Introduction
Radio has been used extensively as an educational medium in developing countries.
Published reports confirm that it has supported educational programs in a wide range of
subject areas and in many different countries. Consider the following list of examples
(which is by no means exhaustive). Educational radio has been utilized in:
- Thailand, to teach mathematics to school children (Galda, 1984), and for teacher
training and other curricula (Faulder, 1984).
- India, for rural development (Long, 1984).
- Swaziland, for public health purposes (Byram & Kidd, 1983).
- Mali, for literacy training (Ouane, 1982).
- Columbia, for various programs (Muhlmann de Masoner, Masoner, & Bernal, 1982).
- Mexico, for literacy training and other programs (Ginsburg & Arias-Goding, 1984).
- Nigeria, for management courses for the agriculture sector (Shears, 1984).
- Kenya, in support of correspondence courses (Kinyanjui, 1973).
- Nicaragua, for health education (Cooke & Romweber, 1977).
- The Phillipines, for nutrition education (Cooke & Romweber, 1977).
- Guatemala, in order to promote changes in farming practices and to improve production
(Ray, 1978).
- Sri Lanka, for family planning and health (Academy for Educational Development, 1980).
- Trinidad and Tobago, to promote knowledge of breastfeeding (Gueri, Jutsun, & White,
1978).
- South Korea, in support of family planning (Park, 1967).
- Botswana, for civics education (Byram, Kaute, & Matenge, 1980).
- The Dominion Republic, in support of primary education (White, 1976).
- Paraguay, to offer primary school instruction (Academy for Educational Development,
1979).
Educational radio has been employed within a wide variety of instructional design
contexts. In some cases it is supported by the use of printed materials, by local
discussion groups, and by regional study centres. It is sometimes designed to permit and
encourage listener reaction and comment. Indeed, in some cases, there is provision for the
audience to raise questions and to receive feedback. The purpose of the present paper is
to explore some of the various instructional design formats in which educational radio has
been employed. In addition, the paper reviews some of the evaluative studies and the
recommended practices regarding educational radio in developing countries which emerge
from this literature.
Farm Radio Forum
One of the most dominant and widespread examples of the use of educational radio is
known as "Farm Radio Forum." It was started in Canada in 1941 as a radio
discussion program and served as a model which was adopted subsequently in a number of
developing countries. After ten years, its sponsors, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC), the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), and the Canadian Association for
Adult Education (CAAE), invited UNESCO to cooperate in carrying out an evaluation of the
program and its effectiveness as an instrument of adult education (Abell, 1968; Coleman
& Opoku, 1968; Mathur & Neurath, 1959; Nicol, Shea, Simmens, & Sim, 1954). The
lessons learned from Canada such as the use of forums, multi-media, printed materials,
two-way communication and various production techniques (drama, interview, panel
discussion) were then introduced in India early in 1956, and in Ghana in 1964, with the
initiative and sponsorship of UNESCO. The radio programs for rural forums have been
concerned with the problems of agriculture, rural development, rural education,
innovations, self-government, and literacy. Such forums have now been introduced in many
developing countries. By 1968, a total of about 15,000 was reported (Nyirenda, 1981;
Waniewicz, 1972).
In a study sponsored by UNESCO, Paul Neurath (1959, 1960) studied the effects of a Farm
Radio Forum project at Poona, India. He compared 145 forum villages with non-forum
villages. The forum lasted for ten weeks with a total of twenty programs. Each forum had
twenty members who came together twice a week to listen to a thirty-minute program on
subjects such as agriculture, health, and literacy. Forum members were interviewed before
and after the project as were samples of twenty adults from each of the control villages.
Each forum was visited and observed four times during the project. It was found that forum
members learned much more about the topics under discussion than did adults in villages
without forums. According to Neurath (1959):
Radio farm forum as an agent for transmission of knowledge has proved to be a success
beyond expectation. Increase in knowledge in the forum villages between pre- and
post-broadcasts was spectacular, whereas in the non-forum villages it was negligible. What
little gain there was occurred mostly in the non-forum villages with radio. (p. 105)
Abell ( 1968) conducted research into the effect of group listening to rural radio
forums in Ghana. Like Neurath's study, Abell's research was financed by UNESCO. Abell
selected the "Eastern Region of Ghana" for the experiment. Sixty experimental
forums were organized in forty villages, while forty more villages were designated as
controls. Twenty programs were broadcast once a week from December, 1964 to April, 1965
exclusively. Five programs dealt directly with agricultural problems while the rest took
up the problems of family living, national policy, and relationships with government. Each
forum met on the day of the broadcast and exchanged ideas on the topic, then listened to
the broadcast and discussed it. After the last session, forum members as well as the
control group (non-forum members) were interviewed on what they had learned from the
broadcasts. When the results were compared they revealed that forum members learned more
than the non-forum members.
Additionally, Jain (1969) conducted a study on the effect of rural radio forums. He
selected a number of villages in one area of India and formed in each one a volunteer
group of adult farmers. All the groups listened to a twenty-five minute recorded broadcast
on a topic of current rural interest; some followed it up with group discussion or
decision making or both. Others were only expected to listen and take no further action.
Tests were conducted after the broadcasts. The results showed that group listening
followed by group discussion was more influential in changing beliefs and attitudes
towards innovation than was group listening without discussion. Group decision making was
found to be an important factor as well. It enabled farmers to approach their problems in
a more informed fashion and to work together towards the solutions.
In 1956, the "Maharashtra Radio Forum" project was carried out in India. The
purpose was to determine if radio forums would work in India with rural audiences who were
largely illiterate, rarely exposed to radio, and unused to organized group discussion. The
objectives of the project were to stimulate discussion, increase participants' knowledge
and, if possible, have the activities result in decisions and actions to improve village
life (Bordenave, 1977; Mathur & Neurath, 1959; Sitaram, 1969). Interviewing was done
before, during, and after the broadcasts. The evaluation showed that some action was taken
by village groups, but that many group action decisions were never implemented because the
necessary materials were not available. For example, a decision was made to use
fertilizers on rice crops to increase productivity but, unfortunately, fertilizer was not
available. From the evaluation results, it was concluded that forum members learned a
great deal more than non-forum members. In amount of knowledge gained, illiterates did as
well as literates.
In tile Benin Republic, radio was used to educate rural peasant farmers in the 1960s.
The process involved the organization of small listening groups, called "Radio
Clubs," formation of national and departmental committees, use of village chiefs as
presidents of the radio clubs, and the use of animators as group leaders. Group
discussions were carried out after listening to the broadcasts, and the animators provided
reports on group discussions. After one-and-a-half years of experimentation, an
investigation was carried out to collect the reactions of the peasant farmers. As a result
of the investigation, the administration of the Agricultural Radio programs and
organization of the radio clubs was reformed. A national committee was formed to assume
the responsibility of planning the agricultural broadcasts calendar. Topics on rural life
and on general motivation were developed for the programs. Messages from the radio clubs,
and questions and answers of interest to the development of agriculture, al l formed
important themes for the radio programs. Department committees were also set up to make
recommendations to the national committee on topics and subjects for the radio broadcasts.
A year later, a national seminar was organized to evaluate the achievements of the
Agricultural Radio. "About 60 participants, mostly district heads and a few
operational heads, attended the seminar" (Anyanwu, 1978, p. 1). The results of the
evaluation revealed that rural radio is an effective instrument of information and
education among the rural peasants. Anyanwu concluded that:
Through education from the radio, the peasants have grown to understand how to work
better, even with the use of new implements which also require new techniques for the
development of agriculture. The success achieved in this direction has demonstrated that
through collective listening, discussion, and the use of audio-visual aids, the radio can
contribute substantially to the process of transformation of agricultural traditions, as
well as some social and economic attitudes in general (p. 15-16).
Punasiri and Griffin (1976) summarized the Farm Radio Forum Pilot project of Thailand.
The purpose of the project was to strengthen existing agricultural service and to obtain
qualitative data on the value of radio farm forums in facilitating communication between
the farmer audience and the extension service. The programs included interviews with
specialists, discussions from listening groups, announcements, and answering questions
from the groups. The evaluation was designed as an integral part of the project
activities. It used a number of methods to collect data, namely "weekly Radio Farm
Forum reports and attendance records; follow-up visits to villages; observation notes;
surveys of Radio Farm Forum leaders and members; survey of Provincial Level committee
members; post-project seminar with group leaders and final presentation to DOAE
(Department of Agricultural Extension)" (p. 6). The evaluation found that the two-way
flow of information between the farmer and the extension workers had improved . The
frequency of farmers' contact with extension agents increased as farmers felt that the
agents were trying to provide information directly relevant to their perceived needs.
Retention of information and overall learning were greatly improved because of high
interest in the content and the reinforcement of messages by various communication
channels such as radio, literature, and field visits by extension agents and technicians.
Finally, the extension staff and the farmer audience were found to be extremely
motivated by the Radio Farm Forum activity.
Education and Communication
Evaluation of communication programs, projects, and experiments have repeatedly shown
that radio can teach; it can present new concepts and information (Gaida & Searle,
1980; White, 1976, 1977; Leslie, 1978; Jamison & McAnany, 1978; Byram, Kaute, &
Matenge, 1980; Hall & Dodds, 1977; McAnany, 1976). In this regard, Sweeney and Parlato
(1982, p. 13) concluded that "...radio plays an effective educational role both as
the sole medium or in conjunction with print and group support."
For example, in a project for teaching mathematics by radio to school children in
primary grades in Nicaragua, students who were taught through radio lessons achieved
significantly higher scores in the final evaluation than those taught through regular,
face-to-face, classroom instruction. Rural students, tested against rural control groups,
benefited more than urban students tested against urban control groups (Gaida &
Searle, 1980). The project evaluators hypothesized that radio lessons were particularly
effective in raising the level of knowledge of those who knew least, which in this case
were the rural students.
Using a format which combines entertainment, humor, and instruction, Kenya's nationwide
weekly radio program, "Giving Birth and Caring for Your Children," was measured
effective in educating the audience about modem child care practices (Hostetler, 1976;
Jamison & McAnany, 1978). The results indicated that more than one-half of those
interviewed listened for the educational content, while more than one-third listened for
the entertainment. The survey showed general recognition of the major theme (child care)
and a high recall on topics covered by the program.
A civic education project was organized in Botswana by a community college to provide
villagers with basic information about the government and its procedures about citizens'
rights and responsibilities. The radio programs were heard and discussed by listening
groups. Pre- and post-broadcast surveys revealed a definite increase in people's knowledge
and awareness of government and of ways people can participate in development processes
(Byram, Kaute & Matenge, 1980).
Dialogue and Innovation
The potential of radio to motivate listeners to take action, modify behaviour, and
undertake activities is evident in the literature reviewed thus far. In some cases, radio
has been used effectively to advise populations of new government policies and to
encourage discussion, feedback, and eventual support for new measures. Radio has also been
used to promote community development, innovation, and other programs in which self-help
and community participation are essential (Bryam, Kaute & Matenge, 1980; Cassirer,
1977; Punasiri & Griffin, 1976). There is some evidence to suggest that radio alone
can bring about results (Ray, 1978; Cooke & Romweber, 1977). Other reports have
examined the results of radio when used in conjuntion with some form of interpersonal
support such as discussion/study groups, printed materials, or contact with extension
workers (Cerqueira, Casanueva, Ferrer, Fontanot, Chavey, & Flores, 1979; Bordenave,
1977), and found them to be very efficient and effective.
While most communication and education experts agree that radio can play an important
role in inducing change, the ability to bring about such change using radio alone remains
controversial. Sweeney and Parlato (1982, p. 16) state that "...established theories
of communication hold that human interaction is necessary at some point in getting
individuals to adopt innovations."
It should be noted that most of the evaluation studies reporting change in behaviour
were based on self-reported action by those interviewed, rather than by independent
observation. Accordingly, the potential of radio has been particularly difficult to
ascertain on this issue. Nonetheless, there is some evidence about change and actions
produced by radio in developing countries. For example, a five-year "Basic Village
Education" project was carried out in two geographic areas of Guatemala in 1973. The
purpose of the project was to change farming practices and improve production through a
constant flow of information (Ray, 1978). Reviewing the evaluation, Sweeney and Parlato
(1982) concluded that
For the Spanish-speaking farm area, radio alone was an adequate source of information,
much of which was translated into action. For the less developed area, a mixture of radio
and home visits by a field worker and an agricultural specialist worked best. (p. 16)
Further, the "Radio Farm Forum Pilot Project" of Thailand (Punasiri &
Griffin, 1976) concluded that (the crucial element of radio forums was the opportunity
they afforded members to exchange experiences and ideas and to participate in group
problem solving. The two-way flow of information between farmer and extension worker
improved retention and overall learning of participants because of it high interest in
content of' broadcasts and the opportunity for discussion. Messages were reinforced by
various communication channels such as radio, literature, and field visits by extension
agents and technicians. Agricultural broadcasting was made relevant to farmer problems
through the exchange of ideas and problem-solving discussions.
A study of nutrition education in rural Mexico compared the effectiveness of a mass
media group (radio with posters and pamphlets) with a direct education group (teachers and
audio-visuals) in transmitting nutrition concepts. The study included three geographic
areas with similar characteristics, all in the same state. Villagers in one area were
taught by radio. In a second area, the method was the regular, face-to-face classroom
instruction by teachers. The third area was a control, not taught directly by radio or
teachers. They were not made aware of the radio programs but some of them could have
listened to them. Knowledge of nutrition concepts was evaluated immediately after
instruction and three months later. One year later, charges in diet were studied. The
evaluation showed that nutrition concepts were learned equally well using mass media and
regular, face-to-face classroom instruction. Both groups reported a positive change in
food consumption habits. It was observed that radio messages w ere more uniform than the
regular face-to-face methods of education, as messages were received in identical format
by all listeners. Also style of presentation and content did not vary as they did from
teacher to teacher indicating the uniqueness and uniformity of educational radio in
teaching disadvantaged adults in developing countries (Cerqueira et al., 1979; Sweeney
& Parlato, 1982).
Discussion
Many writers have proposed that educational radio can be most effective when supported
by trained facilitators, group learning, group discussion (dialogues), feedback, and the
use of multimedia approaches. For example, Perraton ( 1978) argued that trained
facilitators must be used in order to successfully utilize educational radio. Similarly,
Higgs and Mbithi (1977) contend that a "good program has to be backed by careful
training of trainers, preparation of training materials and continuous improvements in
these" (p. 42). Perraton ( 1978) stated that group learning is more effective than
individual learning and that group discussion is an effective method of learning from
radio. The facilitator must converse with students in order to emphasize the main points
covered by radio programs as well as to provide feedback where necessary. The facilitator
must ensure that programs are supported by visual demonstrations, that groups are
cohesive, and that discussions are carried out effectively by employing techniques of
group discussion (Daniel & Marquis, 1983; Moore, 1983). Also, multi-media such as
print materials, posters, films, and chalk boards, must be used to elaborate the main
points to students.
Based upon experience with the Open University, Sewart (1983) claimed the study centres
where students interact, help each other, replay programs, and opportunities for practical
experiments are important. The study centre aids the effectiveness of educational radio
and acts as a link between the institution and the local community in which it is
embedded.
Neil (1981) contends that educational radio can only be effectively utilized by
employing the following techniques:
- Using educators with long (and preferably recent) experience of living in rural areas.
- Communicating, in detail and continually, with the leaders of village learning groups
where these exist.
- Paying careful attention to, and learning from, the work of local communities or other
organized groups (for example, farmers, agricultural, and health service radio
broadcasters).
- Working through valid intermediaries such as chiefs or headmen in villages, i.e.,
through established and accepted social structures.
- Encouraging illiterate people to communicate their ideas and concerns through trusted
and better educated villagers, who can act as scribes if required.
Finally, Bates (1982) argues that it is important to identify clearly the primary
target audience in order to select appropriate production styles and transmission
arrangements which are best suited to that audience. He reviews some research which
"...supports the use of dramatization for reaching the disadvantaged" (p. 48).
Conclusion
It is recognized that there is no single "best" format for utilizing
educational radio. This paper has examined some of the literature describing various
applications of educational radio in developing countries in order to determine general
lessons which can be learned from those experiences but not to argue that any particular
format or approach is ideal. Each situation in which educational radio is employed will be
unique in some important ways which will impact instructional design considerations.
Regrettably, many of the studies which have investigated the effectiveness of
educational radio have not been carefully designed and their results must be considered
with some caution. Nonetheless, there is considerable support for the view that radio is
an effective medium of instruction and its widespread availability developing countries
underscores its educational potential and importance.
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