Dialogic education and the schemas to guide dialogue: an example from malaria research in Guinea

This article first reviews the importance of dialogical education in general and in malaria control specifically. Dialogical education requires knowledge of how people think as well as what people think. Through a mutual appreciation of the educators' and learners' respective frame of reference, the intended learners may come to appreciate differences between the educators' and learners' viewpoints and the ways these differences may constrain understanding and acceptance of new knowledge and practices. Dialogical education is presented as a means by which all involved in health education (professionals and non-professionals, those educating on-the-job, and those doing it informally) may be involved in health education. The appropriate presentation of research findings is central to the task of preparing for dialogical education. This article then discusses the discovery and the presentation of a culture's schemas. Schemas are concisely stated formulations of cultural orientation. They are core principles and rules. The schemas of the intended learner are critical for the educator to know so as to educate in a dialogic mode, to motivate acceptance and understanding. The schemas for malaria held by the Fulani of Guinea, West Africa, are presented as a case in point for a presentation of research findings in a form that is concise, comprehensible, accessible, and useful for nourishing dialogical education.