History of Adult Education in Africa
Development and growth are a natural part of what means to be human. We are constantly developing as a species, moving forward expanding. For children, this growth and development is expected and forced upon their lifestyles. For adults, on the other hand, it's often mote complicated than that. Development and growth come in form of adult education which happens sometimes by choice. Sometimes out of necessity and sometimes it is an experience which is forced upon an adult learner. Regardless of our stage in life,there ia part of us that is moving ua forward; in that we are always becoming and stirring for wholeness. Being passionate about learning and education is part of what makes us human.
Egypt in Northern Africa, is believed to be origin of African education. One of the first convenient mediums for retaining information, papyrus, was used to develop systems for learning and developing new ideas. Well before contact with external cultures, Africans had developed pools of understanding and educational tools. In fact, the world’s first university was located in Timbuktu , opened in 2600 BC. Indigenous knowledge systems, a tradition in which communities teach and learn from themselves through daily life rather than strict education, were also highly important and effective. The apprenticeship perspective was of particular use to ancient Africans; by modeling the necessary skills for others, junior members of the community learned to hunt, gather water, hold meetings, etc. The overall purpose of this task-orientation type of education was to both learn specific skills and "produce an individual who is honest, respectable, skilled, cooperative and conforms to the societal order of the day.
The dawn of the colonial period in the 19th century marked the beginning of the end for traditional African education. European forces, missionaries, and colonists all came ready and willing to change existing traditions to meet their own needs and ambitions. By demanding that communities create physical schools with strict curriculum , the foreign powers were able to dictate what the people learned, adjusting it to further their agenda. This not only forced new form and content to education, but abandoned the knowledge gained from the largely informal education. With less community awareness, efficiency in learning skills, and especially understanding of the past, African communities began to dwindle in education and prosperity.
In the 1950s to 1990s, African countries finally regained their independence. With this recovered freedom, they began to rebuild their traditional forms of education. What had inevitably evolved, however, was a hybrid of the two models. Although children and adults may learn from their families and community, a sense of individuality has also developed that today both drives ingenuity and creates separation between groups and cultural tradition. African education programs have developed that involve both groups; an HIV / AIDS awareness program, for example, may involve members coming into communities and sharing their knowledge. Although this is a direct, cognitive approach, they also try to involve all members of the community, allowing for the creation of ownership and cultural acceptance in many African countries, the community has played a major role in providing adult programmes. Providers of adult education in African societies include the, community and regional organizations, as well as government, trade unions, organizations, civic and international organizations.
Universities in Africa may be singled as having played a major role in the provision of adult education. Oduaran (2000) has noted that ‘African universities have at the forefront of strengthening the of adult and continuing education through various personnel training and programmes. While this role been important, limited data exists toshow the exact number of people that the have trained’. He notes further what is available are selected examples adult education programmes in some the leading African universities, such as University, the University of Benin, Banyero University, Ahmadu Bello University, University of Maiduguri, Obafemi University, and the University of Leone (West Africa); the University Nairobi, Kenyatta University, Moi University Egerton University, the University Dar es Salaam, and Makerere University (East Africa); the University of Swaziland, National University of Lesotho, the of Zimbabwe, the University Botswana, the University of Zambia the University of Namibia (southern Africa). It's important to point out that these universities train adult educators who are the implementers of the adult education in many formal and informal institutions in Africa. In addition, universities are direct providers of adult education programmes. They fund research the field of adult education, organise, seminars, conferences and symposia, and host and support adult education, professional associations.
Besides the universities mentioned above, there are other institutions of higher learning that provide adult education programmes in other African countries, such as Zambia, Egypt, Algeria, Togo, Cameroon, Niger, Mauritius, Sudan and Mozambique. Universities outside Africa, especially from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and India, have played a major role in the promotion of adult education in Africa by training leading African scholars.
THE CONTENT COVERED
Courses in core subjects area.
Vocational and technical skills.
Computer training.
THE TEACHING METHODOLOGY USED
Lecturer/presentation.
Panel discussion.
Group discussion.
Symposium.
Case Study.
Field work.
THE CHALLENGES FACED
Inadequate funding in most African countries on adult education, most of which are inconsistent.
Poverty. Most may not afford to carter for educational experiences.
Public universities have not been successful in attracting older students to mainstream degree programs and
National reports typically do not provide sufficient information on the content of the adult education programs that run in their countries. In the majority of cases the curriculum content does not seem to be a major issue.
SUCCESSES
Success In The Development Of Adult Education In Africa
The program has seen more setting up of more adult schools across the continent.
It has also brought women empowerment.
Establishment of a program for adult education.
kawasaki_254 answered the question on July 1, 2018 at 09:23