LECTURE THREE Development Communication Definition Approaches and Role

LECTURE THREE Development Communication: Definition, Approaches, and Role in Community Development By Seth Awuku Manteaw, Ph. D (Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Ghana)

Background The place of communication in the development process has long been recognized Leher (1958) classified mass media growth as one of the three phases of democratic political development. The other two are urbanisation and literacy. Schramm (1964) in his attempt to establish the relationship between mass media and national development listed 12 things the mass media can do in the task of national development. The mass media widen horizons, focus attention, raise aspiration, create a climate for development, help change strongly held attitude/values, feed the interpretation channels, confer status, broaden the policy dialogue, enforces social norms, help form tasks, affect attitude, help in all types of education and training.

Development and Communication from the Perspectives of Development Communicators Development, though seen from different angles means one basic thing to all people- a change for the better, in the human, cultural, socio-economic and political conditions of the individual and the society at large. Communication, on the other hand, is not the mechanical transfer of facts and figures as the mathematical model of communication (Shannon and Weaver, 1949) would appear to indicate. It is also not talking at people, it is an interactive process that works in a circular, dynamic and ongoing way (Hiebert et al, 1985) It is talking with people a process with no permanent sender and no permanent receiver. The roles of sending and receiving change hands. This implies freedom, equality and shared interest. The new concept of communication, called the humanised democratic-interactive model, places emphasis on how people use communication or messages. It stresses genuine dialogue, free and proportioned opportunity to exert mutual influences and rejects the idea that persuasion is the main role of communication.

What then is Development Communication? It is the application of the processes of communication to the development process It is the use of the principles and practices of exchange of ideas to fulfill development objectives It is the art and science of human communication applied the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people (Rosario-Braid, 1979) It is heavily oriented towards the human aspects of development. It plays two roles: transformation role (seeks social change in terms of higher quality of life and social justice) and socialisation role ( strives to maintain some of the established values of society that are consonant with development)

What then is Development Communication? (cont’d) It creates an enhancing atmosphere for exchange of ideas that produces a good balance in social and economic advancement between physical output and human relationships. Development communication shows a strong correlation between communication and development. Studies by Lerner (1958) in 50 countries showed that media participation highly correlated with literacy, urbanisation and political participation Many development specialists believe that the main factor of production in modern times, is information-seen as knowledge, education or human capital (Parker, 1977)

Approaches to Development Communication There are three main approaches to implementing development communication activities. The: The Interpersonal Approach; The Mass Media Approach; and The Integrated Approach.

The Interpersonal Approach uses two methods. The: Extension and Community Development Method; and Ideological and Mass Mobilisation Method

The Extension and Community Development method This is the oldest method of using communication to generate development. It is oriented towards rural development, although it can also apply to sub-urban and urban development The main thrust of the method is the dissemination of useful and practical information on agriculture, home economics, health and sanitation etc through face-toface method of communication The method assumes that rural communities are interested in new ideas and practices in order to improve their living conditions

The Extension and Community Development method (cont’d) The basic tenet of this method is that there are no solutions to problems that are imposed on local communities from the outside and that local communities must first arrive at the problem definition and then its solution on their own The communicator is to be closely identified with the local community as possible One of the countries where this method has been used in India where the premise is that the individual rural family and the communities can be guided to the path of development

The Ideological and Mass Mobilisation method In this method, the channels are activated not by development agents, but by the political party cadres. This is because this method sees development, especially rural development, as a process which begins with a radical change in the political orientation of the people The main function of development communication is therefore seen as that of “promoting and heightening” the political consciousness (awareness) of the people The primary goal of this method is the ability of workers and peasants to be self-reliant through the mobilisation of internal resources An African country best known for this method is Tanzania where ideological messages in rural development communication originate from the main political party (Tanganyika African Union Party)

The Mass Media Approach This approach involves the: Centralised Mass Media Method; and Localised Mass Media Method

The Centralised Mass Media method This method emphasises centralised control for both mass media infrastructure and the direction and flow of mass media messages It relies wholly on the mass media for its message flow and almost completely ignores the interpersonal system Because it uses the mass media for dissemination, its coverage potential is substantial and the messages are of a general nature, although there might be something relevant to different segments of the society. In this method, programmes/messages are planned, produced and disseminated by “experts” and programme officers in the urban headquarters of the media organisation with very little or no reference to the views of receiving audiences The result is that message contents are usually at variance with the felt needs of the people and therefore, have very little chance of succeeding

The Localised Mass Media method This method derives its strength from the Democraticparticipant Media theory (Mc. Quail, 1983) and puts emphasis on interaction with the people, and establishment of local media channels to provide access for them The starting point of this method is the identification of the problem of the people through personal calls, meetings and discussions by media personnel Because of the need for specificity in message content, this method calls for the establishment of local medialocal radio, rural press and television production or viewing centres. Each of these provides access and opportunities for participation of the rural population in the planning and production of development messages

The Integrated Approach This approach combines interpersonal and mass media approaches and, thus, avoids their limitations and problems, but takes advantage of their potentials The interpersonal component involves the use the extension and community development method as well as the ideological and mass mobilisation method while the mass media component involves the use of the centralised and localised methods All these are then linked up with traditional or indigenous channels and modes of communication. Such indigenous channels of communication include village drama, concert party plays, theatre for development and storytelling

The Integrated Approach (cont’d) These indigenous media channels besides entertaining audiences, bring out important lessons, which serve as platforms for education and awareness creation The thrust of the integrated approach is to feed the interpersonal and traditional networks with information that would generate discussions To feed the interpersonal channels, development communication depends on the mass media which have the potential for rapid dissemination and wide-area coverage The limits of the interpersonal channel are soon reached, if development takes on a national character. Then the importance of the mass media becomes obvious. They have the power to disseminate messages rapidly across nation and able to change attitudes

The Integrated Approach (cont’d) Interpersonal channels lack these characteristics, but are relatively more effective in inducing attitude and behavioural change due to the impact of opinion leaders and of peer-group pressures. In rural or traditional societies, direct face-to-face communication is valued as the most reliable and authentic form of communication Hence the need for a communication model (integrated approach) that would link the mass media to interpersonal channels. As research has shown (Rogers, et al. , 1977), not only are two media better than one medium for effective communication, but also a combination of the mass media and interpersonal communication is better than using either alone.

Conclusion Development communication is not merely concerned with providing information on development activities. It plays a more important role of creating an atmosphere for understanding how new ideas fit into the real social situation in which people operate. Its ultimate goal is to serve as a catalyst for local development activities, planning implementation and local communication to smoothen the path to development

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