Learning in Adulthood. Sharan B. Merriam
formal education is too slow in its response (if it does in fact decide to respond) to these needs” (p. 187). An example might be an ad hoc session for health care professionals on dealing with a sudden outbreak of measles. Another example of nonformal education as supplemental might be National Issues Forums sponsored by the Kettering Foundation. These forums are held in local communities and focus on public policy issues such as the health care crisis, immigration, terrorism, the opioid epidemic and so on (see
www.nifi.org).
Nonformal education is also associated with international development programs designed to improve the living conditions of people in developing countries through community projects and training programs. These programs are typically sponsored by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and private voluntary agencies. Nonformal educational programs in developing countries (as well as some nonformal programs in the United States) are “expressly concerned with social inequities and often seek to raise the consciousness of participants toward social action” (Merriam & Brockett, 2007, p. 170).
Despite efforts to distinguish between formal and nonformal education, some adult learning opportunities that could be placed in this nonformal category often more closely resemble programs in formal educational institutions. Coombs (1989) himself identifies “homegrown hybrids” of formal and nonformal, such as programs for out-of-school youth, community learning centers, and so on. Recognizing the success of a nonformal creative writing center, for example, White and Lorenzi (2016) have proposed a model for transferring the nonformal program to a formal education setting thus merging the nonformal with the formal. And in the United States, how does one classify a corporate training center or a proprietary school? So does using this term nonformal have utility today? We believe that it does, both in terms of recognizing the many educational programs in developing nations as well as focusing on the community-based programs of adult learning in all environments that fit the parameters of less structure, more flexibility, and concern with social inequalities. In addition, another type of learning usually associated with nonformal education—indigenous learning—is again being recognized as an important form of learning. Therefore, in describing nonformal educational learning opportunities, we highlight two types of these opportunities: community-based adult learning programs and indigenous learning.
Community-Based Learning
Most nonformal education takes place in community settings such as museums, hospitals, libraries, and so on; thus, “community-based learning” is often used interchangeably with “nonformal learning.” The most defining characteristic of community-based learning is its focus on issues of importance to the community. People gather in churches, the community center, or the local library organizing to overcome a specific problem or issue they believe to be important in improving life in their community. These problems have ranged from addressing racial hatred and inequality to ensuring adequate housing and sanitary living conditions. Other images of community-based learning programs include men and women learning to read and write while at the same time gaining marketable job skills, adults learning CPR at the local Red Cross, farmers being introduced to new methods and crops as a way to build economic control over their lives, and spouses who batter being taught nonviolent ways of handling their anger and frustration. “Civic engagement” is often the goal of community-based learning (see for example, Reed and Marienau's 2008 New Directions in Adult and Continuing Education issue, Promoting Civic Engagement Through Community-Based Learning). Community-based learning is also often used interchangeably with “service learning” to mean engaging students in formal education with their local community.
One common goal of many of these programs is their focus on social action and change for the betterment of some part of the community. Chickering (2008) makes the case that community engagement is necessary for strengthening democracy:
We need to strengthen and sustain a multicultural, multiethnic, multireligious, internationally interdependent, pluralistic democracy. We need to identify and support policies, practices, and resource allocations that anticipate the dislocations and disruptions that will accompany global warming and the steady depletion of oil reserves. We need to contain and help ameliorate recurrent intertribal, interethnic, and interreligious conflicts. We need to address basic issues concerning public education, health care, and an aging population. We need to create a globally recognized example of participatory government where all persons, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, national origin, or religious and spiritual orientation, are actively involved (p. 88).
There are many examples of community-based programs such as stimulating community-building through community education in Hungary (Dobos, 2016), promoting family well-being in public housing in Hong Kong (Chu et al., 2018), and community-based lifelong learning for sustainable development (Noguchi, Guevara, & Yorozu, 2015). Educators who work in these programs believe that education and training can be a powerful tool in assisting learners to take control over their own lives. Sometimes these programs are not welcomed by the mainstream community, especially if one of their main purposes is to challenge the existing way of life, including the current social and economic structures of that community. Vivid examples include the worldwide human rights movement, the continuing struggle to eliminate poverty and hunger, community-based actions exposing hazardous waste dumps or polluted drinking water, enabling immigrants to integrate within a community, and local attempts to end discriminatory practices based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and so on.
Working with adults in community-based learning settings has both its blessings and its curses. Flexibility in administration and programming is often recognized as its greatest benefit. Because these types of organizations “start small and are typically organized as freestanding organizations with fairly simple structures …, they can often move relatively quickly to identify problems and develop programmatic solutions” (Hemphill, 1996, p. 21). This can translate into quicker response times, in terms of both developing funding proposals and getting resources to where they are needed. “New people can be brought in (or unfortunately let go more quickly) as needed. Curricula can be rapidly developed or revised. Teaching assignments can be quickly modified” (p. 22). Being able to move more quickly does mean that checks and balances must be in place to ensure both a focused program direction based on community needs and high-quality learning opportunities that are useful. In addition, people attracted to community-based adult learning programs, whether paid or volunteer staff, often come with a passion for a cause that gives them the drive to stay with this work, even under the most trying conditions. On the downside, the very nature of many community-based organizations often puts them on the path to an unending search for resources. This continuing search for and worry about resources, in combination with long and often difficult working conditions, can lead to staff burnout very quickly, even for the most committed individuals.
Indigenous Learning/Indigenous Knowledge
Indigenous learning is learning linked with a culture. It refers to processes and structures people in particular societies have used to learn about their culture throughout their history (Graveline, 2005). As Morrison and Vaioleti (2017) write:
Over generations, indigenous peoples across the world have built up layers and layers of complex history and knowledge that connects them with their environment, their spiritual world, and their ancestors and allows them to live sustainably and wisely for the well-being of their collectives (p. 47).
Conscious use of indigenous forms of learning, which are often steeped in oral traditions and art forms, can enhance nonformal and perhaps even formal educational programs. Storytelling, for example, is often used by African American women to teach about the joys and sorrows of life. When teaching these women, instructors could incorporate storytelling as an important method of learning about the topic at hand, from surviving in modern-day organizations to basic literacy skills. In another example, Hicks and Rowel (2004) studied the nonformal indigenous learning of six public housing community leaders who were inspirational in helping others in their community. These women were effective by modeling exemplary leadership, practicing what they preached, and communicating with diverse groups.
Descriptions of indigenous forms of learning can be found in both scholarly and more popular literature