We Learn From Others: An Adult Educator's Experience with International Education Practice

Abstract

Before beginning discussion on international education, it is important to understand what it means. According to Cookson (1989), international education is systematic study of the process whereby men and women (in individual, groups, or institutional settings) participate in or implement organized activities that have been designed to increase their knowledge, skill, or sensitiveness, and that take place across international borders (p. 71). The idea of joint education practice by educators from nations throughout the is not new because it has evolved over time. During the pre-industrial revolution, forms of education, such as self-directed learning, apprenticeships, early mass literacy campaigns, military training, and newspapers were developed and widely diffused throughout Europe and subsequently to its colonies, such as those in Africa and Latin America. For example, innovations that have been spread from North America and Europe to other parts of the World include correspondence instruction, agricultural extension, and experiential learning. Similarly, influences of Western models of learning, such as the Brazilian Paulo Freire's (1970) ideas concerning conscientization (i.e. the heightening of one's critical awareness) was disseminated through what was called world Recent forms of international cooperation and exchange include UNESCO's (1985) effort to promote cooperation to combat worldwide illiteracy more effectively. In fact, the concept of adult learning as articulated by the United Nations' conferences, including the fifth International Conference (CONFINTEA V) in 1997, is broad one embracing formal, nonformal and informal processes in all areas of people's lives (UNESCO, 1997, p. 43). Through UNESCO's international conferences, educators have an opportunity for global forum where they may exchange information on problems, pool experiences and expertise, disseminate research findings, and address issues of international cooperation in the provision of aid and assistance to one another. As an educator who is both product of international education institutions and one with passion for international education practice, I share my personal experience and lessons learned from participation in international education. International Adult Education: Why Personal Interest? After 25 years of experience in the field of education, three major aspects stand out as key to my passion for international education. They include my African cultural educational background that upholds collective and living (Avoseh, 2001); interest in issues of difference and education; and the need to satisfy an interest in how human beings live and learn. This section briefly discusses these three factors: My African cultural educational background: In my oral traditions, cultural proverbs and common understandings are used to reinforce collective methods of and teaching. For example, the following proverbs attest to the existence of alternative ways of to the dominant paradigms of knowledge acquisition and learning. Setswana Proverb h Dilo makwati di tsewa mo go ba bangwe, meaning learn from one another, and Setwana Proverb 2: Kgetsiya tsie e kgonwa ke go tsbwaraganelwa, meaning a bag of locust can only be lifted if we all lift it. Based on these two proverbs from my culture and the reality of the impact of globalization on education practice, I truly believe that educators have to share information, ideas, and experiences. This, in my view, is critical for improving their practice. As Waiters (2001) puts it, global--act and global--think (p.23). This is true because the reality for educators is that today, the global and the local are interconnected, thus people have to be encouraged to think globally and act locally regardless of their context. …