How Should the Professional Practice of Adult Education Respond to Globalization - Essay Example

How should the professional practice of adult education respond to globalization and the social movements to which it gives rise? Introduction Globalization has made business, and more importantly societies, vulnerable to global effects for instance; an economic ripple from an economy far off simultaneously generates repercussions on the opposite side of the globe. A good example of the global effects of globalization is the 2009 financial and economic downturn where the financial troubles in the United States of America reverberated to the rest of economies globally causing a global financial crisis (Mayo, 2005: Cox & Fominaya, 2009). In order to safeguard society against these effects of globalization and to make the business community and governments accountable and to keep them in check in making the interests of society the first priority, radical adult education is required. Radical adult education is transformative form of adult education, which seeks to use adult education to facilitate social transformation. Adult education has generated new forms of social movements such as the World Social Forum to educate the public through engaging them to understand why the society is the way it is, and to develop new strategies and ideas that could perhaps facilitate changes in aspects of society that are seen as unsatisfactory (Thompson, 2000). This paper seeks to discuss how the professional practice of adult education can respond to globalization and the social movements to which it gives rise. Definition of adult education Adult education is an important and crucial concept in modern society. Adult education promotes sustainable development in virtually all areas, that is, politically, socially, environmentally, economically and technologically and it is a vehicle for driving social democracy, social justice, social equity and equality as supported by the Health Declaration on Adult Learning. Adult education that facilitates social change is referred to as popular education or radical education. Radical adult education generates an alternative initiative to facilitating social and economic growth and development through what Marjorie Mayo describes as transformative education. According to Mayo (1997), it is not enough to engage with the notion of emancipation to comprehend the inequalities, injustices, inequities and oppression of society, it is also important for people to participate actively, and take actions to change who they are, and in so doing change society. Radical adult education is all about people dedicating their time and resources to analyze, enhance, foster, and engage in social issues with the aim of generating social democracy and promoting socialist transformation (Holst, 2007). According to Thompson (2000), radical adult education refers to popular education, which is education for the people. It means to facilitate public knowledge and thus, foster popular struggles for improvement in social ethics and democracy. Radical adult education is a form of educational practice linked with movements for social transformation and used to generate awareness to society about issues that affect it (Mayo, 1997). Why should adult education respond to social movements and globalization? International finance institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Transnational corporations are some of the global instruments that have been developed to help the society learn how to tap into the positive benefits of globalization while safeguarding the society against its effects. Massive mobilizations of people such as witnessed at conferences held by the World Economic Forum, the World Social Forum, and the World Trade Organization illustrate the potential strength, and power of social movements in contemporary society and the capacity that radical adult education can have if effectively and efficiently facilitated to individuals (Mayo, 2005). There is an intense need for adult education to respond to globalization and social movements. The need to respond to social issues using adult education arises from the fact that there are people from varied parts of the world who are under the chains of oppressions, which are characterized by lack of freedom to worship, violations of their rights to education, infringement of their rights to democracy and violation of their fundamental human rights. Through social movements fostered by adult education, those oppressed are encouraged and empowered to get involved and initiate relevant actions to bring about desired social changes. On the other hand, the need for adult education to respond to globalization arises from the need to generate people-initiated sustainable solutions to counter the impact of market-based economies. The ability for globalization to enhance capitalistic ideologies and principles in society, which is characterized by social inequalities and social injustices where the rich continue getting richer at the expense of the poor who continue getting poorer, necessitate radical opposition through adult education. This is because, solutions to problems that people are experiencing as a result of market mechanisms, cannot be resolved by relying on the state actors alone but by all people participating in taking the actions to change what they do not like about their society. Since the paper acknowledges the need for adult education as the medium for opposing and responding to globalization, it is important to analyze effective and productive ways adult education practice can do so. Ways in which the professional practice of adult education can respond to globalization and the social movements to which it gives rise To generate desirable social changes, Crowther & Shaw (1997), argues that radical adult education can be used to initiate individuals to take actions and therefore, effectively and efficiently deal with the impact of market mechanisms that characterize globalization. To acquire what Crowther & Shaw refers as useful knowledge that responds to globalization and its impact on the society. It is essential to show and encourage the public to participate actively themselves and encourage people to experiment, examine and act on real issues rather than observe them in order to generate solutions to its own social challenges (Crowther, & Shaw, 1997). This means challenging the status quo and changing the way things are. This is because one cannot generate different results by doing the same thing. In order to deal with social inequalities such as unfair wealth allocation and unequal gender representations in positions of power or other discriminations done on the basis of skin colour, race, creed, religion, gender or social status, society needs to be actively engaged in generating the desired changes as suggested by Youngman, (2000). To respond to globalization, there is need to invest in adult education from the local, national and at a global level since there is a need to strengthen radical adult education. This is because the social movements that adult education generates will not only help free the oppressed who include vulnerable groups such as women, the poor, the elderly, the marginalized communities among others. But also, foster social democracy and generate social opportunities such as education, wealth, health and work to vulnerable groups including women, the disabled, marginalized and indigenous communities, the urban poor, children and the elderly among others as echoed by Mayo ( 2005). This is because the notable global success in areas such as the empowerment of women and the fight against racism has not come about because of state action but rather because of robust contests by social movements. For example, the struggle in South Africa against apartheid and the eventual equal access of resources and amenities by the white and black in South Africa did not come about because of the efforts of the government of South Africa. It came about because of pressure by social movement groups both local and international. Other than that, the professional practice of adult education can effectively respond by analyzing the different viewpoints people have about the economics of the concept of globalization (Holst, 2007). This is in view of the fact that a person’s perspective of the economics of globalization influences their understanding of the possibility of social transformation, their perception of the ways in which social transformation should occur and their understanding of who are supposed to be the change agents (Holst, 2007). In a study carried out about worker education programs as responses to globalization by Salt, Cervero & Herod (2000), the findings were that the worker’s understanding of the concept of globalization significantly impacts on the contents and delivery of the worker education programs (Salt et al. 2000). This means that a person’s assessment of the economics of globalization places a limit on how they perceive the process of globalization and their insights and understanding of social change. The perspective one has on a concept such as globalization is fundamental. Mayo (2005) states that, ‘…these are not simply semantic debates; different perspectives on globalization relate to differing and potentially competing political agendas’. This means that the connotations and the implications one relates to a process such as globalization are strongly connected to the challenges that one seeks to debate and to the type of social actions, an individual will participate in as supported by Robinson (2004). Therefore, adult education should respond to globalization by incorporating people’s understanding on what globalization is, which is different from person to person and what their perspectives are on the economics of the variable of globalization. The focus on the economics of globalization is crucial because unless society is able to overlook the economics of globalization and actually see the detrimental side of globalization, it would be almost impossible to encourage people to vote against it. Mayo (2005) indicates that globalization has impacted on learning agencies in such a way that the independence of public educational systems and the sovereignty of national governments as the ultimate decision-makers in democratic societies have been threatened. Although governments do have substantial autonomy in intervening in educational systems, the underlying factor in these interventions on educational systems are a concern for economic development and fostering global competitiveness. Wolf (2002) argues that due to the impact of globalization on education, society has forgotten that education has any objective other than to enhance growth. According to Leys (2001), educational policies are market-driven where policies on learning are developed to adapt learners to the pressures and challenges of transnational market forces. This means that rather than teaching learners ways of shaping social relations and fostering positive social change, they are equipped with knowledge on how to survive the competitiveness of global environments. Since the impacts of globalization on social democracy and social ethics are not in dispute, professional practice of adult education can respond to globalization and social movements. This can be achieved by drawing the attention of the adult learners to the power they have in generating sustainable developments and engaging them actively in discussions about matters and challenges affecting them in a disciplined manner, which allows adult learners to generate solutions to identified problems. This strategy of engaging people in discussing issues that impact on them and sharing ideas about possible solutions to their problems encourages people to reflect seriously on key issues. More significantly, helping each person to develop his or her own capacity for reflection and debate and to articulate their points- of- view will ensure each person is actively participating in critical processes of solving problems and making decisions on matters that affect the individuals and as community members. This could be done via a process of intensive forums that may produce evidence to convince stakeholders and perhaps catches the ear of policy-makers and the business community who drives and supports globalization. Simon (1999) notes that participation and engagement in social debates and social movement is educative in itself and may result in positive changes. According to Cox & Fominaya (2009), social movements generate knowledge about social aspects of life, particularly social issues and information about society that is problematic to the affluent and educated, and opposed by these groups who generally comprise the government and the business community. Social movements bring to the attention of the public matters which some would prefer to remain concealed. These concealed matters encompass violations of fundamental human rights, social injustices, social inequalities, environmental challenges and global peace among others (Flesher, 2005). The main purpose of social movements is to educate the public about alternative ways of viewing the world, and to encourage people to take decisive actions in order to generate the desired social changes (Youngman, 2000). According to Holst (2007), effective and productive adult education enables the development of social movements that are sustainable and able to combat negative impacts of globalization and he acknowledges the role of the state in order to generate positive social change. This can be done by collaborating with the state in order to ensure that in its policy-making role, the state formulates and implements policies that support the desired social changes rather than allowing them to be overridden by market driven goals. According to Holst (2007), essential work that relates to localized social struggles concerning state education policy and practice, has been done in adult education, demonstrating a transition from limited praxis to revolutionary praxis. Examples include the education initiatives of Freire as Secretary of Education in Brazil, and popular education through participatory budgeting in Latin America, both of which have taken into account the fundamental role of the state in generating social change. Paulo Freire and Antonio Gramsci, two early implementers of social movement learning understood and acknowledged the role of the state in generating social transformation. It would be both futile and unproductive for the professional practice of adult education to respond to globalization without seeking participation and engagement with the state. Holst (2007) argues that it is fundamental to connect local struggles with national ones. This is because, significant changes cannot occur without a political instrument embedded in mass movement and a readiness to engage directly with the state. Harnecker argues similarly that the social movements and revolutions, which have been successful in the past, are those that have utilized what Harnecker refers to political body, which links people with the relevant powers. Harnecker also suggests that for radical adult education and the social movements that it generates to be productive in their goals and purposes, it is crucial for individuals to understand that their hardships and challenges are interconnected with the overall economic situation, the situation of the state and to some extent the global situation. When these challenges are limited to the local level, the revolutionary potential deteriorates (Harnecker, 2007). Therefore, the social movements developed to address these problems and the social issues such as unequal wealth distribution and violations of fundamental basic rights among others facing society, need to be brought to a national level so that their full potential is realized (Harnecker 2007). As globalization takes a strong hold on contemporary business: social and market environments, many individuals find it difficult to be hired and if they are hired, they have to work harder to remain competitive and thus, keep their jobs in a progressively turbulent environment (Robinson, 2004). With jobs that are not only unstable but also un-assured, majority of people globally are living on a hand to mouth basis. The increase in demands for basic amenities such as water, food, shelter, education and healthcare result from the rise of capitalism globally. As a result, there are calls for cooperation and socio-political economic engagements in order to generate positive social change and thus, provide for the needs of an increasing global population Holst, (2007). The main goals of learning are the development of well-rounded individuals who are effectively equipped to generate positive social growth and development. In order to this to occur, it is important for educational stakeholders to adopt a paradigm of learning, which enriches the learners holistically thus, surpassing the limits set by a market driven educational economy (Youngman, 2000). This is what adult education and the social movements it generates should be based on. Youngman also states that social development should be the basic goal for policy making in education and that all stakeholders, including teachers, policy makers and students should take the concept of learning as a means for enhancing social good rather than as a commodity or investment or a means to acquiring wealth and a competitive edge (Youngman, 2000). An essential skill for teachers is the capacity to assess critically the world. By considering all these, the professional practice of adult education can respond to globalization and the social movements effectively and comprehensively. The professional practice of adult education will be in a better position to achieve the main purpose of adult education, which is to establish the independence and a sense of accountability of individuals and communities. In supporting the ability to respond to economic changes occurring in culture and in society, and fostering tolerance, coexistence and informed engagements of citizens in their society should be championed. That is, enabling individuals to take full responsibility for their society future and deal effectively with hardships that lay ahead. Conclusion Adult education is an essential component in generation of socio-political and economic development in the society. For adult learners, learning is not only determined and purposive but also embodied. The twenty first century has witnessed advancement in technology and the progression of globalization. The concept of globalization has elicited countless debate with the global population being split on whether to embrace it or oppose it. Regardless of the standpoint one takes, one cannot ignore the impact that globalization has had on all aspects of life from business transactions, social relations and entertainment, to work, economical and political activities. To counter these impacts, radical adult learning has been relied on to educate people about ways they can influence social change by actively participating in taking action and by challenging the status quo. To counter the effects of capitalist ideologies, the impacts of market driven principles, and to generate social change, the professional practice of adult education can respond to globalization and the social movements by engaging with the state. Understanding the different perspectives that individuals have about the economics of globalization, engaging people in discussions about their challenges and viable solutions to their challenges is paramount. More importantly, ensuring that the educational policies are not pegged to market driven goals of wealth acquisition that utilizes education as a commodity to acquiring wealth and a competitive edge but rather educational policies that foster education that enhances social good. References Cox, L., & Fominaya, C.F. (2009). Movement knowledge: what do we know, how do we create knowledge and what do we do with it? Interface: A Journal for and about Social Movements, 1(1), 1-20 Crowther, J. & Shaw, M. (1997). Social movements and the education of desire. Community Development Journal, 32(3), 266–279 Flesher, E. (2005). The Logic of Autonomy: Principles, praxis, and challenges of autonomous anti-capitalist movements. University of California, Berkeley, PhD Dissertation. ISBN 978-0-542-2935 Harnecker, M. (2007). Rebuilding the left (J. Duckworth, Trans.). London: Zed Holst, J.D. (2007). The politics and economics of globalization and social change in radical adult education: A critical review of recent literature. Journal for critical education policy studies, 5(1) ISSN 1740-2743 Leys, C. (2001). Market-Driven Politics. Neoliberal democracy and the public interest London: Verso Books Mayo, M. (1997). Imagining Tomorrow: Adult Education for Transformation. Leicester: NIACE. Mayo, M. (2005). Global citizens. London: ZED. Robinson, W. I. (2004). A theory of global capitalism. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University Press. Salt, B., Cervero, R. M. & Herod, A. (2000). Workers’ education and neoliberal globalization: An adequate response to transnational corporations? Adult Education Quarterly, 51(1), 9-31. Simon, B. (1999). Review: popular education and social movements. 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