Large-group capacitation is an
adult education
Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...
and
social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...
concept associated with the Brazilian
sociologist Clodomir Santos de Morais
Clodomir Santos de Morais (30 September 1928 – 25 March 2016) was a Brazilian sociologist who originated the Organization Workshop (OW) and the associated Activity-based Large Group Capacitation Method (LGCM).
In the 1940s and 1950s de Mora ...
, and grounded in the "activity" of the individual and the social psychology of the large group.
[de Morais Chapter 3 in ] When applied to the context of the
Organization Workshop (OW), which, historically, has been used mainly for the purpose of job creation and income generation, it is known as Metodología da Capacitação Massiva (MCM) in
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, Método de Capacitación Masiva (MCM) in Spanish and as Large-Group Capacitation Method (LGCM)
in English.
Coinage
The English term capacitation is a translation of the
latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
terms
''capacitação'' (Portuguese)/
''capacitación'' (Spanish).Capacitation marks the generic difference between
transitive and
intransitive
In grammar, an intransitive verb is a verb whose context does not entail a direct object. That lack of transitivity distinguishes intransitive verbs from transitive verbs, which entail one or more objects. Additionally, intransitive verbs are ...
modes of
learning
Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, value (personal and cultural), values, attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals, and some machine learning, machines ...
and
communicating
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
implicit in de Morais' aphorism
''se aprende, porém não se capacita'' (Portuguese) : "
he traineelearns, but is not capacitated". Capacitation, – from
''capacitação'' (Portuguese) -, here, is reminiscent of the adult education concept of
''conscientization'' – from
''conscientização'' (Portuguese) -, popularized by Brazilian theorist, activist and a lifelong friend of Clodomir's,
Paulo Freire
Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (19 September 1921 – 2 May 1997) was a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy. His influential work ''Pedagogy of the Oppressed'' is generally considered one of the foundat ...
. While Freire's work was translated into English as early as 1970,
de Morais'
Organization Workshop (OW) – and, hence, moraisean large-group capacitation (LGC) – did not come to the attention of the English-speaking public until the mid-80s, when the Chilean Social Psychologists I. & I. Labra moved to
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
and transferred the method to the (southern) African context. Latino texts were initially translated on an 'ad hoc' basis, including the 'dictionary' translation of
''capacitación'' (Spanish) as
''training'' (English). Cherrett's 1992 first ever translation into English of de Morais' ''Apuntes de Teoría de la Organización'', also, was still referred to as a "Training" Manual.
It was not until the ALFA International Conference in Manchester, UK, in 1998, attended by de Morais and academics from four European and four Latin American Universities, that a consensus was reached on the dedicated terms Capacitation and Large Group Capacitation (LGC).
Capacitation in community health, adult education and international development
Capacitation (outside the field of
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
) has been used previously, in English, mainly to emphasize educational content which differs from and/or transcends the basic meaning of the English one-size-fits-all
''training''. In some sectors of
Community health Community health refers to simple health services that are delivered by laymen outside hospitals and clinics. Community health is also the subset of public health that is taught to and practiced by clinicians. Community health volunteers and communi ...
, "capacitation" is said to be synonymous with ''empowering training''.
Capacitation has also historically been used in the area of
adult education
Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...
, starting with
Paulo Freire
Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (19 September 1921 – 2 May 1997) was a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy. His influential work ''Pedagogy of the Oppressed'' is generally considered one of the foundat ...
, who, in the seventies, uses the term "Technical Proficiency Capacitation" to refer to a (n adult) learning activity which can ''"never be reduced to the level of mere training"''. In the eighties,
Capacitation is defined, by the
ILO
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...
, as: ''"availability of opportunities for people to build up their capacities to move from the status of object and passive victims of social processes to the status of subjects guided by self-consciousness and active agents of change"''. The
UNRISD
The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is "an autonomous research institute within the United Nations that undertakes multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on the social dimensions of contemporary develo ...
(Geneva) had started (in the seventies) to promote the term
capacitation as a "problem-solving, educational" alternative to the then prevalent but mainly pragmatic 'social amelioration' approaches to
International development
International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications ...
.
Jan Nederveen Pieterse
Jan Nederveen Pieterse is a Dutch-born scholar whose work centers on global political economy, development studies and cultural studies. He currently serves as the Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Distinguished Professor of Global Studies and Sociolo ...
contrasts ''"capacitation"''/''human development'', as proposed by ''alternative'' or
''autonomous'' (aka self-development) theorists – (such as e.g. Korten, 1990; Max-Neef, 1991; Rahman, 1993 and Carmen, 1996), – with ''"development-as -economic growth"'' theorists' for whom, according to Pieterse, ''
capital accumulation
Capital accumulation is the dynamic that motivates the pursuit of profit, involving the investment of money or any financial asset with the goal of increasing the initial monetary value of said asset as a financial return whether in the form o ...
'' is the ultimate Development objective. By the mid-nineties, any mention of ''capacitation'' had virtually disappeared from the
International Development
International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications ...
scene, to be replaced by the
World-Bank-sponsored ''
Capacity Building
Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...
'' discourse. Although de Morais worked for many years with a range of UN and International Agencies, his
"Activity"-based pedagogy never became common currency there, possibly, as Sobrado suggests, because of, among others, its then presumed "Evil Empire" pedigree.
Moraisean large-group capacitation (LGC): overview
The major theoretical influence, acknowledged by de Morais,
in the development of the LGC concept and method, is the work of
Aleksei N. Leontiev specifically his concept of ''Objective(ized) Activity'' which means that, in order to change the mind-set of individuals, we need to start with changes to their activity – and/or to the object that "suggests" their activity. ''Objective(ized) Activity'' is at the core of what Labra has referred to as ''"another"'' tradition of Social Psychology, namely the
Cultural-historical Activity Theory
Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) is a theoretical framework which helps to understand and analyse the relationship between the human mind (what people think and feel) and activity (what people do). It traces its origins to the founders of ...
-based branch of Social Psychology, which sets it apart from mainstream (behaviorist/
lewinian Social Psychology of small groups. The 'locus' of activity-based LGC is the
Organization Workshop(OW), a learning event where participants, applying
social division of labor Social division of labor, one of the two aspects of the division of labor, is the social structural foundation of the specialized commodity production divided between industries, firms, and occupations of workers (otherwise known as the ''technical ...
principles, master new organizational knowledge and skills through a
learning-by-doing approach. In OW-learning, the trainer's role is merely subsidiary (known as "
scaffolding
Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...
" in
Activity Theory
Activity theory (AT; russian: link=no, Теория деятельности) is an umbrella term for a line of eclectic social-sciences theories and research with its roots in the Soviet psychological activity theory pioneered by Sergei Rubinste ...
). In other words, it is not the trainer/instructor ''who'' teaches, but "the object ''that'' teaches". Moraisean capacitation, then...''"involves several elements: mastery of a practical experience, perhaps with some theoretical guidance but at least with some theoretical insight; an element in which the object itself ''guides'' or influences the subject's understanding in the course of the activity; a process of critical reflection on action and on motives of action. Crucially, it always involves working with ''the whole'' and not a small part of the system"''.
History of application
![MatzOW1992](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/MatzOW1992.jpg)
The insights that gave rise to what came to be known as the moraisean Large Group Capacitation Method (LGCM)
were an unanticipated consequence of a 30-day course, in 1954, for a large group of the
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Nordeste do Brasil; ) is one of the five official and political regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises n ...
Peasant Leagues' middle-level leadership to study Brazilian
Agrarian reform Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land (see land reform) or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land re ...
law. The group met under clandestine conditions at a family home normally accommodating 7 people, in a heavily policed part of
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
(Brazil). Through the early 1960s de Morais staged workshops of an experimental character throughout the northeast of Brazil. After he was forced into exile following the 1964
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
, he worked as
ILO
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...
Agrarian Reform Regional Advisor for Central America, and later under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
), he was able to launch a multitude of 'Experimental Laboratories' (later called Organization Workshops in the Southern Africa version of the method). From 1973 he applied the emerging method to peasants' capacitation within the
Agrarian reform Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land (see land reform) or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land re ...
Program of
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
: over three years more than 200 workshops took place, with participation of more than 24000 peasants and government officers from around the region. Over the years de Morais worked as consultant and/or director with the
UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
,
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
, and
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...
. Elsewhere the OW has been sponsored by
Hivos
Hivos ( nl, Humanistisch Instituut voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking, Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation) is an international cooperation organization, with its global office in The Hague, The Netherlands. Hivos provides support to civil ...
,
Norwegian People's Aid
Norwegian People's Aid ( no, Norsk Folkehjelp) was founded in 1939 to provide post-conflict reconstruction assistance and humanitarian relief during conflicts. NPA is now engaged in more than 33 countries in de-mining, humanitarian relief, promot ...
,
terre des hommes
Terre des hommes, also Terre des Hommes (''Land of People'' or ''Land of Men''), is an international children's rights charitable humanitarian umbrella organization under the aegis of the International Federation of Terre des Hommes (TDHIF), wit ...
,
Concern Worldwide
Concern Worldwide (often referred to as Concern) is Ireland's largest aid and humanitarian agency. Since its foundation 50 years ago it has worked in 50 countries. According to its latest annual report, Concern helped 28.6 million of the world's ...
, Redd Barna and, recently e.g. in South Africa, the Seriti Institute, Soul City Institute and government departments such as South Africa's Department of Social Development. The OW, in a variety of local, regional and national applications, and in different formats, has spread, over the years, to Costa Rica, Mexico, Panamá, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Brazil, the Caribbean, a number of African countries as well as Europe.
[. Part III – The OW in Practice; ; ; PPT Recap]
''"50 years of Organisation Workshop"''
/ref>
See also
*
*
*
* (CHAT)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Publications
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Notes and references
{{reflist
External links
*
Kwanda Amsterdam
Netherlands, 2015.
* Andersson, Gavin (2013
"Unbounded Organization" Part 1Part 2
Gavin Andersson on Kurt Lewin and Lev Vygotsky, 30 May 2013. Part 1 & 2.
* Germinadora Project, 2014. (Spanish
Capacitacion Masiva y Germinadora 2014 – Large Group Capacitation and the Germinadora Project 2014 – Costa Rica
* Labra, Iván (2012) (bi-lingual en-es)
Consciousness is in the Act
* Labra, Iván (2012) (bi-lingual en-es)
The Organization Workshop
Adult education
Cognitive psychology
Learning methods
Social change
Training