Adult education in Africa , after a comeback after independence and increasing the prosperity of many African countries, provides special requirements to policy makers and planners to consider indigenous cultural characteristics and characteristics. With a moderate reaction to Western ideals and educational traditions, many universities and other higher education institutions are taking over to develop new approaches to higher education and adult education.
Most contemporary analysts consider illiteracy as a development issue because of the link between poverty and illiteracy. Funding is inadequate and inconsistent and is needed for priority areas such as training of educators, monitoring, and evaluation. There is a clear need for investment in capacity building, full professional staff, enough paid and well qualified, and increasing demands for adult education professionals. The majority of adult educators are not trained, especially in basic literacy. Governments often hire schoolteachers and others in adult education posts rather than experienced adult educators. Many of the difficulties experienced can be solved by allocating resources to meet the needs (adequate funding, more staffing, appropriate training for staff and appropriate materials). Underfunding is a major threat to the sustainability of these programs, and in some cases, for their survival. The most reported data on funding is on adult literacy and non-formal education. Funding for continuing education, whether academic or vocational is provided and reported, but little data is provided on the financing. Funding can come from public or private sector sources. International and foreign aid may also be important. Adult education costs seem to remain low artificially by the use of state facilities and by the very low salaries paid to many adult education specialists.
State colleges have not succeeded in attracting older students to a general degree program and therefore post-apartheid ideals open access to public higher education for more non-traditional students has not yet come true. However, certain countries have reported some success rates in Adult Education programs. Between 1990 and 2007 Uganda enrolled more than 2 million participants in functional adult literacy programs. The Basic Family Education Program was active in 18 schools in 2005, reaching more than 3,300 children and 1,400 parents. This is a successful mediation of family literacy whose impact at the household, school and community levels has been evaluated.
Unfortunately, national reports do not usually provide enough information about the content of adult education programs run in their countries. In most cases, the name of the program is as much detail as given. Curriculum content does not seem to be a big issue.
Video Adult education in Africa
Cultural considerations
The African community is very close; activities, lifestyles, individuality are almost always common knowledge. Therefore, it is difficult for each member or group in an area to take a very different approach to every facet of life in society. For this reason, program planners for adult learners in Africa find a higher level of success when they use a participatory approach. Through an open and honest dialogue about community fear, motivation, confidence and ambition as a whole, there is little social tension about the behavior of different individuals.
In addition to strong traditional beliefs, the years of slavery through colonization have led to a sense of unity and common struggle in the African community. Therefore, lesson plans in these areas should reflect this cultural sensitivity; collaboration and cooperation are key components of a successful program. The teaching techniques that use these ideas can include storytelling, experience simulation, and indigenous traditions practice with slight modification. Every program and lesson should be tailored to a particular community because they are almost always learning, living, and reaching as a group or not at all.
Informal education plays a strong role in indigenous learning in African communities. This poses significant challenges for Western-style program planners who emphasize formal learning within the prescribed time frame and arrangements. This requirement should often be left out to achieve success in communities that do not have a strong affinity for time and formal education. Programs should be planned that become part of the daily life of the participants, reflecting their values ​​and adding positive function in their lives. Successful programs often involve more long-term learning arrangements consisting of regular visits and free, non-compulsory information offerings.
Maps Adult education in Africa
History
The origins of African education can be found in Egypt in North Africa. One of the first practical media for storing information, papyrus, is used to develop systems for learning and developing new ideas. Well before contact with the external culture, Africans have developed a pool of understanding and educational tools. In fact, the first university in the world is located in Timbuktu, opened in 2600 BC.
The indigenous knowledge system, a tradition where people teach and learn from themselves through daily life rather than rigorous education, is also very important and effective. The apprenticeship perspective is of special use to the ancient Africans; by modeling the skills necessary for others, the junior members of the community learn to hunt, gather water, hold meetings, etc. The overall goal of this type of task-oriented education is to learn specific skills and "produce honest, respectable, skilled, cooperative individuals and in accordance with the society's order of the day."
The beginnings of the colonial period in the 19th century marked the beginning of the end of traditional African education. European troops, missionaries, and colonists are all ready and willing to change existing traditions to meet their own needs and ambitions. By demanding that the public build physical schools with a strict curriculum, foreign powers are able to dictate what people learn, adapt them to advance their agenda. It not only imposes new forms and content for education, but leaves behind the knowledge gained from most informal education. With less public awareness, efficiency in learning skills, and especially understanding of the past, African society is beginning to dwindle in education and prosperity.
Between the 1950s and 1990s, African countries finally regained their independence. With the restoration of this freedom, they began to rebuild their traditional forms of education. What has grown, however, is the hybrid of the two models. Although children and adults can learn from their families and communities, a sense of individuality has also developed that today both encourage ingenuity and create segregation between cultural groups and traditions. African education programs have evolved that involve both groups; HIV/AIDS awareness programs, for example, can involve members who come to the community and share their knowledge. Although this is a direct, cognitive approach, they also try to involve all members of society, allowing for the creation of ownership and acceptance of culture.
Philosophy
The African philosophy of adult education recognizes Western ideas such as liberalism, progressivism, humanism and behaviorism, while equipping them with a genuine African perspective.
- Ethnofilosophy is the idea that the primary goal of adult education is to enable social harmony at all levels of society, from close family to community and country. This is very important to ensure retention of knowledge is passed down from one generation to another on values, cultural understanding and beliefs. This philosophy promotes active learning - learning by doing, following, practicing the work of the elders. Special lessons can be taught through activities such as role playing, practical demonstrations, exhibitions, discussions or competitions.
- The nationalist-ideological philosophy separates itself from ethnophilosophy for lack of attention to learning methods and more with its use. As a philosophy born of the revolutionary movement of the 1950s, it is not surprising that its main focus is to be able to apply knowledge to active participation in politics and civil society. While it is important in this philosophy to maintain the communal nature of African traditional societies, functionalism for social understanding and change is essential in its implementation.
- Professional philosophy represents the strongest bridge between the West African and traditional education system. It promotes hybrid approaches to adult programs, allowing for various learning techniques, even cognitive lectures, provided that community values ​​are taken into account in the lesson. Finally, the philosophical sagacity shows that the only true African philosophy is those who have developed without contact with the West at all. Rather than a particular approach, this idea only records the various educational techniques that may exist through the continent by various people. It basically states that there is no one correct method, and that the subject and activity should always be set by the participants.
See also
- Education in Africa
- Education in the Middle East and North Africa
- Education in South Africa
References
External links
- African Sage Philosophy entry that discusses the philosophical sagacity by Gail M. Presbey
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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