History of Community Education
Community education is a form of adult education that is located in communities be those geographical or issue-based. Without doubt, community education was developed by women as a response to the oppression women experienced in their everyday lives.
The 1980's brought a rise in the levels of poverty and unemployment in disadvantaged communities. Mainstream statutory education, training and labour market programmes effectively excluded women or in the least failed to meet their needs.
1979 saw a change in the Government's thinking on adult education provision based on recommendations from the Murphy Report 1973. Adult Education Organisers (AEO) were put in place in each Vocational Education Committee (VEC) to develop local responses to adult education provision. In 1984, the Adult Literacy and Community Education Scheme - funding to support mainly literacy provision - came into being. With this, AEOs began to work with local people mainly women to organise locally based courses. The Catholic Church at this time through community nuns also supported the setting up of women's groups in disadvantaged communities.
These developments happened during the late 1980s and 1990s, at a time of high unemployment, poverty, emigration and the State's urban housing policies of developing large public housing estates with no services.
Women's Community Education
Community Education became women's response to the isolation and burden of poverty that they experienced. Many of the women involved had left formal education early due to bad experiences and for the need to enter the Labour Market.
Personal development was much in demand in these groups and was the bedrock for building women's confidence. In 1999 over 80% of the courses being run were on personal development. Today there are many groups developing and providing community education at local level
Community education and Community Development
Community Education is intrinsically linked to community development. Community Development emerged in Ireland during the 1980s as a locally based response to poverty and disadvantage. Community Development Projects developed firstly in disadvantaged urban areas spread across the country all working towards empowering communities for local action, through capacity-building with the local people to take ownership of their work.
Local communities were supported and resourced by the State to develop local responses to drug abuse, unemployment, projects for young people, and tenant participation in housing estate management. These communities came together in groups to discuss the problems they were experiencing and to find local solutions.
This describes a community development process that is rooted in empowerment, consciousness raising and is what Freire called "conscientization". Through community development it is possible for communities to overcome oppression and poverty through collective action.
