Formal vs. Nonformal Education: The African Experience.

Overview & Synopsis

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 development), integrated rural development, and the media. Data from a study in a rural Zairian community to involve people in planning a nonformal education program suggest that people's perceptions are important considerations in development planning. The sixty questions on the survey/interview instrument dealt with division of labor, personal fears and aspirations, views of adult education, and attitudes toward change. Findings indicated that importance is ascribed to formal education in Zairian society, many respondents are illiterate but would participate in a literacy education program, and adult learning is important to them. Participation in nonformal education activities at that time was good, but changes in the community generated by them were small and incremental. (YLB)