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UBC Theses and Dissertations
Community development : education and training for change and localization Odoch, Paschal W.
Abstract
This thesis explores the ways in which education and training programs can contribute to the achievement of equitable, self-reliant, and sustainable community development. A case study was conducted on an indigenous affiliate of the Agency for Cooperation in Research and Development (ACORD) in Nebbi district, Uganda. ACORD is a broad-based international consortium o f European and Canadian non-governmental organizations. ACORD's main focus in sub-Saharan Africa is to help establish or strengthen local, non-governmental structures with a view to promoting equitable, self-reliant, sustainable development. The ACORD-NEBBI community development programme was chosen for the study for four reasons: First, it appeared to be consistent with the community development principles advanced in the literature. Second, it emphasizes long-term localization of the programme through a significant skills training and education component. Third, the ACORD-NEBBI programme is a mature (i.e. over 15 years old) community development effort with a variety o f programs under one umbrella. And fourth, the programme was accessible geographically and culturally to the researcher. The research methods included observation, document analysis, and forty-six semi-structured interviews. The interviewees represented community development workers, former participants of ACORD-NEBBI training programs, primary beneficiaries of ACORD-NEBBI development programme, and the programme personnel. Six factors were found to support the ability of ACORD-NEBBI education and training programs to contribute to the achievement of equitable, self-reliant, and sustainable development initiatives: first, application of a phased approach to change and localization; second, tailored training activities at the request and pace of the beneficiaries; third, support to and promotion of self-selecting group formation based on common interests that, in turn, allowed the functioning of groups with less social friction; fourth, the application of a development approach compatible with the socio-cultural traditions; fifth, the development of a multi-faceted programme that penetrated all vulnerable segments o f the society; and sixth, the application o f change agents who supported emerging community groups. Two factors were identified as hindering the ability of ACORD-NEBBI education and training programs to contribute to the achievement of equitable, self-reliant, and sustainable development initiatives: a) the poor state o f development instruments (i.e. accessible roads, clean water, and well equipped medical centres), and b) missed target groups ~ the poorest of the poor — who could not form groups through which training is delivered. The latter factor exists because the programme focuses on groups, and hence individuals who could not form or j o in the selfselecting groups were left out of the development process. Thus, the lower middle class strata o f the village communities have benefited the most because they already had the basic resources — work capacity, knowledge, capital — with which to gain access, influence and the much needed savings mobilization prior to group formation. The majority o f the rural poor do not possess these important resources.
Item Metadata
Title |
Community development : education and training for change and localization
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1999
|
Description |
This thesis explores the ways in which education and training programs can contribute to the
achievement of equitable, self-reliant, and sustainable community development.
A case study was conducted on an indigenous affiliate of the Agency for Cooperation in
Research and Development (ACORD) in Nebbi district, Uganda. ACORD is a broad-based
international consortium o f European and Canadian non-governmental organizations. ACORD's
main focus in sub-Saharan Africa is to help establish or strengthen local, non-governmental
structures with a view to promoting equitable, self-reliant, sustainable development. The
ACORD-NEBBI community development programme was chosen for the study for four reasons:
First, it appeared to be consistent with the community development principles advanced in the
literature. Second, it emphasizes long-term localization of the programme through a significant
skills training and education component. Third, the ACORD-NEBBI programme is a mature (i.e.
over 15 years old) community development effort with a variety o f programs under one
umbrella. And fourth, the programme was accessible geographically and culturally to the
researcher.
The research methods included observation, document analysis, and forty-six semi-structured
interviews. The interviewees represented community development workers, former participants
of ACORD-NEBBI training programs, primary beneficiaries of ACORD-NEBBI development
programme, and the programme personnel.
Six factors were found to support the ability of ACORD-NEBBI education and training programs
to contribute to the achievement of equitable, self-reliant, and sustainable development
initiatives: first, application of a phased approach to change and localization; second, tailored
training activities at the request and pace of the beneficiaries; third, support to and promotion of
self-selecting group formation based on common interests that, in turn, allowed the functioning
of groups with less social friction; fourth, the application of a development approach compatible
with the socio-cultural traditions; fifth, the development of a multi-faceted programme that
penetrated all vulnerable segments o f the society; and sixth, the application o f change agents
who supported emerging community groups.
Two factors were identified as hindering the ability of ACORD-NEBBI education and training
programs to contribute to the achievement of equitable, self-reliant, and sustainable development
initiatives: a) the poor state o f development instruments (i.e. accessible roads, clean water, and
well equipped medical centres), and b) missed target groups ~ the poorest of the poor — who
could not form groups through which training is delivered. The latter factor exists because the
programme focuses on groups, and hence individuals who could not form or j o in the selfselecting
groups were left out of the development process. Thus, the lower middle class strata o f
the village communities have benefited the most because they already had the basic resources —
work capacity, knowledge, capital — with which to gain access, influence and the much needed
savings mobilization prior to group formation. The majority o f the rural poor do not possess
these important resources.
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Extent |
11296023 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-07-03
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0058304
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1999-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.