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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1Introduction page1 2Regan’s views on elements page1 3Regan’s views on challenges page2 4Conclusion page3 5Bibliography page3
According to Regan, Sinclair(2002:47) development education is an awareness effort among people of the world to share ideas, listen to each other , participate, draw from our experiences and view with an open mind human development issues, environmental issues and resource management issues which affect us all. Regan et al(2002:44) also goes on to view development education as very complex. In his opinion development education has key elements which broken down are ; a)Attitudes and values b)Knowledge, ideas and understandings c)Skills and capabilities )Behaviour, experiences and action Regan’s take on the above named elements is that we need to be responsible as a society and our behaviour should reflect so. Our beliefs should be informed and serve the society in our area. On element b) scrutinising facts about information regarding the state of the world and why it is so are very important. The view that education plays a pivotal role in making development education succeed is echoed in this element. However the education is to be applied to everyone and an attitude of wanting to learn adopted.
Understanding the link between the have and have not and our relationship with the world contribute immensely. We are to look at the world comprehensibly and not to assume that development issues don’t affect us irregardless of where we are in the world. Regan makes us focus on skills that we may need to be able to view the world informatively. He regards the ability to connect knowledge and understanding with action. On the last element Regan’s opinion is how we act, what we have gone through and how to do things that has a direct bearing on social interactions. Behaviour gives s the ability to participate fully and meaningfully at the task at hand. I think the message that is putting across is for us to be humble and to treat each other with dignity and respect for this is something we can tackle if we are united and working together. Regan goes on to highlight challenges which he believes are detrimental to development education. These are education for world citizenship, world development and listening to other world views(Regan et al 2002:45). Our attention is drawn to education as a tool to be used to understand and engage in human rights practices, justice and world democracy.
If we are to master the dynamics of development and its challenges in Regan’s opinion we need to educate and be educated. The author zooms in on world development. This challenge in my opinion is double folded. Firstly, as much as it is fact that as a world we have evolved, that is to say conditions of living have greatly improved. We now know and have much more than we did say eighty years ago. There are now more known cures of ailments that we did not know about many years ago therefore people now live longer.
Our education systems have also grown and levels have gone up too. Unfortunately according to Regan’s views and I agree with him poverty has evolved with us too. Our success story tends to hide “great unevenness”(Regan et al 2002:45). Poverty still exists everywhere. There is still over a billion people with no access to clean water, a huge number of primary scholars not in school, starving people still exist and a lot more live on less that one United States dollar a day(Regan et al 2002:45) According to Regan’s views we need to listen to each other.
One sided views especially those that show other people especially those in development countries as victims sends negative vibes and do more damage than good. Instead he advocates for participation and sharing of ideas and views with each other. Exclusion of people who appear to need help distorts the picture and leads to giving some form of immediate relief but not effectively helping. “we have sought to portray people as architects of development and not just victims”(Regan et al 2002:46)That’s a loaded statement that Regan uses to expose the mindset of those who portray the developing world as bleak, dark and hopeless.
In Regan’s view it is this kind of mentality that people in developing worlds need not accept as it kills morale and instead of participating and helping themselves became what their prophets of doom predicted. In conclusion I think Regan views on development are that the elements and challenges mentioned above are to be used as a yard stick in tackling development education issues. We are to adopt a positive attitude, where we are willing to listen to each other. Exchange ideas and being respectful of each other and taking responsibility for the environment and the society.
There should be no room for victims according to my understanding but participants who learn form experience and each other. Regan’s views on development education are that this is a learning process for everyone and everyone is involved. “what kind of development’?… and what kind of education do we need to fuel it? “(Regan et al 2002:48) Bibliography C Regan , S Sinclair 2002,80:20 development in an unequal world , Wicklow: 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World.