The articles in this issue are loosely grouped under the theme of education and development. Many of the articles deal directly with this topic, some emphasising the importance of education for empowerment, whether it be of refugees within a new community, or of women in the face of longstanding patriarchal practices. Others turn to the vital work of evaluating the effectiveness of education programs, not just in terms of providing a foundation for literacy and numeracy, but also through broader applications such as sexual education or the provision of basic nutrition to students. Some consider the outcomes of higher education, such as the likelihood of university-educated youths to engage in entrepreneurship, or the way that universities can contribute to development practice by collaboration with local communities, and how this might result in new and beneficial approaches. Other articles here are not concerned with formal education, so much as training programs and their efficacy, or the capacity of digital devices to teach vital practices, such as sustainable farming techniques.
Maliha Abubakari evaluates the effectiveness of the Ghana Partnership for Education Grant in reducing poverty and retaining its pro-poor orientation, finding that the program was largely successful in these endeavours. Still in Ghana, but taking a more critical standpoint, Abdul-Rahim Mohammed takes the case of the Ghana School Feeding Programme as an example of a government-run initiative that is used to reward party supporters, resulting in a lack of supervision and monitoring of contractors, and therefore in poor outcomes for the program itself. Then, discussing the training older students, Michael Kodom et al. explore how a youth-centred training program in Ghana has altered perceptions of cocoa farming among young people, with the aim of shifting the demographic of the aging sector and thereby ensuring its sustainability.
Moving away from Ghana, Carlos Escaño et al. examine NGO Open Cultural Center’s facilitation of arts and cultural education in Greece’s refugee camps. Conducted in 2019, their study considers the vital role played by the arts in non-formal education for refugees, emphasising the need to foster literacy and communication skills.
María Florencia Amigó and Sandeep Gurung look at the role of peer education in facilitating cultural change, specifically in relation to the practice of child marriage in Nepal. Despite criticisms of the practice of peer education, this article makes a case for its effectiveness as an empowering, grassroots force. Mina Chiba considers the barriers to the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in Thailand, arguing that a set-and-forget approach to CSE is not feasible, and that such programs should be monitored for their effectiveness, especially in the face of frequent opposition from school principals. Such education is crucial for the reduction of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
Turning to higher education, Jamelia Harris makes a case for the importance of entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone, arguing that more must be done to foster the engagement of university-educated youths in such pursuits, which could have positive effects on the local economy and on poverty levels. Guadalupe Peres-Cajías et al. examine the role of universities in development, focusing on a transdisciplinary learning communities-approach implemented as part of a Flemish–Bolivian university collaboration. Their article considers the problem of how to “produce knowledge with and for local communities that is implementable in practice”. Universities with an agricultural focus can have a significant effect on community practice. In Andhra Pradesh, Deborah Dutta and C. Shambu Prasad look at the role played by argi-graduates as “Natural Farming Fellows”, educating farmers in sustainability practice throughout the region. Here, the follow-on effects of education are clear, and Dutta and Prasad show how knowledge can be successfully disseminated through the community.
Turning to a different method of education – that of online learning – Phonedalom Bounkham et al. discuss government-funded smartphone use by Lao farmers in Lao, finding that information accessed by farmers online can assist in increasing production levels and responding to climate change. On the topic of digital literacy, Stephano Nalaila looks at the way classroom support can assist Tanzanian students to acquire valuable skills, revealing that current educational practices at Tanzanian universities lack adequate integration of digital literacy.
Education is often about changing behaviour. To this end, Erik Simmons et al. consider the use of behavioural science in helping low-resource communities to adapt to climate change in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their article explores the structure of intervention programs that would be most effective in educating communities against environmentally harmful practices. Then, as a case in point for the necessity of education, Rishi Kumar and D. C. Pathak examine the relationship between financial awareness and financial inclusion, finding that education levels, among other factors, have a significant bearing on the utilisation of financial services, which can greatly affect standards of living.
Education need not always be formal. Arguably, learning about others’ needs and the most effective ways to address them can best be achieved through friendship. Ann Wigglesworth explores the role of friendship in facilitating the ownership of development projects by Timorese partners, fostering an ongoing relationship of reciprocal trust and respect that, she argues, is not found in aid projects restricted to a particular timeframe, and that results in a deeper understanding of the issues that development practitioners must address.