Journal of Social Development in Africa (1987), 2,2, 79-92 
BOOK REVIEWS 
Combating Poverty through Adult Education: National Development Strategies, Chris Duke 
(ed), Croom Helm, London, 1985 (pp 253, £17,95) 
Chris Duke, the editor of this volume, poses the question in the introduction, how can large scale 
adult education programmes combat poverty? After reading the book one might pose the 
question in slightly different terms, ie is it possible for adult education to combat poverty? The 
question as posed by the editor implies more of methodological issues than what the book is 
actually about. The case studies presented and compared address the very important issue of the 
actual role of adult education in the reduction, amelioration or abolition of poverty. 
Using case studies from Brazil, Kenya, India, Nicaragua, Chile, the Republic of Korea 
(South) and Sri Lanka, national adult education programmes are analysed within the framework 
of: 
- national context 
- Adult Education Agency and Programme 
- aims and objectives 
- cost effectiveness and evaluation 
- important features of each programmes such as personnel and societal purposes, teaching 
methods and motivation 
- nature and preoccupation with literacy 
- management aspects of large-scale adult education programmes. 
Inspite of the wide divergence of national contexts (from authoritarian and directive like Chile 
and Korea, through capitalist oriented contexts like Kenya, Brazil, India and Sri Lanka, to 
revolutionary radical marxist Nicaragua) some common themes emerge as the editor indicates in 
the concluding chapters. Firstly, the answer to the question posed at the beginning is answered in 
the characteristic adult education language of continous, not so clear and not very optimistic 
terms. Adult education has a limited role to play in the reduction, amelioration and even less so 
the abolition of poverty. In Nicaragua the literacy campaign with its political as well as economic 
and cultural objectives comes after the revolution has achieved structural changes. In Brazil, the 
effects of the literacy programme are given as individual rather than social, while in India the 
adult educators due to lack of training among other factors became even more conservative in the 
process of implementing adult education programmes. Only in the Sri Lankan case study with its 
spiritual basis is it concluded with any degree of confidence that the educational process is central 
to achieving the Sarvodaya hiearchy of awakening and development leading to the welfare of all. 
The editor cautions, from all the cases, and I agree, "against expecting too much of adult 
education, especially acting alone in the war against poverty". 
Why is adult education accorded a limited role? The answer is best given by the author of the 
Brazilian case study who concludes that poverty is a political matter, and by implication requires 
a political, structural change solution. The important issue of the national context and political 
will vis-a-vis adult education is given adequate attention by all authors and makes an interesting 
comparison; witness the almost complete congruence of the political will and people's desired 
changes of Nicaragua on the one hand and the strong bureaucratic enforcement of adult 
education programme designed by the state to achieve state determined objectives in the Susmud
80 Book Reviews 
education programme of Korea. In Chile, the changes in the national context after Allende forced 
changes in the adult education programmes as collective action was drastically curtailed all 
round. The editor rightly concludes that the national context in political, economic, historical 
and cultural terms is decisive in what can or cannot be possible for adult education programmes. 
Another group of issues has to do with the type of agency (whether governmental or nongovernmental), 
the programmes (whether these are literacy only or literacy plus other 
components), the conception of and methodology in adult education. Again these are given 
adequate treatment throughout with interesting variations of the same theme. The editor 
concludes this theme by agreeing with the Brazilian author that adult education programmes 
always need to be integrated and linked with economic strategies and with the resources and 
efforts of ministries. This has an important implication for the Western industrialised school of 
thought which tends to see adult education programmes outside the 'system', as the author 
indicates. 
On the whole the book provides good comparative material on various themes of adult 
education and poverty. If one were to put the case studies on a continum of strong to weak case 
studies (in methodological and analytical depth terms) on the one end of the continum would be 
the Nicaragua, Brazil and Sri Lanka cases with Kenya on the other end because of its rather 
general approach. However, the cases have something unique or strong about them, making all 
of them worth reading. 
The weakness is that the editor rightly suggests that poverty is made up of many 'building 
blocks'. However, it would have been useful to suggest some of these blocks for readers to have a 
clear picture of what levels of poverty are being compaTed. 
Secondly, the international links in adult education are not given adequate treatment in most 
of the case studies, except perhaps Nicaragua and Sri Lanka. If one traces the history of adult 
education from Elsinore 1929 to Paris 1985, the influence if the international conferences on the 
changing perception of, and priorities in, adult education become very apparent especially in 
developing countries. How are national adult education programmes affected by these changes in 
perception? It would have been interesting too if a historical time framework in international 
perspective had been considered in the comparison. Nicaragua of 1979, Brazil and Chile of the 
early sixties and Sri Lanka of 1958 (the genesis date of Sarvodaya Shramadona Movement) are 
quite different historical periods in adult education and international development terms. The 
reader might be advised to read the concluding chapter as it delineates the issues more clearly 
than the introduction which has long complicated sentences (one sentence is 10 lines long!). 
However, the book makes very interesting selective and reference reading depending on what 
is considered relevant for a particular situation. A Zimbabwean interested in a liberation based 
national literacy campaign will find the Nicaraguan case study very useful reading. The Kenyan 
emphasis on the role of adult education on consciousness raising and women would be useful 
given the multiplicity of women's organisations and their educational role. The Brazilian Mobral 
case study and to a certain extent the Indian case study provide useful methodological issues 
relating to how to evaluate the educational impact of a programme separately from other 
programmes and appeals. The Brazilian case study also provides an example of the Freirean 
method coopted in his own home ground. The Sri Lanka Sarvodaya Shramadana provides a very 
interesting and spiritual based way of looking at development as being concerned with the total 
human being within a hierachy which gives the spiritual the top position followed by the moral, 
cultural, social, political and economic components. Poverty as a product of wealth can be seen in 
terms of greed and craving, Sarvoyadana therefore "teaches how much is enough" in bringing 
total human satisfaction! 
Reviewed by Mrs O N Muchena, Lecturer, Department of Adult Education, University of 
Zimbabwe.