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Adult education in Africa, having experienced a comeback following the independence and increasing prosperity of many African nations, poses specific requirements on policymakers and planners to take into consideration indigenous cultural traits and characteristics. With a moderate backlash against Western ideals and educational traditions, many universities and other institutes of higher education take it upon themselves to develop a new approach to higher education and adult education. Most contemporary analysts regard illiteracy as a development issue because of the link between poverty and illiteracy.〔Nassimbeni, Mary and Bev May. "Adult education in South African public libraries: enabling conditions and inhibiting factors". University of Cape Town, p.3〕 Funding is inadequate and inconsistent and is needed for priority areas such as educator training, monitoring, and evaluation.〔Aitchison, John and Hassana Alidou. "The state and development of adult learning and education in Subsaharan Africa". UNESCO, 2009, p.3〕 There is a clear need for investment in capacity development, having a full, sufficiently paid and well qualified professionalized staff, and increasing the demands for adult education professionals. The majority of adult educators are untrained, especially in basic literacy. Governments often employ schoolteachers and others in adult education posts rather than experienced adult educators.〔 Many of the difficulties experienced could be solved by allocation of resources to meet the needs (adequate funds, more staff, appropriate training for staff and suitable material). Underfunding is a huge threat to the sustainability of these programs, and in some cases, to their continued existence.〔Nassimbeni, Mary and Bev May. "Adult education in South African public libraries: enabling conditions and inhibiting factors". University of Cape Town, p.8〕 The best-reported data on funding is about adult literacy and non-formal education programs. Funding for continuing education, either academic or vocational is provided and reported on, but little data is given on its financing. Funding may come from public or private sector sources. International and foreign aid is also likely to be important. The costs of much adult education seem to be kept artificially low by the use of state facilities and by the extremely low salaries paid to many adult education specialists.〔Aitchison, John and Hassana Alidou. "The state and development of adult learning and education in Subsaharan Africa". UNESCO, 2009, p.20〕 Public universities have not been successful in attracting older students onto mainstream degree programs and so the post-apartheid ideal of opening access to public higher education for growing numbers of non-traditional students is not yet a reality.〔MacGregor, Karen. "Boom in Adult Basic Education". University World News, 16 March 2008〕 However, certain countries have reported some success rates in Adult Education programs. Between 1990 and 2007 Uganda enrolled over 2million participants in the functional adult literacy program. The Family Basic Education program was active in 18 schools by 2005, reaching over 3,300 children and 1,400 parents. This is a successful family literacy mediation whose impact at household, school and community level has been evaluated.〔Aitchison, John and Hassana Alidou. "The state and development of adult learning and education in Subsaharan Africa". UNESCO, 2009, p.27〕 Unfortunately, the national reports typically do not provide sufficient information on the content of the adult education programs that run in their countries. In the majority of cases the name of the program is as much detail as is given. Curriculum content does not seem to be a major issue.〔Aitchison, John and Hassana Alidou. "The state and development of adult learning and education in Subsaharan Africa". UNESCO, 2009, p.32〕 == Cultural considerations == African communities are very close knit; activities, lifestyles, particularities of individuals are nearly always common knowledge. Because of this, it is difficult for any one member or group within an area to take a significantly different approach to any facet of life within the community. For this reason, program planners for adult learners in Africa find higher rates of success when they employ a participatory approach. Through open and honest dialogue about the fears, motivations, beliefs and ambitions of the community as a whole, there is less social strain concerning individual divergent behavior. In addition to strong traditional beliefs, years of slavery through colonization have led to a sense of unity and common struggle in African communities. Therefore, lesson plans in these areas should reflect this cultural sensibility; collaboration and cooperation are key components of successful programs. Teaching techniques that utilize these ideas may include story-telling, experiential simulation, and the practice of indigenous traditions with slight modifications. Every program and lesson must be tailored to the particular community because they almost always learn, live, and achieve as a group or not at all. Informal education plays a strong role within indigenous learning in African communities. This poses a significant challenge to western-style program planners that emphasize formal learning within a designated time-frame and setting. These requirements must often be abandoned in order to achieve success in communities that have no strong affinity for time and formal education. Programs must be planned that become ingrained into the daily life of participants, that reflects their values and add positive functionality to their lives. Successful programs often involve more long-term learning arrangements consisting of regular visits and the free, unforced offer of information. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Adult education in Africa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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