an irrelevancy for nations in their striving fordevelopment.

As a setting

The special features of this type of NFE are clearly indicated in this aspect - the setting.In the work-related forms of this type of NFE, the workplace is likely to be the majorsetting: the hotel, the mine, the forest, ship-building yard, shop-front college or thepaddy field. Why set up costly training facilities when it is training in the workplace thatis the focus?

The exception to this may be that in relation to education and training associatedwith costly technology, it may be very important — in terms of the nation's balance of

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payments - that a single facility is specifically created to house the technology and be afocus for the training. The wasteful duplication of such technology that is going tobecome obsolete very quickly could have disastrous economic implications for adeveloping nation.

As a process

A major challenge in this type of NFE is how to blend the traditional and the Western.Can the traditional approaches and values be maximized without impeding the benefitsto be gained from the developmental aspects of the NFE programmes? Only a well-understood and well-documented indigenous system can be able to make what could bea vital contribution to the country's sustainable development.

Conclusion

NFE, as conceived in this paper as a three-pronged educational force in developingnations, should no longer be regarded in either a piecemeal or ad hoc fashion byinternational agencies, national governments, Ministries of Education, educationalpolicy makers and those who have high-status roles in the formal education systems. Asan integrated force it has the potential to serve developing nations to a degree perhapsequal to, if not greater, than, formal education that has attracted most of the attentionand the resources in developing nations.

To refer to another book title from Newman (1979), NFE as conceived as thecomplement, alternative and supplement to the formal system should no longer beconsidered as 'the poor cousin' of the formal system. The title is used here to stress thefinancial aspects of the term 'poor' but beyond that how the extended family socialstructure and relationships of many developing nations' culture place a greaterimportance on 'cousin' with higher degrees of responsibility for kinship and theextended family than in the West. Newman described how adult education was the'poorest and most neglected sector of the educational service' in Great Britain(Newman 1979: 3). In many developing nations NFE in the forms noted above alsosuffers from various forms of neglect. The neglect must be replaced by consideration andunderstanding — and national policy development.

There is also the need for the formal education system, comparably so well endowedand supported, to recognize that in the development and acceptance of NFE as acomplement, supplement and alternative to itself, experience has shown how the formalsystem needs to change itself as a system, and to explore its relationship with NFE andhow it can adapt strategies and processes that have been shown to be successful in theNFE system. It is even possible that in the future in some nations the roles may bereversed and the formal system will learn from, and be in some ways subject to, thenon-formal system?

Finally, as noted above, generalizations about how NFE as defined in this paper canoperate in different countries and different cultural settings are not really feasible. NFEin all its three forms is nation and culture specific. However, the more attention, study,reflection, energy and resources that are devoted by international agencies, individualnational governments, scholars, cultural experts, researchers, programmers and learnersto their own analyses of the way NFE has developed and may develop in their country(or the country of their interest) and how the three types can be related effectively to

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each other and the formal system in the press for legitimate and sustainabledevelopment, the greater is the likelihood that such development will take place.

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