Future Manifestations of the Old: Exploring the Potential of Radio Learning in Building Social Capital in Malawi

A rapid response in the provision of high quality education at all levels is urgently required of educational communities and governments. Hence, universal primary education has been registered as a top priority on the agenda of the international community in the modern era. To this effect the United Nation’s goal is to ensure that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality (Unesco, 2000). Although the driving force behind the international community’s Education For All (EFA) initiative has been economic factors, more concern is now being placed on the wider benefits of education - for example, the creation of social networks which in turn reinforce people’s aspirations to learn. The benefits of education and, by extension, the benefits of educational technology, are now being seen with increasing awareness of the problems of focusing unduly on narrow interpretations of human capital and on investment on the supply side. Education For All can be viewed as a conscious effort by the international community to expand individuals’ participation in local social structures for achieving social capital - social networks, the reciprocities that arise from them, and the values of these for achieving mutual goals (Schuller et al., 2000).