I1 Papers/Articles/Beitfige

EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF FARMERS - A CROSSNATIONAL STUDY’

b REINHOLD E. G. SACHS

Technical U n k i t y o j k l i n

The inspiration to write this paper has come from observations in the field of education during investigations into the economic and social behaviour of farmers in Northern Hesse (Fed. Rep. of Germany) and in two rural arcas of Zambia.

One of the most interesting features in this mpect is the apparent cksirc for formal education expressed by farmers in the developing country which contrasts strongly with the emphasis on “learning by doing” in the practice of agriculture, made by farmers of the developed countries.

This observation may indicate the varying importance attached to formal education as being dependent upon the proportional difference bctween the standard of educational attainment and the availability of technical resources.

Assuming that technical resources will become available, it Seems probable that formal education, which may be considered a rerquisite for making full use of modem technology, will always k strongly desired under circumstances where its availability is restricted. Conver- sely, where formal education is available to all and modern technology has become an everyday experience, the educational concept of “learn- ing by doing” may be strongly accentuated on family farms.

Education and Laming

Starting from the hypotheses outlined above, education may bc defined as the development of a commonly promoted participation in cultural and social values. This definition not only includes a certain level of systematic knowledge going beyond individual and social experience,

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but also the capability to transfer such knowledge into independent action. The process of acquiring such qualities is termed “learning”, an experience by which a specific form of behaviour is changed*, or which leads to relatively long-lasting changes in the behaviour of individuals3.

Knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired through learning may cause changes in activity. Thus, learning should be seen as a process which individuals undergo throughout the whole of their lives and which is independent of time, place and institution.

Education which results from learning in the broader sense of the word does comprise fir more than purely academic knowledge in various disciplines; it also implies the capacity and the mental ability to cope with life in all its aspects. In other words, this definition of education implies the inclusion of specific ways of thinking and acting as well as the ability to assess these thoughts and action. Furthermore, attitudes and expectations, the whole dimensions of knowledge in general and in particular, on the whole as well as in detail, must be supposed at the same time, to be capable of applying and adapting the knowledge acquired to the given circumstances.

This continuous educational process, which starts from early child- hood and extends over the different stages of adult age, may be roughly divided into three categories according to its degree of formalization (Coombs, p. 10) : 1) Z n f o d education, i.e. the forming of opinions and standards of

value, of skills and knowledge by everyday experience and, in this respect, the influences of the family and other social reference groups, has the greatest impact. In fact, this kind of education is a lifelong process.

2) Fomf education, in turn, is characterized by the hierarchically structured, successive steps of an organized educational system starting from primary school up to the university, including a wide range of full-time technical schools and professional training courses.

3) in recent times, a great number of organized forms of training - ranging between the informal and the established formal education - have evolved, described by Ph. H. Coombs as “non-fomL” edu- cation. A characteristic feature of this category is that it covers all of those organized educational activities ranging outside the traditional, firmly established - though “reform-oriented” - edu- cational system, especially in the field of adult education and social promotional institutions (such as youth movements, health-, com- munity- and advisory services). Any organized programme which

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aims at communicating ideas, knowledge, skills and practices to adults, outside the framework of the school and university systems, may be called a non-formal educational programme. These activities originated from manifold needs on the part of the population and, at first sight, are not necessarily ranked among educational in- stitutions.

Distribution and significance of each of the above-mentioned three types of education will differ according to the level of knowledge and the economic and social development. Parallel to a growing tendency towards formal education (increasing share of highschool pupils and university students), lifelong informal learning will always be of grcat importance getting additional support, in many directions, from non- formal educational institutions.

P a m ’ Nadfir Education The needs of human beings may be divided into those which arc innate and of biological nature (such as hunger and thirst) and those belong- ing to the large group of social and cultural necds, which, for the most part, if not exclusively, are the result of learning process.

While the need for social security and safety, for esteem and iden- tification are universal, societies differ with regard to their expectations connected with consumption and saving, efficiency and lcisute, social status and educational level, a distinction being made, for instance, as to whether the social status of an individual depends on his age and property rather than on his educational background and his achieve- ments.

Until very recently, being a farmer was considered as a “way of life”, rather than a learned profession. Farmers were considered as “uncdu- cat# people with no special need for receiving education. The well- known proverb of the “most uneducated” farmer harvesting the %cst’’ potatoes was rhaps meant to illustrate that many years’ experience often leads to E tter results than a - sometimes irrelevant - education. The Annual Report 1975176 by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture of Germany shows that the strong differences in agricultural income arc largely due to the differences in education and skills amongst the farmers>. This clearly demonstrates that a vast majority of farmers do still lack appropriate training.

Educational needs are not determined by objectives of agricultural policy planners, but are related to the socio-cultural and technical

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position of the specific society. Accordingly, the different categories of education outlined above arc being demanded at varying intensities.

Those farmers who do not use industrial goods as productive quipment and are not facing the prcssure of land scarcity, may almost entirely work with the sort of education that is based on the experience of their forefathers, or an education which is acquired during a whole lifetime, though the daily work on the farm may be exclusively oriented towards subsistence needs. In such cases, the “family school” will take over the task of conveying the knowledge and skills necessary for meeting the family’s living requirements (Kriebcl, p. 6). A com- prchmsive formal education which cxcceds the common average level is su rfluous. The farmer’s son docs not really choose his career but is gra F ually growing into his role as a subsistence farmer.

The observations made by the author in Zambia seem to show the following: In the case of farmers having a low degree of literacy (assessed by reduced or no primary school attendance at all), the decision as to which of the sons should remain at home and which one should be sent to urban areas for income earning, depends largely on the degree o f f i d “education” which they have rcccivcd. This means that in remote arm people may believe that they can wily do without this sort of education and that traditional experience is quite suficient to manage the daily work, supposing the methods and instruments a p plied arc adequate. All young people who have had school education arc advised to leave their fathers’ farms and to look for urban jobs, and if they do so, they can be sure of their family’s understanding. On the other hand, a need for higher education is becoming more and more evident, in order to provide the farmers’ children with better chances of obtaining adequate jobs outside the agricultural sector.

As soon as farming bccomes more intensive and market oriented and, consequently, requires more sophisticated knowledge and skills, the attitude changes. “Education” is then considered as an important working capital, and most of the fimily members are required for farming, especially the young ones with school education. This obscr- vation is true for the widespread “ox cultivation” stage rcvailing in the

Zambia in 1975, the different attitudes became obvious when assessing the answers to the following - straightforward - question: “What do you think of people who leave their villages in order to look for a “job” in the city?”

The results obtained in the remote Southern Gwcmbe District (a) as compared with those of the Mumbwa District near the capital Lusaka,

Central Province of Zambia. In a field study conducted 1 y the author in

33 where agriculture is relatively intensive (b), illustrate some remarkable differences in attitudes.

The following percentages of positive or negative attitudes towards rural-urban migration were ascertained:

A tritudc “Subsistence” farmers (a) “Emergent” farmers (b)

negative positive ncutnl

40% 37% 23%

83% 17% 0%

100% 100%

(Number of rcspondcnts: 30 ach)

This indicates that less than one fifth of the “emergent” farmers (in the process of switching over to production for the market) have a positive attitude towards migration, as compared to nearly two thirds of the subsistence farmers, if we may consider the neutral or indifferent attitude as basically in favour of a search for income outside the agricultural sector. About one half of the subsistence farmers justified their .attitude by assuming that the educational background which the migrating farmers possessed, provided them with better chances in the cities.

Of those farmers who were more oriented towards marketing aims, only one tenth drew a connection between the key word “education” and the “rural exodus” in the sense that those lacking education should remain at home or come back home in order to “take up the plough”.

This may be explained by the fact that the need for labour force in this relatively intensely cultivated area was so high that almost all respondents believed the emigrated part of the population should be called back to the rural areas. One quarter of the respondents in the remote district were of the same opinion, mainly, however, because farmers there fear that the “uneducated” would find no job in the city and might, therefore, become criminal. In fact, only a few emigrants without completed primary school education (knowledge of English etc.) do find an employment in the town, at best only very badly paid. As thesc people very seldom have the courage to rcturn to their villages, the danger of a social decay is very high and the concern of the family quite considerable.

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The Function of Education rzs dPpendent on the Stage of Development

The panel study carried out by the author with small-scale farmers of Northern Hesse (Federal Republic of Germany) showed that the respondents there did not regard a special formal training as absolutely necessary in view of the possibility of learning by experience on the parents’ farm. It was found that in spite of a state-promoted moderni- zation of the farming situation (resettling, capital investment, mechanization) the traditional attitude persisted, according to which more formal education is considered necessary only for those who intend to leave agriculture in order to take up other occupations.

In the advanced agricultural area of Zambia the assumption that “there is no need for education if one shall become a farmer” meets with the unanimous disapproval of the farmers questioned. The comments given by them show which kind of function education is expected to perform. Primarily, it should convey the elementary knowledge of writing and reading in English, by which the “educated person” should be enabled to read any instructions for the use of fertilizers and pes- ticides ctc. Farmers want to become independent of the agricultural extension workers, who generally have less practical experience (a typical statement: “I should have gone to school to learn, so that I could be able to read instructions, and this could have made me stop consulting the crop demonstrators”). The same perception of education applies e.g. in case of application for loan. An often expressed reaction to the above-mentioned statement is: “Education these days is necessary. To become a good farmer, you must have education”.

On the contrary, the farmer of Northern Hesse says that “being a farmer” is like the ‘kcond nature” of a person and - strictly speaking - is not learnable (as is often said literally). This means that it is rather a role adopted through experience, and such an assumption is based on different grounds than in case of the Zambian farmer. When making this assumption, the firmer of Northern Hesse presupposes at least a complete primary school education and sufficient experience the younger generation has with modern technology. The African farmer, in turn, refers to an insufficient education of young farmers, if any, and the general lack of experience in handling modern equipment.

The Zambian farmer who is living near urban centres is well in- formed about modern technology and its advantages in view of pro- ductivity increases. He, therefore, says, without hesitation, that the one who affirms that formal education is not necessary to become a farmer does, in fact, not know what he is talking about. One of the respon-

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dents said he had never met any “commercial farmer” without edu- cation: “which means education is very necessary to become a good farmer”.

For the farmer of Northern Hesse, the question of education is geared towards quite a different level, namely technical specialization and a deeper general insight to enable him to understand, for instance, how hormones in fodder can increase animal growth rates. Rather than the mere ability to read feeding instructions, this requires a thorough understanding of chemical and physiological processes. The transfer of such knowledge is expected from the agricultural technical school and its practical equivalent, the apprenticeship on a farm beyond that of the parents.

O n comparing the results of the author’s panel study, which ex- tended over 10 years (1960-70), the views of the Northern Hesse farmers proved to be divided. O n one hand, technical schools and outside apprenticeship were considered to be useful educational in- stitutions. O n the other hand, however, it turned out that these institutions were not utilized to their full extent. The reasons for this phenomenon were reported to be the indispensability of the farmer’s son on the farm. In reality it was rather based on the conviction that, strictly speaking, the son had as good a chance at home of learning what was appropriate for the particular farm which he was supposed to take over in times to come. In some cases it was even heard at the technical schools that innovations were recommended (such as specializations of farms connected with high capital investments) which would involve too many risks when being applied. One of the typical comments: ‘*They say that young people are being educated there on such pro- gressive principles as to cause quite a lot of inconvenience to the old, later on. When the young farmers leave the school they quite often tend to say: “We ought to buy this and that for the farm, but father has no money”. . .” (Sachs, p. 166).

It is a remarkable fact, though, that in Germany one of the positive factors of technical school attendance or of an apprenticeship is the possibility of gaining new experience; this means it is considered quite a valuable opportunity for the son to get out of the parents’ farm in order to gain some new experience, and all this in a stimulating atmosphere and company. Regarding the training on outside farms (which verbally was considered as desirable), much importance was attached to the positive aspects of personality formation. The fithers all agreed that their sons were learning to “be adaptable”, how to show “respect” for the proprietor of the “other farm” and how to “gain a better insight into problems in general”.

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The Zambian farmers, too, when being asked about their views on the courses at the “Farmers’ Training Centres” (FIT), seem to remember quite positively the social experience connected with such one (or more) week’s stays together with colleagues, in a rather pleasant and, in any case, new atmosphere. Thanks to such circumstances, the training is considered useful, even if the contents of the course are regarded as irrelevant and the methodology as unfivo~rable~.

Satishitag the Fanned Ned for Education One of the questions growing more and more urgent in developing countries is: How can the actual needs for an adequate education, adapted to the specific situation of a particular farmer, be properly met, if the educational functions of the traditional “family school” - which undeniably still exist - 11c not sufficient? One should, first of all, try to get an exact idea of the “minimum essential learning needs” of the farmers in the context of their specific societies. Getting an “exact” idea means: it should be ascertained, for example, where the ability of reading, i.e. the perception of a descriptive information (the “what” question) is sufficient, and, on the other hand, where an understanding of the relation between “cause” (the “why” question) and “effect” should be roused. According to Coombs (p. 139, such “minimum essential learning needs”, which are supposed to belong to an “edu- cation package”, should indudc the following points: - A positive attitude towards development on local as well as on

- The ability to rcad and calculate in accordance with the require-

- The ability to maintain a family and keep a household; - A basic knowledge of biological processes related to agriculture and

environment, as well as - Knowledge and skills enabling the farmer to pursue also non-agri-

cultural activities (for instance, skilled trades) and making him a conscious citizen of a wider community exceeding the borders of his village or tribe.

national level;

ments of the specific economic situation;

From the afore-said it is evident that neither the common school system nor the specialized training facilities generally offered have the necessary potential to supply such an “education package”. Whenever the family, the community and the “learning by doing” are no longer sufficient in view of a rapidly expanding technology, new ways of education and

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training have to be found. In many developing countries a new form of non-formal educational institution, i.e. the “Farmers’ Training Cen- tres”, has found general acceptance, offering a useful approach to the problem of adult education.

An evaluation of these institutions in Zambia showed that the poorest farmers not only had the smallest proportion of trainees but that, on the other hand, it seemed to be rather obvious that, thanks to their greater resources, the farmers who were anyway better off be- nefitted more from the - largely technically oriented - courses than those coming from farms with only little resources. So, little or no effect at all was registered with half of the households under inves- tigation, either because it was impossible for the respective participants to follow the classes or because the information conveyed was not relevant for the actual needs of those farmers (Honeybone, p. 35 and

In their evaluation study the researchers of the “Rural Development Studies Bureau” recommend the elaboration of a system in which both training and extension experts should closely cooperate5. As the basis of this new system, so-called “Village Group Classes” (VGC) should be established all over the country, which means: training centres on village level resulting from a cooperation between primary schools and the local extension services (Honeybone, p. 74ff).

The aim of these classes is to organize the village in a way as to identify the wishes of people regarding an improved production, to determine the skills required for this purpose and to put theory into practice. These classcs arc intended to serve as “catalysts” in the sense that farmers do not identify their specific wishes but are also enabled to recognize the possibilities of realizing them within their villages. An important point of the prognmme is that the extension personnel involved do not only inform about modem technical procedures, but are acting, on the whole, in a pedagogical Sense with a view to dis- playing the whole range of the afore-mentioned education package. All this would require, however, a change also in the training of the extension staff.

So far, the “bush classes” have already been regarded as quite an effective medium of extension in Zambia. What remains to be done is to sponsor their further expansion and to give them a stronger support, especially as regards appropriate teaching equipment, such as mobile extension units. These units might move from one village to another holding courses of one week’s duration each. Topics of more common intcrcsc might additionally be conveyed with the help of the rural radio

64).

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stations; the “radio farm forums” existing at present are still suffering from a number of organizational deficiencies.

Important factors in these improved forms of non-formal education are the continuity and the gradual arousing of interest and encourage- ment of an active participation of the farmers. Actually, there should be no limits to imagination when realizing the manifold possibilities offered in the field of social learning, always supposing the capital investment involved can be kept as low as that of the “Village Group Classes”. Of course, the objectives to be set for the training activities are not necessarily expected to m e t such sophisticated global pretensions as have recently been formulated by Mdlymont (p. 2 2 ) : “. . . to edu- cate the community in wise use of the land, and to restrict the popu- lation to a level that the resources can support without reducing the quality of life”.

NOTES

A different version of this paper in German has bccn published in “Runlc Entwicklung zur h r w i n d u n g von Mwcnarmut” (SIP-Shriften Brcitcnbach, Saarbriicken 1978, pp. 321-332). - For suggestions which have assisted to improve the content and form of this p p c r I am indcbtcd to Barry Challens, who has bccn Principal at Zambia Collcgc of Agriculture. “Learning: Changes in bchaviour that result from previous behavior in similar situ- ations” (Bcrelson, p. 135). “Laming denotes relatively penistent changes in the ways of behaviour as far as they arc based on experience” (Mar, p. 472). This followed from the discussions about the problems of the FTCs in Zambia, in which the autor participated and which were held during the National Confcrcncc on Agri- cultural Education and Training in September 1974, and furthermore in September 1975 during a workshop for Instructors at Farm Instituta and Farmers’ Training Ccntrcs, both at Lusaka, Zambia. During his research work at the University of Zambia from 1974-76, the author coopcrated in the conception of this study.

REFERENCES

BEREEON, B. and G. A. STEINER (lw), Human Behavior. An Inventory of Scientific Findings, (Ncw York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc.).

COOMBS, Ph. H. ct al. (1973). New Paths to Lurning, (Ncw York: ICED). FAO, UNESCO, ILO (1970), Report of the World Confcrence on Agriculturd Education and

Training, Vol. I, Proceedings of the Conference, held Aug. 1970 in Copenhagen/ Denmark.

HONEYBONE, D. and A. MASTER (1975). An Evaluation Study of Zambia’s Farm Institute and Farmer Training Cenrrcs, (University of Zambia, Rural Dcvelopmmt Studies Bureau).

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KRAUSE, K. P. (1977), Die kliigstcn Baucrn sind die batcn, (“Frankfurter Allgcmanc

KRIEBEL, S. (1977). Familienschuk, Gossna Mission, 3, 66, (Berlin: published by the

MKLYMONT, G. L. (1975), Formal Education and Rural k l o p m c n t , (Rome: FAO). MERZ, F. (1971). Lernen, in: ARNOLD. EYSENEK, MEW: (Hrsg.), Lcxikon d a Psychologic,

SACHS, R. E. G. (1972), Wirtschafts und Sozialverhaltcn von Landwirten. Schriftcnreihc f.

Zatung” 18.3.1977).

author).

Vol. 11, (Fciburg: Herder), p. 427f.

Gndl. Sozialfragcn, H. 6’1, (Hannovcr: Schapcr).

SUMMARY

The educational needs of farmers, like all socioculturally motivated needs, depend on the prevailing stage of development and are, there- fore, themselves the result of learning processes. Education which results from learning in the broader sense of the word does comprise far more than purely academic knowledge in various disciplines to cope with life in a l l its aspects. Subsistence farmers for instance - referring to the latter - are learning informally through the “family school” how to meet the daily requirements.

Formal school education is generally being considered as a must for everybody looking for occupation in urban arcas. In developing coun- tries like Zambia, formal education is desired especially by farmers in those areas where farming has become market-oriented including the use of industrial goods. In countries like the Federal Republic of Germany, where a certain basic level of formal education is normal, far greater importancr Seems to be attached to informal education. The “learning by doing” seems to receive more emphasis than the different kinds of formal specialized education which are often regarded as inorganic or even opposed to the particular needs of small-scale traditionally oriented farmers. This has been discovered through an

intensivecr In stu es made in different regions of Zambia, results differed in two directions. In less developed areas, people obviously believe that they can easily do without formal education and that traditional ex- perience is quite sufficient to manage the daily work. But in farming arcas near urban centres where farming has become more market- oriented, education is considered as an essential means to become a good farmer aiming at commercialized farming.

Comparing the results of both national studies on different aspects regarding farmers’ attitudes towards learning in general, forms of social learning Seem to be preferred. Forms of learning which offer special

nel study in parts of the F.R. of Germany.

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kinds of experience, rather than a learning by accumulating purely formal school knowledge.

In developing countries in particular, actual needs of farmers may be summed up in a package of manifold qualities desirable for them to be able to cope with life and work in all their aspects. Courses held by institutions of adult education are often not adquate, as has been shown by an evaluation of several Farmers’ Training Centres. Instead, it has been suggested that a form of cooperation bctwcen primary schools and extension services should be tried, a non-formal type of “Village Group Classes” which intend to serve as “catalysts” in the sense that farmers do not only identify their specific wishes but are also enabled to recognize the possibilities of realizing them within their particular plots and villages.

R&UME

Le b i n des paysans de s’instruirc, comme tous les besoins sociocul- turels, depend du degd de dheloppement respectif et, par G, esc hi-mtme le Gsulcat d’un processus d’apprcnassage. L‘tducation en tanc que rtsultat d‘un apprentissagc au sens le plus large du mot implique beaucoup plus que des connaissances strictement acadimiques dans difftrents domaines pour pouvoir faire face i la vie. Les paysans vivant en tconomie de subsistance, qui ont tct inrerrogks, par cxcmple, en p l a n t d’&iucation, apprcnnent d‘une maniire plut6t ((informelle)), i travers al’icole-famillet), i rtpondre aux b i n s de tous les jours.

En gkniral, la formation scolaire est considide comme une prtcon- dition esscntiellc pour tous ceux qui cherchent du travail dans les centres urbains. Dans Ies pays en voie dc divcloppement, comme la Zambie, l’tducation uformellen est d&k surtout par les paysans des rigions oh l’agriculture s’est orient& vers la production pour la com- mercialisation et oh l’utilisation de moyens de production industriels est connue. Par contrc, dans des pays comme I’Allemagne Ftdirale, oh un certain niveau iltmentairc d’tducation aformelle)) est normal, on scmble attacher une valeur beaucoup plus grande i l’tducation ((infor- melie)). Dans ce pays-li, on donne la prtfirence au ulearning by doing)) plutbt qu’aux autres formes diverses d‘tducation spkcialik ((formellew, cette dernitre &ant souvent considtrit comme inadkquate ou meme oppodc aux beoins particuliers des petits exploitants traditionnels. Cette dtcouverte a ttt faite i I’aide d’une ((panel study)) men& dans certaines rtgions de la Rtpubliquc Fcdtrale d’Allcmagne.

Les itudes entreprises dans diffbrentes rigions de la Zambie ont

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montrt que les opinions des paysans sont partagCes. Ceux des zones rurales isolEcs croient qu’ils peuvent se passer facilcment d’une Cdu- cation ((formellen et qu’une expkricnce transmise par la tradition est suffisante pour accomplir le travail quotidien. Cepcndant, dans les zones se trouvant pris des centres urbains, od l’agriculture est orient& plus vers la commercialisation, on considire l’tducation comme unc prC- condition essenticlle pour dcvenir un agricultcur bien avanck.

En comparant Ies attitudes des paysans interrogh dans Ies deux pays ttudits, il semblerait qu’en gCniral toute forme d’tducation sociale ait prtftrie, en un mot, un genre de formation qui offre dcs expkriences spkciales plut6t que des connaissances formelles scolaires.

Notamment dans Ies pays en voie de dtveloppement, les besoins effectifs des paysans peuvent &re rCsumQ en un ensemble de qualitts multiples rquises pour lcur faciliter la vie et le travail quotidiens. Lxs cours offcrts par les institutions d’tducation dcs adultes sont souvent peu adkquats, comme l’a montrt I’haluation de plusieurs centres de formation professionnelle pour gaysans (((Farmers Training Centres))). Commc alternative on a suggCre d’essayer - sous formc d’une coop&- ation Cntre les tcoles primaires et lcs services de vulgarisation agricole - un type ctnon-formel)) de ((village group classes)), dont le but est de servir de ctcatalysateurs)) pour quc Ics paysans prennent non seulement conscience de lcurs vocux personnels, mais encore soicnt capables de reconnattre les possibilitis de les kdiser dans leurs villages et leurs champs.

ZUSAMMENPASSUNG

Das Bildungsbcdurfnis bei Bauern ist, wie alle sozio-kulturellen Be- durfnisx, vom jeweiligen Entwicklungsstand abhangig und damit selbst ein Ergebnis von Lemprozessen. Bildung, geformt durch Lerncn im weitesten Sinne des Wortes, umfal3t weit mehr als akademisches Wissen in verschiedenen Bereichen, um das Dasein bewaltigen zu konnen. So erfolgt beispielsweise bei den befragten Subsistenzbauern die fur sie erforderliche Bildung durch das informale Lemen in der f familien-Schule", die das auf die Bediirfnisse dcs taglichen Lebens ausgerichtete Wissen vermittelt.

Formale Schulbildung wird fiir denjenigen vorausgesetzt, der sein Einkommcn in stadtischen Gebieten sucht. In Entwicklungskindem wie Sambia wird formale Bildung von den Bauem insbesondere dort angestrebt, wo die Landwirtschaft Marktbeziehungcn aufnimmt und sich industrieller Produktionsmittel bedient. In Endern wie der Bun-

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desrepublik Deutschland, wo ein bestimmtes Ausgangsniveau an for- maler Bildung selbstverstandlich ist, scheint man der informalen Bil- dung einen weit grof3eren Wert beizumessen. Dort erhalt das ,,learning by doing” starkeres Gewicht als die verschiedenen Arten formaler Fachausbddung, die vielfach als betriebsfremd oder gar als den Bediirf- nissen der Kleinbauem zuwiderlaufend angesehen werden. Dies geht aus einer detaillierten Panel-Untersuchung hervor, die der Verfasser in Teilen der Bundesrepublik durchfiihrte.

Untersuchungen in verschiedenen Gebieten Sambias brachten geteilte Ergebnisse. In riickstandigen Landstrichen glaubt man offen- sichtlich, ohne formale Bildung auskommen zu konnen, da zur Ver- richtung der taglichen Arbeit die uberlieferte Erfahrung fur aus- reichend gehalten wird. Im Einzugsbereich der stadtischen Siedlungen jedoch, d.h. dort, wo die Landwirtschaft schon marktorientierter ist, hat man erkannt, da0 z w e c k g e d Ausbildung eine wesentliche Voraussetzung fur den erfolgreichen marktorientierten Landwirt ist.

Wenn man die Ergebnisse der in den beiden obigen Undern durchgefuhrten Untersuchungen analysiert, scheint es, daD die Bauern allgemein den Formen sozialen Lernens mit ihren besondcren Erleb- nisqualitaten den Vorzug geben gegeniiber formaler, schulischer Wissensakkumulation.

Die eigentlichen Bildungsbedurfnisse von Bauern in Entwicklungs- Endern im besonderen sind in einem Paket vielseitiger Qualitaten enthalten, die die Bewaltigung des Daseins und der tiiglichen Arbeit erleichtern. Die von der Erwachsenenbildung angebotenen Kurse sind oftmals unzureichend, wie eine Evaluierung der ,,Farmers’ Training Centres” ergeben hat. Statt dessen wird vorgeschlagen, in einer Zusammenarbeit zwischen Grundschule und Beratungsdienst nicht- formale ,,Village Group Classes” einzurichten. Diese d e n Kataly- satoren der Wunsche der Bauern und des Erkennens der Moglich- keiten, sie auf ihren Hofen und Dorfern zu realisieren, werden.