International Development Education

This chapter begins with a short historical account of adult and continuing education in the context of international development. International development education (IDE) is embedded in notions of international development; any effort to improve people’s lives arguably involves the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Adult education as an important tool of community development and social progress is rooted in late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century initiatives like the Scandinavian Folk Schools and the Canadian Antigonish movement. Literacy has traditionally played a central role in IDE. Since the 1970s, lifelong learning has risen to prominence as a leading paradigm of educational policies and as the overarching framework for adult learning and education. Funding and delivery of adult education is diffuse and complex, involving a wide array of international organizations, aid agencies, philanthropic and religious organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society organizations and cross-ministry collaborations.