Principles and theories of adult education; 2015 - UNESCOunesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002451/245104e.pdf · PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF ADULT EDUCATION ... 2 Learning assumptions

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Tutorial letter 501/3/2015

PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES OF ADULT EDUCATION

ABT3621

Department of Adult Basic Education and

Youth Development

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

This tutorial letter contains important information about your module.

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Contents

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 4

1 Purpose ........................................................................................................................................ 4

2 Learning assumptions .................................................................................................................. 4

3 Range statement for the entire unit standard ................................................................................ 4

4 Specific outcomes and assessment criteria .................................................................................. 4

5 Accreditation and moderation options ........................................................................................... 5

5.1 Assessment .................................................................................................................................. 5

5.2 Moderation ................................................................................................................................... 6

6 Notes ............................................................................................................................................ 6

6.1 Critical cross-field outcomes ......................................................................................................... 6

6.2 Embedded knowledge .................................................................................................................. 7

UNIT 1: TRENDS IN ADULT EDUCATION: TERMINOLOGY, CONCEPTS AND

DEVELOPMENTS ................................................................................................................. 7

1. ADULT EDUCATION, LITERACY AND LEARNING ..................................................................... 7

1.1 Andragogy .................................................................................................................................... 7

1.2 ADULTS LEARN DIFFERENTLY FROM CHILDREN .................................................................. 8

1.2.1 DEFINING ADULT LITERACY AND LEARNING ........................................................................ 9

1.2.2 Lifelong education ........................................................................................................................ 9

1.2.3 Lifelong learning ......................................................................................................................... 10

1.2.4 Learner-centredness .................................................................................................................. 10

1.3 SUMMARY AND COMPARISONS OF THEORIES AND EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES

OF SELECTED THINKERS ........................................................................................................ 11

1.3.1 The principles underlying the teachings of Knowles.................................................................... 11

1.3.2 The principles underlying the teachings of Freire ........................................................................ 14

1.3.2.1 Theory of value ......................................................................................................................... 15

1.3.2.2 Theory of knowledge .................................................................................................................. 16

1.3.2.3 Theory of human nature. ............................................................................................................ 16

1.3.2.4 Theory of learning ...................................................................................................................... 16

1.3.2.5 Theory of transmission ............................................................................................................... 17

1.3.3 The principles underlying the teachings of Nyerere ...................................................................... 18

1.3.3.1 Adult education, lifelong learning and learning for liberation ....................................................... 18

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1.3.3.2 The meaning and scope of adult education ................................................................................ 20

1.4 CONDITIONS WITHIN WHICH ADULT EDUCATION OCCURS IN SOUTH AFRICA ................ 21

1.5 ABET IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT .............................................................................. 22

1.6 PROVISION OF ABET IN THE ODL CONTEXT AT UNISA ....................................................... 23

1.7 THEORY .................................................................................................................................... 24

1.7.1 Purposes of theories .................................................................................................................... 25

1.7.2 Criteria for theories ....................................................................................................................... 25

1.8 UNIVERSAL THEORIES FOR OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING .......................................... 25

1.9 THE COMMUNITY MODEL ........................................................................................................... 26

UNIT 2: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADULT EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT ..................... 27

2.1 ADULT EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA .................................................................................. 28

2.2 UNEMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA ..................................................................................... 29

2.2.1 Adult education and poverty alleviation: what can be learnt from practice? ................................ 29

2.2.2 Cost of unemployment ................................................................................................................ 30

2.3 CHALLENGES RELATING TO POVERTY AND INEQUALITY................................................... 30

2.3.1 Female unemployment in Africa ................................................................................................. 32

2.3.2 Vocational training ...................................................................................................................... 32

2.3.3 Health ........................................................................................................................................ 32

2.3.4 HIV and AIDS ............................................................................................................................ 33

2.4. NTERVENTION BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT TO FIGHT POVERTY ..................... 34

2.4.1 Expanded Public Works Programme ......................................................................................... 34

2.4.2 Adult Literacy and Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) .................................................. 34

UNIT 3: CONCEPTS OF CONSCIENTISATION AND PERSPECTIVE TRANSFORMATION ............... 35

3.1 CONSCIENTISATION ................................................................................................................ 35

3.2 PERSPECTIVE TRANSFORMATION ........................................................................................ 36

3.3 PAULO FREIRE'S APPROACH TO CONSCIENTISATION........................................................ 36

3.4 MEZIROW ON TRANSFORMATIONAL LEARNING THEORIES ............................................... 37

3.5 BEST PRACTICES FOR ADULT EDUCATORS REGARDING TRANSFORMATIONAL

LEARNING THEORY ................................................................................................................. 39

REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 40

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INTRODUCTION

1 Purpose

Welcome to this module on Principles and Theories of Adult Education. The purpose of this module is to enable ABET practitioners to explore the broader context of adult education, its concepts, theories, trends and practices, and to identify their role in all of it. 2 Learning assumptions

This module is based on the assumption that learners are already competent in terms of the following outcomes or areas of learning when starting this module:

• a level 6 Advanced Certificate in ABET or congruent or equivalent area of learning • NQF level 6 competence in the language of instruction • NQF level 6 reading and writing skills • ability to learn from predominantly written material • ability to access, analyse and evaluate information relevant to the learning

programme • ability to reflect on their own language usage and cultural background • willingness to take responsibility for their own progress 3 Range statement for the entire unit standard

This module is only an introductory overview to the broad field of adult education, its principles and theories. 4 Specific outcomes and assessment criteria

Specific outcome 1 Demonstrate an understanding of some of the terminology, concepts, significant developments and broad trends in adult education. Assessment criteria

The basic terms, concepts, theories and findings about adult education are recognised and recalled; and short, intelligible definitions or accounts of these can be written. The various types of adult education (including formal, nonformal, continuing, lifelong, recurrent, experiential, etc) can be distinguished and compared. The theories and educational philosophies of some selected educational thinkers (eg Knowles, Freire, Nyerere) can be summarised and compared. The social, economic, political, religious and cultural contexts within which adult education occurs in South Africa and the world today can be described and analysed.

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Key developments in adult education policies and practice in post-apartheid South Africa can be summarised and discussed. Specific outcome 2 Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between adult education and development.

Assessment criteria

The role of adult education in national and economic development, modernisation, social and institutional innovation, and meeting the needs of the disadvantaged and unemployed can be outlined and discussed. The needs and opportunities for adult education in current development initiatives can be identified, compared and discussed. Specific outcome 3 Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of conscientisation and perspective transformation. Assessment criteria Current conceptions of conscientisation and perspective transformation can be defined and discussed. A basic understanding of how these concepts have been presented in the work of Freire and Mezirow can be demonstrated through summary, comparison, analysis and discussion. Educational situations in which such transformations may occur can be identified. Ways of facilitating conscientisation and perspective transformation can be described and discussed. 5 Accreditation and moderation options

5.1 Assessment

Formative assessment - Learning and assessment are integrated. Formative assessment is a continuous and personal process of interaction between the lecturer/tutor and the students. It includes assignments based on the learning material and the student's ability to self-evaluate and address own learning needs (as is required at this NQF level). Students are given feedback. The process is continuous and focuses on a limited number of outcomes.

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Summative assessment - Students will write an examination for this module. Summative assessment tests the student's ability to manage and integrate a large body of knowledge to achieve the stated outcomes of the module. Integrated assessment - All assessment integrates knowledge, skills, attitudes and applied competence. Students are required to use appropriate methods and skills to select and evaluate knowledge in selected areas in practical situations, typical of the demands set for undergraduate students. Unisa academic staff members are used as assessors in a manner that fits into the quality management system of the University and accords with its tuition and assessment policies. This also applies to the appointment of outside assessors. The minimum requirement for appointment as a lecturer at Unisa is an honours degree along with appropriate experience. All assessment is quality-controlled by internal academic staff. 5.2 Moderation

Within Unisa, examiners first set and assess assignments and examinations. In the case of assignments, the quality is checked by course coordinators or team leaders, and by the Director of the Institute for Adult Basic Education and Training. In the case of written examinations, a system of external second examiners is used to moderate question papers, the marking process and marked scripts. External examiners also assist in taking examinations. Such external examiners are senior academics at other universities or specialists in the appropriate field. External second examiners also act as moderators of the examination papers where appropriate. 6 Notes

6.1 Critical cross-field outcomes

• The following critical cross-field outcomes are embedded appropriately in the module. They are assessed within the context of the module. The open distance education context has particular challenges that we try to meet. Demonstrate problemsolving skills as well as elementary knowledge of adult education concepts, theories and practices, and use this knowledge to locate efforts to identify and solve literacy and ABET education and training problems within this broader context.

• Serve the education and training needs of learners as an ABET practitioner. • Work effectively with others as a member of a team, group, organisation or

community. • Manage and organise activities and life responsibilities effectively and exhibit a

disciplined and respectful approach to professional practice as an adult educator and trainer.

• Collect, analyse and organise information. • Communicate effectively using language skills in the modes of oral and/or written

persuasion in sustained discourse. • Show responsibility toward the environment and health and wellbeing of others, in a

community, national and global context.

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• Demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problemsolving contexts do not exist in isolation.

• Reflect on and explore a variety of strategies to learn more effectively. • Participate as a responsible citizen in the life of local, national and global

communities. 6.2 Embedded knowledge

The knowledge embedded within the module will be assessed directly or indirectly through assessment of the specific outcomes in terms of the assessment criteria.

UNIT 1: TRENDS IN ADULT EDUCATION: TERMINOLOGY, CONCEPTS AND DEVELOPMENTS

LEARNING OUTCOMES After studying this unit, you should be able to define concepts, theories and findings about adult education discuss adult education, literacy and learning summarise and compare the theories and educational philosophies of selected

thinkers describe and analyse the conditions within which adult education occurs in South

Africa ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES Summarise the theories of adult learning. Tabulate the differences between formal, informal, continuing, lifelong, experiential

and recurrent education. Tabulate the theories and philosophies of Frere, Nyerere and Knowles. CONTENT KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND VALUES How adults learn Opportunities for ABET The dynamics of adult education provision 1. ADULT EDUCATION, LITERACY AND LEARNING

1.1 Andragogy

Andragogy is defined by Knowles (1989:38) as the art and science of helping adults learn. Merriam and Brockett (1997:41) explain that ―[a]ndragogy is based on the humanistic values of placing the individual at the heart of the learning transaction, of believing in the goodness of human nature and potential for growth and fulfillment and valuing autonomy and self-direction‖. The implication that this has for the educator is that he/she should be a facilitator of learning rather than looking upon himself/herself as

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the sole possessor of knowledge that should be deposited into the empty minds of the learners. The facilitator has to be aware of the fact that there are several resources at his/her disposal to help him/her design and manage teaching and learning effectively. According to Connor (2004:25) pedagogy literally means the art and science of educating children and is often used as a synonym for teaching. More accurately, pedagogy embodies teacher-focused education where teachers assume responsibility for making decisions about what will be learned, how it will be learned, and when it will be learned.

By contrast, andragogy, a theory of adult learning, ―attempts to explain why adults learn differently to younger learners‖ (Knowles 1984:56), but more importantly it acknowledges that adults‘ reasons for learning are often very different from those of younger learners. Knowles popularised the notion of andragogy. Andragogy is learner-centred. The theories of andragogy also recognise that adult learners are motivated to learn to the extent that they perceive it will help them perform tasks they confront in their life situations for example to read, write, etc 1.2 ADULTS LEARN DIFFERENTLY FROM CHILDREN

While the concept of andragogy had been in occasional use since the 1830s it was Malcolm Knowles who popularised its usage for English language readers. For Knowles, andragogy was based on at least four crucial assumptions about the characteristics of adult learners that are different from the assumptions about child learners on which traditional pedagogy is premised. A fifth was added later. 1. Self-concept. As a person matures his/her self-concept moves from one of being a

dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being.

2. Experience. As a person matures he/she accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning.

3. Readiness to learn. As a person matures his/her readiness to learn becomes increasingly oriented to the developmental tasks of his/her social roles.

4. Orientation to learning. As a person matures his/her time perspective changes

from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his/her orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-centredness to one of problem-centredness.

5. Motivation to learn. As a person matures the motivation to learn becomes internal (Knowles 1984:12).

http://www.infed.org/lifelonglearning/b-andra.htm

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ACTIVITY Write down the differences between andragogy and pedagogy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.2.1 DEFINING ADULT LITERACY AND LEARNING

As is the situation in most developing countries, South Africa has low levels of literacy. These low levels of literacy in South Africa are a result of the apartheid era during which many people received very little or no formal education at all. ACTIVITY Define adult literacy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.2.2 Lifelong education

In the preface to Singh and Nayak (2005:v), lifelong education is defined as an important part of the scheme of development of an individual, a society, a state and a nation. Lifelong education answers the basic problems of education now and in the future. This is because it intends to aim at the whole, evolving human being and at all his/her aspects throughout his/her lifetime. It does not only transcend the artificial barriers between academic and non-academic education, and the traditional distinction between conventional public educator and adult education. Sing and Wayale consolidate this definition by referring to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which says that education should cast the whole life of each individual, have as its ultimate goal the promotion of the self-fulfilment of each individual and acknowledge the contribution of all available educational influences including formal and nonformal education. Lifelong education encompasses much more than adult education. Lifelong education includes all levels, bands, unit standards, learning areas and qualifications of the NQF. In the South African context, the unit standards associated with each level of a learning area determine the knowledge and skills that the learners should achieve by the end of that particular learning programme.

Further, the ideology of social democracy is transcended through all learning programmes placed within the NQF to promote the values and attitudes contained within the Manifesto on Values in Education (Department of Education 2001a). This

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research report is concerned with ABET as part of a system of lifelong education and learning in the South African context.

Lifelong learning is explored as a central approach to literacy in this study guide because ABET learners are perfect examples of lifelong learners — they have, in many instances, practical, technical and academic expertise which they have gained on their life journeys. Their ABET learning is a means to acquiring additional knowledge and skills as well as formalising their past and present learning experiences. 1.2.3 Lifelong learning

Adult education for nation-building may be part of lifelong learning. Lifelong learning implies that people should commit themselves to enhancing awareness of what goes on around them for the rest of their lives so that they might lead fruitful and meaningful lives. For adults to be able to function effectively as adults, they need to engage in lifelong learning. Titmus (1996:10—13) summarises this well by stating the following:

―Although the idea that adult education should be a lifelong process was not unknown in the nineteenth century it was only in the second half of the twentieth century that it spread to achieve almost universal acceptance. As a field of practice, adult education's concern is perceived to be the meeting of all the educational needs of a category of persons called adults that are required to be met in order that they may function as adults.‖

It appears that most categories of adult education could be referred to collectively as lifelong learning processes. In other words, adult education is almost synonymous with lifelong learning. Life will continue to pose educational challenges to which people must respond. People‘s responses to their everyday life problems make up part of their lifelong learning process, which qualifies as adult education. Lovett, Clarke and Kilmurray (1983:72) offer useful advice to adult educators by stating the following:

―The starting point for organising the programme of content education or political action must be the present, existential concrete situation, reflecting the aspirations of the people.‖

The people‘s aspirations are their strong desires to get out of difficult situations that hamper their lives. This knowledge of the people‘s situation will go a long way toward enabling adult educators to work successfully with the adult learners who are usually ready to learn those things they need to know. 1.2.4 Learner-centredness

One of the ways of ensuring learner-centredness is to make sure that the education the learners receive is relevant in the sense that it helps them to help themselves in their fight against poverty in the society. Learner-centredness in adult education implies that the learners must have a say and some control over the kind of education they will be able to use to make them fit for the market by either maximising their employability in the formal sector or sustaining their self-employment.

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Mezirow (1995:64) corroborates that for adult education to be learner-centred and successful, it must be linked with the most concrete reality in people's lives. Learner-centredness as one of the factors in ensuring successful delivery of adult education does not work in isolation.

ACTIVITY Distinguish between the various forms of adult education. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.3 SUMMARY AND COMPARISONS OF THEORIES AND EDUCATIONAL

PHILOSOPHIES OF SELECTED THINKERS

The two theories that have a significant influence on adult teaching and learning are those of Malcolm Knowles and Paulo Freire. 1.3.1 The principles underlying the teachings of Knowles

Knowles attempted to develop adult education and learning by popularising the notion of andragogy, which became widely discussed and used. His work was a significant factor in reorienting adult educators from educating people to helping them learn. Knowles was the first person to chart the rise of the adult education movement in the United States, and the first person to develop a statement of informal adult education practice via the notion of andragogy. The education of adults should recognise the experience of learners and use that experience as a resource for teaching and learning. Learners have to be self-directed, motivated volunteers of learning and cannot be forced. It is important to equip learners with motivation and skills for lifelong learning. The learners should be engaged in informal learning activities where they share and learn by doing. The education should recognise and respect readiness to learn. The learners should practise and refine the things learnt. There is a saying that practice makes perfect. The learners should be made to know why they should learn particular skills. Freire made many important contributions to the fields of adult education. Freire‘s evolving thinking was on the learner-centred approach. Freire views teaching as a political process, as an act of knowing and as a creative act. According to Freire, everyone knows something and the learner is responsible for the building up of knowledge and for the re-signification of what he/she learns. For Freire, the human learns through his/her own transforming action in the world (transformational

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learning). It is the learner who constructs his/her own categories of thought, organises his/her life and transforms the world. Adult learning should produce at least these outcomes: Adults should acquire a mature understanding of themselves. They should understand their needs, motivations, interests, capacities and goals. They should be able to look at themselves objectively and maturely. They should accept themselves and respect themselves for what they are, while striving earnestly to improve themselves. Adults should develop an attitude of acceptance, love and respect toward others. This is the attitude on which all human relations depend. Adults must learn to distinguish between people and ideas, and to challenge ideas without threatening people. Ideally, this attitude will go beyond acceptance, love and respect, to empathy and the sincere desire to help others. Adults should develop a dynamic attitude toward life. They should accept the fact of change and think of themselves as always changing. They should acquire the habit of looking at every experience as an opportunity to learn and should become skilful in learning from it. Adults should learn to react to the causes, not the symptoms, of behaviour. Solutions to problems lie in their causes, not in their symptoms. We have learned to apply this lesson in the physical world, but have yet to learn to apply it in human relations. Adults should acquire the skills necessary to achieve the potential of their personalities. Every person has capacities that, if realised, will contribute to the wellbeing of himself/herself and of society. To achieve this potential requires skills of many kinds — vocational, social, recreational, civic, artistic, and the like. It should be a goal of education to give each individual those skills necessary for him/her to make full use of his/her capacities. Adults should understand the essential values in the capital of human experience. They should be familiar with the heritage of knowledge, the great ideas and the great traditions of the world in which they live. They should understand and respect the values that bind men together. Adults should understand their society and should be skilful in directing social change. In a democracy the people participate in making decisions that affect the entire social order. It is therefore imperative that every factory worker, every salesperson, every politician and every housewife knows enough about government, economics, international affairs and other aspects of the social order to be able to take part intelligently. The society of our age, as Robert Maynard Hutchins warns us, cannot wait for the next generation to solve its problems. Time is running out fast. Our fate rests with the

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intelligence, skill and goodwill of those who are now the citizen-rulers. The instrument by which their abilities as citizen-rulers can be improved is adult education. This is our problem. This is our challenge.

Malcolm S Knowles (1950) Informal Adult Education, Chicago: Association Press, pages 9—10. Malcolm S Knowles was responsible for a number of important ‗firsts‘. He was the first to chart the rise of the adult education movement in the United States; the first to develop a statement of informal adult education practice; and the first to attempt a comprehensive theory of adult education (via the notion of andragogy). Jarvis (1987:185) comments:

―As a teacher, writer and leader in the field, Knowles has been an innovator, responding to the needs of the field as he perceived them and, as such, he has been a key figure in the growth and practice of adult education throughout the Western world during this century. Yet above all, it would perhaps be fair to say that both his theory and practice have embodied his own value system and that is contained within his formulations of andragogy.‖ Much of his writing was descriptive and lacked a sharp critical edge. He was ready to change his position — but the basic route of his thought remained fairly constant throughout his career. His focus was increasingly on the explanation of a field of activity rather than on social change — and there was a significantly individualistic focus in his work. ―I am just not good‖, he wrote, ―at political action. My strength lies in creating opportunities for helping individuals become more proficient practitioners‖ (Knowles 1989:146). CASE STUDY

Mrs Zulu Lives at Rotterdam village in the Mopani District in Limpopo Province. She studied ABET diploma and she has been recently awarded her qualification at recent graduation ceremony.

An ABET centre has been opened in her village and the Limpopo Provincial Education Department has appointed her as an ABET Practitioner. The centre will empower the people in the village with some skills so that they can develop and empower themselves. Mrs Zulu stepped into the class and asks her learners to think about the activities that change the environment. She asked them what are they doing or have seen others doing to conserve the environment. The facilitator was pleased to notice that the learners have noticed that in some areas most people were not able to understand the damage being done by their activites such as burning tyres, vandalising properties, etc. They were also concerned about this.

Questions

What are you doing or seen doing to conserve the environment? Work in groups or pairs and make posters exploring what you have seen others

doing?

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How do you believe that Mrs Zulu used her learner‘s experiences? How did she open up the discussion? How did Mrs Zulu introduce the lesson in such a way she encouraged participation

and her learners to participate and draw on their experience? How did she continue the lesson after learners started exploring their experiences so

that she can let them draw on their experience? Did she make sure that the learners learn from each other? How did she offer n feedback and how did the learners learn? How did she get the student involvement in making posters How did she get the students involved in the activity that will enhance learning? How did she help the learners to increase their self-confidence? In your answers underline the phrases that Mrs Zulu has understood the principles of

Knowles?

Discussion

As a facilitator it is important to try to get the whole class involved. It is also possible to get others being marginalised in the class and there is a possibility that it could be women. As a facilitator it is important to try and control the situation. It is also good to have the facilitator who will recognise this.

The experiences of what they have done or seen others doing contribute to learning from each other and learning what other have done. They are also learning about new possibilities and the rest of the community can also learn from them.

The posters could also be taken into the community to comment, to help and preserve the environment. They can even start by conserving their environment at the centre where they are attending the ABET classes.

After they have shared in pairs and groups, they will give feeback; the facilitator will also give feedback. They will get confidence and it will motivate them enough to go to the community and get those feedbacks. 1.3.2 The principles underlying the teachings of Freire

The education should engage in problemsolving and social tasks, that is critical pedagogy. Create products, small group collaboration projects, presentations and portfolios that will bring education to the disadvantaged. The education should be learner-centred — not to spoon-feed learners, and not to literally deposit information in the minds of learners. The education should also operate through dialogue, and lead to emancipation, empowerement and freedom.

CASE STUDY Mrs Khumalo went into the class to start a conversation with learners on local politics. She started her conversation by saying that she read an article in the newspaper where the community demanded action. She goes into the class with the picture showing the community demanding an action and there is chaos. The community has a political problem. She used the story from the newspaper as a springboard to open a political

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discussion. There were unfulfilled promises in the community. She started talking and realizes that the community does not have options. Mrs Khumalo told the class to talk about this so in relation to becoming more literate. The learners started to talk amongst themselves about the options that could be possible. When they are brainstorming, the facilitator asks them to come up with solutions.

Discussions

Do you think Mrs Khumalo is successfully integrated literacy with allowing for politically discussion?

Do you think Mrs Khumalo has understood and managed to facilitate the process of dialogue in the class?

Do you think Mrs Khumalo has drawn the learner‘s experiences and input? Do you think Mrs Khumalo has understood that she is teaching adults and has to

act appropriately? What do you see as the reasons for this problem? What options do we have? Do you think Mrs Khumalo understood Freire‘s suggestions that you can use the

class for political forums in this teaching situation? What can the community do without burning tyres? Write a letter of grievances to the authority about the service delivery the letter

should be taken to the people in the community to sign without forcing them. When they brainstorm the fascilitator asks them to come up with solutions. The problem solving do not go along with the violent way. The class should talk politically because this is what Freire‘s theory is all about. There is a lot of political forums in this teaching situation. This is a situation in which students are allowed to talk about issues of concern that are often politicized. At the end of the lesson, it is important for the class to realize that communication is very much important. As they are discussing, Mrs Khumalo writes words on the board and the learners are also learning how to read as well. The learners could also be helped to write for examples, grievances letter that is part of the exercise. The letter could be taken to the community to sign volutantarily. In other words, the case study also teaches them values that they should respect other people‘s rights if they do not want to sign. The case study also addresses values and not only counsciousness. There are lot of values that one can draw from this picture.

1.3.2.1 Theory of value What knowledge and skills are worth learning? What are the goals of education?

Education should raise the awareness of the students so that they become subjects, rather than objects, of the world. This is done by teaching students to think democratically and to continually question and derive meaning from (critically view) everything they learn (page 58).

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1.3.2.2 Theory of knowledge What is knowledge? How is it different from belief? What is a mistake? What is a lie?

Knowledge is a social construct. Knowing is a social process, whose individual dimension, however, cannot be forgotten or even devalued. The process of knowing, which involves the whole conscious self, feelings, emotions, memory, affects, an epistemologically curious mind, focused on the object, equally involves other thinking subjects, that is, others also capable of knowing and curious. This simply means that the relationship called "thinking" is not enclosed in a relationship "thinking subject - knowable object" because it extends to other thinking subjects (page 92). Freire discusses two types of knowledge, unconscious, sometimes practical knowledge, and critical, reflective or theory knowledge. Beliefs are shaped into knowledge by discussion and critical reflection. 1.3.2.3 Theory of human nature. What is a human being? How does it differ from other

species? What are the limits of human potential? The ability of humans to plan and shape the world for their future needs is what separates humans from animals. The oppressed majority must be taught to imagine a better way so that they can shape their future and thereby become more human. There are many things that limit the success of the oppressed majority. Noncritical thinking (naive consciousness) is a source of many limitations. Some poor people see no way out of their situation.

1.3.2.4 Theory of learning. What is learning? How are skills and knowledge acquired? Freire talks about the fallacy of looking at the education system as if it were a bank, a large repository where students come to withdraw the knowledge they need for life. Knowledge is not a set commodity that is passed from the teachers to the students. Students must construct knowledge from knowledge they already possess. Teachers must learn how the students understand the world so that these teachers understand how the students learn.

Teaching cannot be a process of transference of knowledge from the one teaching to the learner. This is the mechanical transference from which results machinelike memorization, which I have already criticized. Critical study correlates with teaching that is equally critical, which necessarily demands a critical way of comprehending and of realizing the reading of the word and that of the world, the reading of text and of context (page22).

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1.3.2.5 Theory of transmission. Who is to teach? By what methods? What will the curriculum be?

Teaching is a political process. It must be a democratic process to avoid teaching authority dependence. The teacher must learn about (and from) the student so that knowledge can be constructed in ways that are meaningful to the student. The teachers must become learners and the learners must become teachers. Only insofar as learners become thinking subjects, and recognise that they are as much thinking subjects as are the teachers, is it possible for the learners to become productive subjects of the meaning or knowledge of the object. It is in this dialectic movement that teaching and learning become knowing and reknowing. The learners gradually know what they did not yet know, and the educators reknow what they knew before (page90). 1.3.2.6 Theory of society. What is society? What institutions are involved in the educational process? Freire challenges the conventional assumption that there is equal opportunity in a democratic society. He often asserts that education is a political process.

Freire's most well-known work is Pedagogy of the oppressed (1970). Throughout this and subsequent books, he argues for a system of education that emphasises learning as an act of culture and freedom. He is most well known for concepts such as ―banking education‖, in which passive learners have pre-selected knowledge deposited in their minds.

―Conscientisation‖ is a process by which the learner advances towards critical consciousness; the ―culture of silence‖ is the culture in which dominated individuals lose the means by which to critically respond to the culture that is forced on them by a dominant culture. Other important concepts developed by Freire include ―dialectic‖, ―empowerment‖, ―generative themes/words‖, ―humanisation‖, ―liberatory education‖, ―mystification‖, ―praxis‖, ―problematisation‖ and ―transformation of the world‖. Case study The Vuyani settlement in Limpopo Province is negatively impacted by socio-economic conditions. The people work in nearby small factories in the Tzaneen CBD. The women work in the suburbs of the town. There is no crèche to leave their children when they go to work. Mrs Rosa who has recently qualified as an ABET practitioner approached the working women to discuss the issue of Creche on Sunday morning. They set up a small committee and consulted the ward committee to discuss this problem. At the end of the day, a good Samaritan offered them a garage to start an ECD centre for the crèche. After a year, the centre got funding from the department of Social Development. Mrs Rosa played an important role in guiding and supporting the community throughout this process

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Questions 1. How should the ladies go about gathering the knowledge that they will need to run a

crèche? 2. Briefly discuss how you will assist the group of women to set up the committee? 3. Assist the group on how to write a letter for funding of the crèche 1.3.3 The principles underlying the teachings of Nyerere

Nyerere‘s commitment to adult education was unwavering. His philosophy of adult education and lifelong learning was considered very progressive among the international adult education and development community. Nyerere‘s ideas on education for liberation and development resonate with those of Paulo Freire‘s ideas expressed in Pedagogy of the oppressed. Nyerere was an advocate of equality, unity and economic and social justice at home, regionally and globally. According to Nyerere, we need to understand that what we need to develop is people, not things, and that people can only develop themselves. The socialism he believed in was people-centred. Humanness in its fullest sense rather than wealth creation must come first. Nyerere‘s educational philosophy can be approached under two main headings: education for self-reliance; and adult education, lifelong learning and education for liberation. 1.3.3.1 Adult education, lifelong learning and learning for liberation

In the Declaration of Dar es Salaam Julius Nyerere made a ringing call for adult education to be directed at helping people to help themselves and for it to be approached as part of life: ―integrated with life and inseparable from it‖. For him adult education had two functions: 1. to inspire both a desire for change, and an understanding that change is possible 2. to help people make their own decisions, and to implement those decisions for

themselves (Nyerere 1978:29, 30).

Julius Nyerere— The Declaration of Dar-es-Salaam Man can only liberate himself or develop himself. He cannot be liberated or developed by another. For Man makes himself. It is his ability to act deliberately, for a self-determined purpose, which distinguishes him from the other animals.

The expansion of his own consciousness, and therefore of his power over himself, his environment, and his society, must therefore ultimately be what we mean by development (Nyerere 1978:27).

So development is for Man, by Man, and of Man. The same is true of education. Its purpose is the liberation of Man from the restraints and limitations of ignorance and dependency. Education has to increase men‘s physical and mental freedom to increase their control over themselves, their own lives [page 28], the environment in which they live. The ideas imparted by education, or released in the mind through education, should therefore be liberating ideas; the skills acquired by education should be liberating skills. Nothing else can properly be called education. Teaching which induces

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a slave mentality or a sense of impotence is not education at all — it is [an] attack on the minds of men.

This means that adult education has to be directed at helping men to develop themselves. It has to contribute to an enlargement of Man‘s ability in every way. In particular it has to help men to decide for themselves — in co-operation — what development is. It must help men to think clearly; it must enable them to examine the possible alternative courses of action; to make a choice between those alternatives in keeping with their own purposes; and it must equip them with the ability to translate their decisions into reality.

So if adult education is to contribute to development, it must be a part of life — integrated with life and inseparable from it. It is not something which can be put into a box and taken out for certain periods of the day or week — or certain periods of a life. And it cannot be imposed: every learner is ultimately a volunteer because, however much teaching he is given, only he can learn. Further, adult education is not something which can deal with just ―agriculture‖, or ―health‖, or ―literacy‖, or ―mechanical skill‖, etc. All these separate branches of education are related to the total life a man is living, and to the man he is and will become. Learning how best to grow soya beans is of little use to a man if it is not combined with learning about nutrition and/or the existence of a market for the beans. This means that adult education will promote changes in men, and in society. And it means that adult education should promote change, at the same time as it assists men to control both the change which they induce, and that which is forced upon them by the decisions of other men or the cataclysms of nature. Further, it means that adult education encompasses the whole of life, and must build upon what already exists.

Extract from Julius K Nyerere ―Development is for Man, by Man, and of Man‖: The Declaration of Dar es Salaam, in Budd L Hall and J Roby Kidd (eds.) (1978) Adult education: a design for action. Oxford: Pergamon.

Nyerere's view of adult education stretched far beyond the classroom. It is ―anything which enlarges men's understanding, activates them, helps them to make their own decisions, and to implement those decisions for themselves‖ (Nyerere 1978:30). It includes ―agitation‖ and ―organization and mobilization‖.

Adult education, for Nyerere, doesn‘t have a beginning or an end. It should not be pressed into self-contained compartments. Rather we need to think of lifelong learning. Living is learning and learning is about trying to live better. ―We must accept that education and working are both parts of living and should continue from birth until we die‖ (Nyerere 1973:300—301).

The teacher of adults is, for Nyerere, a leader — ―a guide along a path which all will travel together‖ (Ibid.:34).

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The starting point of Nyerere‘s general views on education and development is that the purpose of education and development is the liberation of man. In a speech to the Dag Hammarsjold Seminar on Education, Nyerere (1974b:48) states that the purpose of education is the liberation through the development of Man as a member of society. Two years later, Nyerere (1978:28) elaborated on the purpose of education for liberation: ―the liberation of Man from the restraints and limitations of ignorance and dependency‖. Nyerere (1978:28) further said that the main purpose of adult education is to help people develop themselves, and ―it must enable them to examine the possible alternative courses of action; to make a choice between those alternatives in keeping with their own purposes; and it must equip them with the ability to translate their decisions into reality‖. Finally, for Nyerere (1978:28—29), education for liberation is a personal, voluntary, cooperative and social process that must integrate with life. Nyerere concludes that the main goal of adult education is to promote social change: ―adult education should promote change, at the same time as it assists men to control both the change which they induce, and that which is forced upon them by the decisions of other men or the cataclysms of nature‖. In many respects, Nyerere‘s views on the purposes and role of adult education in development are akin to Freire‘s analysis of education and social change. Both Nyerere and Freire take an instrumental view of education: education is either for liberation or domestication. Nyerere‘s analysis of the negative effects of colonial education is also similar to Freire‘s critique of banking education and pedagogy of the oppressor or coloniser. Finally, both Freire and Nyerere emphasise the raising of people‘s consciousness as the critical function of education for liberation.

1.3.3.2 The meaning and scope of adult education

On 31 December 1969, Nyerere addressed the nation on radio on the theme of adult education and declared 1970 to be ―Adult Education Year‖. Nyerere (1973:138) broadly defines adult education as ―anything at all which can help us to understand the environment we live in, and the manner in which we can change and use this environment in order to improve ourselves‖.

Nyerere (1978:30) elaborates that adult education ―incorporates anything which enlarges men's understanding, activates them, helps them to make their own decisions and to implement those decisions for themselves‖. Nyerere emphasises the nonformal aspects of adult education as well as the experiential dimension of learning by doing, pointing out that ―the best way to learn how to teach is to teach‖. He notes that adult education is a ―highly political activity‖ (Nyerere 1978:31). The broad scope and role of adult education requires two types of adult educators, according to Nyerere. The first group consists of what he calls ―generalists‖. These include political activists, educators, community development workers and religious teachers. Such people, Nyerere (1978:31) argues, cannot be politically neutral by the very nature of their work, ―for what they are doing will affect how men look at society in which they live, and how they seek to use it or change it‖. The second type of adult educator consists of what Nyerere calls ―specialists‖. Specialists have specialised knowledge and skills or professional expertise in a wide range of fields such as health, agriculture, childcare, management and literacy. Nyerere (1978:32) cautions that to be effective, the work of specialists must be coordinated and linked, ―like a spider's web, the different strands of which knit together, each strengthening each other, and each connected to the others to make a coherent

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whole‖. Nyerere (1973:137) argues that the overall objective of adult education is ―to shake ourselves out of the resignation to the kind of life Tanzanian people have lived for centuries past‖. The condition of fatalism (―the will of God‖) and resignation Nyerere is referring to here is similar to Freire‘s concept of the culture of silence in which people are taught to accept what is handed down to them without questioning. Nyerere (1978:29) argues that the most important function of adult education is to arouse awareness and consciousness among the people about the need for and possibility of change: ―to inspire both a desire for change, and an understanding that change is possible‖, and to make oppressed people realise that ―they can change it by their own action, either individually or in co-operation with others‖.

Again, the idea of Nyerere imploring Tanzanian people to shake themselves out of the belief that poverty or suffering is ―the will of God‖ and to become aware that change is not only possible but can be achieved with their actions is similar to what Freire refers to as the process of ―conscientisation‖. Freire argues for the need to change the people‘s pessimistic and fatalistic perspective of reality and enable them to acquire a ―critical consciousness‖, an awareness of their own capacity and means to understand and change the environment (Freire 1968). Within the context of Tanzania, Nyerere (1973:137—138) identifies three main objectives of adult education: to give us the ability to reject bad houses, bad jembes (Swahili for house) and

preventable diseases to learn how to improve our lives, to produce more on our farms or in our factories

and offices to make it possible for everyone to understand our national policies of socialism and

self-reliance, and to ensure that we all play our part in making them a success, and that we all benefit from them

ACTIVITY Summarise and compare the theories and educational philosophies of Freire, Nyerere and Knowles. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.4 CONDITIONS WITHIN WHICH ADULT EDUCATION OCCURS IN SOUTH

AFRICA

Describe and analyse the conditions within which adult education occurs in South Africa.

Adult Basic Education and Training is the general conceptual foundation toward lifelong learning and development, comprising knowledge, skills and attitudes required for

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social, economic and political participation and transformation applicable to a range of contexts. ABET is flexible, developmental and targeted at the specific needs of particular audiences and, ideally, provides access to a nationally recognised certificate. The policy is itself shaped by broader education policy represented in the White Paper of 1995, the National Education Policy Act 27 of 1996 and the South African Qualifications Authority Act 58 of 1995. The National Department of Education has through its Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) Directorate engaged in a number of activities to build up an ABET system that enables ABET provision based upon principles and practices of equity, redress, development, reconstruction, access, integration, partnerships, sustainable use of resources, a flexible curriculum, outcomes-based standards of attainment, the recognition of prior learning and cost-effectiveness.

ABET implies more than just literacy; it is intended to serve a range of social, economic and developmental roles and is also viewed as fundamental to bringing about the dignity and self-esteem of the learner. 1.5 ABET IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT

The Department of Education promulgated the Adult Basic Education and Training Act 52 of 2000 on 15 December 2000. The Act seeks to regulate adult basic education and training; to provide for the establishment, governance and funding of public adult learning centres (PALCs); to provide for the registration of private adult learning centres; to provide for quality assurance and quality promotion in adult basic education and training; to provide for transitional arrangements; and to provide for matters connected therewith (Government Gazette No. 21881, Adult Basic Education and Training Act 52 of 2000). The acronym ABET is used in South Africa to refer to Adult Basic Education and Training. The acronym attempts to highlight the integration between education and training, a marriage which was arranged by the wide range of post-apartheid legislation and which is grounded in the NQF via the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) Act 58 of 1995. It allows for the recognition and accreditation of learning achievements on the part of even basic-level learners. It permits portability, accessibility and transferability of skills, knowledge and abilities.

South Africa has a low level of literacy which cannot be viewed independently of the apartheid policies that were in place prior to democratisation in 1994. The implications of apartheid were far-reaching and served to entrench inequalities and poverty along racial and gender lines. These inequalities affected the delivery of services including education.

According to Rule (2006:117), about 15 million people were illiterate. The vast majority of the 15 million semi-literate and illiterate people were Africans, with more living in rural than urban areas.

In terms of the Constitution of 1996, adult basic education (ABET) is defined as a human right. Section 29 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996) establishes the right to basic education, including ABET. Some studies, such as those done by Aitchison (2000), French (2002), and the Human

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Sciences Research Council (1999), even suggest that there has been a decline in ABET provision and delivery while the sector is becoming increasingly marginalised. The funding and delivery of ABET programmes has declined. The researchers quoted above argue that there is a lack of recognition of adult educators and their status is poor.

McKay (2007:294) agrees with Aitchison (2000) and French (2002) that ABET in South Africa is defined as a human right; however the decline in learners enrolled in basic education programmes and the resources draw attention to the lack of fit between policy and practices.

ABET implies more than just literacy; it is intended to serve a range of social, economic and developmental roles and is also viewed as fundamental to the dignity and self-esteem of the learner.

The South African ministry's partnership with ABET instituted established learning centres in the community where the learners live, a successful delivery structure for literacy and development opportunities throughout the country. The initiative clearly showed that the ABET institute was a real ODL institute. 1.6 PROVISION OF ABET IN THE ODL CONTEXT AT UNISA

There are many universities that offer ABET at a distance. According to Commonwealth Education Partnerships (2007), a significant example of training adult educators using distance education to roll out ABET programmes is that at the ABET Institute at Unisa, which trained over 37 000 ABET educators from 2002 to 2004. It used this network to provide literacy training to over 100 000 learners as part of the South African National Literacy Initiative. Unisa has accepted its research mandate of developing knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary for the development of the country. Unisa has been mandated to register a diverse student body from both rural and urban areas. Sonnekus, Louw and Wilson (2006:45) assert that Unisa accommodates students from diverse backgrounds, namely political, economic and social fields, and urban and rural areas. In addressing learner support in rural areas, Unisa uses technology to reach out to its students. According to Braimoh and Osiki (2008:58), most villages in rural areas are without electricity supply, have poor roads, and lack efficient postal systems and telephones lines. They do not have access to technology, especially the internet. Many learners are also not able to afford the internet, where it is available. Learners sometimes struggle because they have to study mainly on their own and with less interaction with their lecturers and their peers. Sonnekus et al (2006:45) say that at present the learner support model for the newly merged institution is emerging and will probably go through various designs in order to serve the comprehensive learner body of Unisa.

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According to UNESCO (2002:9), most learners including those at Unisa have problems understanding study material and assignments, lack peer group contact, lack adequate feedback and motivation, etc. Mostert (2006:501) says problems associated with studying through a distance education institution include loneliness, time management issues, examination stress and difficulty in grasping the format of the study material. Some distance education learners also struggle to adapt to a situation in which the role of the academic has changed from that of lecturer to facilitator. There are certainly challenges that Unisa faces as an ODL institution. Makina (2008:1) suggests that although distance education has been acclaimed for providing access to higher education for students who were previously denied this privilege, this formal admission has not been matched with the provision of substantive access to ensure success. As a result, the retention and throughput rates are low. ACTIVITY Describe and analyse the conditions under which adult education occurs in South Africa. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.7 THEORY

The concept ―theory‖ is variously defined by different authors. When you do or conduct research you need to have a theory. A theory is a prediction and explanation of national phenomena (McMillan & Schumacher 2010:491). A theory predicts and explains a national phenomenon. Instead of explaining each specific behaviour of an adult, for example, the scientist seeks general explanations that link different behaviours. By explaining which variables relate to which other variables, and how, the researcher can make predictions (Ibid.:13). A theory may or may not have empirical support. When a theory has considerable empirical support, it is called a scientific law. A scientific law, such as the law of gravity, is generalisable — that is, it explains many individual cases. Ary, Jacobs and Sorensen (2010:14) define a theory as a set of interrelated constructs and propositions that present an explanation of phenomena and make predictions about relationships among variables relevant to the phenomena. In simple terms, a theory can be defined as a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain a phenomenon. It is a set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based. The most well-known theories of adult learning in education are those of Malcolm Knowles and Paulo Freire.

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ACTIVITY Define the concept of theory. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.7.1 Purposes of theories

Theories serve useful functions in the development of science.

1. They organise empirical findings. 2. They explain phenomena. 3. They predict phenomena. 4. They stimulate new research. 5. They provide a framework that offers explanations of phenomena. 1.7.2 Criteria for theories

Ary, Jacobs and Sorensen (2010:15) state the following about criteria for theories:

1. A theory should be able to explain the observed facts relating to a particular problem.

2. A theory should be consistent with observed facts and with the already established body of knowledge; scientists build on what has already been found.

3. A theory should provide means for its verification. 4. A theory should stimulate new discoveries and indicate further areas in need of

investigation.

According to Badat (2006:91), the purpose of theory is … to analyse and expose the hiatus between the actual and the possible, between the existing order of contradictions, and the potential future state. According to Ritzer (2008), key elements that undergird the research process are ontology, epistemology, methodology, aim of inquiry and inquiry posture. The researcher will discuss different theories and how they underpin the framework of the study project. However, the focus will be on teaching and learning theories that are embedded in learning theories to find out views and experiences of ABET students regarding how they use the myUnisa online tool to learn.

In the next section theories relevant to the ODL context are explored. 1.8 UNIVERSAL THEORIES FOR OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

Chikuya (2007:33) says ODL is not carried out haphazardly but falls within structures of a given operational model. The teaching and learning model, though generally applicable to most educational programmes, can also be aligned to ODL depending on the situations and circumstances intended to be addressed by this strategy.

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Literature presents a number of theories relating to the definition of ODL. According to Hughes and Bush (1991:234) in Bush and Bell (2002:15), theories are most useful for influencing practice when they suggest new ways in which events and situations can be perceived. Fresh insight may be provided by focusing attention on possible interrelationships that the practitioner has failed to notice, and which can be further explored and tested through empirical research. Theory cannot then be dismissed as irrelevant. The following models have been selected as a framework for this study on the basis of their contribution to teaching and learning activities. The models focus on the development of an online learning community, initiation of meaning, and learning and achievement of cognitive outcomes. The theories guide and support students in an online learning environment. The students share their teaching and learning activities in the community. The theories provide members with access to information, networking opportunities, discussions and problemsolving situations. The students share and communicate knowledge. The theories help to explain the patterns of ICT usage, and the integration of technology into teaching and learning activities. 1.9 THE COMMUNITY MODEL

Bellah, Sullivan, Swindler and Tipton (1985) in Rideout, Bruinsma, Hull and Modayil (2007) define a community as a group of people who are socially interdependent, who participate together in discussion and decisionmaking, and who share certain practices that both define the community and are nurtured by it. Such a community is not formed quickly. It almost always has a history and is also a community of memory defined in part by its past and its memory of the past.

Marshall (2000:3—8) says that the community model needs to work in terms of a manner that resembles a community. Each person would be expected to perform a specific role, which he/she would assume in the world of work. Moller (1998:116) supports that a community in a distance-learning situation functions similarly to any community in that its two prime functions are to promote social reinforcement and information exchange. More specifically, community plays an integral role in successful asynchronous distance learning by providing the learner with three different types of support, namely academic, intellectual and interpersonal support.

The groupings made for tutorial purposes, in a way, resemble a community and each person makes necessary contributions as required by a given group assignment. The model resembles a school situation where different stakeholders interact with each other. The interaction leads to a situation in which everybody generally knows everybody and there is a sense of belongingness. Rovoi (2002) in Rideout, Bruinsma, Hull and Modayil (2007) suggests that four essential dimensions must be present for a classroom of students, whether physical or virtual, to become a community. The four dimensions are spirit, trust, interaction and common expectations. In this regard, quality in education would be a reality (Shea & Bidjerano 2008:544).

The first function of community is to provide a social membership or reinforcement. Community, through social reinforcement, provides a vehicle for satisfying the basic human need for self-esteem (Moller 1998:116). This encourages the use of the internal conditions necessary for a learner to be ready and able to learn (Maslow 1954) and

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improves self-esteem, self-confidence, capability and adequacy, among others. Maslow goes on to say that the loss of feelings of recognition, attention, importance or appreciation all result from a lack of community, which leads to feelings of inferiority, weakness and helplessness. Such feelings are hardly prescriptive for successful learning.

McIsaac and Gunawardena (1996) in Moller (1998:116) appear to support the significance of social reinforcement as an issue in distance learning by stating that social presence, the extent to which the person feels, or is seen by others as real, is a significant factor that affects satisfaction and achievement. Social reinforcement from others in a community contributes a sense of identity through shared values, norms and preferences. There are commonalities that prevail between the different learning theories. They are all interested in reaching the larger masses and they are about access. They might only differ on the level of organisation with the factory method appearing more organised than the community models. These open distance learning models entail a student-centred approach that is built on integrated systems and engaged learning. They involve learning and teaching interaction, and students actively engage and interact with institutions, their lecturers, study material and fellow students through myUnisa and other technologies. myUnisa is a web-based system for academic collaboration and study-related interaction. This system was developed to supplement and enhance academic interaction and improve communication between Unisa and its students as well as provide opportunity for engagement among students. ACTIVITY Discuss the community model and its role in open and distance learning. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UNIT 2: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADULT EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES After studying this unit, you should be able to outline the role of adult education in addressing the national and other

socioeconomic needs of the unemployed explain the advantages of adult education in addressing unemployment compare and discuss the needs and opportunities for adult education in current

development initiatives

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ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES Explain how adult basic education can alleviate the problem of illiteracy. How can adult education create jobs, alleviate poverty and reduce crime? What effect can adult education have on the social development of South African

citizens?

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND VALUES Adult education and job creation ABET as a solution to the skills development gaps ABET creates job and career opportunities Adult education and poverty, HIV/AIDS, crime and economic development 2.1 ADULT EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

The outcomes vary depending on the lens that is used to explore achievements over the last 12 years. To do this, we are deliberately using the language and lens of adult learning rather than adult education (Walters 2006). We do this because, firstly, adult education is still commonly equated with either personal development for the middle classes, or literacy and basic education for the poor. Secondly, adult learning is embedded in the political, social, cultural and economic processes of society. Its primary social purposes within a context like South Africa are to enhance possibilities for women and men to survive the harsh conditions in which they live; to develop skills for people in the formal and informal sectors for economic purposes; and to provide cultural and political education which encourages women and men to participate actively in society through cultural organisations, social movements, political parties and trade unions. Improving the lives of the majority, who are poor, demands a holistic approach that enables intersectoral strategies across national and local government departments, civil society organisations and those in the economy. Increasingly, the notion of learning for sustainable livelihoods is being identified as a helpful, more inclusive conceptual framework (Von Kotze 2007). The language of ―learning‖ or ―capacity building‖ resonates more easily with, for example, the health, environmental, welfare or business sectors. They more readily recognise their involvement in ―learning‖, rather than ―education‖, as they go about their daily business. Thirdly, as Torres (2003:23) argues, adult education in the South ―has always been trapped between meagre attention and resources and overly ambitious expectations‖. Unlike many countries in the North, the South does not have compact networks of public or private education and training organisations that are giving citizens more than ample learning opportunities. Adult education facilities are limited. The majority of adults do not have the expectation of ―education‖; this they regard as something for their children. Therefore she argues that ―expanding the perceived learning needs and enhancing the capability to demand them is particularly important for learners in the most disadvantaged situations‖ (2003:24). Learning, she argues, does not imply an

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individualised approach. The building of learning communities to help address the daily struggles within a comprehensive and integrated development strategy is essential. Trying to assess comprehensively what adult learning has taken place in the last 12 years is virtually impossible as the programmes and activities are hard to find. They may be located under ―capacity building‖ or ―staff development‖ or ―community development‖ in organisations or government departments. What we are able to do here is suggest a range of activities and programmes that were found through searching websites, annual reports and other documents. Lifelong learning in South Africa was commissioned by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) (Walters 2008). In addition, we draw inferences from socioeconomic statistical data. What is obvious is that there is a need for substantial research to give a more comprehensive and accurate picture. We also are informed by discussions taking place in the Ministry.

2.2 UNEMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

In South Africa, unemployment is extremely high and it is seen as one of the most pressing socio-political problems facing the government. There has been lively debate on the extent, nature and cures of unemployment in South Africa but the outcome has been rather inconclusive. This reflects a lack of good empirical evidence in the past. The World Bank-funded SALDRU data collected in 1993 and subsequent October Household Surveys and Labour Force Surveys permit detailed microeconomic and empirical analyses of unemployment in South Africa.

The work has focused on the dimensions, incidence, appropriate definition and nature of unemployment in South Africa with attention to related aspects such as unemployment duration, unemployed job-search, reservation wages, the informal sector, an explanation of the racial gap in unemployment probability and in earnings, and the relationship between unemployment, poverty and quality of life. 2.2.1 Adult education and poverty alleviation: what can be learnt from practice?

A number of studies have confirmed the direct relationship between poverty and education (Ribich 1968; Vally 1998; Preece 2005; Akoojee & McGrath 2006). Research has established that higher education can have positive effects on productivity, income levels and employment, education for the next generation (intergenerational effects), health, fertility and nutrition, as well as empowerment, social inclusion and participation. Educational interventions including adult education enable people to realise their full potential and improve their wellbeing. The main assignment is to help poor people improve their chances of changing their own situation.

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2.2.2 Cost of unemployment

Firstly, unemployed South Africans represent lost economic output today. A back-of-the-envelope calculation illustrates the magnitude of this cost. If employment as a fraction of the total population rose to the level of an average of six comparator countries, per capita GDP in South Africa would rise by 48%. To put this into perspective, the current South African economic growth plan, ASGI-SA, has set as its goal an increase in per capita GDP of 38% by 2014. Hence, if employment as a fraction of the population were to rise to the level of comparator countries, the entire ASGI-SA goal would be more than met. A second cost of South Africa‘s high unemployment reflects the dynamic aspects of unemployment. Workers who are unemployed today are not acquiring the experience and skills that will contribute to their productivity in the future. Hence the static costs of unemployment discussed above are amplified over time. An implication of this is that waiting to address unemployment is increasingly costly in terms of foregone future growth. Further, the dynamics are such that unemployment is not a self-correcting problem. The third cost is harder to measure but just as important. Unemployment contributes to the social ills that accompany a loss of hope.

These include crime, disengagement with the political process and a lack of investment in one‘s future wellbeing. Because unemployment is concentrated among adults under the age of 35, their disillusionment with the ―new‖ South Africa carries with it a particular threat to the future of the country. For all these reasons and more, unemployment is probably the single most pressing challenge facing South Africa today. ACTIVITY Explain how adult basic education can alleviate the problem of illiteracy in your province. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2.3 CHALLENGES RELATING TO POVERTY AND INEQUALITY

South Africa is regarded as a middle-income country with a per capita income around US$ 3600, in the same category as Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Turkey and Venezuela. The South African economy displays elements of both development and underdevelopment, sometimes characterised respectively as the ―first‖ and ―second‖ economies. In the former, a small but growing proportion of the population enjoys a standard of living comparable with that in the industrialised world while in the latter there are significantly high levels of poverty. With regard to poverty, recent estimates indicate that more than 45% of the population is living below a conservatively estimated national poverty line (R354 per month).

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Poverty is also distributed unevenly by race, gender and region. For example, the proportion of black South Africans living on less than US$ 1 per day was estimated recently at just under 13%; the corresponding figures for coloured, Indian and white South Africans were 3.6%, 3.1%, and 0.4% respectively. Regionally, using the same measure of poverty, the incidence of poverty varies from 2.7% in the Western Cape to 15% in the Eastern Cape and 18% in Limpopo. Vast inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth represent a formidable challenge and remain an important constraint to growth and an important factor in addressing problems of social cohesion. With a Gini coefficient of around 0.6, South Africa is one of the most unequal countries – as with poverty, the pattern of inequality manifests itself in its racial, gender and regional dimensions. In addition, a new trend of intra-black inequality is manifesting itself in the post-apartheid era. Underlying the poverty and inequality challenges is a high level of unemployment. The unemployment rate varies between 25 and 40% depending on the measure used. Unemployment is highest among black Africans (32%), and women (31%), and in rural areas. According to Stats SA 2007, unemployment among women is consistently higher than for men. Race and gender are key determinants of unemployment. The most disadvantaged groups in descending order are black females; black males; coloured females; Indian females; coloured males; Indian males; white females; and white males. In South Africa, this figure has long hovered around 40%. Unemployment is rising; the number of employed people has risen in the six years covered by the data by 373 000, or 3%, during a period in which, as we noted above, the population increased by about 8%. As a result, although the official unemployment rate has declined, the age of blacks unemployed is overwhelmingly young. 75% of the black African unemployed population are below the age of 35; this compares with an overall demographic of 38% for the black African population aged 15 to 34 years. The number of discouraged work-seekers rose by 30% between 2001 and 2007. Discouraged work-seekers are disproportionately female. 13.8% of women of working age are classified as discouraged work-seekers, compared to 9.2% of men. Again, the picture of unemployment is not a homogeneous one. We can get a picture of concentrated areas of unemployment through a Department of Social Development study of the 21 nodes that make up the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme (ISRDP) and Urban Renewal Programme (URP). These nodes – 13 of which fall under the ISRDP and eight of which fall under the URP – were selected because of the dire poverty in which many of their citizens live. This study reported average unemployment levels of 79.1% in the ISRDP areas and 62.6% in the URP areas. Further, 75% of the ISRDP unemployed and 61% of the URP unemployed reported being unemployed for four years or more. This category, ―self-employed‖, is itself heterogeneous in a country like South Africa.

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A person in the category ―works for himself/herself without employing anyone else‖ therefore includes everyone from relatively highly paid consultants to hawkers. No disaggregation of the category was available. 2.3.1 Female unemployment in Africa

Women continue to face considerable barriers in African labour markets as a result of a lack of education, inadequate access to training, discrimination, and cultural attitudes about their role in the workplace. However, official figures provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicate that there is very little difference between the unemployment rates of adult women and men in sub-Saharan Africa (ILO 2006). In 2006, it was estimated that both the female and male unemployment rate stood at 9.7%. In contrast, young women are less susceptible to unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa. This does not imply, however, that young women in sub-Saharan Africa have better access to the labour market; rather, they do not have the ―luxury‖ to actively search for a job and hence take up employment in the informal sector, or they are remaining outside the labour force — both of which are not reflected by unemployment figures. At the same time, young females in North Africa continue to face barriers to gaining a job in these countries, which is captured by unemployment figures. Women‘s economic empowerment is measured through their share in wage employment in the nonagricultural sector as part of MDG 3. Although female employment rates for some African countries have increased, since 1990 none of the countries for which recent data are available has reached the 50% gender parity in wage employment (see figure 2). The countries that were closer to reaching the parity target of 50% in 2004 are South Africa (45.9); Botswana (43); and Ethiopia (40.6). Namibia scored 48.8 in 2000 and may have reached parity if such a trend had been sustained. The major challenges affecting the achievement of gender parity in formal employment include the low educational level of women and girls; lack of skills; labour laws that still disadvantage women in most countries; and the continuous heavy burdens of unpaid domestic work, child-bearing and child-care, which restrict the time and energy available for income-earning activities. 2.3.2 Vocational training

Gender parity in enrolment in vocational training is low and women focus on ―feminine‖ courses like secretarial courses, home economics, dressmaking and accounting. Very few women are enrolled in construction-related courses, carpentry and leather works. The major obstacle facing young women in vocational and technical training is the absence of gender-aware counselling and guidance, and women trainers. 2.3.3 Health

Some African countries have prioritised women‘s health as an area of concern. This has resulted in increased attention being paid to the reproductive health and rights of women, encouraging breast-feeding and other infant-feeding options making facilities

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available for the management of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and raising awareness among men about their responsibilities in reproductive health. In many countries, progress has been made in offering free or subsidised sexual and reproductive health care services and commodities, affordable preventive health services for rural populations and the training of grassroots health providers. 2.3.4 HIV and AIDS

It is widely acknowledged that HIV and AIDS have severe socioeconomic impacts on both genders but are not gender-neutral. Women and girls bear the brunt of the epidemic because they are highly vulnerable to infection. They are the main caregivers, and when the breadwinner is gone, they have to support the family with limited resources. The proportion of women infected by HIV is higher than men and is increasing on the continent. The percentage of adults living with HIV who are women increased from 54% in 1990 to 59% in 2006 and 61% in 2007 (UNAIDS 2007). HIV prevalence among the 15-to-24-year-old age group is up to six times higher for women than for men in most countries (UNECA 2004). Women are more vulnerable to HIV infection because of their low nutritional status, limited education and employment opportunities and low social status. Once infected, women are more likely to avoid or postpone seeking care due to constraints based on gender, among which are stigmatisation, domestic and reproductive responsibilities, and the costs of travel and treatment. It is important that gender inequalities that make women more vulnerable to HIV and AIDS are addressed and sexual and reproductive rights are enforced (UNAIDS 2007). Most countries on the continent have designed HIV/AIDS policies which take account of the gender dimensions of the pandemic. The HIV/AIDS policy of Tanzania (2001) for instance recognises that addressing issues of gender equity and promoting equal participation of men and women in negotiating safer sexual practices is highly desirable. It also recommends that men and women should be accorded equal status, equal opportunities for education, access to reproductive health education, and access to health care services, leadership and advancement in all spheres. It sets out the following strategy for addressing the gender issues (Government of Tanzania 2004): The power relations in traditional and customary practices that inhibit equal participation of men and women in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS are to be addressed by all sectors. ACTIVITY What effect can adult education have on the social development of South African citizens? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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2.4. NTERVENTION BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT TO FIGHT POVERTY

2.4.1 Expanded Public Works Programme

The Expanded Public Works Programme was launched in 2004. Its aim is ―to draw significant numbers of unemployed people into productive work opportunities, accompanied by training, so that they increase their capacity to earn an income‖. The programme works in four areas: 1. Infrastructure. It focuses on promoting the use of labour-intensive methods in

infrastructure projects. 2. Environment. It aims to provide work in improving local environmental conditions. 3. Social. It channels unemployed people into public social programmes. 4. Economic. It promotes the development of small businesses and cooperatives. Its specific objectives were to provide just over one million ‗work opportunities‘ and 15.5 million person-days of training. Its quarterly report for April to September 2007 records that, with 70% of its five-year period complete, it has achieved 77% of its work opportunities target, but only 23% of its training target. Its aim was to provide two days of training for every 22 days worked. Clearly, the provision of training has been more difficult than providing the opportunity to work, leaving it open to criticism that the work opportunities it creates will be more temporary than permanent. 2.4.2 Adult Literacy and Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET)

Kha Ri Gude literacy campaign The final report in April 2007 of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on a mass literacy campaign for South Africa provides a plan to reduce the level of illiteracy in South Africa. The strategy outlined aims to reach 4.7 million illiterates (those who have never been to school) and 4.9 million functional illiterates (those who dropped out of school before grade 7) by the end of 2012. Reaching these targets will enable South Africa to meet the commitment made in Dakar to reduce illiteracy by at least 50% by 2015 and to be declared ―free from illiteracy‖ by UNESCO. The report gives a preliminary costing for the period 2007 to 2012 of R5.47 billion at a learner cost of close to R1 300. The campaign, known as Kha Ri Gude, was launched during May 2008 with an initial target of 300 000 learners. Learners with disabilities receive specific attention. Volunteer facilitators receive ten days of training and will receive a stipend. Learner books have been produced in all official eleven languages, plus sign language, using a teaching method which combines language experience and phonics. The programme consists of seven themes and includes numeracy.

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ACTIVITY Can adult education help create jobs, alleviate poverty and reduce crime in the areas where you stay? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UNIT 3: CONCEPTS OF CONSCIENTISATION AND PERSPECTIVE TRANSFORMATION

LEARNING OUTCOMES After studying this unit, you should be able to define current conceptions of conscientisation and perspective transformation discuss Freire and Mezirow‘s approaches to the concepts of conscientisation and

perspective transformation identify education situations in which conscientisation and perspective

transformation can occur describe ways of facilitating conscientisation and perspective transformation 3.1 CONSCIENTISATION

From another perspective, non-formal education can be viewed as conscientisation which links well with Freire's critical view of education whereby he maintains that education can be used to effect radical social change and liberate while in some situations it can be used to domesticate and oppress. Freire (1985:10) advocates for education that ―develops students‘ consciousness of their rights along with their critical presence in the real world‖. In other words, for Freire, conscientisation as a critical element of the field of adult education should help adult learners to examine the nature of their oppressive situation as well as their capacity to influence that situation. Consciousness implies that the oppressed will overcome the culture of silence and begin to apply pressure on those who oppress them so that they might attain their freedom. Conscientisation enlightens people about the obstacles preventing them from attaining all sorts of freedoms in a dialogical manner as opposed to a prescriptive way which is characteristic of a domesticating educational process. In conscientisation, learners are not regarded as mere recipients of the educator‘s wisdom. On the contrary, learners are invited to participate creatively in the process of their learning.

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3.2 PERSPECTIVE TRANSFORMATION

Perspective transformation is seen as the development of a more inclusive, discriminating, differentiating, permeable, integrative, critical world-view. Although less common, it can occur either through a series of cumulative transformed meaning schemes or as a result of an acute personal or social crisis, for example a death of a significant other, divorce, a national disaster, a debilitating accident, war and job loss. Often these experiences are stressful and painful and can threaten the very core of one‘s existence. A perspective transformation can be better understood by referring to an example given by an individual who experienced a perspective transformation as a result of living in a different culture.

ACTIVITY Write brief definitions of the two concepts, namely conscientisation and perspective transformation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.3 PAULO FREIRE'S APPROACH TO CONSCIENTISATION

Paulo Freire (1921—1997) was a Brazilian educationalist. He was a pioneer of adult literacy programmes as a means of raising the consciousness (conscientisation) of South American peasants and the urban underclass. He was a critic of the banking model of education, in which the elite own and construct the knowledge, and the poor are excluded. He was very influential in politicised adult education.

Paulo Freire is another person who has worked with transformational learning. Instead of focusing on individual transformation like Mezirow, Freire put his efforts into social change. However, he does agree with Mezirow that critical reflection is an important part of the transformational learning process. He ―sees its purpose based on a rediscovery of power such that the more critically aware learners become the more they are able to transform society and subsequently their own reality‖ (Taylor 1998:17). Freire thinks that ―by the act of transformation, society is transformed‖ (Taylor 1998:17). Freire has three concepts through which he has contributed to adult education. First of all, he thinks it is not liberal enough for the teachers to give the students

knowledge and then for the students to memorise it. He feels that the students have something to give back and this kind of memorising and regurgitating will not work in adult education. He believes the students also have something to contribute to the learning environment.

http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/culture.htm

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The second step is the thought of praxis, which is ―the moving back and forth in a critical way between reflecting and acting on the world‖ (Taylor 1998:18). This is basically the same with the concept that was done by Mezirow in terms of critical reflection.

The third step is the ―horizontal student-teacher relationship‖ (Taylor 1998:18). This

step has to do with the student and teacher working on the same level. This basic idea can be seen in adult education and is what most adult education concepts surround. Using this idea to create an environment in which people feel comfortable to share and communicate in is especially important in adult education.

3.4 MEZIROW ON TRANSFORMATIONAL LEARNING THEORIES

The study of transformational learning emerged with the work of Jack Mezirow (1981, 1994, 1997). Transformational learning is defined as learning that induces more far-reaching change in the learner than other kinds of learning, especially learning experiences which shape the learner and produce a significant impact, or paradigm shift, which affects the learner‘s subsequent experiences (Clark 1993).

Three common themes characterised Mezirow‘s theory of the mechanism of transformational learning in the classroom. These were experience, critical reflection and rational discourse. The students‘ life experiences provided a starting point for transformational learning (Mezirow 1991). Mezirow considered critical reflection to be the distinguishing characteristic of adult learning, and saw it as the vehicle by which one questions the validity of his/her world-view. He identified rational discourse as a catalyst for transformation, as it induced the various participants to explore the depth and meaning of their various world-views, and articulate those ideas to their instructor and class mates. Mezirow (1997) emphasises that transformative learning is rooted in the way human beings communicate, and does not link it exclusively with significant life events of the learner. Through this combination of reflection and discourse, the student was able to make shifts in his/her world-view which produced a more inclusive world-view. For Mezirow, one of the benefits of transformational learning was the development of greater autonomy as a person, a defining condition of adulthood (Mezirow 1997).

Mezirow (1997) describes a transformative learning environment as one in which those participating have full information, are free from coercion, have equal opportunity to assume various roles, can become critically reflective of assumptions, are empathetic and good listeners, and are willing to search for common ground or a synthesis of different points of view.

Critical reflection has been elevated to the major objective of adult education in the work of Mezirow.

―Perhaps even more central to adult learning than elaborating established meaning schemes is the process of reflecting back on prior learning to determine whether what

http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/referenc.htm#MEZIROW

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we have learned is justified under present circumstances. This is a crucial learning process egregiously ignored by learning theorists‖ (Mezirow 1990:5).

He maintains that such reflection on assumptions and presuppositions (particularly about oneself) leads to ―transformative learning‖.

―Perspective transformation is the process of becoming critically aware of how and why our presuppositions have come to constrain the way we perceive, understand, and feel about our world; of reformulating these assumptions to permit a more inclusive, discriminating, permeable and integrative perspective; and of making decisions or otherwise acting on these new understandings.

More inclusive, discriminating permeable and integrative perspectives are superior perspectives that adults choose if they can because they are motivated to better understand the meaning of their experience‖ (Mezirow 1990:14).

In other words, the real significance of adult learning appears when learners begin to re-evaluate their lives and to re-make them. This, for Mezirow, takes precedence over whatever it was they set out to ―learn‖ in the first place.

Jack Mezirow (1994) described the transformational learning theory as being ―constructivist, an orientation which holds that the way learners interpret and reinterpret their sense experience is central to making meaning and hence learning‖ (Mezirow 1994:222). This theory involves two kinds of learning, which are instrumental learning and communicative learning. Instrumental learning focuses on ―learning through task-oriented problem solving and determination of cause and effect relationships‖ (Taylor 1998:5). It helps the learners to achieve their short-term objectives such as improving thier work performance (Mezirow 1997). With communicative learning it is involved with how others communicate their feelings, needs and desires with another person. It helps the learners to become critical, autonomous and responsible thinkers (Mezirow 1997).

From Mezirow (1997), the goal of transformational learning is to change the ―frame of reference‖. Mezirow (1997) stated that a frame of reference is the collective of the assumptions through which we interpret and understand the world we live in. A frame of reference includes two elements: habits of mind and a point of view. Habits of mind are always affected and shaped by assumptions which build on cultural, social, educational and political codes. However, a specific point of view originates in habits of mind (Mezirow 1997). When people begin to critically reflect and examine their predetermined assumptions and beliefs, they would become more open, inclusive, reflective and willing to change (Choy 2010). However, not every experience can cause transformation. Effective learning does not follow from a positive experience but for effective reflection. Thus, critical reflection is central to transformational learning (Mezirow 1997).

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ACTIVITY

Tabulate the differences between Mezirow and Freire.

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3.5 BEST PRACTICES FOR ADULT EDUCATORS REGARDING TRANSFORMATIONAL LEARNING THEORY

There are numerous ways in which adults can be taught. Thus, there is not one correct way in which this learning theory should be applied. Taylor (1998) promoted several key points to apply transformational learning in practice.

These are as follows:

• ―Ideal learning conditions promote a sense of safety, openness, and trust‖ (Taylor 1998:53).

• ―Effective instructional methods that support a learner-centered approach promote student autonomy, participation and collaboration‖ (Taylor 1998:53).

• ―The importance of activities that encourage the exploration of alternative personal perspectives, problem-posing, and critical reflection [should be acknowledged]‖ (Taylor 1998:54).

There are also several ways for teachers to work and communicate with their students, which can provide students with a quality learning experience within transformational learning. Some of these attributes for the teachers to have are ―trusting, empathetic, caring, authentic, sincere, and demonstrating a high degree of integrity‖ (Taylor 1998:54). Also it is important to provide ―feed-back and self-assessment‖ to the students when using transformational learning theory (Taylor 1998:54).

Similarly, Imel (1998) stated several roles that the students and teachers should have in class in terms of transformational learning. First of all, he claims the teacher should foster a learning environment of trust and care, in which the learners and teachers have a sensitive relationship with each other. Secondly, the students also should share the responsibility for establishing a learning atmosphere, in which the ―the transformative learning can occur‖ (Imel 1998:4).

According to Mezirow (1994), the roles of the educators are

• to help the learner focus on and examine the assumptions that underlie their beliefs, feelings and actions. For example, the adult educator should do an exercise in class that allows learners to spend time exploring their beliefs on the topic of discussion. Educators can use the ―think-pair-share‖ exercise to discuss in small groups feelings, beliefs and actions regarding the topic.

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• to assess the consequence of these assumptions. For instance, the adult educators can have conversations in class to know the students‘ assumptions about one topic. They then group the students who have similar assumptions together, discuss one single event and compare how different their perceptions are. Or they can check some existing systems, like communism and capitalism, and what the consequences are.

• to identify and explore alternative sets of assumptions. Through discussions, group sharing and debate, teachers can help students open their minds to different beliefs and feelings underlying the different assumptions.

• to test the validity of assumptions through effective participation in reflective dialogue. The teachers should encourage dialogue to reflect on and review what has happened to them and check if their original assumptions are correct in these events.

REFERENCES

Badat, S. 2005. South Africa: Distance higher education policies for access, social equity, and social and economic responsiveness in a context of the diversity of provision. Distance Education, Vol 26(2), 183-204 Braimoh, D & Osiki, JO. The impact of Technology on accessibility and Pedagogy: the right to education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Asian Journal of Distance Education.Vol 6(1) : 53 – 62. Bush, T & Bell, L.2002. The principles and practice of Educational Management, Paul Chapman Publishing, London Chikuya, H.H. 2007. Teacher Education within the Context of Open and Distance Learning in Zimbabwe: A case study. Unpublished DEd thesis. University of South Africa, Pretoria.

Choy, S. 2010. Transformational learning in the workplace. Journal of Transformative Education 7(1):65—84. Department of Public Works. Expanded Public Works Programme, 2nd quarterly report, year 4, 1 April to 30 September 2007.

Extract from Julius K. Nyerere ―Development is for Man, by Man, and of Man‖: The Declaration of Dar es Salaam' in Budd L. Hall and J. Roby Kidd (eds.) (1978) Adult Education: A design for action, Oxford: Pergamon.

Government of Tanzania. 2004. Party Report of Togo to the CEDAW Committee.

ILO. 2006. Key Indicators of the Labour Market Version 5 CD-ROM, Geneva. Knowles, M.S. 1989. The making of an adult educator. An autobiographical journey. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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Levinsohn, J. 2007. Two policies to alleviate unemployment in South Africa. Ford School of Public Policy. University of Machigan and NBER. August 28, 2007.

Lovett, Clarke & Kilmurray. 1983. Adult education and community action. London: Croom Helm.

Makina, B. 2008. Learner Scaffolding through Dialogue: A Distance Education Case Study. Innovation in Open and Distance Education. Paper presented at the NADEOSA Conference, 18-19 August 2008 at the University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Marshall, G. 2000. Models, metaphors and measures. Issues in Distance Learning. Education Media International, 2-8 Merriam, S. B. [Ed.] 1993. No. 57 Spring. New directions for adult and continuing education: an update on adult learning theory. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Mezirow, J. 1994. Understanding transformation theory. Adult Education Quarterly 44(4): 222—232. Mezirow, J. 1997. Transformative learning: theory to practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education.no.74, summer 1997. Jossey-Bass Publishers. Singh, V.K. Nayak, A.K. 2005. Life-long education. New Delhi: Ajay Verma for Commonwealth Publishers. Taylor, E.W. 1998. The theory and practice of transformative learning: A critical review. (Contract No. RR93002001). Columbus, OH: Center on Education and Training for Employment. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED423422) Titmus, C.J. 1996. Adult education: concepts and principles. In Tuijman (ed). 1996. International Encyclopedia of Adult Education and Training. Great Britain: Wheatons.

UNAIDS. 2007. AIDS Epidemic Update, December 2007, Geneva.

UNECA. 2004b. Seventh African Regional Conference on Women (Beijing +10) Decade Review of the Implementation of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms of Action: Outcome and Way forward, Addis Ababa.

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