Socially Responsible Higher Education

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Participatory evaluation in adult education
(Society for Participatory Research In Asia, 1994-11) Tandon, Rajesh
This text by Dr. Rajesh Tandon examines the challenges and issues of promoting participatory evaluation in adult education programmes. It critiques the limited concern with evaluation, which has historically been driven primarily by programme managers seeking to define programmes, assess impact, and justify resource use, and by donors facing increasing pressure to demonstrate effective utilization of aid. The text argues that this narrow focus has failed to translate into genuine concern among field educators or learners, who participate in evaluation exercises largely because they are obligated to do so rather than viewing evaluation as an integral part of their work. It identifies some threats to participatory evaluation like devaluing indigenous capacity, imposing narrow timeframes, discouraging openness, questioning, and reflection, particularly at field levels, and not promoting critical reflection and analysis. The paper concludes by stating how promoting participatory evaluation requires a major effort to demystify the concept of evaluation and create favourable conditions to make evaluation an integral part of adult education programme design and implementation.
Unity in diversity: The future of adult education in asia and the south-pacific region
(1991-12) Tandon, Rajesh
This text by Dr. Rajesh Tandon examines the challenges affecting our world and the role of adult education in response to these challenges, mainly in the Asia and South-Pacific region. Dr. Tandon identifies four major challenges, rapid internationalisation, Global capitalism and modernization on local cultures and knowledge systems, poverty, dislocation, and deprivation in many countries, the concept of common good disappearing from debates on social transformation and being replaced by individualistic well being, and the growing restlessness and associated violence with question of ethnic identities. The text concludes by arguing that adult education serves several roles amidst such challenges such as addressing the concerns, problems, and struggles of the poor, promoting tolerance and mutual appreciation where people learn to respect others' points of view, strengthening the possibility of a sustainable lifestyle, addressing environmental degradation and resource depletion, and finally, helping in gaining indigenous cultural identity.