The Interface Between Participatory Local Social Development (PLSD) and Andragogy in Improved Opportunities and Obstacles to Development (O &OD) System in Tanzania

Abstract

The Improved Opportunity and Obstacles to Development (O and OD) is a bottom-up approach that uses participatory Local Social Development (PLSD) framework to empower the communities to develop themselves. PLSD holds that the three fundamental elements for development and sustainability are; norms, organization and resources. It further postulates that development has to be community-based whereby the people are able to organize themselves to identify the community felt-problem and effectively utilize the available resources to bring about a solution, a felt-need. On the other hand, andragogy is the training model for adults in the field of education which characterizes them as problem-centred, self-directed and learners with a vast experience. Despite this glaring difference, the improved O and OD which is a community development approach has simultaneously and systematically employed both PLSD and andragogy in its rolling out. This study, therefore, sought to find out the compatibility between PLSD, a community development approach, and andragogy in the implementation of O and OD. The study was conducted in Morogoro Municipal and Chalinze District Council. Interviews administered to 11 key informants, focus group discussion involving 72 participants, observation and documentary reviews were used in data collection.  The collected data were analyzed and the themes were generated. The study found that there is great compatibility between PLSD and andragogy because: both are beneficiary-based, both are problem-motivated, in both approaches experience is an important factor for achievement. This study maintains that training methodologies need to evoke self-reliance, independence and creativity which are inalienable factors for bottom-up approach in community development.

Keywords: Participatory Local Social Development, Andragogy, O and OD

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-14-10

Publication date:May 31^st 2020