The Training Of Adult Educators In Anglophone And Francophone Africa: A Comparative Study.
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Date
1987-10
Authors
Tumul, N
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Lagos
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the programmes available in Anglophone and Francophone Africa for the training of adult educators. Ghana and Nigeria were selected as representative Anglophone Countries, and Zaire and the Congo were chosen from among Francophone Countries. The study focussed on the following aspects of the training of Adult Educators: The major policies underlying the training of adult educators in the selected countries. __ The roles assigned to formal and non-formal structures of training in these countries and the influence of the formal educational systems and colonial legacies in each individual country on the modalities of training in adult education in these countries. __ The levels of adult education workers catered for by the various training programmes available in these countries. __ The resources available for the training of adult educators in the selected countries, the strengths and weaknesses of the training programmes available in each of the countries. The models of training conceived as most desirable for the training of adult educators in Africa. Twenty-three adult education institutions and 30 professional and degree training programmes were identified and analysed in the study. Sixty-three degree students, 13 heads of providing institutions and 92 trainers responded to the various questionnaires administered to them. The documentary search focussed on an examination of syllabuses, course description, reports and records of training. The trends in the two sets of countries were analysed in terms of the underlying factors that have shaped them. The major characteristics of the aims, content, sponsorship and methods of the programmes were described and evaluated in terms of each country stated policies and objectives. The study found that except in Nigeria, there are no comprehensive policies regulating the training of adult educators in the selected countries of Africa, and that the nature of training programmes is predominantly affected more by historical circumstances than by the structure of the formal educational systems. The study also showed that Anglophone trainees usually have had no field experience while their Francophone counterparts are drawn from the field. Also the training programmes in the Francophone countries are practical-oriented, while in the Anglophone countries they are discipline-centred. It was discovered that most students offering adult education come into the field with a great deal of scepticism and ambivalence, and that the general public is yet to understand what adult education encompasses. Adult education staff in anglophone universities are working towards the establishment of adult education as a discipline and there is a great deal of commitment to teaching and research. However, in the Civil Service, officials manning the various adult education units in the ministries were found to have little commitment to adult education, and most of them had no exposure to the field. Based on the findings, a number of suggestions were made for effective training of adult educators in Africa. Among these was that the providing institutions in Anglophone countries must base their programmes on task-performance analysis, while training institutions in the Francophone countries must incorporate more theoretical aspects into their training. There is need to admit more students with field work experience into the departments of adult education as there is also need for universities in Francophone Africa to develop programmes in adult education. African governments must recognize training in the teaching of adults as an integral and necessary component of the overall training of 7. Instructors in their respective countries. Parallely, African governments should employ more trained adult educators in the ministries responsible for the promotion of adult education. It is imperative for the African Association for Literacy and Adult Education to establish a Centre for Research and Training in adult education in order to encourage, among other things, a cross-national collaboration in the field of adult education.
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Keywords
Training , Adult Education , Anglophone , Francophone
Citation
Tumul, N (1987) The Training of Adult Educators in Anglophone and Francophone Africa: A Comparative Study. University of Lagos School of Postgraduate Studies Phd Adult Education Thesis and Dissertation. Full thesis p1-329