Adult education and its importance

Adult education in the oldest sense is any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling in the narrowest sense; adult education is about literacy, about adults learning to read the most basic materials. So adult education emcompasses everything from basic literacy to personal fulfillment as a lifelong attainment of advanced degrees.

       Community development is a structured intervention that gives communities greater control over the condition that affects their lives. This does not solve all the problems faced by a local community, but it does build up confidence to tackle such problems as effectively as any local action   can community development works at the level of local groups and organizations rather than with individual or families. The range of local groups and organization representing communities at local level constitutes the community sector.

Adult education can help in promotion of development programmes in communities through youth development and youth leadership

Youth development is a process that prepares a youth person to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood and achieve his or her full potential. Youth development is promoted through activities and experiences that help youth develop social, ethical, emotional, physical, and cognitive competences. Youth leadership is part of the development process and support the young person in developing. (a)The ability to analyze his or her own strength and weakness, set personal and vocational goals and have the self- esteem; confidence, motivation and abilities to carry them out including the ability to establish support networks in order to fully, participate in community in community life and effect positive social change (b) the ability to guide or direct others on a course of action, influence the opinions and behaviours of others and serve as a role model (wehmeyer,Agran and hughes, 1998).

       Conditions that promote healthy youth development are supported through programs and activities in schools and communities. Youth development researchers and practitioners emphasize that effective programs and interventions recognize youths strengths and seek to promote positive development rather than addressing risks in isolation. Youth who are constructively involved in learning and doing and who are connected to positive adults and peers are less likely to engage in risky or self- defeating behaviours. Providing the conditions for positive youth development is a responsibility shared by family, schools, and communities. The conditions for healthy youth development reside in families, schools and communities.

Families promote healthy youth development when they provide support, have positive family communication, are involved in their adolescent’s school, have clear rules and consequences and monitor their adolescent behaviour, provide positive, responsible role model for other adults adolescents and siblings, expect their adolescent to do well and spend time together.

School promote healthy youth development when they expect commitment from, have a caring school climate, have clear rules and consequences, provide positive, responsible adult role models and expect youth to do well.

Communities promote healthy youth development when adult advocate for youth, neighbours monitor youth behaviour, adults model positive, responsible and healthy behaviour, youth model positive responsible and health behaviour and youth programmes are available (konokpa institute,2000,pp 3-4).

It is unusual for all these positive influences to be present at the same time. Unfortunately, too many youth grow up in circumstances that provide limited support for healthy development. Well-designed and well-run youth development programs promote youth leadership by involving youth in needs assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. A growing number of organizations include youth on their boards of directors. Effective programmes engage all participating youth in constructive action through activities such as service learning, arts and athletics and emphasize common values such as friendship, citizenship and learning.`

(2)

Through adult education people have the opportunity to learn and grow, through the stage of self-directed learning model.

The teacher purpose is to match the learner’s stage of self- direction and prepare the learner to advance to higher stages.

Learners dependent learners need can authority- figure to give them explicit directions on what to do, how to do it, and when. For these students, learning is teacher- centered they either treat teachers as experts who know what the student needs to do or thing passively slide through the educational system responding mainly to teachers who “make” them learn. Some learners are dependent in subjects they are “taught”, others are dependent only in some subjects. Some dependent learners become excellent student within specialized area. They can be systematic, through and disciplined, mastering a settled subject or transmitting a fixed dependent. Others are temporarily teacher- dependent because, in prath’s terms they lack relevant knowledge, skills and experience or the motivation and self confidence to pursue educational goals. Stage 2. Learners of moderate self direction learners are “available”. They are interested or interestable. They respond to motivational techniques. They are willing to do assignment. They can see the purpose of. They are confidence but may be largely ignorant of the subject of instruction.

      Motivating

The stage 2 teacher bring enthusiasm and motivation to the class, sweeping learners along with the excitement of learning such a teacher will persuade, explain and sell using a directive but highly supportive approach that reinforces learner willingness and enthusiasm. Learners at this stage go along if they understand why and the instructor provides direction and help learners at this stage respond positively to personal interaction from the teacher in something not always true of stage I learners. Stage 2 teacher is to prepare students to become more self directing, it is student in such basic skill as goal setting. Build confidence which building skills. Help student began to recognize their different personably types, life goals and styles of learning set high standards and motivate student to achieve them.

Stage 3 learners will benefit from learning more about how they learn, such as making conscious use of learning strategies. They may learn to identify and value their own experiences in life. They may learn to value the personal experiences of others. Learners develop critical thinking, individual initiative and a sense of themselves as co-creators of the culture that shape them. There they see themselves as future teachers or worthwhile adults in the making but may not be experienced or motivated to continue on their own.

Stage 4 learners of high self- direction learners at this stage are both able and willing to take responsibility for their learning, direction and productivity. They exercise skills in time management, project management, goal setting, self evaluation, peer critique, information gathering and use of educational resources. The ultimate subject of stage 4 is the learners own personal empowerment as a nature creator and evaluation of knowledge, or as a high- level practitioner of a skill relationship is high between students and world, students and task and perhaps among students. The teacher actively monitor progress to ensure success but steps in only to assist students in acquiring the skills to be self- directing and self- monitoring.

       Relating it to target of adult education in Nigeria.

In Nigeria today one of its major aims and objective is to inculcate good habits in the life’s of people.

Also to eradicate illiteracy, poverty. There is also the tendency to empower people through adult education.

REFERENCES

(1) Garmezy, N. (1993). Children in poverty Resilience despite risk. Psychicating , 56 (1), 127- 136.

(2) Konokpa instate, (2000, spring). Growing absolutely fantastic youth: A guide to best practices in healthy youth development, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota.