'Crossing the river': The struggle to empower communities through university extension in post-colonial Guyana.

摘要

This ethnographic case study describes and analyzes the social context within which university extension was provided in post-colonial Guyana by the Extra Mural Department of the University of Guyana. When the department started in 1976, it attempted to facilitate national development by utilizing a community development approach of providing adult education. It sought to engage residents by taking the resources of the University to where people were located in their communities. Community empowerment was the goal. This thrust by the University was guided by a progressive philosophy that depicted the community as an asset. However, this movement was counter to the dominant conservative ideology within the University.;The Institute also sought to work within a nuanced socio-political context. The Guyanese society has been framed by the colonial experience. Through colonialism, political, educational, economic, and legal structures were established that advanced imperial interests. The result of this configuration was a legacy of a deformed education system, economic/ethnic segmentation, and racial and ethnic separateness. Nationalist politics, although rooted in socialist ideology, was unable to transcend the figures of this legacy. Through close identification with Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese ethnic communities, and the manipulation of political power, the two main political parties provided fodder for ethnic rivalries.;It was within these parameters that university extension was provided. The university, seeking to avoid charges of elitism, sought to provide a variety of academic, vocational, family and civic-oriented programs. However, a dominant conservative ideology still pervaded the university hierarchy and constantly thwarted the extra mural department in its pursuit of community empowerment.;Field research was done in Guyana where learners, policy makers, community residents and staff members of the Institute were interviewed. Documentary data was collected from the Institute, the university and other agencies.;There were two major findings. One was that while there was an initial emphasis on community building, the changing visions from the parent organization, coupled with structural adjustment pressures generated through trade liberalization policies, served to channel the Institute mainly in the direction of individual rather than social development. It found also that despite the presence of a majority population of Indo-Guyanese and a native Amerindian population, the Institute served primarily the interests of Afro-Guyanese communities.;The study concluded by identifying several policy implications, and recommends a model that emphasizes an integrated approach to the provision of community-based adult education.