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Allyson Krupar

Subjugated Knowledge: Lifelong Learning and Well-Being in sub-Saharan Africa

Lifelong learning practitioners, policy makers, and participants debate whether “the

central purpose of public involvement in education is to drive the economy forward, by 'skilling'

future workers” or promote well-being, quality of life or “human flourishing” (Brighouse, 2008,

p. 59). The root of this debate in the research below focuses on how lifelong learning policies

and opportunities improve the well-being of individuals living in less developed nations. This

paper argues that the recognition of 'subjugated knowledges' (Foucault, 1980) of marginalized

people in the Global South “can lead to an increased sense of self and more positive learner

identity at an individual and collective level” and thus support well-being (Preece, 2009, p. 23).

Lifelong learning, then, must acknowledge subjugated knowledges to support marginalized

individuals' full expression of their identity. In order to situate lifelong learning, this paper first

reviews policies and programs from the literature through Global South perspectives from and

toward sub-Saharan Africa. The larger policy discourse is then analyzed through the UNESCO

Global Reports on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) regional document on sub-Saharan

Africa in light of the respect for subjugated knowledges in policy. Finally, this paper explicates

assumptions regarding the relationship between well-being and 'subjugated knowledges' in

lifelong learning programs and policies.

Background

Lifelong learning is a contested concept. The World Bank, UNESCO and other

perspectives from the Global North describe lifelong learning in terms of knowledge economies

and skills-for-work-based training (Gadotti, 2011; Torres, 2009). This Global North perspective

is not necessarily an appropriate conceptualization of lifelong learning in diverse settings. For

example, it does not include the value of indigenous ways of knowing and other subjugated

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knowledges that are left out of dominant educational paradigms and are outside of the

accreditation, credit, qualifications frameworks, and “learners as consumers” discourses (Preece,

2009, p. 4). Moreover, lifelong learning for knowledge economies neglects personal

development and well-being as a product of learning and education. Preece (2009) describes

lifelong learning in the Global South as “helping people make sense of the world around them”

to contribute “to social development” (p. 51). In this paper, lifelong learning is highly

contextualized as a concept. It is a practice that occurs throughout a learner's life and

environment(s), not only at certain ages, times or settings. Thus, lifelong learning could include

informal, non-formal and formal learning. Lifelong learning encompasses many different and

sometimes conflicting programs as described in programming and policy reviewed below.

Policy positions, such as those presented in the GRALE, use the lifelong learning

discourse to link the concept to its broad relevance in individual lives and national systems,

frequently claiming that the development of skills and qualifications improves well-being,

quality of life, and 'human flourishing.' This liberal and neoliberal view of lifelong learning

assumes that the learning individuals have access to will improve their economic well-being and

employment opportunities as well as larger local and national economic growth. In the neoliberal

and hegemonic concept of lifelong learning, policy is thought to promote well-being, quality of

life and 'human flourishing’ through economic development.

This paper focuses on well-being as a concept that centers on the objective such as human

rights, needs and capacities approaches (Sen, 1999) and the subjective such as the psychological

approach of individual satisfaction and happiness (Matrix Knowledge Group, 2009). Measuring

well-being includes measuring educational attainment, employment status, health, and other

objective indicators, as well as how individuals perceive their own well-being (Dolan & White,

2007). Well-being, then, is a term used to describe the intended results of lifelong learning which

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includes respect for human rights and building participatory local, national and international

systems. Lifelong learning that promotes well-being also develops individual agency to fulfill

capacity as described below, recognizes individual and community identity, as well as supports

individual flourishing in economic opportunity. Subjugated knowledges are inexorably linked

with well-being as these knowledges are part of individual and group identity that is repressed in

local, national and international hegemonic systems. This research will focus on well-being that

supports recognition of subjugated knowledges and supports marginalized peoples, be it

subjectively or objectively defining their well-being.

Literature Review

Situating lifelong learning outside of and in addition to formal education, the link

between policy and well-being is complicated by the diversity of lifelong learning in action.

Briefly, this literature review discusses the psychological position of well-being as related to

lifelong learning. Then, lifelong learning policies and well-being are situated in literature

dominated by quantitative studies of national indicators, from the Human Development Index

(HDI), UNESCO and World Bank reports. Finally, focusing on perspectives from the Global

South, the review explores examples of lifelong learning and impacts on well-being in the

literature.

Much literature defines well-being externally, looking at obective indicators such as

“family structure, economic security, [and] access to health care,” (Ostroff, S., Toole, L. O., &

Kropf, D. 2007). Well-being can also be defined through subjective indicators “such as

happiness, positive affect, low negative affect, and satisfaction with life” (Dodge, R., Daly, A.,

Huyton, J., & Sanders, L. 2012). In psychological, or subjective, perspectives, lifelong learning

plays a role in the maintenance of quality of life and well-being through individual satisfaction

and achievement of personal goals. There are multiple approaches to understanding individuals’

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subjective view of well-being, such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:

Figure 1. Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs.

In this hierarchy, as well as other subjective understandings of well-being, there are specific

elements viewed as more essential than others. Lifelong learning both supports and directly

satisfies this needs based approach to well-being, especially when considering the recognition of

subjugated knowledges through focus on self-actualization and esteem.

The rationale behind a hierarchy of needs that must be satisfied for well-being includes

biological factors of learning, particularly the satisfaction of basic needs for survival. Keeling,

Dickson and Avery argue that lifelong learning and practitioners can support learners by

addressing diverse issues from “untreated anxiety and depression to unsupportive home

environments” to effectively support policy and practice for well-being (Keeling, Dickson and

Avery, 2011, p. 49). Lifelong learning can also address issues of love and belonging in

developing relationships within communities.

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Understanding well-being from a biological and needs based approach is almost an

historical artifact in the literature on learning according to Sen, who argues that much of the

needs based discourse emphasizes the consumption of goods, such as food and shelter, to

promote well-being (2012). The basic and biological needs approach does not adequately present

the width and scope of human experience in lifelong learning, instead the human capacities, or

the ability to attain self-defined achievements, are a better marker of well-being (Sen, 2012).

This also relates to Myles Horton's description of the purpose of learning and teaching as

“helping people develop the capacity to make decisions and to take responsibility” in their own

lives (Bell, Gaventa, Peters, Horton, & Freire, 1990, p. 125). The concept of agency, or decision-

making and strengthening of capacity, supports the argument here that lifelong learning must

acknowledge subjugated knowledges, without which marginalized peoples cannot fully live their

identities.

Further support for the inclusion of subjugated knowledges comes from Avoseh’s

analysis of lifelong learning in relation to “indigenous African pedagogy” (2001, p. 479).

Avoseh defines “indigenous African pedagogy” as a process that was by definition lifelong,

where learners and teachers switched roles depending on their experiences and contexts, and

where community involvement was prized. Community participation “establishes an individual

as being truly human” in this pedagogy, and thus directly relates to well-being through belonging

(Avoseh, 2001, p. 482). Lifelong learning has the potential to support well-being in relation to

these subjugated pedagogies through encouraging community participation that need not neglect

economic development (Avoseh, 2001).

The literature on lifelong learning to satisfy basic needs and capacities focuses on the

individual, yet policy and the larger lifelong learning discourse emphasizes national indicators.

In looking at lifelong learning for well-being using national indicators, the HDI as well as other

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data on indicators that could be linked to well-being clarify the individual perspective described

above. The HDI, a product of the United Nations Development Program, measures development

using health, education and living standards (Human Development Report, 2010). The HDI

acknowledges the need to identify multiple variables that define well-being, rather than just

economic well-being (Human Development Report, 2010). While the HDI endeavors to

approach well-being holistically, it continues to neglect education and lifelong learning outside

of the formal educational structures. Representing another avenue of knowledge subjugation, this

oversight excludes all educational experiences outside of primary, secondary and tertiary

schooling. More to the point, it excludes all individuals who do not have access to those formal

systems due to systemic, identity and place-based marginality. For example, individuals in sub-

Saharan African nations that do not have access to formal education due to the lack of schools in

the area in which they live. These individuals, marginalized by local and national governmental

systems and lack of access to educational opportunities, are not taken into account in the HDI.

Interestingly, the World Bank deemphasized these formal systems of education in their

report on lifelong learning for the knowledge economy (2003). Lifelong learning for the

knowledge economy, however, relies on the learner living in an industrialized nation who

participates in the knowledge economy. The World Bank makes no mention of well-being in

writing about lifelong learning, but does connect the concept to 'quality of life.' Individuals gain

specific competencies in order to have a high 'quality of life':

• “Acting autonomously: Building and exercising a sense of self, making choices and acting in the context of a larger picture, being oriented toward the future, being aware of the environment, understanding how one fits in, exercising one’s rights and responsibilities, determining and executing a life plan, and planning and carrying out personal projects.

• Using tools interactively: Using tools as instruments for an active dialogue; being aware of and responding to the potential of new tools; and being able to use language, text, symbols, information and knowledge, and technology interactively

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to accomplish goals. • Functioning in socially heterogeneous groups: Being able to interact effectively

with other people, including those from different backgrounds; recognizing the social embeddedness of individuals; creating social capital; and being able to relate well to others, cooperate, and manage and resolve conflict” (World Bank, 2003, pg 21-22).

This conceptualization of competencies needed for high quality of life excludes individuals

whose access is constrained, who live in a world of structural violence and who lack the ability

to make choices.

The restrictions on individuals 'capacities,' or agency, is part of the postcolonial structures

in lifelong learning in sub-Saharan Africa. There are structures in place which limit not just

individual agency in their lives but also national growth. Lifelong learning, as a policy discourse,

does not address these structural obstacles in the literature. In the next section, this paper

explores specific examples of lifelong learning policy and practice in sub-Saharan Africa to

identify what is important in lifelong learning and who determines what is important in practice

regionally. The analysis of lifelong learning in practice and policy below is grounded in the sub-

Saharan Africa regional GRALE. This report was developed by researchers through the Institute

of Lifelong Learning (ILL) at UNESCO by compiling the country reports submitted to the ILL.

Country reports were submitted by member governments. As such, these documents present on

one side the national hegemonic power in each country and on the other, the national

postcolonial discourses in the international community.

Lifelong Learning in sub-Saharan Africa

The GRALE regional report on sub-Saharan Africa situates lifelong learning as a diverse

concept in different contexts throughout the region. Lifelong learning in terminology does not

have regional cohesion but includes “knowledge, skills and attitudes required for social,

economic and political participation and transformation applicable to a range of contexts

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(Aitchison & Alidou, 2009, p. 19). This broad definition does not explicitly include or exclude

indigenous ways of knowing or other subjugated knowledges. Also, the regional report does not

link lifelong learning explicitly with well-being, referring only to the potential of programs to

address issues of well-being, without clearly defining the term (Aitchison & Alidou, 2009).

Considering the view of well-being that particularly emphasizes recognition of subjugated

knowledges for individuals to participate in the local, national, and international communities,

this section looks at how GRALE defines lifelong learning in sub-Saharan Africa and how

lifelong learning is implemented in programming in light of subjugated knowledges.

The report calls for standardization of lifelong learning across the region, in order to “aid

understanding and comparability of data and research” and prove empirically the influence of

lifelong learning (Aitchison & Alidou, 2009, p. 19). The authors also note current trends such as

certification, formalization, literacy programs and the creation of national qualifications

frameworks to encase lifelong learning (Aitchison & Alidou, 2009). Calling for curricula

revisions, the report suggests that lifelong learning needs a curriculum that is relevant in national

and international systems (Aitchison & Alidou, 2009). These shifts relate to philosophical views

of the purpose of lifelong learning, as formalized and within national and international credential

systems, and excluding informal learning. At the same time as governments formalize lifelong

learning, the GRALE regional document advocates for lifelong learning “which integrates or

links formal, non-formal and informal education” in an inclusive system, serving learners of all

ages (Aitchison & Alidou, 2009, p. 60). In an attempt to be all things, the GRALE document for

sub-Saharan Africa neglects to address specific issues of incorporating lifelong learning into

policy and supporting individual identities and competencies in local, national, and international

systems.

The duplicity of the GRALE document and lifelong learning policy reflects the failure of

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many governments to adequately define and develop national systems for lifelong learning, such

as the experience of policy makers in South Africa (Aitchison, 2004). Aitchison (2004) argues

that lifelong learning policy has been unsuccessful in South Africa due to political and

ideological histories. Overall, lifelong learning policy in South Africa has centered on

recognizing the value of non-formal education and combining the two settings through the

National Qualification Frameworks. Historically, the social, economic, and political divisions

under the apartheid government foreshadowed this combination and recognition, as many Black

South Africans were denied access to formal educational opportunities (Paasche, 2006). The

inequality within formal education led to a plethora of non-formal, non-governmentally

recognized programs. In post-apartheid South Africa, as institutional and workplace

discrimination decreased, non-formal education was recognized as valuable for the government

to bridge historical socio-economic divides. This institutional basis of lifelong learning in South

Africa signifies the problem addressed in this research, that subjugated knowledges have no

place in national and international policy in the Global South. Instead, policy focuses on lifelong

learning that fits within national and international institutional frameworks.

Programming such as Regenerated Freirian Literacy through Empowering Community

Techniques (REFLECT) also presents examples of lifelong learning. This program aims to

develop literacy while also drawing on Paulo Freire's approaches of problem posing and

community dialogue. The REFLECT program highlights some of these knowledges by

incorporating learners in the design and development of the curriculum. In the end, learners are

equipped with literacy skills that support their entry into larger systems of domination, such as

the hegemonic use of colonial languages, thus negating subjugated language knowledges.

Despite this, REFLECT is an example where using participatory methods subjugated

knowledges and identities can be discussed and supported through curriculum. REFLECT is an

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example of lifelong learning outside of the credential and institutionalized systems. However, a

criticism of this approach is its inability to be scaled to national programming and lack of

outcomes based evaluation (Torres, 2004). REFLECT, and other non-formal lifelong learning

programs in the Global South are faced with a mismatch in their aims. On the one hand

community led and participatory programming is embraced, while programs are then criticized

for being too localized and not able to be quantitatively evaluated. When subjugated knowledges

are incorporated in lifelong learning, programs are criticized for being too localized and non-

replicable, despite recognition that incorporating these knowledges into curricula promotes the

well-being of learners.

To understand lifelong learning from an African perspective, Lekoko and Modise argue

that lifelong learning must incorporate “time, space, and the I/We” concepts (2011, p. 9). These

concepts see lifelong learning as non-linear in the African perspective and do not follow an

institutionalized system of program completion and graduation to the next. Also, lifelong

learning must consider the space “between the learner and the learned” in terms of the content of

programs and curriculum to localize learning to the needs of the individual and community

(Lekoko and Modise, 2011, p. 10). Finally, lifelong learning must consider how Mbiti’s and

other African scholars identify identity in the African context; of 'I am because we are and since

we are, therefore I am' or the placement of the individual within their context and community

(Lekoko & Modise, 2011, p. 10; Mbiti, 1988, p. 106).

The space, time, and I/We knowledges are not reflected in South African policy or the

GRALE regional review of lifelong learning programs. In policy, there is an assumption that

lifelong learning must fit within international discourses about non-formal and formal education

settings which institutionalizes and verifies individuals' experiences of lifelong learning through

credentials and credits. This policy approach neglects the subjugated knowledges of people in

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sub-Saharan Africa, including indigenous language use and ways of individuals positioning

themselves within communities. Without acknowledgment of these subjugated experiences,

lifelong learning policy cannot work towards the well-being of learners.

Conclusion

As a discourse, lifelong learning can enhance well-being through supporting human

needs, community participation and identities. Through recognition of traditionally subjugated

knowledges in the lifelong learning discourse, policies can promote well-being including local

identities and incorporation of those identities into national and international systems. Economic

neoliberal constructs of well-being need not be discarded completely, but incorporated into a

discourse that promotes and respects indigenous ways of knowing and other traditionally

subjugated knowledges for the betterment of learners’ well-being. In moving towards holistic

lifelong learning for well-being, policy includes the institutionalized current policy that

emphasizes credentials as well as supports 'human flourishing' through acknowledging

subjugated knowledges, respecting postcolonial legacies and working towards overcoming

hegemonic systems.

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