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Beyond the Walls: A Case StudyRobin Richardson aa Adviser in Multicultural EducationPublished online: 12 Sep 2006.

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Beyond the Walls: A Case Study

Robin Richardson

Adviser in Multicultural Education

PrefaceThis report is a case-study account of a workshop forteachers which took place at Maseru, Lesotho, inJuly 1982. It has in mind the following readership:

1) The workshop participants: insofar as they recog-nise it as a truthful account it is a truthful account,but not otherwise.

2) Anyone involved or interested in developmenteducation: both in the Third World and in westerncountries.

3) Anyone interested in combating racism througheducation: though this concern surfaces centrallyand explicitly here only once.

4) Anyone interested in the planning and runningof in-service courses and workshops for teachers:specifically in how to avoid both lectures byoutside 'experts' and aimless, circular conversationamongst participants.

5) Anyone interested in the work of consultants:particularly, perhaps, the work of consultantswho go from western countries to Third Worldcountries.

6) Staff of the British Council, in both London andMaseru: the Council funded a consultant to attendthis workshop, and to compile this report.

The participants constructed a definition ofdevelopment in the course of the week, distillingmore than 1000 man-and-woman hours of debateand deliberation into a single sentence. Development,they said:

is a process by which increasingly more membersof a society participate, each to an increasinglygreater extent, in deciding and implementingactivities which will improve the conditions oftheir lives.

This definition is also the basic text — the startingpoint and recurring reference, the inspiration, theunderlying message to be illustrated and commen-ded — of this report. Schools and school classrooms,and workshops for teachers too for that matter, arethemselves a part of — not apart from — developmentas thus defined. It follows that there is a furtherpotential readership for this report:

7) Anyone interested in development.

Introduction and overviewThere is a marvellous moment in Petals of Blood,

the great epic novel by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, whena young schoolteacher, Godfrey Munira, takes hispupils out beyond the four walls of his and theirclassroom:

He took the children out into the field to studynature . . . He picked flowers and taught themthe names of the various parts: the stigma, thepistil, pollen, the petals . . . 'This is a worm-eatenflower. It cannot bear fruit. That's why we mustalways kill worms . . . ' He was pleased with himself.

But then the children started asking him awkwardquestions. Why did things eat each other? Whycan't the eaten eat back? Why did God allow thisand that to happen? He had never bothered withthose kinds of questions and to silence them hetold them that it was simply a law of nature. Whatwas a law? What was nature? Was he a man? Washe a God?. . .

Man . . . law . . . God . . . nature: he had neverthought deeply about these things, and he sworethat he would never again take the children tothe fields. Enclosed in the four walls he was themaster, aloof, dispensing knowledge to a concen-tration of faces looking up to him. There he couldavoid being drawn in. But out in the fields, outsidethe walls, he felt insecure.

Teachers everywhere — in all countries in the world,in all kinds of school — know Munira'sexperience andfeelings. We know that we should go forth beyondthe four walls of our classrooms, both actually andmetaphorically. We know that we should be equippingour pupils to understand and to get involved in thegreat historic issues of humankind — law, nature, God,and the unending struggle between oppressor andoppressed, between — in Ngugi's own metaphor inPetals of Blood — eaters and eaten. We know that allworthwhile knowledge is created in and through suchaction and activity, and that to reduce it to merefacts, mere information, is merely to mystify ourpupils, and is to betray both them and ourselves.

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All too often, however, we do not in fact go forth,we do not speak out, we do not equip our pupils tospeak in their turn fluently and passionately, and toact effectively, against oppression, against dependence.We prefer to stay enclosed within four walls, aloof,'dispensing knowledge to a concentration of faceslooking up'.

There are all sorts of questions to ask aboutteachers and teaching in this connection. One setof questions — amongst, certainly, many others — isto do with in-service education. What kinds of in-service course or workshop do we need to help usto persevere in the struggle to go beyond the wallsof the classroom, the struggle to introduce and toprotect real changes in the situations where we work?

Presumably we do not want in-service courseswhich consist mainly or entirely of lectures by so-called experts, people dispensing knowledge to a con-centration of our faces looking up. At the same timewe don't want to just sit around conversing idly,disinclined or even afraid to talk about the issueswhich really concern us, and sinking deeper intounease and powerlessness. On the contrary, we wantin-service courses which are participatory rather thanbased on listening and note-taking, and which equipus with practical skills and moral courage, both asindividuals and as a collective political force andpressure group. Yes, but what do such courses actuallylook like? General utterances about participatoryin-service education are all very well. They risk beingmerely empty and indeed ugly rhetoric, however, inthe absence of case-study accounts of actual, specificoccasions.

Here, then, is a case-study account of one specificworkshop. Imagine Godfrey Munira at this workshop.Imagine any of his counterparts in countries through-out the world. Imagine yourself.

Would this occasion described here be valuable?What sound to have been its best aspects? Whatweaknesses do there appear to have been? These arethe questions which this case-study invites, and forwhich it is written.

The occasion to be described here involved 36teachers of Development Studies, about 24 men,12 women. Most were in their twenties or earlythirties. The workshop took place in a small resi-dential centre on the outskirts of Maseru, Lesotho,and lasted from a Monday evening till the followingFriday mid-day. It was organised by the NationalPanel for Development Studies, which is an officialcommittee of the Ministry of Education, and wasfunded by a grant from the Department of Languageand Social Education at the University.

The nature of Development Studies in Lesotho,and of the development policies and possibilities of54

Lesotho as a society, will become clearer as the reportprogresses. Suffice to say at present that DevelopmentStudies is a 3-year course in secondary schools, leadingto a public examination. It draws on the academicdisciplines of economics, politics, sociology, historyand geography, and includes practical work outsidethe four walls of the classroom — in communitydevelopment and self-reliance projects of variouskinds — as well as theoretical. Lesotho is a countryof some 1,500,000 inhabitants, locked both geo-graphically and economically into the Republic ofSouth Africa. Most inhabitants are Basotho, as werenearly all the teachers involved in this workshop. TheBasotho have a long and distinguished tradition ofresistance to white oppression, dating back to theirgreat leader Moshoeshoe in the nineteenth century.

Five phasesFor the sake of a preliminary overview of the

week, and to provide a preliminary outline of howit was planned and structured, five distinct phasescan be identified:

1. Clarifying and sharing our hopes and objectivesfor the workshop.

2. Identifying and analysing the principal problemswhich we experience as teachers of DevelopmentStudies.

3. Enquiry and research into relevant experience andtheories.

4. Formulation of general guidelines and principles todirect our work in the future.

5. Agreement on specific actions in the weeks andmonths ahead, both as individuals and collectively.

The dividing lines between these five phases cannotbe drawn with precise accuracy — it's not possibleto say, for example, 'right, we have now finishedidentifying and analysing our problems, it's time nowto begin enquiry and research into relevant experience'.For in reality the five phases not only merge graduallywith each other, each into the next, but also co-exist all at the same time.

The term 'phase', in other words, is with itsimplications of strict linear sequence rather mis-leading. The reality is not similar to the separate,sequential movements of a symphony, but more likethe distinct musical motifs which are all presentwithin the same movement. The motifs echo eachother and play against each other, they come and goand come again, there is prefiguring and there arereprises, sometimes one motif is dominant, some-times another. So rather than speak of five phasesat the workshop we should perhaps speak instead of

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five motifs, each of which had its time to be dominantbut none of which was ever entirely silent or absent.

Before this report enters onto the details of thefive phases there needs to be a note on its own biasand style of authorship. It cannot emphasised toostrongly that the report is partial — in both senses.On the one hand it is selective, describing only a frac-tion of all that 36 people in reality said and thought,and felt and did, during 5 days. On the other, itreflects particular biases and interests. These includeviews about how in-service workshops for teachersought to be planned and organised, and about howconsultants at them ought to behave, and ought notto behave.

More importantly (or even more importantly),bias in this report derives from a desire to inviterespect, admiration and solidarity for the Develop-ment Studies teachers of Lesotho. And for theircounterparts and comrades in many other countriesalso: men and women who are involved, like them,in a struggle to leave the comfortable four walls oftheir classrooms; who similarly are engaging beyondtheir classrooms with issues of oppression, racism,dependency, social justice, self-reliance; who withinand around their schools are creating, occupying anddefending new spaces, new spheres of freedom.

A word about the style of writing. It is impersonal,in the sense that the words ' I ' , 'me', 'my', etc do notappear. This reflects the recessive role adopted by theconsultant at the workshop itself. The style is not,however — is it? — dry, abstract, conventionallyacademic. This reflects a fundamental reality ofthat week in Maseru, which was not conventionallyacademic either. There were no outside expertsthere: it was for inside experts only.

Clarifying and sharing hopes and objectivesThe workshop had a brief formal opening cere-

mony, including a speech by the Minister of Educationon education for self-reliance, and participants thendivided into six groups of six. These groups met ina single large room, each round its own table. Theywere known as 'home groups' — bases in which par-ticipants were to feel secure and at ease, and fromwhich they would go out, so to speak, to variouskinds of activity during the next few days. Therewould be at least one meeting in home groups on allfive days.

Each home group had a leader, who in everyinstance was a teacher — not, for example, a lecturerin higher education or an education officer from theMinistry. The leaders derived their authority fromthree main sources: they had been formally invitedby the National Panel for Development Studies; theymet at length with the chairperson of the Panel and

with a consultant before the workshop started, andfor about 30-40 minutes with these two each day;most importantly of all, they were men and womenwith considerable experience and expertise in leadingsmall groups, and with considerable knowledge ofdevelopment. Nearly all plenary sessions at the work-shop were also, incidentally, chaired or led by homegroup leaders.

The first activity in home groups involved eachparticipant filling in a brief form entitled "Why I AmHere'. The form had three sections: 'events andexperiences which have influenced my thinking aboutDevelopment Studies during the last few years';'events and experiences which have influenced meduring the last few months'; 'my hopes and expec-tations for this workshop'. Group leaders emphasisedthat the forms were for the private use of each indi-vidual participant — they would not be handed in,and would not be seen by any other participant.This filling of forms took about 20 minutes, and wasa valuable reinforcement of each individual's distinctand unique identity and experience. It was admittedlya slow and very still kind of start. But, as is said insome other parts of Africa, too much haste splits theyam and many words do not fill a basket. It is goodto start a workshop by thinking back peacefully overone's life and work, and by sorting out in one's mindwhat one hopes and expects in the next few days.It is subsequently easier, after such a private reflectivestart, both to speak and to listen to others.

Next, people worked in pairs. Within each pairthey talked about some of the experiences whichthey had noted on their forms, and they explainedwhat they were hoping to gain from the workshop

• which was just starting. After these conversations inpairs people introduced their partners to the restof the home group. The group leaders, during theseintroductions, wrote the hopes and expectations oftheir group on large sheets of newsprint. The sheetswere then pinned up on the walls of the single largeroom in which all six home groups were meeting.They remained there throughout the week as a con-stant reminder, and as an eventual focus for evaluationof the workshop as a whole. These are some of therecurring hopes which people said they had:

— 'to have greater confidence in teaching thesubject, for example with regard to content,techniques etc';

— 'to clarify the aims and objectives of Develop-ment Studies';

— 'to clarify why we teach Development Studies';

— 'to get suggestions on forming positive attitudesto manual work';

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— 'to feel free to share with everybody else herewhatever important ideas I may have'.

The activity of clarifying and sharing hopes for thedays ahead is valuable not only for building a senseof purpose and anticipation but also for helping todevelop a sense of security and community. Partici-pants are glad to be attended to as distinct, self-managing individuals with valid professional andpersonal experience, and to be gently but firmlyreminded that, the eventual success of the workshopis going to depend largely on themselves and eachother, not on expert lecturers or consultants fromoutside. All too many in-service occasions startinstead with a so-called keynote lecture or 'input',almost inevitably expressing and communicatingnegative assumptions about the participants, andhence from the start undermining their professionalself-confidence rather than respecting it and buildingon it.

Identifying and Analysing ProblemsThis phase of the workshop took up the first two

hours or so of Tuesday morning, and was similarlyconducted in home groups. It had two parts. First,working in pairs, participants read through nine'problem stories' — brief anecdotal accounts of thingswhich could have happened recently in the professionallife of everyone present. In Paulo Freire's termino-logy, these accounts were 'codifications' — reflectionsof everyday commonsense experience and also,simultaneously, of underlying existential and politicalreality. The full text of the stories is given in thisreport as an appendix at the end. Briefly, they wereabout: disputes with teachers of other subjects aboutthe nature and importance of Development Studies;difficulties in persuading pupils and their families tohave positive attitudes towards the practical aspectsof the course — that is, those aspects involvingmovement beyond the four walls of the classroom;difficulties in finding appropriate materials andresources; difficulties in getting pupils to participatein classroom discussions, particularly since they arerequired to speak in English rather than in Sesotho,their mother tongue; and difficulties in coping withthe twin facts that Development Studies necessarilyinvolves direct reference to political controversies andthat Lesotho, like every country in the world, containsmajor differences of perception and opinion, andoccasionally violent conflicts of interest, betweenseparate political parties and groupings.

The stories were grouped and ranked by each pairof participants. The three which were rated overall asmost requiring further attention and analysis werethose entitled 'Manual work's a waste of time', "What56

is this subject?', and 'Re rutoa lipolitiki' (viz - 'they'reteaching us polities'). To this further analysis thepairs next turned.

Definitions of problems arguably have four separateaspects: (a) a description of symptoms (the 'present-ing' problem); (b) an analysis of the background,with reference both to institutions inherited fromthe past and to the attitudes and assumptions ofindividuals; (c) a programme of action for decision-makers in various locations and at various levels; and(d) a set of values and views about how human beingsshould live, both personally and collectively.

This fourfold distinction is central, it is relevanthere to note, in the political and educational thinkingof President Nyerere, as outlined in his great seminalessay 'Education for Self-Reliance'. The four aspectsinfluence each other, and are influenced by eachother. They can be shown graphically in a diagram asfollows:

VALUES

ACTION PROBLEMS

'{BACKGROUNDf

This graphic representation was used at the work-shop in the following way. Participants took largesheets of newsprint, and glued into the centre of thepage a copy of the problem story which they wishedto analyse. (In Freire's term, which they wished to'decode'). Round the edges of the page they drewfour boxes, as in the diagram above, joining each boxto the story with a line. Then they wrote in the fourboxes.

In the Problems box it was a matter of stating theapparent and immediate problem, and thus of simplystating the obvious point of the story in one's ownwords. In the Background box people referredmainly, to whatever the specific story being analysed,the colonial heritage of education in African coun-tries — the legacy of theoretical learning divorcedfrom the real problems of the immediate environment,real problems of combating poverty and oppression;the insistence on correct written English rather thanarticulacy in the mother tongue; the widespread useof mechanical memorising, note-giving, dictating,lecturing; the undue regard for paper qualificationsand white-collar occupations, and the consequentundervaluing of manual work; the sanctity of tradi-tional subject boundaries; the cultivation of an eliteclass dependent on western capitalism and consumergoods rather than education geared to meeting the

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basic material needs of the majority of the population.Recurring reference was made to shortage of finance,difficulties of communication, and general fear andresentment in the face of change.

In the Action box participants outlined actionswhich they themselves, as individuals, could taketo tackle the problems and the background. Theymentioned also, and more especially, the actionswhich they could take collectively, if they wereorganised into an effective pressure group within theeducation system, and therefore the various actionswhich they sought from the Ministry of Educationand the National Panel. In the Values box theyemphasised ideas which were to occur again and again,with increasing force and texture, during the daysahead: human rights and freedoms, participation,meeting basic needs, self-reliance, rural development,appropriate technology, less dependency on theRepublic of South Africa as suppliers of capitaland as employer of migrant labour in its mines, re-affirmation of the historic Basotho tradition ofMatsema, cooperation.

When finished, the charts were explained anddiscussed with home groups, and then pinned up onthe walls for all to read. They helped to strengthenan increasing sense of determination and purposein the workshop, and to give direction to the nextphase. They also, incidentally, showed in microcosmone possible model for planning and teachingDevelopment Studies — one which promotes 'criticalconsciousness' (Freire) of everyday problems andreality, and which involves a continual interplaybetween reflection and action.

Enquiry and research into relevantexperience

There are many ways in which an in-service work-shop can provide opportunities for enquiry intorelevant experience. Six different ways were usedon this particular occasion, and between them theytook up the rest of the Tuesday and most of theWednesday. Only one of them involved a plenarylecture — all others were activities for small groups,though not necessarily home groups.

The first possibility is a teacher describing formallysome work which he or she has done recently, andanswering questions about it: at this workshop twoteachers described various self-reliance projects whichthey had organised at their school, and thus wereresponding to the problems identified by the problemstories entitled 'Manual work's a waste of time','Marabaraba in the donga', and "Why bother with thereal thing?' A second possibility, very similar, is fora teacher to demonstrate — not just describe — some

methods which he or she has developed. On thisoccasion there were demonstrations of role-play andthe use of photographs when teaching about thedevelopment policies of Kenya and Tanzania, and ofvarious simple games and exercises which can be usedin school-classrooms to promote participation and co-operation. Those demonstrations responded in partto the problems raised by the problem stories entitled'Re rutoa politika', 'Danger! Keep Out!', and 'Prob-lems of Development'.

A third possibility is for all participants to givea brief account of some work which they have donerecently. On this occasion every participant filled ina form entitled 'It Went Well!', describing a lessonor sequence of lessons which had been particularlysuccessful. The completed forms were passed roundand discussed in home groups, and were also allpinned up on the wall of the main conference roomfor everyone to read. It was then possible for eachparticipant to identify and consult others who hadsuccessful experience relevant to his or her particularconcerns.

A fourth kind of opportunity for enquiry is ofcourse provided by' theoretical lectures and papers.At this workshop there was a theoretical presentationon the concept of development, and another on theprocesses of educational evaluation. Fifth, there canbe films — at Maseru we watched important films onpolitical and social action in other countries, healthcare in Tanzania and the liberation struggle in Azania.Sixth, there can be field trips to nearby places ofinterest. On this occasion five separate field trips werearranged to the nearby Maseru Industrial Estate. Eachparticipant chose one of these, and each visit lastedabout two hours. The five firms were KolonyamaCandles, Thaba Bosiu Ceramics, Maluti Sheepskin,Royal Tapestry Weavers, Lesotho Flour Mills. Most ofthese industrial concerns had been originally set upby the Lesotho National Development Corporation,with the aim of using local skills and materials toproduce goods for export. Each separate visit wasseen as a case-study of development. Questions wereasked at each, both through explicit schedules drawnup in advance and through observation, about theorigin of raw materials, the actual and potentialmarkets, investment decisions, the nationality ofsenior personnel, the destination of profits, thequality of work, the security of employment. Subse-quent discussions were extremely lively about thedefinition of development. Were all these industriesgenuinely contributing to the development ofLesotho? Were not some at least of them contri-buting rather to underdevelopment, that is, to greaterdependency, particularly on the Republic of Africa

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and NATO/EEC countries, rather than to greaterself-reliance?

Reflection on the various enquiries and simpleresearch projects was conducted partly in homegroups, partly in the special groups created for theactivities themselves (for example in the groupscreated for the field trips), and partly in plenaries.It was supported by a resource collection and smallishlibrary, provided for the week by the DevelopmentStudies team at the National University.

Formulation of general guidelines andprinciples

This phase was anticipated by the discussion ofvalues in the second phase, and was continuallytouched on also in the third, during reflection on theenquiries and researches. Formally and directly, how-ever, it had three main aspects. First (this was on theWednesday morning, incidentally, before the fieldtrips on Wednesday afternoon) every participantwrote four statements: (a) his or her personal defi-nition of development; (b) a statement about educa-tion for development; (c) some recommendationsand suggestions about how Development Studiesshould be organised and administered within theoverall education system, both at the national leveland within each individual school; and (d) someprecepts for the classroom teacher, about work bothwithin and beyond the four walls of his or her room.These are four distinct levels fof deliberation anddecision, from macro through to micro. Everyoneinvolved in Development Studies arguably needs toclarify and deepen his or her thinking on all four,and also in relation to all four to build consensus andsolidarity with colleagues.

Participants wrote each of their tour statements ona separate piece of paper. These pieces of paper wereused for a kind of card game in home groups, requiringeveryone to select statements written by others andto comment on them and reinforce them.

On the Thursday various working parties wereformed, according to individual choice and interest,to f it all the ideas on the pieces of paper together intogeneral statements. These are some of the definitionsand descriptions which had been provided as rawmaterial for the basic key concept of development:

— 'a fundamental change for the better, socially,economically, and politically'

— the eradication of the vicious cycle of inequality,unemployment and poverty'

— 'people deciding to come together and tomanipulate their environment in answer to theirneeds'

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— 'creativity, self-reliance, discipline and mutualunderstanding'

— 'a struggle for freedom, for the changes suitableto our own country'

— a greater focus on the rural population, whichhas for too long been neglected and exploitedfor the sake of the few'

Definition of developmentAfter very many hours of passionate but reflective

debate, the 36 or so separate statements aboutdevelopment were distilled by one working party intoa single brief definition. It was quoted at the verystart of this report, and has been an inspirationthroughout:

Development is a process by which increasinglymore members of a society participate, each toan increasingly greater extent, in deciding andimplementing activities which will improve theconditions of their lives.

This draft definition was then, third, debated byhome groups in a final plenary session on the Fridaymorning. It was examined, criticised and defendedkeyword by keyword. Was the emphasis on grassrootsparticipation as central political and moral valuesufficient? Was the reference to 'increasingly more'right, or should we speak of 'all'? Was 'improve'merely bland? Should we speak of 'groups' in societyrather than 'members'? What was the force of pro-cess'? How would such a definition fare in the presentpolitical climate?

The definition withstood a great many challengesand criticisms, but there was agreement that furtherwork should be done on it during the coming months.One possible addition is an extra clause at the end: . . .'which will improve the conditions of their lives, andwhich will not harm other societies'. It would then beclear that there are two distinct ways in which theRepublic of South Africa, to cite the most immediateand relevant example, is not a develped society: notonly does it fail to involve the majority of its citizensin decision-making and in improvements but also itdamages other societies, for example Lesotho, throughits use of surplus capital and of a reserve labour forcefor its mines. Similarly all western countries, if thisextra phrase were added, would all the more clearlybe seen to be still developing rather than developed.

Methods and objectivesAt the same time that the draft definition of

development was being hammered out, workingparties were working on (amongst other things)a formal statement of guidelines about classroom

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methodology, and on a statement of educationalobjectives. These are some of the recommendationsand suggestions which had been written for them byother participants on these topics, quoted here to givea flavour and a glimpse of countless animated debatesand conversations:

— 'let the students discuss, make their ownconclusions, and plan their own activities'

— use the lecture method as little as possible, butencourage group work, discussion etc; thisshould lead to students doing things for them-selves, and having greater self-confidence'

— 'the exchange of ideas in the classroom shouldafford students the chance to develop intoindependent thinkers'

— 'it really is uncalled for for the teacher to spoon-feed the students; what is really of importanceis that creativity and' innovation must beencouraged'

— 'teachers should not be speech orientated . . .they should take a class discussion as if it isa round table conference'

— 'students must have activities and projects tohandle, e.g. poultry farming'

— 'students should be aware of what is going onin their country, should be able to see what isneeded and what steps should be taken to fightfor or to acquire new things'

— 'students should be made aware that they them-selves are responsible for their development — asindividuals, as groups, and at national level'

There was not time to discuss at length in plenarysession or in home groups the draft statementsproduced by the working parties on classroommethodology and educational objectives. It wasagreed that they should be discussed through corres-pondence and by the National Panel for DevelopmentStudies after the workshop was over, and that theyshould be published in due course. A draft statementof general objectives, in the form of a checklist, isincluded as an appendix to this report.

The whole of the Thursday, it should be empha-sised, was taken up by voluntary working parties.Nothing — absolutely nothing — had been planned bythe workshop organisers in advance. Possible topicsfor the working parties gradually became evident inthe course of the week, and Thursday's programmebegan with an emphatic reminder that from now onthe process and progress of the workshop were entirelyin the hands of the participants. Ten separate groupswere formed,.according to individual choice. Some of

the groups were quite small, with just 2 or 3 members,whereas others were rather larger, with 7 or 8. Threetypewriters and a duplicator were made available,together with various clerical assistance, so that eachworking party could readily circulate the results ofits deliberations to others, and could receive feedbackfrom them. The day was busy, hectic, passionate,productive, as each group fought to refract and tofashion our collective thinking and writing of theprevious days into briefish formal statements.

Theatre and musicOn the final evening of the workshop, that same

Thursday, there was a further major event in thephase concerned with general guidelines and principles.The event did not, however, involve cerebral andverbal work — but theatre and music. Each homegroup devised, rehearsed and then presented a shortpiece of theatre on the themes of the workshop.Each was in effect stating in powerfully emotionaland dramatic ways, what it saw as the fundamen-tal principles and values which should underpin andinspire our further work. Most of the plays wereon the theme of 'Matsema' — the Basotho ideal ofunity and cooperation. One group, for example,presented a traditional dance associated with co-operative agriculture; another showed in symbolicform a community unable to achieve unity until allits members were prepared to contribute; otherssimilarly included traditional dances and songs, and

•people working, pulling and thriving together.'We regard our living together', said Steve Biko in

his paper entitled Some African Cultural Concepts,'not as an unfortunate mishap warranting endlesscompetition among us but as a deliberate act ofGod to make us a community of brothers and sistersjointly involved in the quest for a composite answerto the varied problems of life . . . Hence all ouraction is usually joint community oriented actionrather than the individualism which is the hallmarkof the capitalist approach. We always refrain fromusing people as stepping stones. Instead we areprepared to have a much slower progress in an effortto make sure that all of us are marching to the sametune'. These were the values which were rehearsedand celebrated in most of the drama that evening,with humour, delicacy, determination, force.

The final play of the evening was different, in bothstyle and content. It was mainly in English, not, as allthe others had been, in Sesotho, and its setting wasthe Republic of South Africa, not Lesotho. It showedwhite people deliberating brutally about their so-called'native' problem, and deciding to set up bantustans orhomelands. They then viciously implemented their

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new policy, violently kicking and beating and drivingaway a group of mainly Basotho workers and theirfamilies. The violence was a majestically noisy andheart-rending piece of theatre, and was the apparentend. Victory for the oppressor, definitive defeat anddisaster for the values and aspirations of our work-shop. But suddenly all the actors sprang out of theirroles, raised their fists high and broke into song,Nkosi Sikelele i'Afrika, the anthem of black libera-tion. All members of the audience were on their feetwithin a second, fists high, voices weaving and soaring.This was what finally we were all here for, the songseemed to say, this was what we were all about.

In other essays and papers Steve Biko wrote of' . . . the deliberateness of God's plan in creatingblack people black . . . We have set out on a questfor true humanity . . . Let us march forth withcourage and determination, drawing strength fromour common plight and our brotherhood. In time weshall be in a position to bestow upon South Africathe greatest gift possible — a more human face . . .I would like to remind all black people that God isnot in the habit of coming down from heaven tosolve people's problems on earth'.

These values too were celebrated in our theatre thatevening, and were manifested thus to be throbbing inall of the workshop. The evening continued withmore singing and dancing, with wine and beer, witha joyful and spontaneous affirmation of the ideaswhich earlier in the day and week we had beenpropounding with mere words alone.

Agreement on specific actions, bothindividual and collective

The final motif and phase of the workshop hadseveral separate parts. One was a formal meeting, onthe Wednesday evening, to recreate and re-energisethe Development Studies Teachers Association, andto set out priorities for the next twelve months.Another was a working party on the Thursday whichdrew up, using suggestions and ideas from many otherparticipants, a set of formal requests and recommen-dations to the National Panel. A third was the firmdecision, made gradually in the course of the weekand formally confirmed at the closing plenary sessionon Friday, to produce a Development Studies IdeasBook for wide' distribution throughout the country.This would contain all the material produced duringthe week, including in particular the 36 accounts ofsuccessful lessons and projects, and a wealth of specificideas on practical projects and involvements beyondthe four walls of the classroom. Fourth, each indi-vidual participant wrote down briefly what he or sheintended to do in the weeks and months ahead, asdirect follow-up from the workshop. Here is a brief

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selection of things which were written. Recall, or tryto imagine, the sound and the texture of Nkosi Sikelei'Afrika in your mind's ear, as you read through them:

— 'relate to my fellow staff members how I en-joyed the workshop and its activities'

— 'conscientise my colleagues and the communityabout the objectives of development studies'

— 'tackle some of the topics in the syllabus I hadno confidence in before'

— 'work with my students more effectively ingroups and working parties'

— 'teach my pupils the importance of workingtogether as a group'

— 'arrange a field trip for my students, so thatthey can see some of the important places inLesotho, especially for the economic growth oftheir country'

— 'discuss and get suggestions from fellow teacherson the strategy we can adopt to form positiveattitudes towards manual work within theschool community'

— 'help villagers who work in letsolo-la-iketsetseto stop a donga near our school'

— 'embark on a bricklaying project to help over-come a problem of accommodation in myschool'

— 'organise practical projects with students whichI think pave the way to our national develop-ment'

— 'put into practice what I have learned here, seehow it works in a real class situation'

— 'review all the activities of this workshop,attempt to put them into practice, communi-cate my successes and failures to colleagues inother schools'

And so they moved on. Have they indeed donewhat they said they would, both as individuals andas a collective pressure group within the educationsystem of their country? Are they fiercely but withlove persevering with the questions which troubledyoung Godfrey Munira in Petals of Blood — questionsto do with God, law, nature, oppression?

We do not know, just here and just now. But onething is certain. The success and the strength ofthese teachers will depend very considerably on thesupport and solidarity which they give to and receivefrom each other; and which they share with othercolleagues; and with other citizens of Lesotho. Itwould in addition be relevant and valuable to havesupport and solidarity, in spirit, from all other readers

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of this report. These teachers are centrally involvedin, not detached observers of or commentators on,development. Development, let us hear them andgreet them once more:

. . . is a process by which increasingly more mem-bers of a society participate, each to an increasinglygreater extent, in deciding and implementingactivities which will improve the conditions oftheir lives.

Notes and References

Addresses for further information

The chairman of the Development Studies Teachers Associa-tion is Mr. Molefi Thobileng, Lesotho Distance TeachingCentre, P.O. Box 781, Maseru, Lesotho.

The National Panel for Development Studies can be contac-ted c/o Mr. T.T. Pitso, National Curriculum DevelopmentCentre, P.O. Box 1126, Maseru, Lesotho.

The acting chairperson of the National Panel at the time ofthis workshop was Ms. Janet Stuart, National Universityof Lesotho, P.O. Box Roma 180, Lesotho.

The head of Development Studies at the National TeacherTraining College is Ms. T. Motsoene, P.O. Box 1393,Maseru, Lesotho.

The consultant for the workshop, Robin Richardson, can becontacted at Berkshire Education Department, Shire Hall,Reading, RG2 9XE, England.

Bibliography

The quotations from Petals of Blood are from pages 21 and22 of the Heinemann edition, 1977.

The quotations from Steve Biko are from I Write What I Like,Heinemann, 1979, page 42 and pages 49 , 98 and 60.

Paulo Freire's techniques of codification are described inPedagogy of the Oppressed, Penguin 1972, chapter 3.

Dependency theory is applied in detail to Lesotho in Develop-ment and Dependence in Lesotho, the Enclave of SouthAfrica by Gabriel Strom, Scandinavian Institute ofAfrican Studies, 1978.

The Problems/Background/Action/Values scheme is describedin Learning for Change in World Society, One WorldTrust 1976.

There is a detailed discussion of education for developmentin Southern Africa in Development Dialogue 1978:2,Dag Hammarskjold Foundation, Ovre Slottsgatan 2,752 20 Uppsala, Sweden.

Most of the specific exercises and approaches used at theMaseru workshop are described in detail in Debate andDecision: schools in a world of change by R. Richardson,M. Flood and S. Fisher, One World Trust 1979. Thereis also relevant information in Handbook of In-ServiceEducation, Schools Council/One World Trust 1982.Both of these publications are available by post fromOne World Trust, 24 Palace Chambers, Bridge Street,London, SW1A 2JT.

A participatory workshop in Britain on multi-racial education,similar in style and approach to the Maseru workshopon development studies, is described in detail in a reportentitled 'It did seem like the road to Damascus', availableby post from Lewisham Teachers Centre, 25 BromleyRoad, Catford, London, SE6 2TS.

Appendix A: Problems and problem storiesThese stories were prepared for discussion and

analysis in the second phase of the workshop. Thetopics and issues were suggested by members of theNational Panel, and the final texts were drawn upafter a meeting of the home group leaders before theworkshop started.

'Manual work's a waste of time'Our school started in January 1981. Development

Studies was introduced in Form A instead of historyand geography. Last term the Form B's were spendingtwo hours a week on a very successful practical projecton soil erosion. Hearing about this Ntate Liphotowent to the school Manager, and said he wanted hisson to do 'proper' subjects, so that he could go on toHigh School. The children shouldn't be wasting theirtime doing manual work', he said. The school Managerasked me to advise him.

Marabaraba in the dongaMy school carried out a practical project with the

community, building a bridge where our road crosseda small river. On the afternoons set aside for buildingwork, many of the pupils worked hard carrying stonesand bringing water for cement. But some of them hidin the donga, and played marabaraba. A villager com-plained to the chief: 'Morena, how irresponsible andill-disciplined children are nowadays. In any casewhy should children be involved in Food for Workprojects?'

What is this subject?I have just graduated from NTTC with Develop-

ment Studies as my Higher Spec, and have persuadedthe principal to let me introduce Development Studieswith Form A next January. Other members of staffare very critical. "What is this subject?' asks thehistory teacher. 'It's just bits and pieces of other

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subjects. The children need an academic discipline'.'If Development Studies becomes successful', saysthe geography teachers, 'we shall have to give upteaching history and geography'. The principal ischanging his mind. 'Perhaps we should wait for a fewyears', he says. 'After all. Development Studies ismuch the same as history and geography isn't it?'

ResourcesWe introduced Development Studies three years

ago. We have Units 1-3, and a few draft chapters ofthe others. I use my college notes to prepare lessons.We have no library, and as the school is in the moun-tains I cannot get to Maseru to borrow books. I askedthe principal for money to buy some books for theschool. Today she said to me: 'You can have M 25.00to cover all your Development Studies expenses fornext year'. I asked a colleague for sympathy. 'Even ifyou had more money', she said, 'you still wouldn't beable to find any useful books here in Lesotho'.

'Less important'I have just finished my BEd at NUL taking Develop-

ment Studies as my major. I returned to school thisweek, helping and. expecting to help my DevelopmentStudies colleague, who has classes of over 80 inForms A and B. But when I saw the principal myhopes were dashed. 'You will be taking Forms D andE for Sesotho and Geography, as you used to', hesaid. There is no one else to take them up to COSC.Since Development Studies can't be taken at COSC,it's less important for the future of our children'.

Why bother with the real thing?I arranged for Form C to start a vegetable garden

this year, so that they would be able to answer thecompulsory question on the practical project in theJC exam. A delegation of pupils came to see me."We want to concentrate on syllabus', they said.'It's too late to do a project now. We can quite easilyinvent an imaginary project to write about in theexam, same as they did last year. Anyway, theexaminer will be more impressed if we all write aboutdifferent projects'.

Problems of developmentFor the topic 'problems of development', I planned

a series of discussion lessons. After the first twoI detected an uncooperative atmosphere in the classand I asked what the matter was. One girl spoke up.*We don't want to discuss these problems', she said,'we want to be told what the answers are, so thatwe can pass the exam'. Another said: 'It's difficultenough writing in English, let alone discussion. Whycan't we discuss in Sesotho?'

Danger! Keep out!I was going to this workshop on Development

Studies and in the papers sent to me was a passagefrom a man called Paulo Freire. Something about'knowledge necessitates the curious presence ofsubjects confronted with the world' — I couldn'tmake much sense of it, so I asked a friend aboutit. 'Oh', he said, 'that guy. Always talking aboutconscientising the masses, getting them to be moreself-reliant and independent. I'd keep away from thatworkshop, if I were you'.

Re rutoa lipolitikiIn a lesson on 'forms of government', I explained

the workings of the American Congress. Next dayLineo's father came up to the school and spoke to thePrincipal, who called me to his office. 'I understand',he said, 'that you have been spreading BCP propaganda.You must stop it at once'. Later that day I asked myyounger sister, who is in Form B, what she thoughtof Development Studies at her school. She shrugged.'Seems like it's teaching us we must obey the chiefsand vote for the government party', she said.

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Appendix B: Education for development,a draft checklist

This draft checklist arose from writings anddiscussions in the fourth phase of the workshop.It is being circulated in Lesotho as part of the work-shop report, and after amendments is likely to beincluded in the Development Studies Ideas Book tobe published by the National Panel. It is reprintedhere as a useful brief summary of the workshop'sconcerns and conclusions.

Development is a process by which increasinglymore members of a society participate, each to anincreasingly greater extent, in deciding and imple-menting activities which will improve the conditionsof their lives.

Pupils in Lesotho schools are being educated fordevelopment only if we can confidently answer 'yes'to each of the following questions.

KnowledgeHuman needs

Are pupils learning about the needs which allhuman beings have in common — including materialneeds for food, shelter and clothing and non-materialneeds for dignity, self-reliance and participation — andabout the ways in which these needs are fulfilled?

Production and resourcesAre pupils learning about the ways in which

societies and communities utilise natural resourcesand technology in order to fulfil their needs, andengage in production and trade? Are they learning inparticular about production, resources and economicgrowth in Lesotho?

History and cultureAre pupils learning about the traditions and values

of Basotho culture, literature and social organisation,and about the ways in which the best of these tradi-tions and values are to be maintained and strengthenedin a changing world?

Dependency and self-relianceAre pupils learning about the underdevelopment

of Lesotho by colonialism in the period 1870-1966and about current economic dependency on theRepublic of South Africa? Are they learning aboutthe national, regional and local policies which arebeing undertaken to oppose dependency and increaseself-reliance?

Citizenship and participationAre pupils learning about the rights, obligations

and responsibilities of citizenship in Lesotho at thepresent time, and about the ways in which citizensparticipate in decision-making?

SkillsEnquiry skills

Are pupils learning how to collect and evaluateinformation from a variety of sources, to thinkcritically and scientifically, and to construct rationalarguments?

Participation skillsAre pupils learning to express themselves accurately

and fluently both in speech and in writing and to co-operate with others in solving the problems of theirneighbourhood, region and nation?

Production skillsAre pupils learning manual, technical and admini-

strative skills which they need in order to contributeto the Lesotho economy, and which Lesotho itselfneeds to counter dependency and promote self-reliance?

Att i tudes

Self-confidenceAre pupils learning to trust their own personal

ability to understand and control their immediateenvironment, and to work with others to solveregional and national problems?

ResponsibilityAre pupils learning to respect the rights and needs

of others, and are they becoming committed to thepromotion and maintenance of harmony and justice?

Valuing work of all kindsAre pupils developing positive attitudes towards

working for development, and are they themselvesprepared to engage in manual work as well as intel-lectual and administrative work to solve the problemsof their country?

MatsemaAre pupils learning to value cooperation and

dialogue as ways of solving problems, as distinct fromconflict and confrontation?

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