Observatory PASCAL

This is indeed a hot topic for countries in receipt of development aid. Written by Malawian PhD student, Chester Shaba it provides a refreshing invitation to reflect on the benefits of a neglected but highly flexible piece of educational technology – the radio. The roles of, and needs to foster, social capital through and for education are given an extra spin as Chester talks about the importance of positive social relations that motivate participation in schooling, especially in the context of rural African communities:

Family relations are of major importance in motivating youths. So too are friendships with others who are motivated to study, and neighbours with positive influences, as well as other networks in which schools are embedded, including religious and ethnic ties.

Traditionally, social capital, in the form of networks and reciprocal arrangements, are strong in African communities. It is part of daily living and often daily survival where resources are scarce and interdependence is a means of ‘getting things done’. But, as this paper points out, the character of social capital and the values therein for community networks is contingent upon context and the resources already available in that context: ‘No person can be considered educated who remains a stranger to the century in which they are born’.

Education in the contemporary world includes literacy and access to the information age. The author’s argument for increasing participation in education is premised on the claim that those with higher education levels are more likely to be trusting, trustworthy and to trust others, and thus to create an upward spiral of educational participation and lifelong learning - where lifelong learning means updating and expansion of knowledge, skills and understanding. This claim could perhaps do with some expansion or clarification, since it could also be argued that the more sophisticated an environment is, the more crime there is (look at any big city, for example).

In the absence of access to more sophisticated technologies such as computers, the radio is a resource for professional teacher development, curriculum quality and motivation to learn. (Indeed, I remember, during my own early years of village schooling, receiving PE lessons via radio.) The significance of radio for under-resourced and remote rural areas is that it can be used without electricity. It creates opportunities for parity of curriculum content to be spread across vast distances without other infrastructure needs of transport, roads and equipment.

The author challenges some western assumptions that countries like Africa can leapfrog some of the evolutionary stages of development and simply arrive at the computer age without going through the intermediary technologies first – on the principle that you need to learn to walk before you can run. To demonstrate this he provides some stark realities concerning the digital divide between the North and South. For instance: ‘half the grown-up world has never made a phone call … in the whole of Africa there are fewer telephone lines than there are in Tokyo or New York’. Whilst the modern technological phenomenon of mobile phones, for instance, has nevertheless changed the lives of many rural communities, there is clearly a strong, cost-efficiency argument for identifying radio as a primary teaching resource in countries where teachers themselves have minimal qualifications and where access to electricity, water, and small class sizes requires more pragmatic solutions to communication.

By using technology that is affordable and accessible it is also possible to address issues of equity and relevance. Chester points out, for instance, that the language of computer technology is primarily in English – yet radio can communicate via local languages and is less likely to create the technological alienation that is sometimes felt by women and girls in relation to computers. Furthermore its widespread transmission possibilities means that large numbers of teachers may also acquire in-service training by stealth during the process of using radio as an interactive teaching resource:

The distant teacher .. directs learning activities … that take place during carefully timed pauses in the audio script. The role of the classroom teacher is often to facilitate the lesson, give individual assistance to learners and provide follow-up support after the audio component is finished.

The author recognises that even this form of educational technology will require sensitisation and careful introduction to teachers who may be threatened by change. And he also raises a final point about the policies of international aid agencies from rich countries that are more interested in what they themselves will gain out of aid partnerships rather than listening to the felt needs of their beneficiaries. If financial aid could be directed towards wind-up radios and support for the development of a basic curriculum that would be transmitted at identified lesson times, this would be significantly cheaper than installing more sophisticated equipment that is difficult to maintain or replace.

This is a timely presentation that is nicely embedded in the discourse of lifelong learning and which will resonate with many countries in the South. My only caveat for this proposal is that there is another divide for learners in Malawi, and countries like Malawi – those who have already dropped out of school or do not attend formal provision at all. For non-formal education systems that operate out of normal school hours perhaps some way could be found to also develop tape recordings that can be played through equally non-electricity dependent means.  

Julia Preece, Professor of Adult Education, National University of Lesotho, and Pascal Associate