ADLT 101 Introduction to Adult Education Session 11 – Evolution of Adult Education in Africa & Ghana Lecturer: Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney Contact Information: kbiney@ug.edu.gh/ikkbiney@yahoo.co.uk College of Education School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 – 2016/2017
Session Overview Goals and Objectives At the end of the session, the student will • Describe indigenous adult education • Examine how imperialism affected adult education provision in Africa • Discuss adult education during the colonial period in Africa countries, including Ghana • Analyse the provision of adult education after independence and beyond in Ghana Slide 2 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
Session Outline • Introduction • Evolution of Adult Education in Africa • Evolution of Adult Education in Ghana • Conclusion • References Slide 3 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
Reading List Activities and Assignments • Log onto the UG Sakai LMS course site: http://sakai.ug.edu.gh/XXXXXXXXX • Watch the Videos for Session 11 – Evolution of Adult Education Worldwide • Review Lecture Slides: Session 11 – Evolution of Adult Education Worldwide • READ CHAPTER 8 OF RECOMMENDED TEXT- NAFUKHO, F., AMUTABI, M. & OTUNGA, R. (2005). AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE OF ADULT LEARNING - FOUNDATIONS OF ADULT EDUCATION IN AFRICA . HAMBURG: UNESCO INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION. PAGES 2 – 9 . KWAPONG, O. A. T. F. (2009). REACHING THE UNREACHED-ICTS AND ADULT EDUCATION FOR EMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN . NEW YORK: UNIVERSITY PRESS OF AMERICA. PAGES 31-43 • Visit the Chat Room and discuss the Forum question for Session 11 • Complete the Individual Assignment for Session 11 Slide 4 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
Introduction Evolution of Adult Education in Africa • The beginnings of adult education in Africa can be traced to indigenous adult education as informal or non-formal adult education. • Omolewa (cited in Kwapong & Aggor, 2012: 11) indicates that “ adult and continuing education in Africa began with the creation of man on the continent” . • Africans have traditional ways to educate their people. • They do so by passing historical, political, religious, and economic information and skills to their younger generations. • This is done through storytelling, role-plays, proverbs, and riddles. Slide 5 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
Introduction (Contd.) • They also use drama, songs, dancing, paintings, textiles/printing/weaving, and other artisan works in educating the younger generation. • Communities teach indigenous knowledge systems through daily life rather than strict formalised educational approaches. • We have to note, however, that Africa went pass the survival skills and included scientific and technological pursuits. Slide 6 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
Adult Education in Pre-Colonial Africa Adult Education in Pre-colonial Africa • Africa was the first continent to know literacy through a school system years before the Greek let-ters alpha and beta . • Literacy existed in Africa even before the origin of the word alphabet and the use of the Latin word schola , from which the word school, came. • The scribes of ancient Egypt wrote, read, administered, philosophised, contemplated the beyond and caressed the infinite. • Using first aid to writing, papyrus, which gives an indication that formal adult education is very old in Africa. Slide 7 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
The Colonial Period • The 1800s marked the beginning of more specifically organised formal adult education in most parts of Africa. • Imperialism is the covert or overt means one country used to control or manipulate another. • Education was the tool used to control and pacify Africans. • This mission was achieved through missionaries who began an onslaught on the African adult education systems by replacing them with modern forms of adult education. • The new system was suitable for meeting their need to evangelise and for reaching their imperial objectives. • Schools were no longer natural organs connected in significant ways to African society as with the indigenous adult education system. Slide 8 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
Adult Education in Africa Adult Education in Post- independence Africa • Adult education survived the colonial period and progressed in Africa. • In 1876, Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone, started offering degrees, and led the way, in Western-type adult edu-cation. • Some staff from the college conducted matriculation and commercial classes for adult learners in Freetown in 1940s. • It was in 1951 that a full department of adult education (extra-mural studies) was established at Fourah Bay College.
Adults Learning Environment • The University of Cape Town started an extra-mural programme in 1952. • The University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland opened a country office for its Extension Department which was subsequently renamed the School of Adult Learning. • In 1971, the Division of Extra- Mural Services, provided outreach activities in the community. • Ghana and Nigeria, like Sierra Leone, also received Western-type of adult higher edu-cation quite early after coming under similar Western missionary influence.
Evolution of Adult Education in Ghana • Gold Coast (now Ghana), like other countries in Africa, had adult education programmes through the early missionaries in the 19th century. • The Basel missionaries’, for instance, organised courses and Sunday schools for adults in their church to read and write, especially, the Bible. Slide 11 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
Adult Learning in Ghana Take a quick view of the Ghanaian situation: • Towards the end of the Second World War, the British government investigated the need for establishing universities in the colonies. • In 1948, mass education and community development projects were launched, to organise literacy classes for adults. • The picture at your left hand side illustrates adult learners showing caring relationships with each other.
Adult Learning in Ghana • Vocational courses such as needlework, carpentry and building construction for the local people, later followed. • In the mid 20th century, new dimensions were introduced into the learning process, as a result of the evolution of mass education movement that began in the Gold Coast (Adoo-Adeku, cited in Kwapong & Aggor, 2012). • A picture or photo on your right illustrates a group of adults learners learning or putting into practice the skills at the workplace.
Provision of University-Based Adult Education in Ghana • University-based adult education is adult education programme that is offered by a university such as that of University of Ghana. • Formal adult education programmes such as diploma, bachelors, masters, PhD and non-formal adult education programmes such as the New Year School and Short Course in English Language, among others, are offered. Slide 14 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
Provision of University-Based Adult Education Provision of University-Based Adult Education • Workers' Colleges were established in 1962 to serve as the focal points of the School. • They offered formal, and non-formal programmes. • The People's Educational Association (PEA) was established in 1949 after the model of Workers Educational Association (WEA). • It was to provide the ordinary people in society a chance to develop their potentials. • This was done through liberal education. • The Annual New Year School has been one of the prominent programmes. Slide 15 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
Provision of University-Based Adult Education (Contd.) • The dynamism of the adult education programme in response to development policy changes have led to changes in the names of university-based adult education department in University of Ghana. • The need for professional adult educators led to the introduction of formal programmes such as Diploma, BA, MA/MPHIL and PhD. • Distance education has become one of the core activities of the School of Continuing and Distance Education. Slide 16 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
The Future of Adult Education in Ghana • The need for formal, non-formal and informal adult education in Ghana keeps increasing. • Based on the principle of lifelong learning, education among the adult population, keeps rising. • The dynamic nature of society makes it necessary for the adult population to keep themselves abreast of the times. • It is to meet the changing demands that bear on qualifications for the job market. Slide 17 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
The Future of Adult Education in Ghana (Contd.) • This drives adults to pursue new courses in different modes, be it distance or sandwich, part time or fulltime. • Some adults just want to learn for leisure and these and many other factors call for continuous provision of adult education. • This should be done in the way that it will respond to the educational/career needs and life style of the current adult population and develop their human resource. Slide 18 Dr. Isaac Kofi Biney, SCDE
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