<p>This study analyses the challenges faced by adult educators in reducing illiteracy among adult above twenty years of age in the Eastern Cape. The focal point is on ascertaining why there is an increase in the percentage of illiteracy in the province despite a slight decrease in other provinces. Most importantly is the determination of the significant role played by adult educators. A qualitative approach is employed to pursue the aims of the study. Data is collected using semi-structured interviews. The study has shown that lack of monitoring and supervision by ABET administrators, lack of resources for skills development and language of instruction, all contribute to the increase in illiteracy rate in the Province. For administrators of adult learning programmes it is suggested that they become more familiar with operations at Adult Learning Centres and provide training including technical where appropriate. Designers of curriculum should select curriculum resources appropriate to adult learners. Providers of direct support to adult learners should ensure that training is provided on an ongoing basis. This training should focus on teaching methods and learning approaches (pedagogy) as well as the effective use of ABET learning and teaching guides.</p>

<p>This study analyses the challenges faced by adult educators in reducing illiteracy among adult above twenty years of age in the Eastern Cape. The focal point is on ascertaining why there is an increase in the percentage of illiteracy in the province despite a slight decrease in other provinces. Most importantly is the determination of the significant role played by adult educators. A qualitative approach is employed to pursue the aims of the study. Data is collected using semi-structured interviews. The study has shown that lack of monitoring and supervision by ABET administrators, lack of resources for skills development and language of instruction, all contribute to the increase in illiteracy rate in the Province. For administrators of adult learning programmes it is suggested that they become more familiar with operations at Adult Learning Centres and provide training including technical where appropriate. Designers of curriculum should select curriculum resources appropriate to adult learners. Providers of direct support to adult learners should ensure that training is provided on an ongoing basis. This training should focus on teaching methods and learning approaches (pedagogy) as well as the effective use of ABET learning and teaching guides.</p>

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / This study analyses the challenges faced by adult educators in reducing illiteracy among adult above twenty years of age in the Eastern Cape. The focal point is on ascertaining why there is an increase in the percentage of illiteracy in the province despite a slight decrease in other provinces. Most importantly is the determination of the significant role played by adult educators. A qualitative approach is employed to pursue the aims of the study. Data is collected using semi-structured interviews. The study has shown that lack of monitoring and supervision by ABET administrators, lack of resources for skills development and language of instruction, all contribute to the increase in illiteracy rate in the Province. For administrators of adult learning programmes it is suggested that they become more familiar with operations at Adult Learning Centres and provide training including technical where appropriate. Designers of curriculum should select curriculum resources appropriate to adult learners. Providers of direct support to adult learners should ensure that training is provided on an ongoing basis. This training should focus on teaching methods and learning approaches (pedagogy) as well as the effective use of ABET learning and teaching guides. / South Africa

The purpose of this study was to provide historical and philosophical information regarding the field of Adult Education from the perspective of 15 African Americans. This studys design utilized the findings from African-American Adult Educators (A-AAE) to add to the depth and breadth of information about Adult Education by engaging participants in reflective dialogue regarding the field and their experiences. This qualitative design used semi-structured interviews to obtain information about the relationships among and influences of major professors and dissertation committees. The study included influences, direct and indirect, as well as influential authors, books, and publications. Adult Education was analyzed by examining the ideological nature and function of African-American modes of thought about the field. Discussion included divergence from ideologies and values of major professors by the A-AAE and the basis for that divergence. Themes emerged from discussions of the accomplishments and disappointments of each participant. Individuals spoke freely about changes and trends in adult education during their careers. Most found influences in communities of their origin, rather than in the academic communities of major professors or dissertation committees. The majority modestly discussed their accomplishments, regretting not having published more. A few discussed global views in the future tense, while most discussed application of Adult Education theory in the present. Without exception, A-AAE spoke both of changes towards diversity and of the long way the field has to go in this direction. Many felt being marginalized provided a different perspective. Major changes included decreased numbers of graduate programs presenting fewer job opportunities and a shift from a male to a female predominated professorate. All valued national organizations, but most felt that they must increase visibility to meet the field’s ever-growing needs in the global political arena. The newest professors must be activists of social change through politics and scholarly research from the platform of the Adult Education professorate. African-American professors are dealing with issues of discrimination in the field of Adult Education by replacing the gatekeepers, and developing more collaborative research, by providing opportunities for people of color to participate in scholarly activities.

The purpose of this study was to identify and specify knowledge and skills needed by adult educators in Thailand. This study provided information for establishing a guide to be used in professional training and in graduate programs in adult education. A three round Delphi technique was used to develop the consensus of findings. The first round solicited open-ended responses from twenty panelists. One hundred and twenty-five knowledge and skill statements, the responses from the first round, were developed into a five-point rating scale questionnaire. This questionnaire was utilized in both Round II and III. Median, mode and interquartile ranges were applied to specify the consensus of the panel of experts. The one hundred and twenty-five knowledge and skill statements, seventy-five knowledge statements and fifty skill statements, were classified into four major categories: teaching, administration, research and general experience. The experts for the study consisted of eleven non-formal education officers and nine university professors in adult/continuing education and non-formal education. From seventy-five knowledge statements, sixteen were rated at the highest priority of importance. Forty-nine statements were rated at above average priority of importance and two statements were rated at average. Eight statements did not meet the interquartile range criterion as a consensus of the panelists. From fifty skill statements, fifteen statements were rated at the highest priority of importance; thirty statements were rated at above average; one statement was rated at average; and four statements failed to meet the interquartile range criterion.

The purpose of this study was to identify, investigate, and analyze the life and contributions of Alexander Albert Liveright (1907-1969). It was limited to selected experiences that characterized him as an adult educator. The dissertation primarily examines Liveright's speeches, books, articles, reports, research papers and correspondence; government documents; and newspaper articles located in the Archives and Manuscripts of Continuing Education at Syracuse University. From these data a synthesis and interpretation were developed.

This research study was in the field of adult education, focusing on the role of adult educators. Sixty four adult educators in the Australian Capital Territory, from a wide range of institutions took part in the study. The educational orientation of the adult educators, on an andragogical-pedagogical continuum, was measured by The Educational Orientation Questionnaire, (Hadley, 1974). This test was based on Knowles, theory of andragogy "the art and science of helping adults learn" and its corollary, pedagogy, "the art of teaching children" (Knowles, 1985). The E.O.Q. tested adult educators' attitudes in six areas of education to discover the extent to which educators were more andragogical or pedagogical in their orientation. Four personality dimensions of adult educators were measured by The Personal Style Inventory (Champagne and Hogan, 1979) - a test based on Jung's theory of psychological types. The data was analysed and four null hypotheses were tested. Two were rejected and two were accepted. The findings revealed that there was a statistically significant correlation at the .01 level of significance, showing a definite relationship between two of the dimensions, extraversion-introversion and sensing-intuition, and the educational orientation of adult educators: extraversion and intuition with a more andragogical orientation and introversion and sensing with a more pedagogical orientation. The interpretation of these findings raised numerous questions and issues on the role of adult educators as well as recommendations for further research on the correlation of other variables with the educational orientation of adult educators.

À partir du début des années 2000, les gouvernements français ont engagé une série de réformes relatives au cadre institutionnel de la formation des migrants, comprenant notamment la création du DILF (Diplôme Initial de Langue Française) et des indications variées pour l'utilisation de Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (TIC). Dans cette thèse, on a interrogé, à l'aide des théories de l'activité et, particulièrement, de la théorie des apprentissages expansifs (Engeström, 1987), l'impact de ces réformes sur les pratiques des formateurs. Il ressort des analyses que ces réformes ont modifié l'objet des activités de formation des migrants mais qu'au lieu de renvoyer à une transformation expansive, comme le suppose le cadre théorique mobilisé, elles renvoient davantage à une transformation restrictive. / From the early 2000s, French governments have undertaken a series of reforms to the institutional framework for the training of migrants, including particularly the creation of the DILF (Initial Diploma in French Language) and various indications for the use of Information and Communication technology (ICT). In this thesis, the impact of these reforms on educators practices was questioned, using activity theories and especially the theory of expansive learning (Engeström, 1987). These reforms have altered the object of migrants training activities : as Engeström defined the theory, there should be an expansive transformation of the entire system of activity. Instead of that result, the analysis tends to show that the object alteration refers to a restrictive transformation.

Adult educators are a growing part of American higher education. Because of their increasing prominence in adult education, it is essential to understand what roles these educators play and what motivates them to remain in the profession despite poor work prospects and conditions. Research to date, however, focuses primarily on the adult learner and not the adult educator. The purpose of this qualitative, multiple-case study was to explore the role and motivation for teaching of adult educators employed as adjunct faculty in an accelerated degree program at a small, liberal arts college in the northwest United States. Purposeful sampling was used to select the five participants for the study. All participants taught in the program for more than five years and were considered to be successful in their positions by peers, students, and administrators. The study employed a preliminary demographic survey to solicit initial background data on the instructors. Other data collection included in-depth, open-ended, face-to-face interviews, document analysis, and classroom observation. The results showed that all five participants identified the following roles and assumed them in the classroom: (a) facilitator, (b) listener, (c) specialist, (d) guide, (e) adviser, and (f) co-learner or colleague. Further results showed that all five participants were motivated to teach in the program for reasons other than monetary compensation. Although participants shared different levels of personal commitment to the institution, they all expressed extensive commitment to teaching, their discipline, and students. Motivating factors for teaching were (a) opportunity to teach part time, (b) love for the subject, (c) opportunity to gain more expertise in the field, (d) opportunity to grow and learn, (e) opportunity to give back, and (f) student success and growth. A major practical implication of this study is that adjunct faculty in an adult education program are motivated to teach for different reasons, but the primary motivation can be seen as altruistic versus monetary and practical. If college administrators want to produce and retain successful adjunct faculty, they must recruit and hire those individuals whose motivation for teaching is altruistic with a desire to enrich the lives of students.

The purpose of this study was to investigate ICT literacy in adult education and training within a public adult learning centre. A literature study was conducted to identify a theoretical framework for a comparative study of different national ICT policies. A qualitative research design was used to conduct an empirical investigation through the use of data collection instruments such as focus group interviews, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and non-participant observation. Data analysis was conducted, during which various themes emerged, which led to the findings and conclusions regarding the study. Recommendations were made with regard to improving the ICT literacy level in adult education and training. Limitations of the study were described and recommendations for future research were made. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)