Planning Responsibly for Adult Education: A Guide to Negotiating Power and Interests

This book goes beyond the standard focus on the technical skills of "how to" and explains the key challenges of planning in the real world of conflicting interests and power relations. Ronald M. Cervero and Arthur L. Wilson reveal planning as a social activity and show that successful planners must be sensitive to the complexities of actual planning practice. They also show how political knowledge and negotiating skill, coupled with an ethical vision, are essential to responsible planning for the education of adults. In detailed case examples drawn from different types of organizational settings-including corporations, institutions, and community organizations-the authors illustrate how all educational programs are ultimately constructed through the negotiation of interests among key stakeholders. They explore the ways in which program planners can anticipate how the existing power relations are likely to support or constrain a democratic planning process-and then respond in ways to foster such a process. Throughout the book, the authors reinforce an essential truth: theories do not plan programs-people do.Ronald M. Cervero is the author of 'Planning Responsibly for Adult Education: A Guide to Negotiating Power and Interests', published 1994 under ISBN 9781555426286 and ISBN 155542628X.