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Lifelong Learning and Development. ASouthern PerspectiveSetoi M. Setoi aa National University of Lesotho , LesothoPublished online: 02 Feb 2011.

To cite this article: Setoi M. Setoi (2011) Lifelong Learning and Development. ASouthern Perspective, International Journal of Lifelong Education, 30:1, 123-130, DOI:10.1080/02601370.2011.538243

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2011.538243

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BOOK REVIEWS 123

students, although emphasising thatthe classroom includes expertise fromseveral areas of the world would bemore relevant to the student from adifferent culture. Missing from thistopic is how the issues and suggestionsare any more important for a classroomon business.

A similar case may be made forthe remaining chapters in Part II.However, in all of the chapters thereare a few sets of issues and suggestionsthat are more unique to the studentfrom another culture. Cultural normsabout relating to other people and themeaning of learning are likely to affectparticipation in group work, generally,and case study activities, specifically.Poor use of English and unfamiliaritywith Western contexts for business arepotential barriers for online distancelearning for students from othercultures. Foreign students whose prioreducation has included only oralassessments that call for facts learnedby rote will need time to adjust notonly to writing as a form of assessment,but also to the requirement to make anargument from analysis and synthesisof readings.

Scholars in adult education, particu-larly those who teach in graduateprogrammes of adult education, arelikely to be familiar with the issues andsuggestions in this book for enhancingteaching abilities with classes of multi-cultural students. However, the bookexposes a few less-often consideredtopics such as the importance of valu-ing the expertise of students fromanother culture, of understanding thecultural norms that impact the foreignstudent’s relationship to other peopleand learning in the classroom, and ofrealising the difference in assessinglearning in other cultures. The chap-ter on the case method is relevant foruse with all students and provides anexcellent overview of the purpose of

the method and how to use it success-fully.

Brad CourtenayThe University of Georgia, USA

© 2011, Brad Courtenay DOI: 10.1080/02601370.2011.538194

Lifelong Learning and Development. ASouthern PerspectiveBy JULIA PREECE (Continuum, London,2009), 200 pp., £75.00 (hbk), ISBN-101847062911, ISBN-13 978-1847062918

This is a well-researched and deeplyconsidered work raising pertinent issueson lifelong learning as it concerns theSouth. The author decides to interro-gate the taken-for-granted beliefs aboutthe developing countries developmentagenda by putting herself in the shoes ofthe dispossessed nations of the South.From that standpoint she argues vehe-mently that developing nations can havea contribution through lifelong learn-ing in the world stage of education asviewed from pre-colonial experiences ofthe developing nations. The authorapplies post-colonial and critical theoryanalysis to acknowledge pre-colonialtraces of lifelong learning, and critiquesthe discourses the North uses on theSouth’s development agenda.

The author has been provoked by aquote from Maria Torres (2003) thatappears on the book’s first page. In herintroduction, Preece does not squarelyoppose Torres’s assertion, but sets theagenda for her book to express her opti-mism about the possibility of lifelonglearning agenda in the Third Worldreferred to as ‘The South’. In heracknowledgement of the long-standingtradition of lifelong learning in theNorth she identifies the departure inthe use of the discourses. Lifelonglearning discourse is used by the Northwhile Education for All (EFA) discourse

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is used by the South. This emergencecoincided with UNESCO WorldConference on Education for All. It isthis slogan UNESCO coined that intro-duced a range of goals that came to beknown as EFA goals. These goalsfollowed the principles of lifelonglearning (from cradle to grave) recogn-ising the targets for early childhoodeducation; universal primary educa-tion; life skills; literacy and genderequality. These targets while represent-ing lifelong learning do not refer to it assuch. This distinction she makesbetween the North and the Southdiscourses are essentially the same inmeaning and interpretation but arecategorically different in terms ofpower relations for implementation.The North directs its own lifelong learn-ing activities but the South is giventargets by agencies from the North,targets the South MUST achieve. Whilecountries of the North decide on theirindividual direction for lifelong learn-ing, the South countries were to followsome homogeneity in development—understandably so because some Northagency played the tune the South has todance to. The North had set the agendafor the South in the discourse of Educa-tion for All, in a very subtle way, theNorth whispered to the South, ‘EFA iswhat you need and those are the targetsotherwise no funding is coming forth’.Consequently power relations issueswent unchallenged and the South lostcontrol of its development agenda. Life-long learning embedded in the slogan‘Education for All’ was ignored by thedrivers of aid. This slogan went un-interrogated by the recipients of aid—the South. This I suggest happenedbecause there was no preparation forimplementation of EFA by the South.

Preece identifies what she refers to askey conferences in the South, whichdemonstrated the South’s involvementin lifelong learning. These were:

● UNESCO 1975 conference whosetheme was to embrace both voca-tionalism and human development.

● The world conference on Educa-tion for All in Thailand.

● The CONFINTEA V and VIconferences.

● Beijing International Conferenceon Lifelong Learning.

● Conference on higher educationhosted by the University of Mumbaientitled Lifelong Learning.

● Conference of Ministries ofEducation for Africa on LifelongLearning.

Unfortunately, these conferenceshighlighted fragmented windows ofopportunity for the South. However,though fragmented, the windows ofopportunity increased the optimismof the author and her readers because ofthe seeming growing interest in lifelonglearning, (World Bank 2003). Theauthor argues that the contribution ofthe South would strengthen the humanand social development core valuesoften hidden in the neo-liberaldiscourses. The second more importantvalue she observes in the South’s contri-bution is that the South would allow forwider socio-political challenges thatneed more than just economic vision oflearning.

The author asserts that lifelonglearning literature is dominated byboth the policy and academic perspec-tives from the North because of thedearth of theoretical and conceptualanalysis from the South. While I agreewith this assertion I would add that thedominance of the North results fromthe NOISE the North makes on whatthey value. The North commands theeconomic power for knowledgeproduction and the networking thatoverwhelms the South’s meagre finan-cial muscle for knowledge production.The South lacks courage to design its

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own educational systems. The Southadopts wholesale systems the North sellsto them because of the financial incen-tives that accompany such systems. Forexample, Tanzania had to abandon herindigenous medium of instructionbecause Britain had threatened with-holding foreign aid. The authorsuggests that the solution to the domi-nance of the South by the North wouldbe the unpacking of the colonisation bythe South. The problem I see in thatargument is that the South does nothave the language to unpack colonisa-tion because the South uses thelanguage of the North (English, Frenchor Spanish).

I very much support the theoreticalframework Preece presents thatprovides a way of critiquing the domi-nant discursive strategies for lifelonglearning and simultaneously providingspace for alternative voices. She thus,makes visible what has been made invis-ible. This she does by showing how keyconcepts have actually shaped the worldin the way the North prefers it to be atthe expense of the South’s possible waysof development. This is what I refer toas the NOISE the North is producingthat overwhelms the South’s possibleways of viewing the world differently.For example, the education policiesignore the cultural, humanistic views oflife and articulate the economisticvalues as core and desirable outlook oflife: ‘Being rich is more important thanbeing helpful to your neighbour’.

Preece demonstrates great depths ofresearch in unpacking the key conceptsthat promoted dominance of the Northover the South. I concur with how sheunpacks colonialism and its differentfaces/stages from being viewed asEurope expansion to being viewed asa violent dispossession, oppression,control and cultural exploitation. Sheuses Foucault’s discourses of knowl-edge, power and language to illustrate

the effects of colonialism on the colo-nised. Foucault’s term ‘historicity’ isused to explain how the colonised canretell or rewrite the history to allow thesilent voices left out by ‘historians’ to beheard.

This discussion has illustrated howthe colonial and neo-colonial discourseshave promoted policies, rules, regula-tions of the dominant societies of theNorth to be accepted by the receivingsocieties of the South as normal andnormative. This has been made possibleby the discourses held in place bycomplex networks of power relationsbetween the North and South societies.The illustration of Foucault’s concept ofknowledge as power assists readers toreflect on what they have alwaysaccepted as the ‘truth, reality, acceptedview of knowledge’ as opposed to thetrue picture of what knowledge is—viewof life as told by the SILENT VOICES—the colonised/the South. I agree that alifelong learning project initiated by theSouth would help it unpack the North’snotions of what the South is. In that wayenabling the South to reconstruct anddeconstruct the discourses from theNorth about the South. The Southwould make itself heard in the worldstage.

Preece begins an exploration of heroptimism about the South contributingto lifelong learning agenda by firstpresenting the historical and philosoph-ical foundations for lifelong learning asperceived from the South. She cites theZulu and Sesotho proverbs that explainthe South philosophical foundations ofviewing what education should aim toachieve according to the South. In anindividual the South perceives thecollective and it is the collective thatsubscribes to virtues of an individual.The South values education emphasis-ing interdependence among thecommunities. In other words we see thecollective in an individual and an indi-

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vidual in the collective. While the colo-nial interference attempted to erase thetraces of lifelong learning in traditionalcolonial education, the resilience ofsuch traces kept those traces alive. As anew agenda for lifelong learning sheargues for an integration of the traces ofpre-colonial lifelong learning with thepresent western and African indigenousways of viewing education and life.

She demonstrates how the post colo-nial framework provides a discursivespace that unpacks how colonialist andneo-colonialist behaviours underminedother ways of knowing (ways of theSouth). Post-colonial analysis offers theSouth intellectuals tools to re-tell historyof the experiences of ex-colonisedpeoples and to re-narrativise what isimportant to them. These tools are theexamination of examples of pre-colo-nial education, indigenous knowledgesystems and African philosophical viewsput forth by several authors. She demon-strates the alternative concepts of life-long learning by citing specific versionsof knowledge creation by Gandhi ofrural reconstructions of makingcommunities both self reliant and inter-dependent. Nyerere shared Gandhi’scommitment to education for self-reli-ance that would be integrated with acollective system of productive work tobuild autonomous and self-reliantvillages. Both philosophers believed inthe worth of every individual to contrib-ute to collective well-being/benefits.

I subscribe to Jolly’s (2007) quotationthat introduces the author’s discussionon ‘Development and Lifelong Learn-ing.’ I concur that developmentconnotes some form of time-relatedevolution, growth, progress or maturity,but what to me is more important is whoinitiates, controls, manages and evalu-ates ‘that development’ and for whoseadvantage. Jolly’s suggestion that coun-tries in the South should take charge oftheir own development needs would

lead to ‘real’ development through life-long learning (helping people to makesense of the world around them).Gandhi and Nyerere viewed communitydevelopment as a process entailingthree ideas: information gathering/education whose aim was to empowerpeople; people’s participation in devel-opment activities is a consequence ofknowledge about what is to be done; andpeople’s ownership of their develop-ment agenda resulting from knowledgeand participation. That to me counts asdevelopment. This conception of devel-opment differs from Ferguson 1994account of Lesotho’s failure of develop-ment attempts. I fully agree with Fergu-son’s critique that the World Bankpurposely ignored the history ofLesotho but preferred to discuss hergeography. The World Bank concealedLesotho’s politics by exposing herbureaucracy as if geography, history,bureaucracy and politics could bediscussed separately. We cannot ignorethe fact that the World Bank’s evalua-tion of Lesotho’s development initia-tives was funded by donor agencies. Wewould be naive to expect any less thanthe interpretation given. Preece hasaccurately analysed Ferguson’s interpre-tation. We have seen seven communitydevelopment initiatives since indepen-dence in the late 1960s to date failingheadlong because they all were imposedpolitically. All these initiatives lackedthree pillars of development that are:community empowerment; communityparticipation and community owner-ship. The Basotho National Party (BNP)initiative of Food Self-sufficiency in the1970s and the present day LesothoCongress for Democracy (LCD) BlockFarming respectively, lacked the threepillars of development (empowerment,participation and ownership).

While recognising the differences inthe different types of social capital indi-cated herein, I propose that the three

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conceptions of empowerment, partici-pation and ownership encompass alltypes of social capital that account forthe motivator for lifelong learning anddevelopment. I would safely argue thatit is the combination of the differenttypes of social capital that add value tolifelong learning and development.

My central argument on ‘develop-ment and lifelong learning’ discoursesis that the discourses of developmentneed to be unpacked by illuminatingthe ideas of empowerment, participa-tion and ownership as the principalcontributors and motivators of bothlifelong learning and development. Forthis to happen, we need the post-colo-nial analysis tools. Preece’s success inthe book is her central critique that theNorth continues to determine thedevelopment agenda for the South, inspite of unlimited possibilities that theSouth could use through lifelong learn-ing to determine their own ‘real’ devel-opment agendas.

Odora Hoppers (2006) identifiesconcerns that globalisation presents toAfrica. On the one hand Africa recogn-ises its marginalisation and uncriticalassimilation into the global order. Onthe other, Africa sees the injustice inthat global order affecting its moraltrajectory as Africa participates in it.Africa has the imperative to participateto affirm its presence in the worldorder. The author acknowledgesAfrica’s role in the global order aseducating the world on two values ofhuman-ness and connected-ness. Whatboth authors are not saying is howAfrica then offers its contribution.African Union meetings are run inthree European languages of English,French and Spanish. For me this occur-rence needs to be interrogated. Does aEuropean language mean develop-ment? If Africa does not have an Africanmedium of communication, this is awake-up call.

I see Africa lacking a tool to partici-pate as a united force to be listened to.Africans are colonised by differentnations that affected individual Africannations differently. The evidence isseen in their inability to solve theirinternal African conflicts. African lead-ers do not even agree on methods ofimpacting on the world order. Somelike Zimbabwe, believe they can ignorethe world order while others like Kenya,enjoy the benefits of colonisation, andbelieve capitalism should be the orderof the day. While the author sees thewindows of opportunity for Africa’scontribution in the world order, I wishshe could talk to varying perceptions ofthe world order by the African nations.To speak of Africa as if it were one state,misses the point more so that Africa isitself very divided. Although I recognisethe diminishing sovereignty and powerof nation states, the window of opportu-nity is possible at the level of nationstates that make policies that wouldcounteract globalization initiatives atcountry level.

The three schools of thought, hyper-globalists, sceptics and transformation-alists are viewed differently by Africannations. Therefore, I suggest that it is atthe nation state level that the window ofopportunity presents itself but not atthe continental level. In my opinion thecontinent still has centuries to educateitself to become a united force. Moreneeds to be said to unpack Africa’scontribution.

I agree that lifelong learning isdirectly related to the constant need forretraining workers only at individualcountry level, which draws her policy inaccordance with her ideology. Somecountries in Africa still shun unionismlet alone lifelong learning connectedwith unions.

In my opinion hybridity results fromthe external influence rather than thereceiving cultures. The evidence is seen

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in Lesotho, where Sesotho culture isbeing tossed around by both Englishand Chinese influences. Influencinglanguage is a more direct influence ofculture. Since the Chinese firms startedin Lesotho a lot of cultural practiceshave been abandoned and the spokenlanguage has taken a sharp turn(personal experience). I suggest non-formal education (NFE) programmeshave to be intensified to minimiseexternal cultural interference.

At all levels of economics, politics,culture and education, globalisationhas both positive and negative effects,which Preece has successfully demon-strated throughout her discussion.What African governments must do istake advantage of positive opportunitiesand minimise the negatives. In my opin-ion the multinational companies arethe worst colonising mechanisms ofglobalisation under the pretext ofmodernisation. Basotho no longer haveindigenous seeds, and this affects theirhealth status.

Lifelong learning options have to beheightened to counteract globalisationnegative impacts. I concur with thecaution Tikly (2004) offers that indige-nous education displaced by globalisa-tion and colonisation should be givenits due place by the national educationsystems. More importantly newprogrammes enhancing indigenouseducation must be developed as part oflifelong learning project. The aim ofsuch a project should emphasize thedevelopment of a strong civil societynurtured by critical perspectives thatrender self-empowerment to learners.Of special interest such projects shouldbe addressed to informal sector andwomen. Lifelong learning projects toencounter globalisation’s effects shouldfocus on how people in the Southengage with learning to make globalisa-tion work for them rather than pretendto stop it.

Preece presents a very enlighteningdiscussion on how lifelong learningcould be enhanced in the digital age.Her discussion is illuminated by theliving examples of good practicepresented. I wish to add that these exam-ples express issues of political conscious-ness, good governance and empoweredcitizenry that have been taken care of bythe respective countries.

Preece asserts that feminist agendafor lifelong learning recognises educa-tion as a multi-dimensional process inwhich ongoing learning increases awoman’s social standing; decision-making power in the family; ability tobroaden her knowledge and acquirenew skills to counteract oppression anddomination. We cannot deny the factthat this is a desirable move. But weneed to recognise that African womenseem to shun female leadership as indi-cated by few critical positions held bywomen in Africa; there is only onefemale president in the whole conti-nent. Looking at the statistics in popula-tion census, it does raise questionsabout African attitudes toward femaleleadership. This is an agenda I believe,that should be taken up by the feministlifelong learning programme. To me itis not enough to attend internationalfeminist conferences but introspectionon attitudes African women have onfemale leadership deserve greater inter-rogation by women. In Lesotho, in aself-help group consisting of 100members, normally 90 would be womenled by a committee, heavily made ofmen. This occurrence is not an acci-dent, but it is the result of a belief inwomen that men make better leaders.That belief should not be taken-for-granted because it is an obstacle toprogress. An attitudinal study in thisrespect needs to be undertaken.

The four case studies from the Southhave illuminated the authors’ optimismabout the contribution the South can

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make. The Asian case studies demon-strated how literacy can serve toempower both individuals and commu-nities. Political will and equitable distri-bution of wealth play an importantrole in enhancing lifelong learningprogrammes. While the Asian case stud-ies show signs of sustainability of theexternally funded projects, the Africancase studies lag behind in indicators ofsustainability because of the depen-dency syndrome on funding agenciesand the indifference African govern-ments are showing on communityempowerment through infrastructuraland resource base support. As a conse-quence of lack of support, lifelong learn-ing programmes in Africa are muchmore fragile. However, lifelong learningoptimism is brought about by theAfrican concepts as illustrated by Mbigi(2005). He relates African Renaissanceproject to De Lors’ (1996) pillars forlifelong learning. Each pillar presentsan opportunity to heighten lifelonglearning potential. It does appear to methat such programmes must be devel-oped along the lines of these four pillarsof ‘learning to know’, ‘learning to do,’‘learning to live’ and ‘learning to be.’

Summary

Preece has successfully educated boththe North and the South on the poten-tial that the South has to contribute tolifelong learning initiatives worldwide.The traces of traditional pre-coloniallifelong learning notions are addingvalue to the international world nowthat there is a growing appreciation ofAfrican core virtues of human-ness andconnectedness. In her first two chapters,Preece vehemently argues that thedominant, neo-liberal lifelong learningagenda emanates from the North,consequently leaves out the needs anddiscourses from the South. The net

effect of this situation, allows the North-ern donor-agencies focus on basiceducation agenda, to perpetuate colo-nial interference. She urges the South tospeak in a louder voice through lifelonglearning debates. This is the challengeshe presents to the scholars in the Southto participate more in research, confer-ences and designing of lifelong learninginitiatives that attempt to balance theunequal relationships between theNorth and the South. Introspection ofthe Southern scholarship on lifelonglearning is long overdue.

The Southern scholarship has theobligation to raise their voices againstthe negative effects of globalisation.The Southern scholarship shouldresearch and write to empower civilsociety organisations, training institu-tions and individuals. It is the duty andresponsibility of the Southern scholarsto play a mentoring role to the rest ofthe Southern communities. Scholars inthe South must make globalisationwork for the communities in the Southby using lifelong learning initiatives tounpack globalisation. Scholars have aduty to develop programmes thatdemystify North/South power relation-ships. Southern scholars need todevelop literacy programmes that ques-tion simple imposed solutions from theNorth; Southern scholars have the dutyto unpack the digital divide by promot-ing mass computer literacy, because ifwe do not develop computer literacy wewill be left further behind.

The production of the ‘Third Worldwoman’ is indeed problematic. It is thechallenge to be addressed squarely bythe Third World feminists. It is alsotime that those oppressions high-lighted by the author: widow burning;circumcision; and wearing the veil, areviewed differently by urban women andrural women. Research in this area bythe South’s feminists would revealcontext specific attitudes and prefer-

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ences. For some rural women, theseissues form part of what has to beendured like a ‘rite of passage’ to be anexperienced woman. The challengefacing women in the South is knowl-edge production.

This book is a wake-up call for thescholars in the South involved in life-long learning. In a special way a wake-up call for non-formal education insti-tutions who have always consumedknowledge from the North uncritically.There is more to life than what theNorth offers, and the South needs toshake itself before perishing.

References

DE LORS, J. (1996) Learning the Treasure Within(Paris: UNESCO).

JOLLY, R. (2007) Policies and institutions forgrowth and development: is there a

heterodox view? Keynote addresspresented at International conference atCentre for Development Studies (Univer-sity of Glasgow, 26–27 June).

MBIGI, L. (2005) The Spirit of African Leadership(Randburg Knowres).

ODORA HOPPERS, C. (2006) Literacy and global-ization: Towards a learning society inAfrica. Growth points for policy and prac-tice. Paper presented at ADEA ParallelSession A5 ‘From Literacy to LifelongLearning,’ (Gabon, 27–31 March).

TIKLY, L. (2004) Education and the newimperialism. Comparative Education, 40(2),173–198.

TORRES, M. (2003) Lifelong learning: A newmomentum and a new opportunity foradult basic learning and education(ABLE) in the South. Adult Education andDevelopment Supplement, 60, 1–240.

WORLD BANK (2003) Lifelong Learning in the GlobalKnowledge Economy! Challenges for DevelopingCountries (Washington, DC: World Bank).

Setoi M. SetoiNational University of Lesotho, Lesotho

© 2011, Setoi M. SetoiDOI: 10.1080/02601370.2011.538243

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