Adult Education Policy in Micro‐states: The Case of the Caribbean

This paper contends that adult education reveals the peculiar constraints and limitations faced by small states. Some of which are the products of smallness itself, and others being a function of dependence, marginality, and the lack of resources. Many of the difficulties of policy formation point, not to size, but to lack of political will, the absence of inventive genius, and the preoccupation with traditional approaches by public policymakers. The paper also argues that adult education must be seen as a developmental imperative rather than a remedial necessity by small states. The failure to develop a strategic adult education policy which focuses on the “human capital” dimension of the modernizing mission is resulting not only in the failure of that modernization effort in critical core areas of the economy, but in a crisis of legitimacy of the small island state itself. Micro‐states have special opportunities to develop tightly integrated adult education programs, design innovative participatory pedagogues and maximize the creative use of educational infrastructure and resources as part of broader social development initiatives. Adult education should be closely related to the developmental needs of the micro‐state and civic society and should promote the expansion of democratic space, social justice, and local entrepreneurial creativity.