Adult Learning

Adult Learning: Facilitation Observation Paper
Adult learning involves adults engaging in systematic educational activities so as to gain new skills, values, attitudes and knowledge. This is normally done after the years of traditional schooling have passed. The adults may have never had the opportunity to undertake learning in their early stages of life, or a number of circumstances may have forced them not to go to school. Thus, the adults engage in such to fulfill personal long-term literacy goals (Sharan & Brockett, 2007). The art and sciences by which adults are assisted to learn is referred to as andragogy. This is quite different from pedagogy, in that it perceives adults as potential learners in search of learning opportunities, for particular reasons to attain certain goals (Wilmarth, 2010). For adult learning, the learners are free to choose educational activities of their liking, unlike formal learning where the syllabus is kind of fixed. For instance, students in high schools and universities have little say on what they should learn. The curriculum is normally pre-developed by the government and the respective educational institutions, and that is what the teachers follow (Zmeyov, 1998). For the whole duration of the last century, research has been carried out on why adults choose to participate or not participate in adult learning. However, the documented findings lack coherence and the much-needed theoretical framework (Boeren, Nicaise, & Baert, 2010).
I will discuss some observations made in one adult learning program in the East African country of Uganda. First and foremost is the language used. Adult learning programs in Uganda are conducted in the local languages spoken where the learning institutions are located. The country of Uganda has diverse local languages, virtually each region with a different language. Nuwagaba (2005) observed that the larger part of the content taught adults is developed by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (GL&SD). The curriculum integrates reading and writing skills with economical, social and political activities that the learners can relate with. Both men and women enroll for adult learning. The ratio was however unbalanced, being that there were 50 women and 17 men. On top of the basic reading and writing skills, women engaged in cooking activities, whereas the men got involved with business and numeracy skills. The facilitator was from the local community.
The adult learners looked motivated. They had the desire to get at par with the current world, and they knew that this could happen only through education. They however had little confidence because of their illiteracy. Thus, they sought to learn the basic reading and writing skills so as to gain the confidence. Normally, adults readily learn any skills they can use to help solve the challenges they face in life. There has to be a relationship between the content taught and the stage of development of the learner. For instance, it would be unfair to give first year residents a lecture on phacoemulsification with premium intraocular lenses. Third year residents can however benefit from such a lecture (Palis & Quiros, 2014).
The day’s activities were outlined at the beginning of the lecture. This is beneficial to the adults, who normally want to know what they will be learning beforehand. This assumption has the following pedagogical implications:
· The teacher needs to know and comprehend the expectations of the learner. This is best done before any teaching commences. Both the teacher and the students can therefore plan ahead, and more so avoid teaching something that the students already know. The teacher can also avoid teaching a concept too difficult to be grasped by the adult learners. Content can be difficult in two ways: the adult learners may not have the necessary knowledge base or it may not be relevant to the needs of the adult learners.
· Another important item to introduce at the beginning of the lecture is the objectives or goals of that particular lecture. This helps the learners get to know how exactly the lecture will be of benefit to them. At the end of the lecture they can also check whether they have met the objectives as laid out at the beginning.
· A summary of what will be taught presented to the learners at the beginning of the lecture serves as a preview into the lecture.
For the adult learning program in Uganda, the teacher wrote out on the blackboard the proposed activities for the day. The facilitator also mentioned the tasks that would make up each of the listed activities. Such organization seemed fruitful to me because the learners got well prepared for the day’s lessons.
Learning Activities
The adults engaged in learning activities that would improve their functionality both at home and in the community, they come from. These included languages, math, reading and writing and domestic activities. The facilitator would make the necessary follow ups after the lessons. The facilitator also made the adult learners know that he was following the guidelines of the national government regarding what was to be taught. Of course, he had some discussion beforehand with the adult learners on what they would want to learn, but still the ministry guidelines had to be incorporated into their schedule. Even so, some adult learners reported that there was no mutual agreement on what they were learning. The truth on this needs further inquiry.
The activity that consumed the better part of the day was reading and writing. This may partly be attributed to the fact that Ugandan adult learners have a poor background in formal education. Most of the enrollee for the adult education programs are basically seeking to know how to read and write, because they see these skills as very essential in one’s life, especially in today’s world. Numeracy skills was the next item in the list of priority. It is a fact that basic numeracy skills are inevitable in one’s life, being that every individual must be involved in some business of some kind, whether as a buyer or as a seller. Learning of the English language was also a top-priority activity. Being the official communication language for Uganda, it was only wise to improve the adults’ understanding of the language. Cooking lessons were largely perceived as “women activities”. This is common especially among Africans who still hold to their traditional beliefs that draw a line between male and female duties. This can also be the reason why the female learners greatly outnumber their male counterparts.
To sum it up, it was clearly evident that the learning activities were specially tailored to impart the adults with important skills for application in their day to day life.
Theoretical relevance
The major aim for adult education programs is to gear up the adults for social, economic and political development. Thus, you will find most of the programs combining literacy skills with others such as agriculture, health, gender issues, and social interaction skills which the adults find useful. These items dictate the design of the curriculum.
No adult education is relevant unless its learning activities are related to the daily life of the learner. Bhola (1944) supported this idea, and actually defined adult literacy as a combined learning of literacy and economic skills. Such integration goes a long way in helping the adult learners to solve their problems (Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social development, 1996). Probak (2004) likewise affirms this, saying that both literate and semi illiterate adults are more captivated by learning activities that are actually part of their daily lives, including money transactions, reading road signs, newspapers, addresses, medicine labels, medical cards, and measurements and calculations, among others.
The perspective of reference group theory
According to this theory, an individual will in most cases identify with a social group to which he belongs, or one which he intends to belong to. The group to which the individual belongs to is referred to as the Normative Reference Group (NRG). The group to which the individual has that desire to belong to is referred to as Comparative Reference Group (CRG) (McGivney 1992). The reference group theory has quite a long history. However, it has not been much applied in adult education. The theory can be used to study the participation or non-participation of adults in adult learning. It also gives reasons as to why individuals may ditch their own interests and work for the benefit of others.
Group Influence on adults
A person may or may not do what his friends are doing. Take for example one adult surrounded with friends who like attending learning programs. There is a high likelihood of this person to sign up for such a programme. On the contrary, if the same person is surrounded by people with negative thoughts on adult learning, the individual may not enroll for classes anytime soon. This is what may have been the case in Uganda where women in the adult learning institution outnumbered men by far. Considering the Comparative Reference Group, men and women may enroll for adult classes just so they could get new friends who are already taking part in the programs. It is also a known fact that adults may join adult classes so as to be close to those learners they admire. According to Dench & Regan (2000), peer influence plays a great role in determining whether an individual will enroll for classes or not. This influence can be exerted by peers, teachers or family members. Peer influence can also turn out negative, in that a registered adult may be convinced to stop going for classes by maybe someone who has already dropped out. Calder (1993) fully agrees to this, and says that adults take up classes so as to improve their job satisfaction and improve the quality of their lives outside the working periods.
Perceptions
Comparative Reference Groups enable people to compare themselves to other people, or compare their group to other groups. Such groups are known to have a great influence on one’ behavior. Kroger (1989) stated that people normally define themselves in reference to others. The others here become a standard of judgement, thus you will find someone describing himself as less privileged than so and so. Such perception many times leads to low self-esteem, anger, depression, and withdrawal. Others however have that capacity to accept themselves as they are and care less about what others have to say. The reference theory summarizes this better. It states that the way a person thinks others are influences what the person thinks of himself.
For any group, a particular member will be greatly influenced by the others. A situation may be defined as critical, and this will shape the probable solutions available to members of that group. A good example under the Reference Group Theory is how group members respond sensitively to issues they take as vital to them. On the contrary, if the adult learners consider a particular activity as less important to their needs, they will most probably not psyche up to that activity.
According to Rice (1992), many Africans still cling to their traditions and more so the stereo typed gender lines. This notion is evident in most adult learning programs in Uganda, where relatively more women than men participate. This in turn influences the thoughts of men regarding how others take them. It is no wonder that some activities in these adult learning centers are termed women activities. As explained by Murphy, Morgan, Osborne and Gallacher (2002), adults will tend not to enroll for the classes if they think they are less qualified or have low confidence. And within the class setting, those individuals with less confidence may not actively contribute in any discussion. In the end they will just quit, saying that learning is difficult. This is especially true where adults with varying educational backgrounds learn in the same class. This should not be the case. The adults should be divided according their classroom experience. However, this is not practiced in many adult learning institutions in Uganda.
In summary, the reference group theory has these important aspects:
· People are influenced by those groups they perceive as important
· People look up to certain groups to dictate their behavior
· People use groups to compare themselves to others
· People can use two or more groups as a reference guide
· Groups are able to influence the behavior and attitudes of people
The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs perspective.
Maslow (1954) explained how needs can influence a person’s behavior. As one develops, he/she is faced with different needs at each point in life. Immediately one need is met, another one comes up. The hierarchy of needs theory categorizes needs as either lower level or higher level. The lower level needs are termed deficiency needs, whereas the higher-level needs are termed growth needs. According to the theory, an individual will automatically seek to satisfy the lower needs first. An understanding of the hierarchy of needs theory may help us explain why some adults are self-motivated in regards to adult learning programs, whereas other are less interested. The needs serve as motivation to the adult learners. According to Maslow (1954), an individual’s needs follow this order of importance: physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization needs.
Being literate is the number one motivating factor for adult learning. Thus, literacy skills can be termed as pressing needs for the adults. The need is so great such that even the low income and poor backgrounds cannot dissuade them from taking the classes. The learners see education as one sure way to improve their lives and to satisfy the various needs outlined by Maslow (1954).
Evaluation of program’s success
The adult learning program was generally successful, but it was not without a few setbacks. According to Cross (1981), there are particular reasons why adults may choose to participate in learning, and likewise why they may choose not to take part in the classes. Cross identified three main barriers to participation namely institutional, situational and dispositional. The adult learners in this Ugandan institution reported all these three barriers. They found the facilities provided by the center not up to the standards they had expected. They also found some problem with the facilitator’s method of teaching. The learners understood that the facilitators had the correct idea of what they were supposed to do, but this was not possible due to a number of factors. These problems and many others led to a high dropout rate, not only in this institution but also others in the country. Despite this, the willing learners, in collaboration with the educators, made remarkable efforts to improve their level of participation. The adult learners went above the prevailing barriers to see to it that they get educated, as we can say, by hook or by crook. It was also observed that there were not enough professional educators for the adult learning institutions. If these are employed in good numbers, the motivation of the adults will definitely increase. Professionals normally have the capability of raising the interest in whatever they teach, which makes the adults participate more in the lectures. This is referred to as the active learning model, which has the following characteristics:
· Learners do not only listen to facilitators.
· Facilitators concentrate on developing the student’s skills, and not just passing information
· The learners get to analyze, synthesize and evaluate information, which is in itself higher order thinking
· The learners take part in actual activities such as writing, discussion and reading
· The facilitators attach more importance to students exploring their skills
The facilitators employ strategies such as debates, question and answer sessions, reflective activities, group discussions, role playing, and case studies to promote active learning. A number of authors have suggested that active learning is especially important in disciplines such as medicine (Palis & Quiros, 2014)
Active learning also requires the educator not to cover virtually everything in the syllabus. Normally, the adult learners can get this information from the course books. The educator should instead spend more time introducing the most important topics to the students, and that content that is difficult to understand. Scholars say that little is much when it comes to learning. It is more effective to introduce content bit by bit, and explaining it comprehensively, rather than present a lot of concepts at a go. Many a times adult learners switch off if the content becomes overwhelming. Also, the content should be helpful to the students and one they can relate to. The educator may therefore resort to using personal experiences and case studies to bring out a particular lesson. This boosts the attention of the students. The educator should also smartly link new concepts to what the adult learners already know. This he can do by asking them questions, initiating discussions, giving examples, or using metaphors and analogies. All these should be planned well before the classes begin so to be sure they work out well. Planning also ensures the resources needed for such group discussions are availed in good time. Getting into class without planning may render such activities impossible. Science has it that human attention capacity goes down after 15 or 20 minutes. The human brain is able to process only a limited load at any given interval. The educator should therefore alternate the said learning activities with passive explanations so as to make the best out of the lesson. (Palis & Quiros, 2014)
References
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