Cold War and Colonial Conflicts in British West African Adult Education, 1947-1953

Abstract

ROGER FIELDHOUSE THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT's once comfortable assumption that, whatever might happen in India, colonial administration would continue for an unlimited time in Africa, was undermined by a number of complex and interrelated factors after the Second World War. These included the emergence of the United States and Soviet Union as two superpowers both hostile to colonialism; the anti-colonial principles written into the United Nations Charter; the victory of the British Labor Party in the 1945 general election and the agitation of the African nationalist movements. Until 1948 these factors hastened the progress towards decolonization without causing undue friction. In 1947 the British Government took a giant step towards divesting itself of its empire by conceding independence to India, and a year later Arthur Creech-.Jones, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, declared that British colonial policy was simply "to guide the colonial territories to responsible government within the Commonwealth in conditions that ensure to the people concerned both a fair standard of living and freedom from oppression from any quarter". But in 1948 a number of events shattered this complacent air of dignified, peaceful and paternalistic progression towards eventual independence in British Africa. The communist coup d'etat in Czechoslovakia followed by the Berlin blockade heralded the ending of peaceful coexistence and the beginnings of the cold war. It was not long before British imperial forces were locked in an anti-communist war in Malaya. Meanwhile in West Africa the Colonial Administration was stunned by the outbreak of violent nationalist agitation, demonstrations, strikes and rioting following Kwame Nkrumah's appointment as general secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention in January 1948 and the sporadic echoing of his 'Positive Action' campaign amongst the Zikist nationalists in Nigeria. Fear of cold war communist

Insecurity of Tenure and Academic Freedom in Adult Education: An Historical Perspective

“…The crisis was most acute in the Oxford extramural area (particularly in its heartland in North Staffordshire), but it was felt in many other parts of the country. 43 These incidents from the 1920s, thirties and forties are not merely of historical interest. They do illustrate how the untenured lecturers were vulnerable to a variety of influences and interference from their employers or their paymasters, particularly in times of crisis or political conflict, and were always subject to the threat of dismissal or non-re-engagement.…”

A személyiségközpontú felnőttoktatás szerepe a folyamatos tanulás korában

“…Nagy-Britannia, Dánia, Németország, vagy éppen a Habsburg Monarchia és annak kései formájaként az Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia területén valóban a korszakot meghaladóan fejlettnek tekinthető, egyre inkább törvényekkel szabályozott felnőttnevelés bontakozott ki korszerű intézményekkel, szervezetekkel és mozgalmakkal. (Fieldhouse 1996;Steele 2007) Ezen korszak jellemzője, hogy igyekezett a jóléti felfogás terjedésére, legitimációs erejére támaszkodva bővíteni az oktatásban résztvevők körét, tekintettel az iskolázatlan, vagy éppen az iskolai végzettséggel nem rendelkező felnőttek tömegeire. Ugyanakkor felértékelődtek azok a nem iskolai formák is, amelyek valódi teret, befogadó környezetet nyújtottak a tanulni vágyók számára, hogy meg tudjanak küzdeni a mindennapokat átformáló gazdasági/munkavállalási, társadalmi/közösségi/politikai kihívásokkal egyaránt.…”

Adult education and social justice: International perspectives

“…It was James Stuart -another influential academic who also had spent time at Glasgow University -who is credited with articulating the idea of university extramural (beyond the walls) provision in Cambridge University (Fieldhouse 1996). In 1873, the University of Cambridge agreed to organize, formally, programs and lectures in various centers, and Oxford also undertook to provide a number of programs through extension centers.…”