Socially Responsible Higher Education

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Author: search.filters.author.Tandon, RajeshEnd date: 2009

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    Civil engagement in higher education and its role in Human & Social Development
    (Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 2007-07) Tandon, Rajesh
    Over the past century the world has seen many social, economic and political transformations. It has transformed from a largely colonial era to a largely democratic one. Yet, while democratization of political culture guaranteed citizens’ rights and freedom, it did not result in democratization of learning and knowledge production. The change in education systems has been slow in the coming. Economic trends and civil society movements in the past decade have been facilitating changes in perceptions of what constitutes ‘knowledge’ and in redefining the mission and mandate of HEIs. With increasing demands on HEIs to scale up their teaching and research functions, HEIs are facing new challenges of contributing to human and social development. The meaning and agenda of human and social development has also changed over decades, and new civil society actors have been closely associated with this phenomenon. This chapter looks at how the engagement of civil society organizations with the world of higher education has resulted in interesting trends in social policy formation and knowledge production. Illustrated through examples of effective engagement between higher education institutions and social and human development efforts of civil society organisations – PRIA in Asia and The Afrikan Multiversity in Africa – the paper draws lessons from these interventions, highlighting future potentials for HEIs. Exploring alternative sources and modes of learning and knowledge production, the paper provides a vision of the possibilities that engagement with civil society can open up in terms of contribution of HEIs to social and human development in the coming decades.
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    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.
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    Role of NGOs in education for all
    (Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 1989-11) Tandon, Rajesh
    This article by Dr. Rajesh Tandon examines the different types of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in South Asian context and their potential roles in achieving “Education for All”. It categorizes NGOs into broad types based on their activities. These NGOs operate at different levels like local, regional, national, and international and understanding this diversity is essential for conceptualizing NGO roles in education. The article further examines the implications of these NGOs and notes five roles NGOs play in Education for All. First, service provision involving filling gaps in educational services in remote and poverty-stricken areas. Second, innovation and experimentation in curriculum development, non-formal education structures, participatory training methodologies, and community-based monitoring system. Third, community participation and social accountability, mobilizing communities to examine the value of education and developing mechanisms for making teachers accountable to communities. Fourth, intervening in current delivery systems of the government to revitalize and improve their capacities through training, curriculum design, and capacity building. Fifth, advocacy on questioning the education, monitoring government performance, gaps between policy and practice, and lobbying for equitable educational provision. The article concludes by identifying a few implications of these roles played by the NGOs.
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    Reflections on the fifth UNESCO world conference on adult education: Hamburg ,1997
    (Asian-South Pacific Bureau of Aduit Education, 1997-08) Tandon, Rajesh
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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.
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    Network as an instrument for strengthening adult education movement
    (Society for Participatory Research in Asia, 1987-07) Tandon, Rajesh
    Dr. Rajesh Tandon examines the concept of ‘network’ in this text as a form of free-flow of information, ideas, and resources to strengthen social transformation movements and analyse its effectiveness in addressing the problems of our times. The report talks about two distinct responses to pressing socio-economic and political problems that have emerged in the last decade: a resource-packed response from governments and inter-governmental institutions, and second, more humble and innovative response from the non-governmental sector, which has been more effective due to its faith in ordinary people, and ‘network’ being part of this response. The report discusses the relevance of networks across six key points. These are providing alternative spaces for identifying issues that dominant institutional frameworks fail to do, elaborating newer ideas and concepts, functioning as a political strategy for dealing with retaliation against grassroots efforts, resisting attempts to narrow democratic spaces, identifying and supporting individuals working for the cause of social transformation, and enabling a rapid, exchange of information, experiences, and visions across cultures. Major characteristics of a network are also discussed in the report along with two possible pitfalls, which are creating networks across donor agencies instead of the issues, and abusing the spontaneity as a license for anarchy. The report ends by presenting a three-phase appraisal of the Participatory Research Network's history starting with the inception phase (1977-1980), the consolidation phase (1980-1985) and finally the diffusion phase (1985 onwards).
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    Adult education, culture development and social movements: The contemporary challenge
    ( Society for Participatory Research In Asia (PRIA), 1993-04-27) Tandon, Rajesh
    This article by Dr. Rajesh Tandon examines the challenges in adult education amidst the context of global cultural homogenization, social movements, and development, and highlights the importance of cultural identity in social transformation. Dr. Tandon describes the current global scenario as unipolar in nature, with a rise in global media that has led to the homogenization of culture and destruction of indigenous knowledge systems throughout the world, resulting in growing alienation of individuals, families, and communities. In this context, the article describes a craving within people and communities for their historical roots and identities. It also identifies a neglect in social movements since World War II, which focused primarily on economic and political issues instead of cultural dimensions of oppression and addresses the rise of new social movements in the past few decades for closure of this gap. The article concludes by linking the role of education with sustaining cultural identities urging adult educators to bring the issue of culture into development discourse.