Whether
primitive or advanced, all societies have a form of adult education to prepare
people to deal with challenges of their society. From time to time people have
different challenges and problems that require them to make informed decisions
and take action. Each challenge has a set of solutions that come through
research efforts and initiative of entrepreneurial minds. Historically, all
societies transitioned through different epochs with different sets of
challenges. Adult education therefore can be explained as the bridge through
which people are trained or educated to cope with life and to solve challenges
or basically to be dedicated to finding solutions for solving societal problems
in all sectors of society; family, community, business, industry, health,
education, transport, art & entertainment and many more.
I
usually tell my colleagues and fellow academics who usually are looking for
ways of disqualifying adult education as a profession, that comparing
adult-education with education is the mistake any society can make and continue
to struggle with development. I always say that adult education is not
education, but development; adult education is about improving professional,
business and life skills. In this statement my goal is to divert the focus of
any audience from the classroom; with a teacher in front and students and
learners seated in rows and columns facing a black-board. To equate formal
education with adult education becomes a parochial view of adult education.
In saying
adult education is development it means, the learners and the teachers or adult
educators, who are usually unidentified by these terms but various other
industry or field specific terms, such as Manager, Projects Officer, Human
Resources Development Officer, Trainer, Community Development Officer,
Environmental Health Officer, Consultant, Counselor, Pastor, Evangelist, and
many other terms insignificantly used; are out there in every form of family
care, community and business arrangement. Adult education lives in every form
of development and business as long there is a requirement for imparting or
sharing knowledge, ideas, values, skills and attitudes necessary for life and
other development objectives.
An attempt on
conceptualizing adult education
There
is seldom a straightforward answer to the question on what adult education is
all about. Interestingly, even some of the ‘adult educators’ and students of
adult education fail to answer the question satisfactorily. The answer to this
question is simple. Adult education is development. It can therefore be
contextualized in various fields. The most crucial fact to note is that, adult
education exist to look into the problems bedeviling society and to find
solutions to such problems by helping people cope with the demands of
development and change. This happens through a process of knowledge and skills
transfer or transition.
In
principle, I will provide some scholarly definitions of adult education as
follows; The
Exeter Conference (1969) in Mushengyezi (2003) defines adult education as,
The process whereby persons who
no longer attend school regularly (unless full-time programmes are specially designed
for adults) undertake sequential and organized activities within a conscious
intention of bringing about changes in information, knowledge, understanding,
skills, appreciation and attitudes, to identify and solve personal or community
problems.
While
other definitions emphasize the nature of educational provisions, for example,
education provided as a second chance for those who missed education
opportunities during their prime years or continuing education for those who have
completed formal school (Lindeman,
2010). The Exeter Conference definition as cited in Mushengyezi
(2003) identifies the purpose of adult education. This is
critical in understanding the essence of adult education no matter how it is
provided, whether as formal or non-formal. The different definitions also
portray the dynamic trends in adult education practice, because historically,
adult education has evolved since pre-modern societies depending on the goals
and problems of different societies in different epochs.
A recent definition of adult
education by UNESCO as cited in Milana et al. (2017) specifies
broad aims of adult education as,
To
equip people with the necessary capabilities to exercise and realize their
rights and take control of their destinies. It promotes personal and
professional development, thereby supporting more active engagement by adults
with their societies, communities and environments. It fosters sustainable and
inclusive economic growth and decent work prospects for individuals. It is, therefore,
a crucial tool in alleviating poverty, improving health and well being and
contributing to sustainable learning societies.
This
definition is important because it links adult education with contemporary issues
such as economic growth, community development, socio-political development,
training and human resources development and poverty alleviation, which are crucial
for the quality of life and sustainable development.
Forms of adult
education found in societies:
Formal education
According
to Vermeersch & Vandenbroucke (2010:9), formal
education is that education which is “provided in the system of schools,
colleges, universities and other formal educational institutions that normally
constitute a continuous ‘ladder’ of education." Formal education signifies
an intentional process aimed at acquiring a certified qualification, which
leads to the next educational level.
Non-formal education
Non Formal Education refers to any
organised and sustained educational activities that take place both within and
outside educational institutions for persons of all ages. There are two
distinct features by which to define or identify non-formal education; the fact
that non-formal education does not directly involve certification or
assessment, and that its classes offer a potential bridge for the learner to
proceed to the formal education system (Cameron & Harrison, 2014).
These two forms of education are
crucial in the field of adult education because all programmes for adults fall
into this categorization. Formal education is vital in contemporary societies
because of governments’ mandate to provide education as a basic right for all.
However, non-formal education bridges the gap in circumstances that make it
impracticable for people to attend formal school. Knowles (2005) says that
adults are self-directing and goal-oriented. They need to learn at their own
pace and choose the areas of study they perceive as offering benefits and
solutions to problems in their life experiences. On the one hand, adult
education in primitive societies would automatically fall under non-formal education;
because of the lack of emphasis on certification and assessment as well as that
it is not organized around institutional frameworks. On the other hand,
developed societies have both forms of education to cater for diverse needs for
various target groups in society (Milana
et al., 2017).
Goals of adult education in
societies By
identifying the goals of adult education, it becomes apparent that all types of
societies have a form of adult education that helps them adapt to the needs of
that society. Adult education is a multifaceted and complex discipline. It is
multidisciplinary and it encompasses many subjects and interest areas to cater
for the divergent needs of all the people in the society as well as helping
people to adapt to the environment or to preserve it. The target groups for
adult education are also varied as expressed in the difficulty with which to
arrive at a universal definition of an adult or of adult education. Some of the
areas of adult education are, “Adult
Basic Education (teaching basic learning and survival skills to the
undereducated); continuing education efforts for personal and professional growth
and enrichment activities for the highly educated” (Vermeersch
& Vandenbroucke, 2010).
Adult education plays an
indirect but significant role in education and economic development of a
nation. Without adult education, it becomes difficult to have a wide range of
skills and knowledge to drive economic and social development. Adult education
also aims at increasing the quality of life of individuals by developing their
capacities; conceptual, analytic and functional competencies to improve
standards for individuals, families, communities, and societies. Collectively,
progressive societies contribute to the well being of a nation. Thus, adult
education is crucial for developing societies (Tokatly, 2017).
The development of adult education
Problems
of the primordial times required different approaches to contemporary world
problems. The industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th
century brought about tremendous shifts in ways of doing business and life in
general. That phase had its fair share of challenges for the adult population
of the time. The colonization of Africa, the World Wars, the Cold War, and
globalization are some of the historical phases that transformed people’s lives
in a big way. Problems that came along with these changes included diseases and
pandemics, illiteracy, poverty, injustices, and political reforms. In each
epoch there were educational reforms and approaches to help people transition
from one state to another and to solve these problems or adapt to challenges
these changes brought.
Educationists
like Albert Mansbridge in Britain around 1903, popularized University Extension
programmes for workers to address certain challenges of prejudiced workers of
the time. Paul Freire, beginning in Brazil popularized adult literacy
programmes to help workers to be able to read and write so that they could read
their world of misfortune and be able to write their own existence by
challenging the status quo. Julius Nyerere, in Tanzania also made a mark on the
history of Adult education in Africa by emphasizing on education for
development so that the people could acquire the necessary skills to actively
participate in the development of their lives, communities and the nation. That
could only come of out of a critical consciousness brought about by new
learning and acquisition of new knowledge, skills, attitudes and values- and
the vehicle to bring about this new learning among the adult population is
adult education.
Today’s
problems are different from the problems of the yesteryears. The tremendous
growth of the technological industry has swiftly turned the world and the way
of life. Globalization has also changed life and brought greater dependence of
people of the world on each other. The global challenge of climate change and the
need for environmental protection, speed of travel, communication and spread of
disease and pandemics calls for even greater cooperation. While there is need
for greater cooperation, the state of world politics and amount of conflicts in
other parts of the world pose even greater challenges and risks on the well-being, peace and security of the people of the world. Without a unified and
coordinated effort, this is overwhelming on individuals, families, businesses,
communities, and even states. Adult education, through research and development
efforts, attends to arising issues through educational reform,
research and training. Adult educators use various platforms and strategies in
achieving their goals. Educational efforts born out of this include formal and
non-formal programmes, institutional, informational and developmental
programmes; each type of programme being relevant in its targeted objectives, audience
and implementation.
Objectives of adult education range
from basic literacy to scientific, legal, professional, academic, informational
and technological literacies. The collection of these skills is functional
towards building a cohesive society. Adult education is also essential in
raising self-awareness and social consciousness of people in society- about
their socio-political and economic conditions to encourage them to be proactive
in the development of their society. Through adult education research, problems
and needs can be identified to bring about relevant solutions or interventions
to address the needs or problems in the society (Elias & Merriam, 1994).
For
purposes of clarity, I will present the brief historical background of adult
education in two selected countries; Zimbabwe and Britain. The development of
adult education in other countries could be traced historically for learning
purposes, but for the purpose of this paper, the two will suffice.
Brief historical background of
adult education in Zimbabwe
The
historical background of adult education in Zimbabwe can be divided into
pre-colonial, colonial and post-independence periods. The pre-colonial period
in Zimbabwe provides clear evidence that any society, whether primitive or
advanced has a form of adult education for its survival. Chihuri (2015) provides a similar framework
for presenting the forms of adult education that prevailed in these different
epochs. Adult education has endured each of these epochs being the centre of
knowledge and cultural transfer to pass on life skills, knowledge, attitudes
and values necessary for survival and continuity of society.
Centred on the philosophy of
Ubuntu/ Unhu, and constructivist ideas which emphasize on collectivity, family,
cooperation, human dignity, respect for elders and spirituality or piety,
knowledge and skills transfer was based on oracy or orality. Adult education
was mainly through experiential learning and sometimes through inspiration. The
essence of oral transmission of knowledge and skills in pre-modern societies is
embodied in the common African adage which says “…when an old man dies, a
library burns down” (Maina,
2012). Though there were some forms of undeveloped forms
of writing, paintings and art- knowledge, education and training were preserved
and transferred orally and active participation in events, festivities, daily
routines in the home and community (Ong,
1982).
The education of adults was
organized around daily activities, work, entertainment or leisure. People did
not go to school to learn to read and write or to take up courses. Life itself
provided non-formal educational activities that ensured the continuity of
traditions, cultures, language, and the quest for wisdom, skills and knowledge.
Examples of such activities include recruitment and training of warriors,
hunting, agriculture, family and community events or ceremonies. According
to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP),
"Indigenous People have a right to "revitalize, use, develop, and
transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions,
philosophies, writing systems and kinds of literature" (UN, 2007, Article
14). This provision by the United Nations indicates the importance of
traditional adult education systems of pre-modern societies. It is evidence of knowledge
and educational systems which were in existence.
Chihuri
(2015) says all activities in the society, be it entertainment, leisure and
work were laced with education and training components. For example, during
family time, men would gather around at the ‘dare’ which simply means meeting
place or court and women would also gather in the hut kitchens or around a
fireplace and share stories and folktales which were designed to inspire or to
educate others. Educational components were embedded in the folklores, poetry,
dance and festivities. The myths, taboos, idioms and metaphors, prevalent in indigenous
languages, culture and traditions were also meant to provoke thinking and
analysis of facts and situations as well as to sanction wrong doing and promote ethics and social values. Thus, wisdom was epitomized in such practices
and traditions. Even though the society might be considered to have been
primitive, the education of the time was organized around their life patterns and
it sustained them for many generations leading up to the initial interactions
with the European merchants.
The
interactions with European merchants around the 18th century leading
to the colonial period from 1850 to 1980 marked another phase in the history of
Zimbabwe. The settler regime, with their expectations and vision for the new
colony, brought a different system of education based on formal schooling and
literacy. This sudden development transformed the lives of the people hugely,
but because of bottlenecks and racial prejudices, many native people did not
directly benefit at the time. During the protracted struggle for independence,
people in rural areas were forced into 'keeps' which were colonial forms of settlement.
Those in the towns were also forced into manual labour in the manufacturing
industries. Thus the lifestyle and educational patterns of the pre-modern
societies were disrupted by this new arrangement (Clarke, 2005).
New forms
of adult education became more organized in the form of non-formal education.
Training programmes for workers in the white-owned industries and farms were
organized for the native workers. Most of the training for those working in
industries was in the form of on the job training (Duke, 1989).
During
the industrialization period in Zimbabwe around 1947, the new crop of literate
young adults completing the formal school soon joined the job market and at the
height of social injustices and racial segregation, there were new formations for
black conscientisation and revolutionary sentiments building through organized
labour. As the black masses increased
their fight against injustices and ill-treatment in the workplace, they began
to organize themselves in labour or workers unions. This phase represents
another wave of adult education by which workers received political education,
which drove most into revolutionary politics leading to the armed struggle for
independence (Sachikonye, 1990).
The war
also produced another form of adult education in the form of ‘Pungwe’ meetings,
which was meant to deliver political education to the masses to garner people’s
support for the war. Another form of adult education during this period was
religious education. A movement of native apostolic churches formed as the
people started shifting their focus from the white missionary led churches and Euro-centric
gospel.
After independence,
the new government of Zimbabwe embarked on education for all policy to address
education inadequacies of the colonial times. Both children and adults who had
missed the opportunity of formal education were encouraged to go to school.
Education was subsidized by the government to ease the burden of school fees on
most poor black people. Literacy programmes were organized to teach adults how
to read and write. These programmes were conducted either as non-formal night
school or as community programmes. Various work-based programmes for adults
were also organized and these include, agriculture extension, health extension,
environmental health education, correspondence, professional skills
development, vocational and technical education, and distance learning
programmes to ensure that people continue to receive relevant education for the
survival of their society.
Workers Education in Britain
As has
been highlighted in this text, that adult education trends are tied to the
needs of the people or to the developmental problems of their times. Britain,
having been a developed country than Zimbabwe from times past, her form of
adult education around the late 18th to the 20th century
was different from those of Zimbabwe. The late 18th century marked
the beginning of industrialization in Britain whilst in the societies in the
land later to be called Zimbabwe, were still primitive societies relying on
oral cultures concerning education (Clarke, 2005).
By that
period, British populations were literate and advancing in their industrial
technology. The 1900s were the peak of industrialization, thus more focus of
adult education was placed on workers education. In 1903, a new wave of
University Extension programmes targeting workers to increase their
intellectual capabilities was instigated by a man called Albert Mansbridge. The
campaign for workers education in Britain transcended into other European
countries and regions between 1903 and 1910. However, there were criticisms from
the radical wing who felt that institutionalized learning was only meant to
pacify the worker to conform to social injustices and inequalities engineered
by the capitalists (Duke, 1989).
Radical
criticisms of the university extension programmes achieved some level of
success in initiating more organized labour around 1909. The period between
1909 and 1911 was punctuated with labour action, as workers conscientisation
against their poor working conditions and social inequalities between the proletariat and the capitalists grew more and more (Duke, 1989).
During
this period of industrialization and major leaps in adult education in Britain
and other developed countries, Zimbabwe was still at its early colonization
period, but adult education had long been in existence ever since the
pre-colonial times, hence it can be clearly seen that adult education is
relevant in any society despite the level of development in that society. The
evolving trends in adult education are testimony to the fact that different
societies have different educational needs and problems that adult education
should address through research, projects, developmental, institutional or
informational programmes (Boyle, 1981).
Conclusions
As the
world today is becoming a global village, there is a shift towards democratic politics,
world cooperation, industry and trade, environmental protection, technological
advancement in health, education, energy and security. People’s demands and consumption
levels are changing with the changing demographics. New ways of conducting
business brought about by technology and the world pandemic COVID-19 require
new ways of thinking, teaching and learning. The field of adult education is
not spared by these tremendous changes. Information creation and distribution
has improved because of technology, and people are learning on the go. People as
both creators and consumers of knowledge are actively engaged in new forms of
adult education. The nature of adult education today is different from adult
education of the yesteryear. Adult education today seeks to answer to the
problems of today. Hence, there may be no one answer to describe what adult
education is or why it is necessary in society tracing on its historical
development.
Societies
thrive when they have viable adult education. Primitive societies flourished
through non-formal adult education to transmit their culture, values, knowledge
and skills. Modern societies use both, non-formal and formal education systems
to educate and train their adults, who must be active in the development of
their national interests in all ways; politically, culturally, socially and
economically.
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