Nonformal Education Manual (Part I)

NONFORMAL
EDUCATION
MANUAL

ace
rps

CE
mber

042
Information Collection and Exchange
Publication No. M0042

NONFORMAL
EDUCATION
(NFE)

MANUAL

PEACE CORPS
2004

INFORMATION COLLECTION
AND EXCHANGE
ICE NO. M0042

Nonformal Education I

INFORMATION COLLECTION
AND EXCHANGE

This publication was produced by the Peace Corps Center for Field Assistance and
Applied Research. It is distributed through the Information Collection and Exchange
(ICE). For further information or additional copies, please contact ICE at the Peace
Corps and refer to the ICE Catalog number that appears on the publication.

Peace Corps
Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Headquarters
Center for Field Assistance and Applied Research
Information Collection and Exchange
1111 20th Street, NW – First Floor
Washington, DC 20526

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development workers.

ii Peace Corps

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................ iv

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... v

CHAPTER ONE
What is Nonformal Education? ............................................................................................... 1

CHAPTER TWO
Assessing the Situation and Defining your NFE Approach .................................................. 11

CHAPTER THREE
Learning Activities: From Assessment to Evaluation............................................................ 29

CHAPTER FOUR
Creating an Effective Learning Environment ........................................................................ 36

CHAPTER FIVE
Matching Learning Methods to Learning Objectives and Audience ...................................... 84

CHAPTER SIX
Creating or Adapting Materials from Local Resources ......................................................... 122

CHAPTER SEVEN
Bringing It All Together ....................................................................................................... 144

APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................ 157

Nonformal Education III

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The content of Nonformal Education is grounded in the theory and practice of some of the great
educational thinkers of our time including Paolo Freire, Howard Gardner, David Kolb, Malcolm
Knowles and Bernice McCarthy. This new manual includes information from the previous Peace
Corps publications, The Nonformal Education Manual (ICE No. M0042) and The Nonformal
Education Training Module (ICE No. T0064) as well as current research from the field of educa-
tion. In addition to presenting the most current research and thinking in the field of education, the
manual also includes field-tested ideas, activities and tips drawn from the experiences of Peace
Corps Volunteers and staff around the world.

The Peace Corps recognizes and appreciates the work from the field, contractor, and education
specialist and other headquarters staff that made this new publication possible. Gratitude is also
expressed to the various writers and publishers who gave permission to reprint and adapt their
materials.

iv Peace Corps

INTRODUCTION

WHY A MANUAL ON
NONFORMAL EDUCATION?
Whether or not you have heard the term nonformal education (NFE) prior
to joining Peace Corps, as a Volunteer you will engage in NFE in some
way throughout your service. In fact, teachers, extension agents, small
business experts, health workers, agricultural specialists—indeed, most people
who are involved in “development” in any way—are involved in the sharing
of skills and knowledge or changing attitudes, and as such, are engaged in
some degree of nonformal education. At the root of NFE is a participatory,
grassroots approach to helping people to clarify and address their own
needs. In many ways, NFE goes to the heart of what it means to be a
Peace Corps Volunteer—a respect for local knowledge, a faith in the wis-
dom of the people, and a humble awareness of one’s own strengths, gifts,
and challenges.

This manual is intended to provide both practical skills for engaging in
nonformal education and some underlying theory to help you define and
develop your own approach to NFE. Based on two previously published
Peace Corps resources, Nonformal Education Manual (ICE No. M0042)
and Nonformal Education Training Module (ICE No. T0064), this resource
represents a combination and elaboration of those manuals to bring together
the best thinking from the past with the most current approaches in the
field of NFE.

WHO IS THIS RESOURCE FOR?
The most obvious audiences for this manual are education Volunteers and those agriculture, business
development, environment, health, youth development, and other Volunteers who are called upon to facili-
tate learning activities in their work, whether for in-school or out-of-school youth, colleagues or other
adults. This manual includes ideas for those Volunteers who require theory and practical skills to conduct
training workshops and learning activities in their communities and schools. However, NFE is more than
an approach to training and session design; and as such, the reach of this manual extends far beyond those
leading NFE sessions. NFE provides a powerful philosophy and an effective approach for identifying and
creating learning opportunities and facilitating change in a community; therefore, it is an important tool
for any Volunteer.

Nonformal Education 1

In addition to Volunteers, many other groups will find this manual useful in their work:

Host country national (HCN) counterparts, including
teachers, health workers, agriculture extension agents,
business advisors, community leaders, and anyone wishing
to work on individual or community development, using
respectful, participatory approaches.

Peace Corps training staff who wish to train Volunteers in
nonformal education techniques and approaches, or who
want to enhance the NFE aspects of their own facilitation
styles.

Associate Peace Corps Directors (APCDs) who may wish
to model NFE approaches for Volunteers and trainees in
their projects.

ORGANIZATION OF EACH CHAPTER
Each chapter builds on the theories and activities of the others, so there is some benefit to reading the text
from start to finish. But each chapter may also be read as a stand-alone module. Whether you choose
to read the book from cover to cover or decide to skim through it for topics that are of particular interest
to you, we hope that you will find theories, activities, techniques, suggestions, and lessons learned from
other Volunteers, to guide you in developing your own unique approach to NFE.

PRE-READING STRATEGY
Assess your Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes
Each chapter begins with a table that outlines the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that you
should have to be effective in the capacity described in that chapter. Beneath each KSA, there
is a space for you to evaluate your current knowledge, skills, and attitudes, along with an
opportunity to create a learning plan to address any gaps in your KSAs.

READING
This section of each chapter provides important concepts and theories along with vignettes and
“lessons learned” about the experiences of Volunteers and HCN counterparts.

IDEAS AND APPLICATIONS
Each chapter contains activities to help you practice NFE in training, in your community, or
at work. Use the ideas in each of these sections to explore NFE approaches and to develop
your own particular style. This section closes with a list of reflective questions to help you
process the information.

KEY RESOURCES
A number of ICE publications, books, and online resources are listed at the end of each chapter
to guide your further study of any of the concepts provided in the text. These resources can
help you if you find that you still need to work on any of the KSAs after you have read the
chapter.

2 Peace Corps

CHAPTER 1

WHAT IS NONFORMAL EDUCATION?

IN THIS CHAPTER

PRE-READING STRATEGY .................................................................................................. 2
Assess your Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes ..................................................................... 2

READING ..................................................................................................................................... 3
NFE in Action: Peace Corps’ Application of Nonformal Education ................................. 3
Formal, Nonformal, and Informal Education ........................................................................ 4
Basic Concepts of Adult Learning Theory ........................................................................... 9
Working with Youth .............................................................................................................. 11
NFE and CCBI in the Formal Education System ............................................................. 11
Asset-Based and Problem-Based Approaches ..................................................................... 12
Facilitation Basics .................................................................................................................. 14

IDEAS AND APPLICATIONS ............................................................................................. 15
What Type of Education Is It? ............................................................................................ 15
Reflect on Your Own Experiences with Nonformal Education ........................................ 16
Practice Nonformal Education in Your New Culture ......................................................... 17

KEY RESOURCES ................................................................................................................. 18


PRE-READING
STRATEGY
Assess your Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude

The chart below provides you with an overview of the content of this chapter, a chance to reflect on
what you already know, and a place to identify those concepts, skills, and attitudes that you want to
learn, enhance, or improve.

Before reading the chapter, spend a few minutes with this chart.

1. Review the knowledge, skills, and attitudes listed.

2. Note those you already feel confident about in the row entitled “Your strengths.”

3. Note those you wish to study more in the “Your plans to learn more” row. Then use the materials
and activities in the chapter to learn in ways that are stimulating and meaningful to you.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS ATTITUDES
Knowledge, skills, • Definitions of formal, • Effective • Respect for the
and attitudes useful nonformal, and communication knowledge and skills
to NFE informal education • Listening and of others
• Differences between observation • Self-confidence
and applications of • Identifying cultural • Patience
formal, nonformal and factors that impact • Flexibility and
informal education teaching and learning adaptability in respond-
• Distinctions among ing to participants’
teacher, trainer, and needs
facilitator
• Adult learning theories
• Understanding of
asset-based and
problem-based
approaches
Your strengths

Your plans to
learn more

2 Peace Corps

READING

NFE IN ACTION: PEACE CORPS’ APPLICATION
OF NONFORMAL EDUCATION
While the nonformal education approach may seem new to Volun-
teers who have spent their lives in the formal school system, various
manifestations of NFE have been active for centuries in traditional
societies. In West African villages and towns as well as in the early
United States, young people are apprenticed to local blacksmiths,
carpenters, seamstresses, and tailors to learn a trade through first-
hand experience or on-the-job training.

In societies as diverse as Nepal, Ghana, and Guatemala, clan
and village leaders respected for their age and hereditary status
pass on information about agricultural practices; traditional birth
attendants educate new mothers in caring for themselves and
their babies; and religious leaders impart wisdom through
parables, riddles, and the influence of their own personal virtue.

Through dance and song and oral narrative, through puppet
theatre and play acting, through one-to-one teaching and group
facilitation, people all over the world have used nonformal
education methods to pass on traditional knowledge and ensure
that each new generation learns the wisdom, harmony, and
stability of the old.

The Peace Corps uses nonformal education methods to further
its goal of development in people to people terms: helping
people develop the capacity to improve their own lives.
Although it may seem that development activities center
around ‘things’ such as community gardens, wells, or a school
computer lab, the real strength of the project is that the
community has learned to identify what they would like to
see changed, used their own strengths to do so, and learned
new skills to achieve their goals. The flourishing garden is a
wonderfully tangible product, but the sustainability of the
project lies in the skills and abilities the community has
gained through the process. The role of the Volunteer is to
work with host country nationals to facilitate the process, and
nonformal education methods can be used from the initial
assessment stage to the final evaluation and realization of the
process and product.

For more information on the role in the Volunteer in develop-
ment, read the Peace Corps’ publication Roles of the Volunteer
in Development: Toolkits for Building Capacity, Washington, DC:
Peace Corps, 2002. [ICE No. T0005]


FORMAL, NONFORMAL, AND
INFORMAL EDUCATION
FORMAL EDUCATION
For most Volunteers, it is simple enough to relate to the notion of formal education—one gets an image
of a classroom and established curricula, teachers, and students with a clearly drawn hierarchy, tests,
and milestones. Consider Diane’s experience as a new education Volunteer. Although the faces, lan-
guage, setting, and even her own role may be new to Diane, the situation is comfortingly familiar. After
spending at least sixteen years in school systems herself, Diane was quite accustomed to classrooms,
tests, and the traditional roles of teachers and students.

DIANE

Diane had never taught school before, but she tried to muster up her courage as she
walked through her classroom door that first day on the job at her new post. She tried not
to be nervous as she clutched her lesson plan and remembered how well her practice
sessions had gone in training. Still, she felt a lot of pressure; after all, how well she taught
these students would determine how well they would do on the national exam, and that
would determine whether they got into university, and that might make the difference be-
tween a life of poverty and a life of hope. So she would have to make sure she covered
all of the topics in the curriculum fully so that the students would be able to memorize them
all and would do well on the exam. Maybe she would even help them learn some new test-
taking skills. And hey, she thought, as she looked at the giggling, blushing group of students
in front of her, just because we had so much to learn, didn’t mean we couldn’t have any
fun! She swallowed her worries, smiled cheerfully and introduced herself…

At its best, formal education involves a government that recognizes the value of an educated citizenry
and supports school systems with curricula designed to meet changing societal needs. Parents and
communities are engaged to enhance the impact of motivated and talented teachers who empower
enthusiastic youth to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to achieve their goals. When the above
elements are not present, the formal education system can seem, at worst, like a warehouse to “store”
youth as they grow or the one-way “banking education” Brazilian educator Paulo Freire described. His
analogy likened formal education to teachers depositing knowledge into their students’ heads, much like
depositing money into a bank.

4 Peace Corps

The reality is that most formal education falls somewhere in between Diane’s example of a formal
education approach and the next discussion of a nonformal education approach. Motivated and talented
teachers work in every country, and over the past few decades, ministries of education involved in
education reform have supported the evolution and application of more holistic, participatory ap-
proaches. Learning objectives, while still designed to meet testing requirements, are also intended to
enhance students’ capacity for critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and personal growth.

You should never use
NFE means adult a formal test or proof
education. It can’t really of knowledge in NFE.
eely. It’s be used with kids.
touchy-f
NFE is it’s not
r fun—
more fo a rning.
really le

NFE is participatory
NFE means flattening the
learning that takes place
hierarchy between teacher
outside of the classroom.
and student.

For Peace Corps Volunteers working in the education sector and for other Volunteers conducting
health, environment or other lessons in the classroom, this evolution has meant that nonformal
education approaches can provide valuable tools in motivating students and designing lesson
plans. The goal of Volunteer work in formal education includes addressing curricula requirements
using (or training teachers to use) learner-centered, participatory experiences and extracurricular
activities that engage students in their own intellectual growth and achievement.

Characteristics of Formal Education
· Usually in a classroom setting, although not just school-based

· Content is usually predetermined by teacher or other person/group in authority (perhaps even the
Volunteer)

· Pre-established hierarchy between teacher and student

· Often culminates in a formal test or proof of knowledge

NONFORMAL EDUCATION
While the characteristics of formal education seem self-evident, nonformal education is a bit more
difficult to define. In fact, there are many different definitions of NFE, and a number of perspectives
about the true meaning of the term.

NFE is defined differently by different practitioners—some say that NFE is any out-of-school learning,
others stress that participants need to design their own learning activities, while others say that nonformal


teaching methods can be incorporated into all learning. Let’s take a look at the work of another
Volunteer as we begin to develop our own definition of nonformal education.

As you read about Marisol’s experience, reflect on the following:

Who decided what the women needed to learn?

Who took responsibility for the learning?

What resources did each person bring to the experience?

What kinds of learning activities did the group engage in?

What was Marisol’s role in the small business sessions?

MARISOL

Marisol’s assignment was to work with women’s groups at village community centers to
help them develop small business skills. Since the women rarely had time to come to the
community center, Marisol spent a lot of time going from house to house, visiting the
women and chatting with them while they did their daily chores.

After four months of listening and observing the women, Marisol felt ready to bring some
of them together—the ones who already owned businesses—to help them to upgrade their
skills in marketing and management.

The first group consisted of only two women, one who made soap and the other who tie-
dyed cloth using indigo that she made from local plants. As the two women became friends,
they discovered that both of the small businesses had the same problem: lack of access
to a market. However, the soap maker had thought of some clever advertising, and the tie-
dyer had a way of reducing her production costs to almost zero. In their conversations they
gave each other a few new ideas and came up with a plan to get free transportation to
a larger town together on market day.

From this first experience, Marisol discovered that the local women already had most of the expertise
they needed between them to improve their sales and management. Slowly, the group grew by word
of mouth, and then began to expand to other villages. In group meetings, Marisol stayed in the
background, facilitating discussion and sharing among members, arranging for field trips that the
women chose themselves and occasionally offering advice on specific business methods.

Think again about the questions posed earlier. Some of the features of nonformal education that you
may have identified include:

Focuses on the learners’ needs: The women actively identified their own needs and proposed
solutions.

Uses the learner as a resource: All of the women, including Marisol, shared knowledge and skills.
They were all respected and valued for their contributions.

6 Peace Corps

Stresses relevant activities and practical outcomes: The focus of the learning was the im-
provement of the women’s own lives and that of their families and communities. This was true
for Marisol as well, who learned how to make soap and tie-dyed cloth and gained fresh
perspective on the lives of the women in her town.

In Marisol’s case, the women learned from each other through unstructured discussions. But some
nonformal education experiences include more structured activities and training. As you read Tana’s
Peace Corps’ experience below, think about the following:

How are Marisol’s and Tana’s experiences similar?

How are their experiences different?

What elements of nonformal education are present in Tana’s
experience?

What learning activities did Tana use?

TANA

Tana came to a small village in Thailand with seven years of public health experience in
the U.S. behind her. As part of her assignment, she was expected to teach prenatal care
to the women in the community.

Tana contacted key village leaders and traditional birth attendants, prepared flipcharts and
posters with carefully drawn diagrams, and set up meetings to talk about prenatal care to
the village women. But to her surprise, only a handful of women turned up at the first
meeting. Although she encouraged discussion and asked people for their opinions, nobody
spoke up; in fact, most of the women sat with their heads lowered and would not make eye
contact with Tana. Tana closed the meeting and went home embarrassed and angry and
unsure about her next steps.

Since Tana was not yet fluent enough in the local language to discuss this with anyone in
her village, she asked one of her Peace Corps trainers for advice. Endang was sympathetic
but pragmatic when he said: “The women you met with weren’t protesting learning about
prenatal care; they were embarrassed at the way you talked about such a sensitive subject.”

Endang reminded Tana of the traditional puppet show she and her training group had
attended early in pre-service training. As she talked the problem over with Endang, she
learned that puppet shows were the traditional forum for sensitive topics. Puppets could do
and say things that flesh and blood people would never discuss openly. Even mixed audiences
could discuss the actions of the puppets and learn valuable lessons from them while being
entertained.

While Tana knew that to be fully effective she would need to further develop her language
skills and gradually become closer friends with the people in the village, she felt that using
traditional puppets could get the women talking. Tana returned to her village ready to try
this new approach.


Tana’s story seems a bit like formal education in some ways. The content has already been
determined, and Tana seems to have more of a teacher/trainer role than Marisol. Nevertheless,
Tana was engaging in nonformal education.

How did Tana confront her initial difficulties in reaching the members of her community?

Think about Tana’s discussion with Endang. Why did she seem so open to his feedback and
advice? What does this teach us about giving and receiving feedback?

What do you think will be the overall outcome of the puppet show?

If Tana does a content appropriate lesson (such as the effects of water pollution) using puppets with
students in a high school classroom, would this still be an example of NFE?

As you can see from both of these stories, NFE is an approach to education. It is not absolutely
distinct from formal education in its methods; participants exercise varying degrees of control over the
process, from designing all of their own learning and using the facilitator as a resource person as in
Marisol’s story, to attending a learning activity where the content is mostly planned in advance, as in
Tana’s case. In some ways, we might imagine formal and nonformal education along a continuum—
from high to low facilitator control, and from low to high learner participation.

In a nutshell, NFE is an approach to education that can be used with adults, youth, or children, within
the classroom or outside of it. An integral part of NFE is that learners participate in the design,
development, implementation, and evaluation of their own learning.

INFORMAL EDUCATION
If you imagine learning on a continuum, as suggested on page 9, informal education would be
at the far end from formal education. We all learn informally every day; it’s almost incidental.
Learning informally can be as simple as learning a new fact or skill by listening to or observing
a friend or colleague, or actively going to the library in search of specific information to suit
your needs. Also referred to as “lifelong learning”, informal education is usually initiated and the
content determined by the individual learner to suit his or her needs as they arise.

8 Peace Corps

Continuum
Formal (F) Nonformal (N) Informal (I)
Teacher/ Learning may take place
Student F Pre-established hierarchy I individually, or can be
dynamic shared within a group

Equal partnership among
N facilitators and participants

Environment Learning may occur
F Classroom environment I in any environment

Learning setting is more
N casual and impromptu

Content
Determined by teacher Determined completely by
F or other authority I participants who assess own
needs and identify solutions

Participants actively identify
N learning needs and methods,
guided by a facilitator

Teaching/ Completely participatory methods;
Lecture primary source
Learning F of information delivery I participants assess and reflect on
methods their own learning

Primarily participatory
N techniques

Teaching/ Learning is practical and related
Formal test or “proof
Evaluation F of learning” I to real needs; applied in the lives
tools of people within the community

Formal tests are supplemented
N with students’ application of
learning within the community

BASIC CONCEPTS OF ADULT LEARNING THEORY
The Peace Corps’ practice of nonformal education owes much to traditional learning practices,
and has been further enhanced through the theory and practice of some of the great educational
thinkers of our time. Some of these theorists will be discussed throughout this book, and you
might explore others by reading texts suggested in the Key Resources section of each chapter.
Some of the most influential thinkers in the field of nonformal education include:

Paulo Freire
Freire used “problem-posing” methods to raise awareness of social issues and to stimulate action by
disadvantaged groups. Using a process of problem analysis, reflection, and action, his approach to


education was based on the belief that community members need to be encouraged to think
critically about problems in their daily lives in order to make decisions and take action.

Howard Gardner
Gardner’s work on multiple intelligences has had an enormous impact on the field of education.
Gardner posits at least seven intelligences (musical, spatial, linguistic, logical/mathematical, bodily/
kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal), and asserts that successful learning experiences should
engage as many of these intelligences as possible.

Malcolm Knowles
Knowles popularized adult learning theory and offered ways to apply it in learning activities.
Knowles believed that the needs of adults in education differed a great deal from the needs of
children. He popularized the term andragogy, “the art and science of helping adults learn” to draw
a sharp distinction between adult learning and pedagogy, the instruction of children. He suggested
that because children had yet to assume responsible, independent roles in society, teachers and
parents tend to make the decisions about what and how they should learn. But because adults have
a wealth of life experience and have already assumed responsible roles, it is important to respect
slightly different principles when engaging in adult education. (See Adult Learning Principles inset.)

David Kolb
Kolb popularized an awareness of learning styles, and created a model that suggests four different
categories of learning—concrete experimentation, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization,
and active experimentation. Kolb created a methodology for incorporating these four categories into
every learning experience—the “experiential learning cycle.” His work is described more fully in
Chapter 3: Learning Activities: From Assessment to Evaluation.

Bernice McCarthy
McCarthy expanded on Kolb’s work and the research on left and right brain processes to create her
4MAT System. McCarthy suggested four learning types: imaginative learners, analytic learners,
common sense learners, and dynamic learners. Her 4MAT System is a thoughtful framework for
approaching lesson design, and it is detailed in Chapter 3: Learning Activities: From Assessment to
Evaluation.

Adult Learning Principles
Adults:

· Expect to be treated with respect and recognition.

· Want practical solutions to real-life problems.

· Can reflect on and analyze individual experiences.

· Have different learning styles.

· Are motivated by the possibility of fulfilling personal needs and aspirations.

· Are capable of making their own decisions and taking charge of their own
learning.

10 Peace Corps

It is probably clear that there are a number of parallels
between adult learning theory and our earlier definition
of nonformal education. The link between NFE and adult
learning theory is so strong, in fact, that many
practitioners assert that NFE is adult education, and that
it cannot be used with children and youth. But consider
some of the principles of adult learning listed above. Do
you think they also apply to children and youth?

WORKING WITH YOUTH
In many cases, Volunteers will find themselves working on a youth education project within a school
or attached to an organization. In these cases, the curriculum is largely predetermined and specific
goals must be met by teachers and students. Even though this is a formal education setting, there are
many opportunities to use nonformal education methods to assess, inform, and evaluate student progress.

Increasingly, Volunteers may find themselves working with youth who are not attending school. Out-
of-school youth differ from in-school youth in several ways. Differences include: more unstructured
time, fewer adults providing support and encouragement in a learning environment, more vulnerability
to physical and emotional abuse, and more exposure to daily pressures of meeting basic human needs.

Because these youths generally lack the structure other youths have, nonformal education projects can
be most beneficial to these often vulnerable populations. Volunteers can act as agents of change by
assisting youth to develop critical life skills: identifying their own needs, facilitating information-
gathering sessions (this could be a more formal lesson given by the Volunteer, a planned group activity
or club or a demonstration lesson) and helping them to evaluate their own progress.

For more information on working with youth, refer to the Peace Corps’ publication Working with Youth:
Approaches for Volunteers, Washington, DC: Peace Corps, 2002. [ICE No. M0067]

NFE AND CCBI IN
THE FORMAL EDUCATION SYSTEM
A teacher within the formal education system can easily
incorporate nonformal education methods in varying degrees
inside the school. Certainly teachers in the formal school system
must be responsive to the realities of an established curriculum,
protocol, and testing standards, but NFE can be creatively
incorporated into any classroom. You can do a quick needs
assessment to determine knowledge gaps, or an end of unit
evaluation to see if the content was learned and to see if you
need to reinforce any information with follow-up lessons.
Encourage conversation or energize a sleepy student group with
a quick icebreaker activity, or use several different teaching
methods to deliver one lesson to reach students with different
learning styles. You will learn more about all of these tools in
later chapters.


Your familiarity with and ability to employ NFE methods will also help you facilitate Community
Content-Based Instruction, or CCBI. CCBI is Peace Corps’ adaptation of Content-Based Instruction,
which is a way of incorporating culturally appropriate, real-life examples into an existing curriculum
so that learning activities are more relevant to students’ lives. Using CCBI, you might:

Identify the needs of your community with your students. Perhaps students might conduct a
participatory needs assessment and discover that HIV/AIDS is a major issue in the area. (See
Chapter 2: Assessing the Situation and Defining your NFE Approach for more information on
conducting participatory needs assessments.)

Incorporate the topic into syllabus requirements. For example, students might be required to
learn about probability; instead of using a textbook example to work through, their examples and
practice might include working through some problems involving HIV infection rates.

Plan community action related to the topic. For example, students might plan an HIV/AIDS
awareness campaign, by making posters and hanging them in the community.

NFE methods can help to promote Community Content-Based Instruction within
the formal educational system, because it:

Involves students actively in identifying needs and finding solutions.

Promotes learning that is practical, flexible, and based on real needs.

Focuses on improving the life of the individual and/or community.

Encourages students to assess, practice, and reflect on their learning.

In addition, CCBI remains within the parameters of the formal education system,
as the assessment, content of sessions, and application arise out of syllabus
requirements. CCBI is a creative and dynamic method for bridging the gap
between the school and community needs.

For more information on CCBI, read Community Content-Based Instruction
Manual, Washington, DC: Peace Corps, 2004. [ICE No. T0112]

ASSET-BASED AND
PROBLEM-POSING APPROACHES
Nonformal education is a rich field, and Volunteers can draw upon a wealth of theories, philosophies
and methods in practicing it at their sites—from participatory analysis to project planning and imple-
mentation, to evaluation. Two development approaches bear mentioning at the beginning, as you may
need to decide early on which philosophy, or what combination of them, you wish to incorporate into
your own work with communities. Both philosophies have their place and are most often used in
different phases of working with communities.

12 Peace Corps

ASSET- OR STRENGTH-BASED APPROACHES
Asset-based approaches identify and emphasize the positive
aspects of a community’s resources and activities first. Asset-
based approaches grew out of the observation that in some
settings, problem- and need-focused approaches can overwhelm
or depress groups to the point that they become immobilized or
fatalistic about the possibility of positive change. Asset-based
approaches seek to increase self-efficacy by starting with and
building upon what individuals and groups already possess, do,
and have accomplished. The emphasis is on identifying and
enhancing existing assets, while promoting networking among
groups and community members, and de-emphasizing blame for
existing problems. As a result, community members feel more
hopeful and motivated about their ability to address real needs.

Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s
Assets has many good activities. See “Key Resources” at the end of this chapter for more information.

A specific type of an asset- or strength-based approach called Appreciative Inquiry, is often used in
organizations. Detailed information about Appreciative Inquiry can be found in The Thin Book of
Appreciative Inquiry. See “Key Resources” at the end of this chapter for more information.

PROBLEM-POSING APPROACHES OR
EDUCATION FOR CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS
Brazilian educator Paulo Freire used “problem-posing” methods to raise awareness of social problems
and to stimulate action by marginalized or disadvantaged groups. Through a unique method of asking
questions and working in groups, problem-posing education empowers people to take concrete steps
toward improving the quality of their lives.

Problem- and asset-based approaches are
not mutually exclusive of each other.
While conducting an asset-based resource
inventory, information regarding
“problems” or “deficits” may surface.
While conducting a problem analysis,
people may focus on “opportunities” or
“solutions.” All of this information is
important to know and use in designing
nonformal education activities. In deciding
when to use either or both of these
approaches, one important consideration is
this: how you begin the dialogue
influences the energy level and
empowerment of the participants. In other
words, your first questions are crucial.

For more information, see the Peace Corps’ produced publications: Roles of the Volunteer in Develop-
ment, Toolkit 1: Volunteer as Learner, [ICE No. T0005], and The New Project Design and Management
Workshop Training Manual, [ICE No. T0107].


FACILITATION BASICS
Effectiveness in development work includes being able to communicate with host-country colleagues
and community, establishing rapport and trust and listening to what people want and need to do for
themselves to positively affect their well-being. To be able to facilitate discussions among groups of
people is a critical skill. Facilitation is a skill that encourages the members of a group to express and
discuss their own ideas. A facilitator models good leadership and stewardship but makes sure that the
decision-making rights and responsibilities remain with the learners. Facilitators ask questions that elicit
ideas, probe, and encourage everyone to participate and express views. They also paraphrase and
summarize for clarity and understanding. Good facilitation demands attention to the process of the
group, including encouraging quiet and reticent people, and controlling dominant or disruptive participants.

One important step in fostering effective learning is
understanding the subtle similarities and differences in the roles
of a teacher, a trainer, and a facilitator. Stop for a minute and
reflect on the following words—teach, train, facilitate. What
words and images come to mind for each of these?

As a Volunteer you are likely to have opportunities to teach,
train, and facilitate learning experiences with your community
partners at various times throughout your service. For example,
you may find you are called on to teach English lessons, to
train community members in assessment techniques, or to
facilitate meetings and other community activities. Understanding
when and how to serve in these different roles will help you be
a more effective Volunteer. In our context of nonformal
education, the roles of “facilitator,” “trainer” and “teacher” are
distinct, although they overlap in several key areas. We
distinguish among the three as follows:

a teacher follows set curriculum guidelines (usually dictated
at the national level by government agencies) to ensure that
all learners assimilate specific subject matter content at an
established standard;

a trainer addresses specific requests from individuals or groups for new knowledge and skills
relevant to their goals and pursuits; and

a facilitator guides a group through a process of expressing ideas, analyzing issues, making sound
decisions, and building relationships.

Clearly, there is a great deal of overlap in these three roles. You may find that, depending on the
learning context, the learners, and the learning objectives, you will switch from one role to another
during the course of implementing a learning activity. Having a sense of these different roles will help
you navigate them more effectively.

14 Peace Corps

IDEAS AND
APPLICATIONS
Now that you have read about different approaches to education, it may be helpful to apply what you
have learned. Feel free to try one, several or all of these activities to practice what you’ve learned.

WHAT TYPE OF EDUCATION IS IT?
Think back on the discussion of the different approaches to education—formal, nonformal, and infor-
mal education, and adult learning compared to youth education. Now take a look at the chart below
and the accompanying examples. Where would you place each of the examples on the chart? How did
you decide where to place the examples? Is each example clearly one approach or another, or does it
encompass aspects and characteristics from several of these approaches to education?

Adult

Youth

Formal Nonformal Informal

A. A student brings a frog into a classroom and the children decide to build a terrarium.

B. A teacher sits with men in the shade and talks about HIV prevention.

C. A Volunteer works with a woman from his or her town to conduct women’s literacy classes in the
evening.

D. A health worker administers a post-test at the end of a workshop for traditional birth attendants.

E. A Volunteer shows women waiting at a clinic how to make more nutritious porridge.

F. In the classroom, children learn about how waste products can pollute their water. They then take
a walk to the nearest well, stream, or other water source to get water samples for testing.

G. Students take an entrance exam for secondary school.


REFLECT ON YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES
WITH NONFORMAL EDUCATION
Think back over the many learning experiences throughout your life. List a few examples of nonformal
education that you participated in as a learner. Identify a particularly memorable experience and
analyze it, according to some of these prompts:

1. Where did it take place?

1. Who was involved, as teacher/facilitator/coach?

3. Who were the learners, in addition to you?

4. How did the learning take place? (demonstration, discovery, practice, etc.)

5. Why was the learning so memorable? (unexpected, something you really needed/wanted to learn,
exciting, long-lasting influence, etc?)

Think through this process again, but this time think about an experience where you were a facilitator/
teacher/coach. What was a particularly exciting or memorable learning experience you helped create for
others?

1. Work through questions 1-4 above in relation to that experience.

2. What specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes made you effective?

3. Are you more comfortable in formal or informal teaching situations?

4. In what ways might you need to adapt your preferred style to meet other opportunities or require-
ments of your work?

16 Peace Corps

PRACTICE NONFORMAL EDUCATION
IN YOUR NEW CULTURE
As you begin to develop your own approach to nonformal education, it may be helpful to explore the
various approaches to NFE in your new culture. Whether you are still in your training group or already
at your new site, consider “shadowing” a health worker, agricultural extensionist, traditional birth
attendant, or other community outreach worker for a day or two to observe his or her approach to NFE.

Some questions to explore include:

What do you notice about the relationship between the educator and the people he or she serves?
How do they relate to each other?

What are the approaches to conversation? Is it direct or indirect? Are there differences in commu-
nication based on gender, age, status?

Do men and women participate together or do they tend to move in separate groups?

Where does the NFE work occur? Does the educator go to people one-on-one in their homes or is
there a group-learning opportunity at a community gathering area?

What specific methods and techniques does the educator use to engage the group?

What materials are used? Are they available locally? Have they been created by the educator out
of local materials? How?

Picture yourself engaging in the NFE activity. What would you replicate? What would you do
differently? Why?

Does the educator have any recommendations for you as you begin this kind of work? Is there
anything to avoid?


KEY
RESOURCES

REFERENCES:
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Seabury Press, 1970.
Freire’s groundbreaking text suggests powerful possibilities for creating a liberating education.
Freire describes the “problem-posing” method to engage participants in a cycle of problem analysis,
reflection, and action, often through the use of “codes.”

Gardner, Howard. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books,
1993.
Since its original publication in 1983, Frames of Mind has served as the seminal text on multiple
intelligences. Gardner explores at least seven intelligences—musical, spatial, linguistic, logical/
mathematical, bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal—and suggests ideas for creating
a “multiple intelligence atmosphere” in a learning environment.

Knowles, Malcolm. The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Co., 1978.
Published originally in 1973, The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species is Knowles’ seminal text on
the particular needs and learning styles of the adult learner. In it, Knowles popularizes the term
“andragogy” and suggests specific approaches for working effectively with adults.

Kolb, David A. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. New
Jersey: Prentice Hall TPR, 1983.
This text provides the theoretical and practical underpinnings of Kolb’s learning styles theory, and
introduces the experiential learning cycle. The book also includes Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory
(LSI).

McCarthy, Bernice. The 4MAT System: Teaching to Learning Styles with Right/Left Mode Tech-
niques. Barrington, IL: EXCEL, Inc., 1987. [ICE No. ED 187]
McCarthy combines Kolb’s theories with research on left- and right-mode processing preference to
create her 4MAT system. This text provides a concise and clear description to McCarthy’s four
learning styles and suggests specific approaches for using the 4MAT system to create powerful
session plans.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Annis Hammond, Sue. The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry. Plano, TX: Thin Book Publishing Co.,
1998. [ICE No. TR110]

Gardner, Howard. Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. New York: Basic Books, 1993.
Published ten years after the release of Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, this text explores
the educational applications of MI theory. Using a number of case studies and examples from the
field, educators present practical guidance for operationalizing MI theory in various learning situations.

18 Peace Corps

Knowles, Malcolm, et al. The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and
Human Resource Development. Houston, TX: Gulf Professional Publishing, 1998.
This text provides a basic background on Knowles’ adult learning theory, along with updated
material on the latest advances in the field. The book includes information on learning contracts
and a self-diagnostic tool to help assess your own skills as a trainer.

Kretzmann, John P. and John L. McKnight. Building Communities from the Inside Out A path Toward
Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets. Evanston, IL: The Asset-Based Community Develop-
ment Institute, 1993. [ICE No. CD051]
This text offers practical advice, useful tools, and a powerful guide to an asset-based approach to
community development. The book suggests ways to map community assets and mobilize these
strengths towards building healthier communities.

Recording and Using Indigenous Knowledge: A Manual. New York: The International Institute of
Rural Reconstruction, 1996.
This comprehensive guide to working with local communities provides a basic look at assessing,
recording, and working with indigenous populations. The text includes case studies, question guides
and suggestions for working with groups. It is also available on the web at http://www.panasia.org.sg/
iirr/ikmanual/.

Roles of the Volunteer in Development: Toolkits for Building Capacity. Washington, DC: Peace Corps,
2002. [ICE No. T0005]
RVID provides a comprehensive look at the place of the Volunteer in the development process.
Detailing the Volunteer’s roles as learner, change agent, co-trainer, co-facilitator, project co-planner,
and mentor, RVID provides countless theories, case studies, activities, and approaches to help
Volunteers and their communities get the most out of their two years of service.

Vella, Jane. Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: The Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
In this updated edition of her landmark book, Vella revisits her twelve principles of adult education.
Using a number of personal examples, Vella describes various approaches to using these principles
for respectful teaching of adults all over the world.

Werner, David. Where There is No Doctor. Palo Alto, CA: The Hesperian Foundation, 1977. [ICE No.
HE023]
Translated into 80 languages, this text may be the most widely used medical reference in the world.
And in addition to its merits as a health resource, Werner’s text offers a powerful introduction to
adult learning.

Werner, David and Bill Bower. Helping Health Workers Learn: A Book of Methods, Aids, and Ideas
for Instructors at the Village Level. Palo Alto, CA: The Hesperian Foundation, 1982. [ICE No. HE061]
Although the title suggests that this book is for health workers at the village level, the messages,
methods, teaching techniques, and approaches can be adapted to any learning situation. Werner and
Bower effectively describe Freirian participatory approaches to education and provide a wealth of
examples and strategies for using these theories in learning situations.


CHAPTER 2

ASSESSING THE SITUATION AND
DEFINING YOUR NFE APPROACH

IN THIS CHAPTER

PRE-READING STRATEGY ................................................................................................ 21
Assess your Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes ................................................................... 21

READING ................................................................................................................................... 22
NFE in Action: Assessing the Situation.............................................................................. 22
Assess the Situation with your Community Partners ........................................................ 24
Tools for Facilitating Needs Assessments ........................................................................... 25

IDEAS AND APPLICATIONS ............................................................................................. 34
Visit a Local Development Organization or Community Group ...................................... 34
Conduct a Participatory Needs Assessment ........................................................................ 35
Case Study: Who Determines Needs in Development?..................................................... 36
Reflect .................................................................................................................................... 38

KEY RESOURCES ................................................................................................................. 39

20 Peace Corps

PRE-READING
STRATEGY
Assess your Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS ATTITUDES
Knowledge, Skills, • Importance of • Community entry skills • Respect for local
and Attitudes assessment before • Ability to conduct knowledge, beliefs and
needed to practice beginning learning several participatory priorities
NFE activities or projects analysis tools • Trust in group process
• Several tools for • Patience
assessment
Your strengths

Your plans to
learn more

In any situation where learning activities might be introduced, there are many factors to consider:

Who has identified the situation to be addressed? The participants? The officials of an organization?
Outside experts? You, the Volunteer?

Is the situation a desired change identified and voiced by the participants (e.g., villagers, health
workers, students, farmers, youth group, etc.), a need to be addressed or a problem to be solved?

Is it something the participants recognize as a need or a problem? Are participants interested in
working on it? Do they see it as a priority?

What has been done about the need or problem in the past – both successfully and unsuccessfully?

What resources are available?


Exploring what participants want to change or need to change to make their lives better has often been
called “conducting a needs assessment.” However, the concept of “need” must be given perspective. At
times, people want things that are not technically needed; there may be some thing, idea, or informa-
tion they have heard about that they want or desire. In other situations, people may not see as “needs”
or “problems” those things that outsiders identify as needs. That is, what the community views as a
need might not be an issue to an outsider. Likewise, an outsider might identify a “need” but the
community may be perfectly content with the status quo. So, as we explore needs and needs assess-
ments, it is important to bear in mind that for learning activities to be effective, the learners must have
some motivation to embrace the change. (Recall the principles of adult learning from chapter 1.)

In this chapter we’ll explore some different ways of assessing the situations we find, both to educate
ourselves and to discover with our learners what they want—and are motivated—to learn.

READING

NFE IN ACTION: ASSESSING THE SITUATION

KARLENE AND CHRISTINE

“That does it, we’re going home,” said Karlene to her husband as she shut the door of their
house with as much of a bang as she could. Robert knew she didn’t mean it. Both of them
had said this off and on to each other over the four months they had been posted to the
village.

“What happened today?” asked Robert gently, although he already knew the answer.

“Nothing, that’s what happened,” said Karlene. “We’re getting nowhere.”

“Didn’t the women’s group show up?” asked Robert.

“Oh, they were at the community center,” said Karlene. “They just didn’t want to do any-
thing. I don’t know how they want me to help them find ways to earn money, or if they want
me to help them at all. Every time I suggest an idea they sort of bat it around for awhile,
and then it falls flat.”

“So what did you do?” asked Robert.

“We talked. We sat around. We watched people walk by.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Oh, marriages, babies. It’s incredible how much women’s lives here revolve around babies.
I don’t know where they get the energy. I’m not saying I don’t like spending time with the
group. You know me, I like babies and marriages. And I know they care about us, too.
Remember when they brought us all that food when our garden dried up?”

“I remember,” said Robert.

“Nice people,” sighed Karlene. “But I wish I knew what I was doing here...I keep wondering
if I’m doing something wrong. I mean, look at Christine, she’s busy at the clinic. She’s

22 Peace Corps

already teaching,” said Karlene. “She set up a class in the waiting room to explain what
foods women ought to be giving their kids. You know, she was telling me the number one
problem here is really malnutrition because of the taboos on fish in the coastal villages. The
people think that malaria is their biggest health hazard, but actually, it’s protein deficiency.”

“Does she feel she’s making headway?” asked Robert.

“Well, it’s slow,” said Karlene. “She told me she uses the broken record technique. She
explains the food pyramid over and over, very slowly, sometimes in story fashion, the way
people do here. She’s got this great flannel board with cutouts of all the good local foods.
At least she’ll be busy for her two years here,” said Karlene. “What will I have to show for
our Peace Corps service?”

There is often a temptation among Volunteers and other development workers to “get to work” right
away when coming into a new community or job. It seems easier to figure out what needs to be done
and start doing it yourself, rather than spend days, weeks, even months getting to know people,
learning about the community and using participatory techniques to discover desires and needs
and plan a community-led project. But those projects in which community members have actively
identified their own goals and proposed their own solutions are far more likely to lead to
sustainable improvements in their lives. This ownership of the project and the process is crucial
to the success of any development program, and engaging in participatory analysis is at the crux
of what it means to be a practitioner of NFE.

Consider the two quite different experiences of Karlene and Christine:

Even though Karlene is frustrated, what is she learning about the lives of
the women that she is there to help?

How might Karlene adapt her conversations with the group to help her
clarify the possibilities for her work? What else might she do?

How did Christine determine the content of her training?

What health concerns do the villagers have?

How might Christine reconcile her own perceptions with those of the
people in her community to create a positive NFE experience?

Think back to the asset-based and problem-based approaches in Chapter 1:

How might Karlene have used an asset-based approach in her discussions with the women in her
community group to develop a better understanding of their situation?

How might Christine use the asset-based approach to help women see what resources they have that
may to lead to healthier children?

How might Christine have used problem-posing education to help the women in her community see
the link between their children’s health problems and the taboo on eating fish?

How might Karlene have engaged the women at the community center in problem-posing education?


ASSESS THE SITUATION WITH
YOUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS
There are a several key moments during your
work when a focused assessment is very impor-
tant:

On your own for community entry: When you
first enter a community, using techniques such as
participant observation, informal discussions, and
interviewing will help you build rapport and gain
knowledge that will help you work with your
community. This process can take two to six
months. Although she didn’t recognize it, Karlene
was engaging in assessment to some extent, and
just needed some guidance for ways to better
structure her approach. She also needed to realize
that she was not wasting her time; she was building
a foundation to prepare herself to meet the needs of
her women’s group.

(See Peace Corps’ publications Roles of the Volunteer in Development: Toolkits for Building Capacity, “Toolkit 1:
Role of the Volunteer as Learner,” [ICE No. T0005], and Learning Local Environmental Knowledge: A Volunteer’s
Guide to Community Entry, [ICE No. T0126] for more information and approaches to community entry.)

With a community group to raise awareness: Some participa-
tory tools such as daily activity schedules and seasonal calen-
dars are particularly effective in raising awareness about the
interrelatedness of social, health, labor, economic, and environ-
mental aspects of life. These types of activities not only provide
important information but also may offer new perspectives on A NOTE ON
daily life and often inspire action. For example, Christine might “COMMUNITY”
use a seasonal calendar activity to raise the women’s awareness
of the relationship among illness, nutrition, climate, and other “Community” in this
factors. manual refers to more
than those people living
With a community group for project planning: Careful in a geographic
initial assessment of the situation is crucial when working location. It can refer to
with a community group to decide what issues will be any group of people
addressed by a new project. Each member of the group gathered together,
should feel like a stakeholder, with the Volunteer acting as whether in schools,
facilitator to be sure that all voices can be heard. A daily institutions,
activity schedule might be helpful to determine the most neighborhood groups or
convenient time for a representative group of people to meet. affinity groups.
“Community” might refer
Before a planned learning activity or training workshop: It to heterogeneous
is important to assess the current knowledge, skills, and groups (women from all
attitudes of participants before planning and conducting a classes) as well as
learning activity or training workshop. Possible techniques homogeneous groups
include interviewing, group discussion, and even pre-testing. (all teen mothers).
The data gathered are analyzed to inform the design of
the educational event.

24 Peace Corps

TOOLS FOR FACILITATING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS
There is a rich body of experience in conducting participatory needs assessments upon which
Volunteers may draw in beginning their work. Some effective approaches to assessment can be
found in the Key Resources section at the end of this chapter.

Peace Corps has brought together a number of tools in the development of participatory analysis for
community action (PACA). PACA is a methodology designed to communicate information, identify
needs, and lay the groundwork for community action to solve problems. The PACA Idea Book [ICE No.
M0086] is a valuable resource for conducting needs assessments, as it describes a number of tools and
provides advice regarding their use. These tools can be useful and applicable to nonformal education
activities as well, and they are summarized for your use.

OBSERVATION
Observation is perhaps the one assessment tool that “When you com
everyone uses. It is only natural when you come into a e into a
village, your ey
new situation to begin observing, comparing, analyzing, es and
ears should be
and trying to make sense of what you see. Observation open,
and your mouth
is an important part of your entry into the community, should
be closed.”
and as Volunteers you will usually be engaging in
participant observation, or sharing in the lives and –West African pr
overb
activities of the community, so that you can learn from
experience and observation.

Because it is so important to understand the complexities of your new situation before helping people
to take any kind of action, it is a good idea to begin to train yourself to observe and reflect with more
precision. Here are some suggestions for getting the most out of your observations:

Keep a journal: Write down your observations and impressions to capture, analyze, and compare
them over time.

Sequential reporting: Write down exactly what happens as it is happening. Try to be as objective
as possible. Avoid interpreting events or making judgments. By forcing yourself to focus on details
that you would normally ignore, questions might emerge that you can later follow up on through
interviews and other types of observations.

Reporting of selective themes: After doing a number of detailed sequential observations, try fol-
lowing a theme that interests you. Choose a theme or question and write short notes about it
whenever you learn something about it. If you are looking at how much agricultural work women
do, you might list every farm activity you see them engaged in and describe those activities. Try
to be objective and describe what you see, rather than just capturing your impressions of what you
see.

Detailed description of an event: You may witness an interesting incident when it would be
insensitive to pull out a pencil and paper. Train yourself to remember as many details as possible
to write down later. For example, if you see a woman harnessing cattle in a culture where women
do not ordinarily handle animals, mentally note everything about the scene: the time of day, the
clothes she was wearing, her ease or discomfort working with the animals and so on. These details
will help you question your counterpart more intelligently later about how to interpret what you saw.


Subjective observation: Here you can dispense with the timing, counting, and recording of
details and try to capture feelings, relationships, beauty, sadness, the setting, and atmosphere.
The color of new rice seedlings at sunrise, the grief of a buffalo driver when his animal
collapses and dies on the roadside—these moments cannot be broken down into details and
statistics. Use care in your interpretations, though, and draw on the knowledge and skills you
have gained in doing the previous observations so as not to jump to conclusions.

It is important to remember that our perceptions of any event,
situation, or person are conditioned by a number of filters. Our
own gender, age, personal background, cultural origin, class
background, prejudices, beliefs, etc., will affect what we pay
attention to, how we perceive what we have seen, and the
decision we make about the situation. For example, because
she was so determined to focus on nutrition, Christine did not
see other community needs, interests, or assets. Karlene’s
desire to do something made it difficult for her to accept “watch-
ing and waiting” as valuable approaches.

Your time with Peace Corps has probably helped you to become more aware of the
lenses through which we tend to view things, and it is especially important to revisit
these issues when conducting observations. See Culture Matters: The Peace Corps
Cross-Cultural Workbook [ICE No. T0087] for more insight about these “filters.”

SHADOW DAYS
One of the most powerful ways to engage in participant observation is to “shadow” a host
country national colleague or friend. “Shadowing” involves following the person around through-
out the day and engaging (to the extent possible) in the same activities that he or she does. This
is a particularly effective technique when attempting to get “on-the-job” training for your tech-
nical area. For example, you can learn a great deal about local agricultural techniques by shad-
owing a local farmer, and you can gain a wealth of information about women’s health by
shadowing a maternal and child health coordinator at a hospital. By using a combination of
observation and shadowing, Christine might be able to assist women in determining their health
needs in a non-threatening way, while also integrating into the community.

INFORMAL DISCUSSION
Talking with a great variety of people and asking friendly, culturally appropriate questions can yield
useful information. Below are some things to consider when devising and asking questions:

Factual Questions: People may feel intimidated or embarrassed by questions that require specific
answers, especially if they do not know the answers. Examples include: “What is the population of
this area?” or “How many children are malnourished in this community?” It may be best to leave
such questions for interviews with officials in a position to know that information.

26 Peace Corps

General Questions: Try to keep your questions relevant to
people’s own experience. Instead of asking questions like: “What
foods are usually given to children?” try asking: “What do you
feed your child every day?”

Opinion Questions: Some questions calling for an opinion may
be politically sensitive. For example: “What do you think of the
government’s new plan for free primary school education?” Save
these questions until you feel you know your audience well, and
do not press people for answers if you find them being politely
evasive. This may be their way of telling you that your questions
are inappropriate.

Personal Questions: Even if your work is in sexually transmitted
infection (STI) prevention, be careful when asking personal
questions. It is crucial to understand the appropriate time, con-
text, and approach to asking personal questions, and it is prob-
ably best to rely on your counterpart for guidance in this area.

Key Informants
Finding key informants who will give you specific information may be important both to show respect
to local authorities and to get a more complete view of the situation. For example, local health officials
may have access to useful documentation that might take you months to collect on your own. Even
children may be useful key informants about school-related matters, or as candid translators for their
parents who may speak a local language you have not yet mastered.

BECOME A COMMUNITY MEMBER

Your experience may be more effective and enjoyable if you focus on making friends within
the community, rather than merely approaching people for “informal discussion” as a needs
assessment technique. By engaging in participant observation at football matches, churches
and mosques, at community centers, by the water, and so on, you will make friends in the
community and will be able to casually learn the answers to your questions from them.
Sometimes the best “key informants” are close host country national friends who agree to
share knowledge with you that is usually not provided to “outsiders.”

Remember, though, that each person’s view is likely to be very different from that of the
next. When discussing the problem of children’s malnutrition, for example, one Volunteer
found that while everyone she talked to agreed it was a problem, there was much disagree-
ment about its cause.

A doctor claimed it was caused by the ignorance of the people due to cultural biases
against modern medicine.

The traditional healer said it was the invasion of foreign culture that damaged children’s
health.

(continued on page 28)


(continued from page 27)

Teachers felt that the high illiteracy rate prevented parents from reading about nutrition,
gardening, and better health practices.

The agricultural extension agent said it was the lack of inexpensive appropriate technol-
ogy that could help people produce food year-round instead of just in the rainy season.

An official from a local aid agency insisted that the children’s malnutrition was caused
by endemic intestinal parasites because there was no clean water supply in the village.

Although each of the people the Volunteer talked to understood that many factors contrib-
uted to the problem, each person’s perspective was different depending on their profes-
sional interest and personal bias.

INTERVIEWS
Sometimes a formal interview is more appropriate than a casual discussion. The village chief, the
leaders of women’s groups, the local ministry officials and other professionals may be more amenable
to an interview than to informal questioning. Interviews are sometimes useful with community mem-
bers as well because they are more structured than ordinary conversation and therefore yield more
comparable data. Be sure to ask permission of informants to quote them and inform them clearly of
your purpose in interviewing them.

Before you conduct an interview, try to find out the culturally sensitive way to go about it. For
example, in the culture in which you work:

Should you avoid eye contact, or is it more polite to look directly at a person?

How formally or informally should you dress when doing an interview?

How much time should you spend on greetings and initial chit-chat before beginning the interview?

Is it appropriate to approach an elder or chief directly, or should you go through intermediaries?

What subjects or ways of asking questions are considered inappropriate?

28 Peace Corps

Types of Interviews
You can set up your interview in a number of different ways.

Type of Interview Advantages Disadvantages Sample Question

Informal Interviews • Unstructured • Can be inconsistent What do you think
• Questions emerge • Little preparation • Difficult to organize community members
naturally from the needed the data really want?
context of the • Informants feel
conversation comfortable
• No predetermined
wording
Interview Guide • A bit more structured • May limit the topics What health problems
Approach and consistent covered, as your do many of your
• A few general • Still allows for questions will lead the schoolchildren have?
questions are decided gathering unexpected conversation to some
in advance information and extent What do you think is
• Sequence and opinions the cause of these
wording are problems?
determined during
interview
Standardized Open- • Well-structured and • Requires more What vegetables does
Ended Interview thus allows for preparation your family eat in the
• Questions prepared consistent data • May feel more formal rainy season?
in advance collection and analysis
• Questions read to • Still allows for a
informant in natural variety of responses
tone of voice • Can be distributed as
• Answers recorded a written tool for
literate audiences
Closed Quantitative • Highly structured • Requires more In the rainy season, my
Interview • Easy to compile and preparation family eats:
• Questions and a list analyze data • Does not allow much __beans
of potential answers afterwards opportunity for __dried vegetables
created in advance • Useful if you need to additional, unexpected __fish
• Interviewer reads the gather specific information and __meat
questions and offers information in a short opinions
a few answers for period of time
respondent to choose • Can be distributed as
from a written tool for
literate audiences
Appreciative Inquiry • Seeks to uncover the • Requires more Think about a high
Interview roots of success preparation point or peak experi-
• Asset-based approach • Taps into high points • Some claim it can ence you’ve had in
to interviewing and peak experiences mask community working with your
• Appreciative Interview in the lives of the problems community group. Tell
Protocol recommended respondents me a story about that
(See Appendix A) • Generates hope and time. What happened?
motivates respondents How were you involved?
What were the key
factors of success?
How can we ensure
more of these high
points more of the
time?


What type of interview is best?
This depends both on the situation and on you. Below are some issues
to consider when deciding which interview type is best:

Language ability: If you are interviewing in a language you feel unsure
of, you might want to use a closed quantitative interview, so that you
may write down your questions in advance, check your grammar with an
informant and gather information from a pre-written list. Alternatively,
you may wish to work with an HCN counterpart in conducting all of the
interviews, in which case you might be able to use a standard open-
ended interview or appreciative interview. If your language ability is
good, you might want to engage in an informal interview or interview
guide approach.

Importance of compiling information for analysis: You might want to use a more structured
approach in order to compile your information more efficiently. For example, if you need to find
out what fifty families eat in the rainy season, it would be relatively easy to look at, say, the answers
to question six of your interview form and tabulate the results.

Desire for holistic picture: If you want to find out what people feel about a situation, it may be
more appropriate to let the interview questions arise naturally in the course of the conversation.
Afterwards, when compiling the information, you will need to read the whole batch of interviews
over and over again to let a global picture emerge. This can be time-consuming of course, but it
will yield a rich, full picture of the range of opinions, perceptions, and styles of expression of your
informants. When sharing this kind of information with others it is wise to explain that your own
analysis of it will naturally be somewhat colored by your own perceptions and point of view. Or
better yet, be sure to read, compile, and analyze the data with HCN counterparts or members of the
community.

Now that you have the information,
what do you do with it?
Use it for your own education: Interview information, like detailed observations, can help you un-
derstand your host country more fully. If you have used informal interviews or an interview guide
approach, typing them up or recording the most interesting bits in a journal will help you focus on
what people were trying to communicate to you. You can tabulate and record information from more
structured types of interviews in the form of charts or graphs, or just as trends to remember for future
conversations. For example: “I find it interesting that according to teachers in this town, the main
health problem of their students is respiratory infection.”

30 Peace Corps

Share it with your co-workers: Ideally, you and
your counterparts will gather information together,
but if you conduct interviews on your own, you may
find it useful to share this new information with
others—that is, if it is new to everyone, rather than
just to you. Try not to annoy HCNs by acting as an
expert on their own society—even if you have found
out information that is not common knowledge.
People may be put off if you take on the role of
expert without being asked.

However, if you are asked to give a presentation, or
if you are questioned at a meeting about the infor-
mation you have been gathering, present it as con-
cisely and accurately as possible, using notes you
have taken about the data you have compiled as well
as graphs or charts when they seem appropriate.

Share it with the people you have interviewed: The relatively new field of participatory research
stresses dialogue, empathetic sharing of experience, and involvement of the people in all phases of
information gathering and utilization. Such an approach is consistent with NFE values, for it involves
working with people rather than treating them as research “subjects.” Try to share the results of your
interviews with people at community meetings or other local forums in the oral style that the local
people use themselves. You will need to observe awhile to understand the complexities of this style
according to the custom in your area. Some cultures are much more indirect about making a point than
Americans are, so try to avoid giving “the facts and nothing but the facts” as you may have been
trained to do by your own society. It may be that your host country co-workers will be more effective
than you in this role and should present the results of your information-gathering to the community.

COMMUNITY MAPPING
The community mapping
technique is a highly partici-
patory needs assessment tool
in which participants draw or
construct maps of their com-
munity on paper or on the
ground. Subgroups are usually
asked to draw separate com-
munity maps. For example,
the men in the group may
work on one map, the women
another, the girls another, the
boys another. Or adults might
work on one map, and youth
on another. This tool can
visually show significant differences in how these subgroups view their community, how they locate
different activities spatially, and how they attribute importance to different activity centers such as
schools, markets, clinics and so forth. It can also identify how frequently people are at various loca-
tions, places they like and dislike and what they feel is needed or missing in the community. Once this
activity is finished, it is often difficult to overlook the differences among the perceptions of men,
women, girls, and boys in a community.


Now, think back to Tana’s experience teaching prenatal care in Thailand from the first chapter.

How might she have used community mapping to discover the perspectives of women and men
around the topic of prenatal care?

How might she have used this technique to raise awareness about prenatal care services available?

DAILY ACTIVITY SCHEDULES
In this activity, participants (usually men, women, girls, and boys) create a timeline of their daily
activities. This information provides valuable insights into both the labor constraints of each group as
well as the areas where labor-saving might occur. At another level, this technique demonstrates the
gender-based perceptions of the work load of each group. In this sense, this technique helps to raise
awareness with regard to the contribution that different groups make to overall household welfare.
Finally, the information developed can serve as baseline data to return to as a way to monitor the
impact of project activities on people’s time allocations.

How might Karlene have used daily activity schedules with the women at the community center?
What information might she and the women have discovered together during this process?

How might you incorporate daily activity schedules in your own work?

SEASONAL CALENDARS
This technique traces seasonal variations in household labor supply and demand, income flow
and expenditure patterns. Many households experience a “hungry season” or periods of eco-
nomic stress, and these variations may have differential impacts on different gender groups. Some
times of the year are busier for one group or the other. This technique is designed to identify
these seasonal variations in household well-being from the perspective of both men and women.
An understanding of these seasonal variations is important to the development and implementa-
tion of a community action plan.

32 Peace Corps

Nonformal Education Manual (Part I)

Nonformal Education Manual (Part I)

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