ADULT EDUCATION AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL CHANGE AMONG WOMEN IN PORT HARCOURT LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, RIVERS STATE by SHADOWRITERS

ADULT EDUCATION AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL CHANGE AMONG WOMEN IN PORT HARCOURT LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, RIVERS STATE

BY

SHADOWRITERS GHOSTWRITING

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background to the Study

While the question “What is an adult?” receives different answers in different cultures and societies with starting ages ranging from 16 or 18 to more variable ranges or even old age, there is a point in defining Adult Education as a separate category, linked to a specific concept of adulthood. The main reason for this is that adults, be they 16, 18 or 100 years old, learn in a different way than children do. Adult Education thus requires specific methods and approaches to facilitate learning. First of all, adults are not legally bound to go to school any more, thus their learning is voluntary and more self-directed and self-motivated than learning of children. Adults can choose what, when and where they learn. They have a certain idea about the outcome of their learning; they have specific expectations and experience to build on. Research has shown that adult learning is most successful when the trainer or facilitator takes the expectations, interests and previous experience of the learners into account when developing a curriculum, training plan and selecting learning methods. Another golden rule for Adult Education is that learning is mostly happening then, when participants are encouraged to connect what they learnt to their previous knowledge, experience and opinions and when they actively participate in selecting topics of interests as well as learning methods. Participatory learning methods which actually allow participants to shape the content and sequence of a training session are rare in the Africa – and elsewhere in the world – but more and more educators are experimenting with new methods and are surprised by the positive results (Katrin, 2018).