Innovation of the Adult Learning Organizational Forms in Minority Areas of China

Abstract. In recent years， theeducation in minority areas of China encounters a lot of problems when attaining a great development. For example， organizational form is single； learning contents are in shortage of practical use and poor in adaptability； the principal role of the learners is not played enough； the persistence and development of the learning of learners are insufficient， etc. Therefore， how to make an exploration on thelearning organizational form beyond normal schooling system according to the traditions， learning characteristics and learning demands of adults in minority areas of China as well as the special local educational and ecological environments has been particularly urgent. In the handicraft industrial cluster of Xinhua Village of Dali of Yunan Province， a learning community has been formed based on apprentice system， thus playing an important role in training personnel training and promoting local economic development， and also providing a beneficial enlightenment for the innovation of thelearning organizational form in minority areas of China.

Keywords： Adult Learning； Organization； Innovation

1. Necessities for the Innovation of Adult Learning Organizational Form in Minority Areas

1.1. General situation of thelearning organization in minority areas

According to investigations， the learning of most adults to learn skills is not conducted at school， but mainly sources from their forefathers or acquired from apprentice system. However， the learning is usually superficial， scattered and casual. Some traditional national crafts， skills and arts with unique local characteristics are mainly inherited within a family， but have not been effectively organized.

1.2. Special characteristics ofeducation environment in minority areas

The economic and social developments in minority areas are still relatively backward， and also the poverty population takes a larger proportion of the total population. In most minority areas， for natural and historical reasons， the basic staggered living pattern has been formed， and also the population of the people from minorities groups is small.

2. Successful Cases of Adult Learning Organizations in Minority Areas―Take the Handicraft Industrial Cluster in Xinhua Village， Dali， Yunan Province for Example

2.1. Overview of the handicraft industrial cluster in Xinhua Village， Dali， Yunan Province

Xinhua Village is an administrative village in Caohai Town of Heqing County of Dali of Yunnan Province. It has 1144 households as well as a total population of 5117. 98.5% of the population is the people from the Bai nationality. Since the ancient times， Xinhua Village has a long history in handicraft processing， which is centered at the techniques of the Bai nationality. In production， Xinhua Village cooperates with other villages mutually. Therefore， a stable and non-formal cooperation relationship is established in the long-term communication. Meanwhile， a production network， which is cored at Xinhua Village and takes Lijiang， Shangri-La， Kangting， Batang， Changdu， Lhasa， Bayi Town， Xishuangbanna and Wenshan as key nodes， is formed in a wider scope. There are more than 1300 people in Lhasa， 600-1000 people in Shangri-La County， about 3000 people （handicraftsmen） in Heqing County by July 2010. These people mainly work in the commercial and handcraft industries.

2.2. Common learning community based on apprentice system

Xinhua village is not only a simple nationality handicraft industrial cluster. In the long-term practice， a common learning community based on apprentice system has been formed， and this is also the original driving force of Xinhua village to attain development and expansion and continuously make a progress.

2.2.1 Apprentice system with unique characteristics

Through the continuous explorations and accumulations from generation to generation， a life and education model oriented at carrying forward the handcraft culture is formed in Xinhua Village. In the local apprentice inheritance system， the majorities of the apprentices are the young who have received basic education partially or completely； after selecting a worshiped master and agreed by the master， a formal master-acknowledge ceremony is held for establishing the master and apprentice relationship. Apprentices live and learn skills under the arrangement of the master. In the impartation and practice of skills， the masters work and impart skills to the apprentices simultaneously through their own conducts and instructions. Then， the apprentices work under the guidance of the masters， and carefully understand and think over the skills in the "doing" process. Along with the increase of the difficulty in work， the imparted skills from the masters will be higher with a gradual step. The time limit for the apprentice system is generally three years.

2.2.2 Characteristics of apprentice inheritance model

Compared with vocational education at school， the apprentice inheritance model in Xinhua Village has obvious advantages， which can be mainly reflected from the following aspects.

2.2.2.1 Teaching apprentices in accordance with their aptitude

Apprentice system is a face-to-face educational way between master and apprentice， and is beneficial to improving the individual professional ethics， techniques and skills， thus meeting the principle of teaching apprentices in accordance with their aptitude.

2.2.2.2 Situational teaching process

Apprentice educational model is a situational teaching， which can enhance the learners' interest in study and improve the learning effect.

2.2.2.3 Teaching organization is of sociality

In the common learning process between different apprentices， apprentices become "legal" participants， but not passive learners.

2.2.2.4 Gradual teaching method

In the skill impartation， masters can guide apprentices from shallow to deep through observation， implication and feedback models， etc. In the early learning， masters invest greater energy to provide guidance and demonstration. Along with the development of the apprentice ability， the guidance from master is reduced gradually， providing a space for apprentices to make exploration and innovation independently.

2.3. Common learning community under a primary industry cluster

By 2005， the number of the households in handicraft processing in Xinhua village had reached 896， accounting for 81%； the number of employees had reached 1362， accounting for 50% of the total labor of the village. The production pattern （one village， one industry； one household， one product brand） comes into being， in which every household owns skills and workshops. In fact， however， this production pattern is an industrial cluster， which is composed by multiple "learning communities" with workshop as unit.

2.3.1 Characteristics of common learning community in Xinhua village

Common learning community in Xinhua village has its own characteristics： （1） primary； （2） blending between life and learning； （3） majored at situational learning.

2.3.2 Social effects of common learning community in Xinhua village

Social effects of common learning community in Xinhua village can be reflected from the following aspects. First， it brings about economic benefit. In the practice of Xinhua village， new rural development model， which is oriented at the driving of national handicraft industry， has been explored. On the basis of developing national handicraft industry， small town construction and tourism industry promote and develop with each other. In 2008， the total economic revenue of Xinhua village as a whole reached 43.58 million RMB； the income per capita reached 4023 RMB. Second， it brings about personnel training effect. The establishment of common learning community in Xinhua village provides a practical training base for the transfer of rural surplus labors and the non-schoollearning. Through the continuous exchanges and learning between the industrials groups， a number of folk craft masters with superb techniques have been trained. These masters introduce the excellent techniques from other nationalities and hence continuously make reforms and innovations.

3. Ideas for the Innovation of Adult Learning Organization in Minority Areas