The Beginnings of Peace Corps Programming

In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 365, Issue 1, p. 46-54

Abstract

Sargent Shriver took early action to ensure that a continuing review of ideas and approaches would be an integral part of the Peace Corps—the Evaluation Division, the five-year staff-tenure limitation, and utilization of professionals on leave-of-absence for staff positions. Peace Corps programs and programming are the products of this environment of insti tutionalized uncertainty. The major problem of Peace Corps programming is that it deals with volunteers, who can serve only in programs requested by a host country. By 1963, it was clear that the average Volunteer was a recent liberal-arts col lege graduate. The programmer's task became primarily the definition of this generalist's role. Most Volunteers can be grouped under five program models: four generalist and one technical. The reasons for the generally better success of the generalist programs are that the generalist is (1) well educated, (2) more responsive to training, (3) more analytical, and (4) more flexible. To solve the major weakness of the generalist— inability to deal with complex technical problems—the Peace Corps has instituted pyramid programming: a few technically skilled Volunteers and a large number of generalists working together. Other problems which still confront the generalist are described for the four models: coteaching, Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), community development, and secondary-education teaching.—Ed.