32-33).įreire hoped that while people most likely entered NFE development courses thinking intransitively, they would be challenged in their thinking and therefore leave the program viewing their situation critically and actively.Īnother theorist who has used NFE in his work is Miles Horton. Semi-transitive – People exercise some thought and action or change.Ĭritical transitivity – The highest development of thought and action people think holistically and critically (pp. People live fatalistically, believing that their fate is out of their hands. Intransitive thought – This is the lowest stage, where people are the most dominated. While the themes were presented, a solution was not the goal of the program is for participants to engage in their own problem posing and problem-solving.įreire identified three levels of thought (Shor, 1993). Themes such as health care, gender issues, and/or social equality were presented in ways that might generate discussion. Freire encouraged the development of ideas within a social context. Teachers should not teach answers, but instead create an environment so participants can analyze, reflect and create new learning (PLA Notes, 1998).
Freire decided to call this process praxis – the concept of action yielding reflection, which would yield more action. Future actions, often political, were identified to help support the poor (Ewert, 1989). Through dialogues that addressed both problems and their underlying causes, and the critical reflection of these dialogues, the poor would learn to no longer blame themselves. Freire felt that critical consciousness would address the issues. Since formal education was not addressing these issues, Freire advocated NFE as a way to raise awareness and consciousness of the situation, and to empower the poor to take more control over their lives. During the 1960s he was very involved in the plight of the poor in Latin America, and concluded that education was the best way to address inequalities. The task of the teacher or facilitator is to create a program and setting where adult learners can develop self-directed learning skills.Ī well-known proponent of NFE is Paulo Freire. Adults learn through experiential techniques (learn by doing), discussion, and/or problem solving.Īdults are aware of their personal learning needs from real life tasks or problems.Īdults are competency-based learners, and want to apply what they have learned to their own life. These assumptions are:Īdults desire and utilize self-directedness.Īdults’ experiences are a rich resource for learning. There are four assumptions of adult education that effect NFE. This view sees local development programs holistically from many perspectives including the individual, the community, those in power, and those who can help.
#AN EXAMPLE OF NON FORMAL EDUCATION FOR AG HOW TO#
NFE can be either externally directed and/or self-initiated, with stress on the connection between what’s been learned with how to mobilize resources. Outside the framework means there are no grades, mandated curriculum, certificates or diplomas. Learning is not forced, but rather is an extension of interacting with materials and people. Activities must be planned so they are natural social interactions. What does this definition really mean, and how does it relate to a classroom environment? La Belle continues, “ teaching/learning process must be ‘organized, a systematic educational activity’ and … ‘outside the framework of the formal system'” (p.6). Non-Formal Education can best be described as “any organized, systematic educational activity carried on outside the framework of the formal system to provide selected types of learning to particular subgroups in the population, adults as well as children” (La Belle, 1986, p.2).