Abstract
Milana and Nesbit’s contribution to the Palgrave series on Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy is much needed. In North America, but especially in the United States, there has been very little focus on policy in either research or writing. Writing in 2010, Hill noted that all too often, adult educators have not fully participated in the policy development process. Milana and Nesbit echo this statement, asserting that this bifurcation of research and practice is relatively new. They state that their purpose is to “explore recent changes in national and international policies of adult education and lifelong learning, and how they intersect with developments in higher education and can contribute to debates about citizenship and democracy” (p. ix). The framework that they use involves descriptions of national policies, the choices made by different countries, and the inclusion of transnational organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development among others. They have a very particular point of view, aligning adult education and higher education in a way that is not usually done in the United States. This perspective is tantalizing. It allows for a broad range of chapters that provide the basis for a comparative framework.
The book is framed by an informative preface, a brief chapter by Milana that lays out their approach, and a conclusion by Nesbit. The first section includes chapters on Europe and North America. The countries examined here are Scotland, the Czech Republic, the United States, Brazil, and Mexico. While Mexico is in North America (although we in the United States usually put it in Central America, which is a region not a continent), I do not think anyone would place Brazil there. The individual chapters in this section are strong case studies, although it is hard to understand how they hang together as a region. It is clear that the section on Europe and North America was meant to give a picture of the developed or first world, but the choice of countries is confusing and seems fairly idiosyncratic. This does not make them uninteresting, however. The chapter on Scotland by John Field is particularly noteworthy. Kopecký and Šerák offer a cogent analysis of the development of adult education in the Czech Republic. It provides a fascinating overview of the ways that a new country develops and sustains an educational policy. For me, the chapter on the United States by Milana and McBain was weaker than the others. Its attempt at breadth (which is admittedly quite commendable) left little room for any real analysis or synthesis.
The second section lumps together sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab region, and Asia-Pacific. I am not sure I fully understand the rationale for placing this diverse group into one basket except that it serves as an “other” category. This is particularly unfortunate because the chapters in this section are quite interesting and strong. Biao and Marautona provide an interesting overview of the changes in adult and higher education policy. They note the development of adult education from a focus on literacy to the broader purpose of “providing people with skills to live and work decently” (p. 101). Tagoe examines the lack of policy in Ghana, particularly the lack of definition that has led inexorably to a focus on adult education as literacy rather than as a movement to a more inclusive approach found in other countries. Hammond’s chapter on Palestine is a study of the way politics can affect educational efforts. As Hammond notes, the problems go “way beyond adult education” (p. 129). Even so, Hammond performs an important service by laying out the development of educational institutions and the work of nongovernmental organizations.
The final two chapters in this section focus on South Korea and India and are therefore quite different in tone and content from the previous three. Kwon has written an excellent and interesting overview of South Korean adult education. Korean adult education itself is innovative and responsive and in many respects appears to be a world leader. Kwon, however, is concerned about the centralization of Korean adult education policy and the lack of flexibility. Mandal has written an extremely interesting piece on the state of adult education policy in India. It is particularly interesting because Mandal presents theoretical perspectives that indeed underlie many of the policies in other countries, but the point is only explicitly made here. This chapter is the first, for example, to talk about and define neoliberal policies and the ways that these manifest in educational policies.
The third section of this book is indeed the most innovative. Milana and Nesbit write that we cannot truly understand how policies are developed and implemented on an international scale without first examining the roles of international or transnational bodies such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or the World Health Organization. Their point is that these organizations, while coming from a variety of philosophical and theoretical perspectives, have pushed individual countries to focus on particular aspects of adult education. This is widely written about, but has not been deeply studied within adult education. It is therefore unfortunate that the individual country chapters do not deal with these issues. They are focused so exclusively on internal politics that the roles of these organizations is not discussed. This would have added more depth to this excellent and informative volume.
Finally, Nesbit tries to synthesize these chapters, but admits that the diversity precludes this effort. He does present an interesting overview of international changes over time and he indicates some trends. In summary, this is an excellent and captivating volume that leaves the reader hungering for greater depth and analysis. The case studies are almost all interesting and informative and they are a welcome first step in the growing area of policy analysis in adult education and lifelong learning.