new series
29*30
community development
international issue of
In te rn a tio n a l R e v ie w o f C om m u n ity D evelop m en t
International Edition of «Centro Sociale» Sponsored by the «Adriano Olivetti» Foundation
Advisory Board
A. Ardigò, Istituto di Sociologia, Università di Bologna - G. Balandier, Sorbonne, Ecole Pratique des
Hautes Etudes, Paris - R. Bauer, Società Umanitaria, Milano - L. Benevolo, Facoltà di Architettura,
Università di Venezia - Af. Berry, International Federation o f Settlements, New York - F. Botts,
FAO, Roma - G. Calogero, Istituto di Filosofia, Università di Roma - Af. Calogero Comandini, CEPAS,
Roma - V. Casara, Esperta Educazione degli Adulti, Roma - G. Cigliana, Esperto Servizi
Sociali, Roma - E. Clunies-Ross. Institute of Education, University o f London - H. Desroche,
Sorbonne, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris - / . Dumazedier, Centre National de
la Recherche Scientifique, Paris - A. Dunham, School o f Social W ork (Emeritus), University of
Michigan - Af. Fichera, Fondazione « A . Olivetti » , Roma - E. Flytten, D iv. Social Affairs, UN,
Geneva - F. Lombardi, Istituto di Filosofia, Università di Roma - E. Lopes Cardozo, State University
o f Utrecht - A. Meister, Sorbonne, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris - L. Miniclier, Inter
national Cooperation Administration, Washington - G. Molino, Amministrazione Attività Assi
stenziali Italiane e Internazionali, Rom a - G. Motta, Fondazione « A . Olivetti » , Roma - R. Nisbet,
Dept, o f Sociology, University o f California - C. Pellizzi, Istituto di Sociologia, Università di
Firenze - E. Pusic, Faculty o f Law, University o f Zagreb - L. Quaroni, Facoltà di Architet
tura, Università di Roma - M. G. Ross, University o f Toronto - Af. Rossi-Doria, Osserva
n o di Economia Agraria, Università di Napoli - U. Serafini, Presidenza Consiglio Comuni
d ’ Europa, Roma - Af. Smith, Home O ffice, London - /. Spencer, Dept, o f Social W ork, University of
Edinburgh - A. Todisco, Fondazione « A . Olivetti » , Ivrea - A. Visalberghi, Istituto di Filosofia,
Università di Roma - P. Volponi, Fondazione « A . Olivetti » , Ivrea - E. de Vries, Institute of
Social Studies (Emeritus), The Hague - A. Zucconi, CEPAS, Roma.
Editor: Anna M . Levi - Editorial Assistant: Ernesta Rogers Vacca Editorial and Business Offices: Piazza Cavalieri di Malta» 2
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In te rn a tio n a l R e v ie w
o f C om m u n ity D evelop m en t, n. 2 9 -3 0 ,
S u m m er 19 7 3
International Issue of “ Centro Sociale ” , a. X X , n. 109-111
C o n ten ts - S o m m a ir e - In d iceE. Rogers Vacca
I I I Introduzione
New Trends in Traditional Institutions
T. Lovett 1 Adult Education and Community Development. A Network Approach
G. Riches 13 Rethinking the Role of Settlements Today
K. Jackson 21 The Marginality of Community Development. Implications for Adult Education
S. Ferraguti 43 Un’esperienza di azione sociale all’interno di un istituto tradizionale
La politica culturale e ì suoi operatori
S. Avveduto 61 Il punto sul «nuovo verbo»: l’educazione permanente
G. Bechelloni 71 Educazione permanente e azione culturale
E. Donda 95 Intervento culturale ed esperienza politica
A. Meister 123 Militanti e animatori
A. Donini 165 A propos de quelques théories sur le sous-développement
B. Franceschi 179 Sviluppo economico e disgregazione del proletariato in un’area metropolitana del Mezzogiorno
R. S. Pandey 201 An Inter-Organizational Analysis of Planning for Social Development in India
In tro d u z io n e
di E r n e sta R o g e r s Vacca
In questo volume presentiamo una serie di articoli che, pur non essendo stati deliberatamente predisposti a questo fine dalla redazione, vogliono dare un resoconto di nuovi esperimenti in campo comunitario e/o dibatterne i limiti e le ideologie che li informano. Si tratta di esperienze e dibattiti che, a differenza di altri generalmente presenti nella nostra rivista, si riferiscono a situazioni di società cosiddette avanzate — Inghilterra, Francia, Italia — e ad interventi dotati di un certo carattere innovativo, il cui tema comune è la trasforma zione di istituzioni non più rispondenti ai bisogni sociali, sotto il segno di una partecipazione e coinvolgimento delle persone cui tali istituzioni sono dirette.
Se infatti i paesi in via di sviluppo hanno com e loro problematica cen trale la creazione di istituzioni capaci di affrontare i gravi dilemmi posti da situazioni econom iche arretrate e da popolazioni che solo da oggi sono chia mate ad impegnarsi direttamente nel regolare la propria esistenza, nel mondo occidentale si fa sempre più acuta la crisi di istituzioni vecchie, chiaramente inadeguate a risolvere i problemi di società sempre più complesse. A ll’interno dei paesi definiti sviluppati continuano ad esistere sacche di povertà, zone intere che sembrano destinate a restare in una situazione di sottosviluppo funzionale allo sviluppo di aree più favorite, settori della popolazione che non sono raggiunti dai benefici di una società più opulenta e organizzata, in ragione di una loro posizione di classe. Il crescere del potere statale non solo a livello di pianificazione economica generale, ma per l’allargarsi delle com petenze attribuite ai pubblici poteri, va di pari passo con l’ingigantirsi di una burocrazia sempre più lontana dalle masse che dovrebbe servire, e il cui funzionamento è spesso incomprensibile proprio per coloro la cui vita ne è più direttamente influenzata.
Il bisogno degli individui di comprendere com e e perché vengono prese certe decisioni, e di poter controllare le scelte che vengono fatte si va facendo sempre più pressante; e dunque sempre più espressa è la rivendicazione al diritto di partecipare, controllare e gestire — il bisogno che la società si trasformi in modo da ridistribuire risorse e potere. In una situazione in cui, in ragione di una complessa situazione politica internazionale e forse anche di certe tradizioni politiche democratiche, la via di queste rivendicazioni non passa prevedibilmente per una rivoluzione e una diretta presa di potere, le
tensioni sociali sono acute e generano iniziative partenti dalla base, di piccoli gruppi o associazioni per ora marginali, ma con una spiccata carica di mili tanza. A loro volta i gruppi che hanno il potere si rendono conto — almeno in certi paesi — di quanto preme alle porte, del proprio bisogno di un con senso più allargato, della necessità di una maggiore apertura; e vediamo quindi sorgere iniziative promosse da governi, amministrazioni locali, orga nizzazioni nazionali o internazionali volte a indurre una partecipazione che possa facilitare un cambiamento sociale senza eccessive scosse o rivolgimenti.
Siamo dunque di fronte ad un rilancio del « lavoro di comunità », dello « sviluppo di comunità », che alla fine degli anni ’60 sembravano presen tarsi alla valutazione con un bilancio ben magro di risultati? Ci sembra che vi siano delle differenze determinanti, fattesi sempre più nette a partire dal ’68, con una polarizzazione che presenta notevole interesse ma anche notevoli rischi.
Il termine « comunità » è rimasto nelle abbreviazioni delle etichette di molte attività, ma sembra oggi definire piuttosto una zona territoriale limi tata, spesso coincidente con qualche definizione amministrativa del particolare
territorio, anziché il gruppo umano che lo abita, caratterizzato da particolari legami di interessi, cultura, vicinato, ecc. Non rimangono che poche tracce della nostalgia idilliaca degli anni cinquanta per un’ ideale rete di rapporti, forse mai esistita, certamente non ritrovabile oggi nel clima delle società industrializzate.
Trasferendo una qualificazione da un campo all’altro, potremmo dire che gli operatori sociali si occupano di « comunità funzionali », nel senso che particolari gruppi o associazioni, legati da comuni interessi o dalla residenza, formano il punto di partenza concreto per lo svolgersi di certe attività: la comunità com e ipotizzata in passato può forse rappresentare un punto d’arrivo, in certe condizioni e in relazione a certi specifici gruppi, ma non costituisce di per sé una condizione di lavoro, e neppure in sé un obiet tivo. L’accento è oggi messo sull’utilizzazione di particolari reti di rapporti in funzione di obiettivi generali — e in questo senso si può intendere la posizione di Lovett nel primo saggio di questo volume. La comunità ha
anche un altro senso, quando venga definita non tanto dagli operatori sociali sul campo, quanto dalle autorità, enti, o organizzazioni che danno avvìo alle attività in discussione; può indicare una zona territoriale — talvolta coinci dente con suddivisioni amministrative, talvolta con altre delimitazioni di ter ritorio relative alle funzioni dell’ente — nella quale sono stati constatati problemi molteplici di malessere sociale (povertà, disoccupazione, affollamento in condizioni sanitarie e di abitazione inaccettabili, strutture educative defi citarie), tali da preoccupare amministratori e autorità in quanto aree di parti colare tensione sociale. In questa definizione può essere implicito un problema
di « controllo sociale » con le conseguenti limitazioni operative che ne derivano.
Un’altra differenza importante nel lavoro comunitario di questi anni ci sembra vada trovata nel significato mutato della definizione di « intervento » rispetto ai progetti così com e erano caratterizzati negli anni ’50-’60. In questi anni, l’attenzione di sociologi, antropologi e operatori alle strutture del potere, e l’analisi di esse ha condotto ad una visione più realistica delle difficoltà inerenti ad una trasformazione sociale: il riconoscimento che non esiste una posizione neutrale dell’operatore o del ricercatore rispetto a tali problemi, ma che la nozione stessa di cambiamento sociale implica una scelta relativa alla direzione desiderata del cambiamento, e quindi una scelta di valore, con duce — insieme alla diversa valutazione delle situazioni conflittuali — ad una interpretazione dell’intervento com e « azione sociale » partecipata. La mobilitazione della popolazione perché certe energie latenti vengano poste al servizio di un movimento per la trasformazione di condizioni insoddisfacenti, non ha più alla base quella teoria del «self-help » caratteristica dell’ottimismo post-bellico. Il problema del potere non è disgiunto da quello delle risorse, ma coincide con il controllo delle risorse stesse, almeno al punto di distribu zione di queste.
Da quest’ultimo punto di vista, quello cioè della distribuzione delle risorse materiali e non materiali, il problema della trasformazione delle isti tuzioni esistenti ha un duplice aspetto: riguarda gli obiettivi stessi della isti tuzione, quando questi non siano più congrui agli effettivi bisogni, e riguarda le modalità con cui le risorse caratteristiche dell’istituzione vengono distribuite, in maniera da arrivare ad un effettivo controllo da parte degli utenti.
Sono infatti le persone stesse che hanno ormai abbandonato la speranza in migliori servizi unicamente in virtù di una riorganizzazione efficientistica di questi, e che hanno compreso com e soltanto cambiando il rapporto di potere fra ente ed utente si possa arrivare ad un miglioramento concreto; questa presa di coscienza è già una presa di coscienza politica, una scelta di valore.
Considerando di nuovo il problema dal punto di vista delle amministra zioni, istituzioni e organizzazioni che provvedono questi servizi, vediamo un nuovo interesse per i problemi relativi alla pianificazione e coordinamento,
0 anche alla modifica, dei servizi esistenti nei vari settori e ai vari livelli: 1 problemi connessi con il decentramento amministrativo sono di questo tipo, e hanno maggiore o minore portata concreta ovviamente nella misura in cui viene realizzato un certo tipo di scelta politica da parte delle amministra zioni stesse.
Un terzo aspetto che sembra differenziare il lavoro comunitario odierno si riferisce al tipo di coinvolgimento delle popolazioni interessate. Se si può
dire che siamo usciti con una certa sicurezza da quell’approccio di tipo psico- logico-antropologico che si esprìmeva nell’ uso di parole com e « responsabi lizzazione », « aiuto a recuperare fiducia in sé stessi, a uscire da uno stato di apatia», ecc., questo dipende dal fatto che ci si è resi conto dell’esistenza di una circolarità fra i cambiamenti che dovrebbero verificarsi internamente alle persone, nei loro atteggiamenti, nella capacità di gestire la propria vita, ecc., e i cambiamenti che devono avvenire nelle strutture perché diventi pos sibile una partecipazione reale. La immissione di risorse nelle zone in que stione, nella forma di coordinazione e miglioramento dei vari servizi distri butivi, è un primo e necessario passo, ma parallelamente a questo è necessaria un’azione che porti, da parte degli utenti, ad una presa di coscienza degli ostacoli che si frappongono ad una reale ridistribuzione, dei limiti di questa in relazione alle cause della loro condizione, delle concrete possibilità di trasformazione insite in azioni a livello locale.
Si vengono dunque a configurare nuovi tipi di attività, indicate in vario modo — promozionali, socio-culturali, di educazione permanente o degli adulti — che vengono a trovarsi in correlazione ad una preparazione pre politica o politica in quanto premessa necessaria a una partecipazione che non sia un fatto solo formale.
Questa ripresa di attività comunitarie si verifica tuttora in una situa zione di ambiguità, anche se molte delle illusioni sono cadute, se certe posi zioni sono state chiarite, rispetto al passato. E indubbiamente un segno rivelatore di tale ambiguità sta nella situazione tuttora niente affatto facile degli operatori sociali che dovrebbero realizzare sul campo progetti di lavoro comunitario. Quanto più vicini essi sono alle situazioni concrete di depriva zione e quanto più si identificano con la popolazione nel cui seno devono operare, tanto più difficile è la loro posizione nei confronti degli enti e organizzazioni che li impiegano sulla base di una definizione estremamente « loca lizzata » del loro lavoro; e quando siano riusciti ad identificare ed incoraggiare una leadership locale non professionale, i loro rapporti con questa possono diventare delicati nel momento in cui le azioni da intraprendere sono valu tabili con metri diversi a seconda del loro valore strategico a lungo o breve termine. La marginalità stessa dell’intervento locale rispetto a problemi le cui origini sono di più ampia portata e centrali rispetto all’intero sistema sociale ed economico, non può a lungo termine non essere rilevata dalle persone la cui partecipazione è stata indotta in vario modo. Un’azione di chiarificazione sui limiti ed ostacoli del lavoro comunitario, peraltro, dovrebbe paradossal mente esser condotta dagli stessi operatori sociali che in esso sono impegnati, e che, ciò facendo, verrebbero a nullificare le politiche dell’ente da cui dipendono.
l’azione locale em ergono dai contributi qui presentati. In termini di esperi menti nuovi Lovett ci sembra spiegare in modo assai evidente un modello
organizzativo basato su un sistema di « reti » esistenti entro e al di fuori dell’area operativa, in cui l’educazione degli adulti è parte integrante di un progetto di sviluppo comunitario, ma in cui la definizione del ruolo dell’edu catore degli adulti è sottoposta ad un’analisi stringente. Il tentativo di una nuova utilizzazione di una istituzione antica com e il settlement inglese nel settore troppo trascurato della produzione, anziché in quello di una distri
buzione di servizi, ci sembra la caratteristica innovativa degli esperimenti del Liverpool University Settlement, com e descritti da Riches, ed è specialmente
interessante l’accento posto sull’ individuo come produttore e non solo com e consumatore di servizi. L ’esperimento italiano condotto da Ferraguti nel
l’ambito di una delle più tradizionali istituzioni del paese, la parrocchia, testimonia com e esista la possibilità di ottenere una genuina partecipazione alla base quando esista la volontà di porsi degli obiettivi rispondenti alle necessità reali, e com e un’analisi di questi bisogni possa anche iniziare con attività di stretto servizio sociale individuale, ma ci dice anche com e possano essere rapide le reazioni delle istituzioni che si sentono minacciate da una parteci pazione vera, e quanto piccolo è dunque lo spazio di manovra per l’azione sociale locale in assenza di certe condizioni politiche.
Accanto a questi esperimenti innovativi, un altro gruppo di articoli pre senta e discute le implicazioni teoriche degli interventi più specificamente
educativi e socio-culturali. Jackson discute i problemi che insorgono quando — considerata l’educazione degli adulti com e uno dei servizi la cui distribu
zione a livello locale va migliorata — il professionista educatore degli adulti vuole avvicinarsi al proprio compito con l’animo del riformatore, pur mante nendo integro e intatto il rigore della propria disciplina. La riforma istitu zionale interna nel modo di offrire e condurre le attività educative, e il nuovo rapporto stabilito con gli attivisti locali richiedono una estrema chiarezza nelle posizioni teoriche, in modo da non offrire un servizio di seconda qualità sotto il mantello di un generico « apprendimento nel fare », e in modo da evitare il rischio di una « assimilazione nel sistema » proprio di quelle forze nuove che si volevano sollecitare tramite l’educazione. Le necessità di salva guardare non lo status, ma un reale apporto professionale da parte del professionista — ferm o restando che anch’egli com e individuo impegnato può e deve avere un proprio orientamento ideologico e una sua presa di posi zione politica — è il tema di Jackson. Tema che è anche alla base dell’articolo
di Donda. non per la professione di educatore ma per quella dell’antropologo,
in merito all’ intervento « cosiddetto culturale »•. qui l’esame di una precisa situazione culturale, interpretata secondo una visione politica da un ricerca tore sensibile al significato delle interazioni cui vuole partecipare, conduce a considerazioni generali sulla validità di interventi educativi che vogliono
modificare dall’esterno certi valori considerati negativamente, senza rendersi conto della globalità di una cultura in cui il cambiamento è già in atto ed è vissuto anche attraverso manifestazioni non facilmente comprensibili a chi non vi partecipa. La difficoltà di una politica culturale che tenga conto di certe realtà di classe in Italia è anch’essa al centro delle preoccupazioni degli articoli di Avveduto e di Bechelloni, in cui il tema dell’educazione perma
nente e delle sue interpretazioni è affrontato in maniera più diretta, da due differenti punti di vista il cui contrasto è stimolante. Ritorna anche qui il discorso sulla necessità di trasformazioni nelle istituzioni educative di base; l’educazione permanente non ha soltanto un senso com e educazione continuata attraverso tutto il ciclo vitale, ma acquista una vera funzionalità se l’educa zione impartita attraverso l’istituzione scolastica è veramente valida e forma un tutto coerente nelle sue varie fasi. La necessità dunque di una educazione che miri a insegnare a imparare fin dagli inizi della carriera scolastica, e che continui mediante una varietà di strutture a sollecitare anche nell’adulto una capacità a servirsi delle occasioni fornite dai vari tipi di educazione degli adulti-, ma questo richiede, insieme a trasformazioni sostanziali di una scuola attualmente inadeguata, la formazione di professionisti adeguati. Il tema di questa leadership culturale ritorna, in termini un p o ’ amari, nel saggio di
Meister. L ’insorgere di un nuovo professionalismo, quello degli animatori
socio-culturali, può esser visto com e l’insorgere di uno specialista in « rela zioni umane » che tende a promuovere una partecipazione nel quadro di istituzioni accettabili alla società così com ’è oggi, in vista di una più rapida acculturazione. Sono i modi con cui la società così com ’è oggi riesce a controllare un militantismo scom odo e a diminuire le tensioni, riassimilando iniziative rivoluzionarie in canali riconosciuti e accettabili. La figura del vecchio militante sembra in via di scomparsa, sia nelle società occidentali che in quelle socialiste. E com e sarà possibile trasformare le cose senza un militantismo reale?
L’incerta via da seguire sembra pur sempre quella di una continua e rigorosa disamina del proprio ruolo da parte di chi sceglie di dedicarsi a queste attività, insieme alla costante coscienza e conoscenza del quadro di riferimento generale, che dia un senso delle proporzioni fra cause effettive delle ineguaglianze nella nostra società e limiti delle azioni che di giorno in giorno è possibile condurre. L ’affermare che taluni interventi sono mar ginali ai problemi centrali di una società non implica necessariamente rifiu tarli in toto: a lungo termine, suggerisce Riches, « quegli approcci alternativi
che posono avere un significato sociale marginale oggi, possono domani diventare di importanza educativa centrale ».
A d u lt E d u ca tio n an d C om m u n ity D ev elop m en t
a N e tw o rk A p p ro a ch
by Torn L o v e tt
In recent years adult educationalists have become increasingly interested in the role o f adult education in the field o f community development. Although adult education is no stranger to the process o f community development in underdeve loped countries only quite lately have adult educationalists turned their attention to the process as it has developed in the USA and more recently in Britain.
In Britain the establishment o f action/research projects in designated Educa tional Priority Areas and Home Office Community Development Projects; the profusion o f community action groups; the increased interest in community par ticipation; the deliberations o f the Russell Committee on Adult Education in England and Wales have all created an atmosphere in which traditional ideas on the role o f adult education are under searching scrutiny. Adult education is felt by many to be on the threshold o f major decisions about its future structure and organisa tion. Hopes are expressed that it may now be possible to show that adult educa tion has an important role to play in a period o f rapid social, economic and political change. The prospect o f adult education breaking away from its mainly middle class image and catering for the needs o f the working class is viewed with a certain amount o f optimism.2
A great deal o f this optimism may be misplaced and hopes exaggerated. How ever, community development exercises have certainly shown that given new struc tures and approaches it is possible to engage working class communities in a variety o f what some adult educationalists regard as “ learning situations. 3
But, with a few exceptions, little systematic analysis has taken place on the relationship between adult education and community development and the role the former can play in, at the moment, a very fragmented process.4 Adult educa tionalists have not taken any prominent part in the variety o f Poverty Programmes and community action projects in the USA. Numerous small studies have recently appeared in adult education journals on isolated projects.5 Community adult education has become the “ in thing ” amongst many professionals in a variety
This article is a longer version of a paper given to the International Conference on “ Adult Education and Community Development ” at Liverpool University, 5th - 9th June, 1972.
o f adult education settings from W EA branches to Evening Institutes. In the absence o f any model or framework however, there is a danger that the concept will become too all-embracing to have practical meaning.
The Liverpool Experiment
There is a need, therefore, for a framework within which the variety o f roles adult education can play in the community development process can be clarified and related to each other in some overall pattern. Such a framework or model requires either a drawing together o f the variety o f experiments carried out in a number o f community development settings, or an intensive project in one par ticular area, experimenting with a number o f different approaches. It is the pur pose o f this paper to present a framework based on the latter. The experiment was one carried out by the Workers Educational Association (West Lancs. Che shire District) in co-operation with the Liverpool Education Priority Area Action/ Research Project over a period o f three years from 1969 to 1972.
The Liverpool EPA Project was one o f six set up in 1968 after the Plowden R eport6 to undertake a policy o f action/research designed to provide information regarding national policies for positive discrimination in primary schools in deprived areas. The adult education element was one with a wide brief i.e. to explore the educational needs and interests o f adults in the EPA area — approximately 100,000 population in central Liverpool — and to experiment with new structures, organi sation and teaching techniques. The area o f operation was one that offered unique opportunities for such experiments since, as well as the EPA project, it was the centre for a variety o f community action/community development type projects e.g. The Shelter Neighbourhood Action Housing Project, The Great Georges Community Arts Projects; The Vauxhall Community Development Project; as well as numerous residents’ association and community councils. In fact it was something o f a “ Mecca ” for those interested in community action, community development and educational innovation.
It is not the purpose o f this paper to describe in any detail the various experi ments carried out during the three year period o f the project, nor to analyse the philosophy underlying the approach.7 Various papers have already been published dealing with these aspects o f the study and it is hoped to produce a detailed, com prehensive report in the near future. However, taking a broad view o f all that was attempted it is possible to erect a framework within which all the activities can be placed. This “ fram ework” is offered as:
(a) An organisational model for adult education provision in a community develop
ment setting which may be adopted elsewhere.
(b) A definition o f roles fo r adult education in community development projects. (c) An attempt to define more precisely the relationship between adult education and
Adult education like any other “ comm unity” service is, in the great majo rity o f instances, typified by a hierarchial structure and bureaucratic organisation. Although it often stresses its informality this is mainly a matter o f teaching tech nique — and not always then5 — and the relationship between teacher and taught. Structurally it implies a less formal teaching arrangement. However, this is almost always confined to the classroom.
In actuality adult education has a very formal structure typical o f large orga nisations. The nature o f the service (education) is decided — with few exceptions — by those in control. The criterion for success is judged in terms o f formal classes and the numbers attending. A ll the bureaucratic paraphernalia o f registers and forms are much in evidence. Students participate in an education process decided for them. The “ informality ” is within this inflexible structure.8 Like the social, health and welfare services, adult education is organised in a manner which is fa miliar to — and meets the needs o f — the middle class section o f the population. The question o f “ needs ” is in fact rarely raised because those who control the organisation are in the main from the same background as those who are being catered for. If it is raised then it is unlikely that it will have any radical organi sational implications for the body concerned. The organisational model is “ centre- periphery ” where “ the system’s ability to handle complex situations depends upon a simple message and upon growth through uniform replication.” 9 Any mismatch in such a model between the institution services and its customers is seen as a fault o f the latter.
A n alternative to the above system is an adult education or learning network where needs and interests are defined and articulated by those involved in the learn ing process and the centre-periphery model completely reversed. The network diagram is an illustration o f how such a network evolved and operated over the three years o f the EPA Project.
The model should be looked at three-dimensionally i.e. it has height as well as length and breadth. The circumference o f the larger circle can be regarded as the physical boundary o f the EPA area or a set o f criteria defining a certain section o f the population or, as in this instance, both. The circle in the centre o f the large circle represents adult education in the form o f one individual field worker. The smaller circles within the larger circle represent the variety o f groups found in the EPA. They range in levels o f formality from “ local residents ” who gather regu larly in a pub, to Community Councils representing residents’ associations in the area. If each circle is seen three-dimensionally i.e. as a column, then some columns are “ higher ” or more formal than others exhibiting some tendency towards a bu reaucratic structure.
During the initial year o f the project the adult education agent spent some considerable time making himself known to such groups identifying with them in A n A d u lt E d u c a tio n N e t w o r k
University EPA
Project
their activities, in short, setting up a network in which he was seen as someone with particular skills, knowledge and resources to offer the community — in this case educational.
Such “ resources ” are identified in the model by the circles outside the “ boun dary ” o f the community. Some o f these were organisations concerned with par ticular aspects o f adult education i.e. the University Extra-Mural Department, the W EA, Further Education. Traditionally they have adopted a modified center- periphery approach to adult education. However, in the EPA Project they were seen not as innovators at the centre but “ resources ” on the periphery. Other voluntary organisations i.e. Shelter, Child Poverty Action are concerned primarily
with housing and social needs but they recognise the importance o f education in tackling these problems. However, like adult educationalists, they tend to attract the middle class activist rather than the working class respondent. Because the “ agent ” at the centre had a network o f contacts with the community it was pos sible to use the talents and resources o f such organisations in educational exer cises involving residents with needs and interests in their particular fields e.g. (1) informal courses on House Improvement Grants run by Shelter; (2) informal courses on welfare rights and benefits for old age pensioners run by a local Anti- Poverty Group; (3) informal courses for coloured parents on colour problems run by the Community Relations Officer for the area. (4) Informal courses for local resident leaders on the planning issues underlying urban decay in co-opera tion with the planning department o f the local polytechnic. (5) A short course for local resident leaders on the role and function o f community councils in tackling the problems o f the inner city run in co-operation with the University Extra Mural Department.
In many instances the voluntary organisations whose prime function was not education and with less formal structures (smaller columns) were much more acces sible and easier to direct to relevant needs than the more formally structured edu cational bodies (higher columns). This was not true, however, o f the Workers Edu cational Association — the employing body — whose greater flexibility and tra dition o f out-going education gave it a distinct advantage in this type o f operation. The other partner in the exercise — the Educational Priority Area Project — by the very nature o f its role also adopted a flexible approach to needs and resources, thus greatly assisting the exercise. However, the role o f the adult educator in this project was not confined solely to the sort o f operation set out in the network diagram where problems, needs and interests are articulated and the adult educator provides the appropriate resources to assist learning. The major problem in the whole exercise was the variety o f roles often necessarily assumed by the professio nal at the centre o f the model. Below an attempt is made to define these different, though related roles, inside the network.
Roles in a Community Adult Education Network
1. Network Agent
The network agent is responsible for setting up the network o f contacts within his designated work area. This entails.
(a) Making contact with the variety o f informal groups operating in his area. (b) Becoming fully aware o f the problems, needs and interests in the area.
(c) Identifying those that are explicitly educational and recognising those that would
University EPA Project Local Radio Local Residents Community 1 Youth / \ \ Groups / / Marriage \ Guidance 1__ A D U L T V \ Council J E D U C A T IO N Church Groups Youth Service M others' Groups School Local Education Authority Schools
their activities, in short, setting up a network in which he was seen as someone with particular skills, knowledge and resources to offer the community — in this case educational.
Such “ resources ” are identified in the model by the circles outside the “ boun dary ” o f the community. Some o f these were organisations concerned with par ticular aspects o f adult education i.e. the University Extra-Mural Department, the WEA, Further Education. Traditionally they have adopted a modified center- periphery approach to adult education. Elowever, in the EPA Project they were seen not as innovators at the centre but “ resources ” on the periphery. Other voluntary organisations i.e. Shelter, Child Poverty Action are concerned primarily
with housing and social needs but they recognise the importance o f education in tackling these problems. However, like adult educationalists, they tend to attract the middle class activist rather than the working class respondent. Because the “ agent ” at the centre had a network o f contacts with the community it was pos sible to use the talents and resources o f such organisations in educational exer cises involving residents with needs and interests in their particular fields e.g. (1) informal courses on House Improvement Grants run by Shelter; (2) informal courses on welfare rights and benefits for old age pensioners run by a local Anti- Poverty Group; (3) informal courses for coloured parents on colour problems run by the Community Relations Officer for the area. (4) Informal courses for local resident leaders on the planning issues underlying urban decay in co-opera tion with the planning department o f the local polytechnic. (5) A short course for local resident leaders on the role and function o f community councils in tackling the problems o f the inner city run in co-operation with the University Extra Mural Department.
In many instances the voluntary organisations whose prime function was not education and with less formal structures (smaller columns) were much more acces sible and easier to direct to relevant needs than the more formally structured edu cational bodies (higher columns). This was not true, however, o f the Workers Edu cational Association — the employing body — whose greater flexibility and tra dition o f out-going education gave it a distinct advantage in this type o f operation. The other partner in the exercise — the Educational Priority Area Project by the very nature o f its role also adopted a flexible approach to needs and resources, thus greatly assisting the exercise. However, the role o f the adult educator in this project was not confined solely to the sort o f operation set out in the network diagram where problems, needs and interests are articulated and the adult educator provides the appropriate resources to assist learning. The major problem in the whole exercise was the variety o f roles often necessarily assumed by the professio nal at the centre o f the model. Below an attempt is made to define these different, though related roles, inside the network.
Roles in a Community Adult Education Network
1. Network Agent
The network agent is responsible for setting up the network o f contacts within his designated work area. This entails.
(a) Making contact with the variety o f informal groups operating in his area. (b) Becoming fully aware o f the problems, needs and interests in the area.
(c) Identifying those that are explicitly educational and recognising those that would
benefit from some form o f adult education.
The latter is not easy as the great majority o f people in working class areas, or areas o f high social need, look with suspicion on those who profess to be “ edu cators However, this is where the professionalism lies in this particular role i.e. the ability to establish relationships with groups and gain their confidence so that this natural suspicion is allayed. To use an analogy from the industrial field the agent has to get into the “ factory ” and join the production line. In this way he learns to speak the language o f those in the factory, can relate to their environ ment and problems and translate these into educational or “ learning ” situations. The growth o f trade union education in Great Britain is a good illustration o f this approach. The ability o f adult educationalists to speak the language o f those in industry and translate industrial/trade union problems into educational exercises owed something to the knowledge that such educationalists had o f the industrial/ trade union process and their network o f contacts in the trade-union world 10 — a much more structured network than is to be found in areas o f multiple deprivation, such as the EPA.
2. Resources Agent
As indicated in the model the resources agent sets up a network o f contacts with organisations that can provide educational resources for the groups with whom he has established contact inside the circle. As illustrated earlier these are not confined to specifically educational organisations. The skill o f the Resources Agent is his ability to realise and release the educational potential in organisations concerned with social, economic and political problems, as well as adult education institutions. Mention has already been made o f Child Poverty Action and Shelter. Another particularly successful experiment was the use o f local radio as an educa tional resource and teaching aid for groups within the network.11
The W E A ’ s chief resource was its ability to pay people for their involvement in leading “ learning exercises.” This made it possible in some instances to pay local residents to pass on skills and knowledge to other residents in an informal educational setting similar to that advocated by Illich in “ Deschooling Society.” 12 Other important resources were released into the community through the EPA Project. These included finance, audio-visual equipment and team members who engaged in adult education exercises directed by the field worker.
By concentrating attention on a specific deprived area’s educational needs and interests, it thus became possible to link together a variety o f organisations o f dif ferent degrees o f formality in a common exercise where they became part o f a larger network. This linking together was never formally recognised — such a recognition would possibly have thwarted the whole exercise if it led to the usual committee structure. However, it would certainly add to the efficiency o f such exercises if all the organisations involved with adult education (in the broadest sense o f the term) recognised a common area o f concern where they did not dictate “ to ” but received dictation “ fr o m ” the community. Such an approach could lead to useful c o
operation between agencies rather than the existing system o f duplication, compe tition and misuse o f educational resources. Implied in such an approach is the belief that adult education has a duty to put its resources at the disposal o f those most in need even though it appears that there is no demand for such resources. The value o f the network model is its ability to pinpoint such a need and to release resources accordingly.
3. Education Guide
The role o f “ Educational G u ide” falls into two categories:
(а) Acting as educational advisor for peer group learning situations. Here the emphasis is on working closely with groups, assisting them in informal learning processes which may, or may not, fall into conventional patterns. For example a group o f residents may want to run a summer play scheme for the first time. This can be a learning situation for parents and children, not only in terms o f the organisational and administrative skills required, but also the opportunity it offers to help parents to learn more about the importance o f children’ s play. The educa tional guide must step very warily in such a situation for fear o f imposing a structured solution. His position will not be one o f leader but o f advisor, seeing to it that the adults concerned learn as much as possible inside their own informal response to the problem.
Other learning situations can be slightly more formal i.e. discussion amongst a group o f young women about marriage and the family today and their role as wives and mothers. Here the need is for material which can stimulate discussion, illuminate argument and help develop cognitive powers. Again the education guide must adopt a back seat approach, not dominating or imposing his views or solu tions but rather creating a situation where adults can learn from their own shared experiences and material drawn from outside such experiences. It is here that adult education needs to explore more fully the cultural barrier and the educational role o f popular culture and the mass media.13
(б) Aside from such peer group learning situations, or arising from them, demands are made for information about more formal education leading to quali fications. Here the network system operates in reverse and “ avenues ” are opened up for such individuals to undertake more formal study in an institutional setting. The emphasis then is on counselling. This means discovering exactly what it is the person wants to do; evaluating his or her potential; stimulating confidence (extre mely important); discovering the appropriate course and institution and making the latter aware o f the special problems that make it difficult for those who need, and can benefit from, its resources, making use o f them. This, o f course, has ramifi cations for the admission procedure and internal organisation o f such institutions. In a number o f instances bureaucratic rules and regulations overrode obvious
A d u lt E d u c a tio n o r C o m m u n ity D e v e lo p m e n t?
T o what extent is the network system as it evolved in the Liverpool EPA adult education or community development or both? T o a certain extent it can be argued that the network system with its emphasis on field work at grass roots level in a deprived area is a Community Work Approach and the method adopted by most community development workers. A t an organisational level the emphasis on “ ser vice delivery ” and co-ordinating the activities o f a variety o f institutions with educational services to offer is one that the British Home Office Community Develop ment Projects have adopted. However, they are concerned almost entirely with local authority and statutary body services whereas the Liverpool experiment il lustrated the usefulness o f co-ordinating statutory, voluntory and local authority educational services.
Thus in terms o f strategy and organisation the Liverpool experiment in adult education offers a model for community development projects concerned with a variety o f needs and resources. In a community development exercise the network would become a “ web ” with different agents concerned with different needs —- including adult education. At the same time the network approach offers the pos sibility o f democratic control over resources. The nature o f the initiating body — the W EA — a voluntary organisation with lay control over professionals, stressed the need for such a development and attempts are being made to replace the adult educationalist at the centre o f the model by a branch o f the W EA comprising local people from the variety o f informal groups in the networks. This group will — it is hoped — form the hub o f the system and the adult educator will become their servant. Such a development — it if is successful — could be paralleled in com munity development projects and meet the criticism o f those who argue that such projects lack any system for democratic control by the communities involved.19 At the same time the nature o f the community development process is such that not only can adult education be seen as another network in the web, another need that can be met by co-ordination o f resources but it is also an essential element in the whole process. The emphasis on community participation and involvement creates situations where people and institutions, at all levels, are placed in Schon’s “ learning systems ” where the skills and knowledge o f professional adult educators are essential if such exercises are to be successful. In Liverpool this was recognised by almost all the projects concerned with community development. Both the W EA and the Liverpool University Institute o f Extension Studies played their part in emphasizing the importance o f adult education in the whole community develop ment process.20
To sum up then it would appear that the network model offers adult education the opportunity to participate in community development projects as an important additional resource, or resources, to meet specific community needs and interests. As developed in Liverpool it can also be seen as a model for community
develop-ment exercises in general, offering the possibility o f some form o f local democratic control. Yet not only is it an important network in the web o f community develop ment emphasizing personal as well as community development. It is an essential ingredient in a situation where people and organisations need to “ learn through doing ” i.e. to question themselves, their attitudes, their institutions and way o f life, at the same time as they attempt to tackle the problems o f social, economic, educational and political deprivation. The former is adult education and cannot be separated from the latter.
Tom Lovett
Institute o f Continuing Education, Derry, N. Ireland
Notes
1 K. Ja c k s o n,y* Adult Education and Community Development ” , Studies in Adult
Education, vol. 2. n. 2, Nov. 1971 (A comprehensive survey o f the issues involved).
2 T. Lo v e t t, “ Community Adult Education ” , Studies in Adult Education, vol. 3,
n. 1, April 1972 (A complement to the above arising out of the initial EPA experiments. Also submitted as evidence to the Russell Committee).
3 C. Ki r k w o o d, “ Do It Yourself Local Newspaper - Is This Adult Education?” ,
Adult Education, vol. 44, n. 3, Sept. 1971.
4 Ja c k s o n, op. cit.; see also P. Du Sa u t o y and R. D. Wa l l e r, “ Community Deve lopment and Adult Education in Urban Areas ” , International Review o f Community Deve
lopment, n. 8, 1961.
5 C. Be t t y and T. Lo v e t t, “ EPA’s Reports and Reflections ” , Adult Education, vol. 43, n. 5, Jan. 1971; Lu c y M. Cu l l e n, “ Adults at Play. The Great Georges Project,
Liverpool ” , ibidem-, P. Cl y n e, “ On the Fringes ” , Adult Education, vol. 44, n. 2, July 1971 (Mr. Clyne undertook some research on adult education provision for the disadvantaged on behalf of the Russell Committee); P. Da y, “ Community Development and Adult Edu cation. Some Comments ” , Adult Education, vol. 44, n. 5, Jan. 1972; R. Sh a w and L. We s t,
“ Class Dismissed ” , Adult Education, vol. 44, n. 6, March 1972 (Prof. Shaw’s article illustrates the growing interest in the role o f adult education in working class communities from a traditional liberal education point o f view rather than that of community development).
6 Ce n t r a l Ad v i s o r y Co u n c i lf o r Ed u c a t i o n (En g l a n d) , Children and Their Primary
Schools (Plowden Report), HMSO, 1967.
7 T. Lo v e t t, “ Light at the End o f the Mersey Tunnel. An Account o f Adult Educa tion in an EPA ” , Education and Training, Feb. 1972 (An attempt to explore the philoso phical background to the EPA adult education experiment).
8 K. Ja c k s o n, “ Community Adult Education. The Role of the Professional ” , Adult
Education, vol. 44, n. 3, Sept. 1971.
9 D. Sc h o n, Beyond the Stable State (London: Temple Smith, 1971) p. 187.
10 A. J. Co r f ie l d, Epoch in Workers Education, Workers Educational Ass., 1969
(A comprehensive examination o f the growth of trade union education in co-operation with the WEA. See also Adult Education and the Industrial Community, by A. H. Th o r n t o n and F. G. Ba y l is s, National Institute o f Adult Education, 1965, for a detailed account o f the pioneering work in this field undertaken by the University of Nottingham Extra Mural Department and the East Midland District of the WEA).
11 B. Jo n e s and T. Lo v e t t, Living Today. An Experiment in the Use o f Local Radio in an EPA, BBC Local Radio Publications, 1972.
12 I. Il l i c h, Deschooling Society (London: Calder and Boyers, 1971) (Illich recommends
that the skills and talents o f local people should be utilized in “ skill exchanges ” , p. 87). 13 C. Ve r n e r, “ Cultural Factors and Communications ” , Adult Leadership, March 1970.
14 K . Ja c k s o nand T. Lo v e t t, Educational Priorities and the WE A. The Case for Reform
(Liverpool: Workers Educational Association, 1971).
15 Sc h o n, op. cit., p . 2 0 0 .
16 Ibidem.
17 Il l i c h, op. cit., pp. 78-79. His four networks are: (1) reference services to educa
tional objects; (2) skill exchanges; (3) peer matching; (4) reference services to educators at large. These roles are similar to the ones detailed in this paper except that Illich’s net work (1) includes all educational objects in society except educational institutions. He defines educational objects so widely that it is difficult to see how his fragmented and decentralised system could operate. The EPA type network offers opportunity of utilising existing educational institutions inside a more democratic, responsive educational system that could become operational in quite a short time.
18 K . Ja c k s o n, University Adult Education and Social Change in Society (Liverpool:
Liverpool University Institute of Extension Studies).
19 R. Ho l m a n, “ Combating Social Deprivation” , in R. Ho l m a n (Ed.), Socially
Deprived Families in Britain (London: Bedford Sq. Press, 1970).
20 K. Ja c k s o nand T. Lo v e t t, “ Universities and the WEA. An Alternative Approach ” ,
R e th in k in g th e R o le o f S ettlem en ts T oday
b y G ra h a m R ich es
At the 1972 Conference o f the International Federation o f Settlements held in Amsterdam the Conference brochure stated that Settlements must be concerned with causes and not symptoms; with commitment and not merely the provision o f services. This paper argues that to accept this challenge Settlements must care fully rethink their roles and, in consequence, radically alter their positions.
Losing the W ay
Organisations perpetuate themselves. Settlements are no exception. Like the poor, they are always with us. Doubtless the reasons for this are many and varied. Those who founded Settlements had the foresight to locate them in what were regarded as areas o f multiple social and economic deprivation and could predict a longterm use for the buildings they erected. At the same time the patro nage and wealth which provided the basis for the first Settlements represented the social concern o f a powerful middle and upper class which was never to waver. Indeed it is probably true to say that those who sit on Settlement Councils and those who provide Settlement services have always accepted that the working classes have problems which need their attention without ever accepting that this very concern and the way it was realised through Settlements, was part o f the problem itself. If some Settlements are worried about their role today, I believe that we can look to this factor as the chief cause o f their dilemma.
To justify the continued existence o f Settlements it is not enough to say that social needs remain or even that new ones have arisen which Settlements can now meet. Settlements must now be able to say that they are in a more appropriate position than other agencies to perform certain tasks. This is necessary when the Welfare State and larger, stronger single purpose voluntary organisations now provide a galaxy o f social welfare services which should protect all within society. It is even more apposite when one considers the impact o f adult education services and the growth o f community work in many Western Societies. Settlements can no longer rest upon the righteous concern or conscience o f the middle class in providing services for other people.
The strength o f Settlements has always been in their capacity to act as agents o f social reform. The early Settlements, whether they found their inspiration in
Christianity or through more secular motives, were pioneering agencies. Their early history demonstrates the value o f strong, independent voluntary organisa tions, but for long periods their innovatory and pioneering work gave way to an undue emphasis upon the provision o f services and the training o f social workers.
What else could explain their demise except to say that Settlements have lost their traditional role and are hard pressed to find a new one? What, I wonder, are Settlements in business for?
Basically, I believe that Settlements lost their way because they came to repre sent, along with the secular authorities and the majority o f voluntary organisa tions a philosophical and physical expression o f a consensus approach to welfare. By that I mean that Settlements, along with the whole battery o f social welfare, saw people (i.e. the working class) “ out there,” as having problems, whilst we through our agencies took on the role o f mediation, without pausing to consider that the system itself was at fault. N or did we pause to ask the people what they thought should be done.
Settlements also lost their way because they became identified with social welfare and voluntary effort; they continued to provide services when other organ isations better equipped than they were existed to provide those very services, they emphasized services, treated symptoms and forgot about causes and the huge potential o f their investigatory role.
Part o f the Problem
In addition to these factors Settlements were and are bulwarks o f middle class values in working class areas and Settlement patrons and their workers find it very difficult to understand, or perhaps even to contemplate, that the very exist ence o f a Settlement demonstrates the actuality o f Disraeli’s (and Karl Marx’ s)
“ Two Nations.” In other words Settlements have, in Height Ashbury jargon, remained part o f the problem instead o f actively seeking to become part o f the solution. If Settlement workers, i.e. all those who live in/or work from these bases, are unaware o f the privilege which they represent, then it is unlikely that Settle ments themselves can ever be updated. An awareness that one represents privi lege does not mean that one should do away with the institution, rather that one uses the base to develop and extend human rights and similar privileges to all.
In the process the base, the Settlement, will need to subject itself to change. This is essential if we are to take from the past what was best. Settlements were established to encourage social inquiry, to innovate and to demonstrate as well as to press for reform and action. I f we are to play that important and necessary role today, then, I believe, we must turn our attention away from symptoms to causes, and away from viewing people as clients o f systems to regarding them also as producers in society as well as human beings who have talents and abilities like anyone else. It is the degrading circumstances in which many people are forced to live and work that should daily assault our minds.
As Lord W oolton, the first Warden o f Liverpool University Settlement wrote in 1918 (A Prospect fo r the Settlement)
If poverty is to go, capital and labour must join forces in securing its extermination. Education, public health and all the reconstruction we can dream of, are useless unless production can be organised to pay a fair and sufficient wage to make the time spent in labour a period for the development not the deterioration of the powers, hopes and ambitions of the individual worker.
Capital and labour are still divided. People are still categorised into conve nient welfare slots: the problem family, the disadvantaged kid, the disabled, the old, the unemployed, the inner city syndrome. The power o f the profes sional in society is increasing and, I would suggest, encroaching upon the free doms that we cherish. The expansion o f the social work profession is indeed an indictment upon society in that we are now becoming unable to manage our own affairs without outside intervention. Certainly, we need social workers, but do we accept them simply because they exist and do we tolerate the society that says we need them?
The Role of Settlements Today
What, then, are Settlements in business to d o ? Given that society’ s problems are more complex than they ever were and given the continued existence o f Set tlements, how should they view their future? Should they close down, should they continue as before or should they face the reality o f a society still divided by wealth, class and opportunity? If they accept a role for themselves surely they must adopt a positive stance and strive to achieve what I believe may have been their original intention; to act as independent agencies which bring together
people and their ideas, knowledge and skills which are not tied to any one parti cular system (o f ideology, or o f institutionalised services such as social work, educa tion, etc.) in attempts to ask the penetrating questions, help to provide the neces sary analysis o f problems and demonstrate through projects innovatory approaches to problem solving. This may well include looking at Settlements themselves as part o f the established order o f Charity. They should also seek locally and at national level through their own organisations (such as the British Association o Settlements in the U K ) to act as pressure groups. In other words Settlements exist to engage in social enquiry, social action and social reform.
This does not mean that when a social problem is identified a social wor er is then brought in to “ deal w ith” it. We have to be aware o f the structural causes o f societal problems and to acknowledge that economists, businessmen, unionists, artists, lawyers etc., have important contributions to make.
Settlements must, I believe, address themselves to these questions. T ey have quite considerable resources o f plant and capital, they have wide terms o f
