Education is a task that thrives on innovation and change. Because both learners and the context change from event to event, and because successful education should by definition result in change even to the individual learner, there is a tendency amongst educators to underestimate the need to develop continuity from one programme to another.
Continuing Shortages of Resources
Amongst other problems that this has caused, has been a shortage of skilled adult education practitioners in the sphere of voter and civic education. In addition, there is only a limited transferral of best practices and lessons learned and materials available from one election to another. It is remarkable how even a simple but recorded piece of material finds its way into programme after programme around the world. While this might be as a result of the efficacy of that particular piece of material, it seems more related to the shortage of information and materials in general circulation.
Those electoral authorities that have been able to develop continuity have been able to run programmes that proceed through the entire cycle of needs assessment, development of objectives and educational strategy, implementation, evaluation and reassessment necessary to establish an ongoing educational curriculum. Other authorities are forced to rely again and again on external technical support and expertise.
Documentation is Better than Nothing
Continuity is achieved in part by good documentation, and in part by having access to people who have experience. But some continuity can only be achieved by the development of an institution or organisation that can exist between programmes and that can develop through its own marrow the lessons which must be taken forward.
Establish Some Responsible Institution
For this to happen, countries must charge either the election authority or some other statutory body to conduct voter and civic education programmes. Russia, Ukraine and Mexico provide a few examples of permanent election bodies that have been given a legal mandate to undertake on-going voter or civic education activities. Such bodies may only have a small staff, but having such a body will mean that many of the record keeping and procedural matters that have been detailed in this section can be delegated to it without a fear that programme expertize will be lost. It is the establishment of such bodies with state support, irrespective of the strength of civil society - unless it can reliably be anticipated that civil society will be able to sustain these bodies - that educators should give their attention to when they are able to lift their eyes from the immediate tasks. [1]
Notes:
[1] Some societies may choose to establish funding mechanisms which enable civil society organisations promoting democracy to obtain state funds without undue state oversight; others may establish statutory organisations or give these functions to the electoral authority or existing state departments. Whichever is chosen, it will be essential to maintain a separation between the promotion of democracy and a democratic state, and the promotion of a particular government of the day.
