The Adult Learners’ Relationship with Information Communication Technology (ICT) and its Implications for Adult and Non-Formal Education

No Thumbnail Available
Date
2008-01
Authors
Bakare, T.V.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ibadan: The Adult Education Department, University of Ibadan.
Abstract
This study was survey in nature and investigated the adult learners’ familiarity with, access to, and use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) gadgets and its implication for adult education practice. Five research questions were generated to guide the study. The questions were to establish the extent of familiarity with, ownership of, or access to and use of some computerized technology tools for various purposes. Data for analysis were collected with the use of the self validated instrument – Adult Learners’ relationship with ICT (ALFICT). Four major adult education programs were used for the study. Out of these programs, purposive sampling technique was used to select 300 adult learners randomly to constitute the sample size (according to their population and also propensity for use in the different programs). Data obtained were treated using descriptive statistics and data were graphically presented. Results of the analysis indicated that 79.7% of the respondents were familiar with ICT and other gadgets. 42% had access to the gadgets and 38% used them. This implies that the number of adult learners who have access to or use ICT tools generally was relatively low. The awareness and utilization patterns call for more concerted efforts on the part of all stakeholders to make ICT more accessible to adult learners at all levels, along with awareness programs and to make ICT and gadgets more user-friendly and accessible. The study underscored the importance of adult education in Nigeria, moving into the 21st century and the computer age, especially in order to expand the learning paradigm and create more learning opportunities for all.
Description
Scholarly articles
Keywords
Information communication technology (ICT) , Adult learners , Population , Adult education practice , Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Education
Citation
Bakare, T.V. (2008). The Adult Learners’ Relationship with Information Communication Technology (ICT) and its Implications for Adult and Non-Formal Education. 5(1);118-134.