The Self-Help Tradition in Adult Education

Abstract

The self-help tradition was the other tradition identified by Green and Lucas in their study of Further and Adult Education and it is this tradition addressed in Chap. 6. When we investigate the self-help tradition, through the work of historians such as (Thompson, E. P. (1991 [1963]). The making of the english working class. London: Penguin.), we see that groups of adult students have regularly sought to create their own educational provision in spite of the neglect or opposition of those who control educational provision at either the national or the local level. I have argued that a concept of active citizenship, using the work of (Mouffe, C. (2005 [1993]). The return of the political. London: Verso.), is particularly effective when thinking of citizenship education within the context of Adult Education. Mouffe argues for a view of democracy based on the interaction between antagonistic forces or groups (rather than democracy as a working towards consensus). Politics, for Mouffe, is always about conflict – it is this conflict that provides the energy and new ideas vital to any society not intent on comfortable (or not so comfortable) complacency. The self-help tradition in Adult Education has often taken this oppositional stance, particularly when we study the work of organisations such as the Corresponding Societies of the late eighteenth century, the Plebs League of the early twentieth century and the various women’s and ethnic minority groups from the 1960s onwards. Each of these groups or organisations took active citizenship as their foundation (although they would not have necessarily used the term) in the sense that they were promoting their role as active citizens in the demand and creation of educational structures or courses to suit their needs. Their concept of citizenship was not defined through government-sanctioned programmes but evolved as part of the struggle for learning itself. It is with self-help tradition in mind that we must tread carefully when arguing for citizenship classes in contemporary Adult Education. The example of the ESOL for Citizenship programme, for instance, shows where government-sponsored classes can lead to anything but active citizenship as I defined the term. Ultimately, citizenship education must be at the service of the adult students themselves (with other agencies supporting and promoting them where required). The aim should be one of empowerment rather than simply the gaining of qualifications – the very essence of praxis as educationalists such as Paolo Friere have argued. Adult Education is a hugely diverse area and citizenship education will play a large or small role depending on the course studied. Adult Education consists of many recreational courses, for instance, and citizenship education can be facilitated within them, both in terms of content (I offer the example of family history classes) or by negotiating the timing and structure of the courses themselves.