Thesis (M.ED.) --University of Limpopo, 2007 / This report describes the research carried out in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, with Bohlabela District being used as a site of this study. The aim of the study was to investigate problems affecting young mothers in attending ABET classes in Bohlabela District in Limpopo Province. In order to achieve the aim outlined above, I formulated the following main research question: • What are the problems affecting the attendance of ABET classes by young mothers in Bohlabela District in the Limpopo Province? In trying to answer the question outlined above, I decided to undertake an explorative study in order to investigate problems affecting the attendance of ABET classes by young mothers in Bohlabela District in the Limpopo Province. In chapter 1 I further gave a description of South Africa in the apartheid era and the post-apartheid South Africa in terms of its geographical setup and education. The aim and objectives of the study and the research questions are indicated. The scope of the study is explained. In chapter 2 the theoretical foundation for the investigations of problems affecting the attendance of ABET classes by young mothers in Bohlabela District in the Limpopo Province is indicated. Factors such as time, curriculum, environment, family pressures and ignorance were discussed in this chapter. The chapter is starting with the definition of key concepts. In chapter 3 the research design of the study has been outlined. The data collection paths of the study have been discussed. The chapter explains how the data which had been collected from various places were analysed using qualitative data analysis methods. It concludes by discussing what I call ‘reflections’, a section that was about my main learning experiences and difficulties that I encountered during the process of this research. In chapter 4 I presented the findings of the study according to the views and perceptions of the interviewees. This section prepared the study for the next stage of the investigation where I established whether or not the findings provide answers to the research question. Chapter 5 is the concluding section where conclusions were made based on the findings of the investigation. Recommendations coming out of the study were made and finally recommendations for further study have been outlined.

Thesis (M.ED. (Adult Education)) --University of Limpopo, 2009 / This report describes the research carried out at Reakgona Adult Learning Centre at Seshego, which is 11 km North-West of Polokwane, the capital city of Limpopo province. The main aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of programmes designed for the mentally disabled adults. For me to achieve the outlined aim, I formulated the following research question: • How do programmes designed for the mentally disabled adults benefit them in their everyday lives? In an attempt to answer the above question I decided to undertake an exploratory study to get insight into programmes offered at Reakgona Adult Learning Centre. For me to evaluate if the programmes could have beneficial impact to the target group I looked into the aims and objectives of the programmes at Reakgona Adult Learning Centre. I also took into consideration the vocational training needs of adults with mental disability. The characteristics of programmes and the possibilities for improving the programmes designed for the mentally disabled adults were also considered. Chapter 1; was concluded by describing the scope of the study. In chapter 2; I formulated the assumptions about factors that could contribute towards the provision of effective programmes. The factors are vocational training programmes, basic literacy and numeracy skills, life skills, interpersonal skills, communication skills and self-help skills. After reading relevant documents on people with mental disabilities, conducting exploratory interviews with people on the field and based on my preliminary visit to Reakgona Adult Learning Centre, I came up with other factors that could contribute towards the provision of effective programmes. They are Centre Based Support Programmes and assessment programmes. This chapter was concluded by definition of the key concepts. This chapter was concluded by definition of the key concepts. In chapter 3; I described the design of the study. The main focus of this chapter was to discuss the two tracks of data collection. The first track was about reviewing and interrogating admission policy document of Reakgona Adult Learning centre while the second track had to do with data collection. I also explained how the collected data was analysed using qualitative data analysis method. This chapter was concluded with the reflections, which is about my experiences during the research process. Chapter 4; presented the empirical results of the study. It gave an account of the programmes, which are offered at the centre and the extent to which these programmes are of benefit to the target group. It also provided the description of the centre, vision, mission, aims and objectives, types of programmes and their characteristics. The hierarchical structure of the role players is also outlined. The final chapter (five) presented the final conclusion based on the findings of this study. It gave the overall conclusion of what the researcher has discovered during the research process and account on programmes, which might be effective for the mentally disabled adults at Reakgona Adult Learning centre. Recommendations for the improvement of the programmes were also outlined. This chapter was concluded with the recommendations for further study.

A need exists to gain a better understanding of how the online learning environment found in higher education is perceived by students of color. The research completed for this dissertation explored student participation in the online learning environment in higher education by examining the observations and perceptions of students of color. Along the way, the process of the research journey drew attention to the lack of inclusion of students of color in the literature and data collected about online learning, and pointed to the existence of the digital divide and its impact on graduate students of color and their participation in online learning. In this study, no significant relationships were found in the examination of the nature of the relationship between ethnicity and the variables of gender, age, and self-reported computer experience. The online learning environment was not conclusively found to be an environment where opinions or critiques could be expressed more easily than in a face to face classroom, and the importance to students of having the opportunity to challenge white norms in the online learning environment was not found to be significant. Advice is offered from students and instructors of color providing examples of ways in which an online course environment may more fully consider the voices and experiences of persons of color.

This thesis is primarily concerned with the characteristics and effectiveness of extension and adult learning within a community of Maltese vegetable growers in western Sydney. Extension was practised according to principles of experiential learning theory, action research and andragogy. The recommendation is made that extension agents should concentrate upon experiences that are within the target group's spheres of activity and interest. Kolb's experiential learning theory was found to be applicable to extension in this context. This theory, and similar principles, involve interpretivism, reflection and interaction, all of which were found to be beneficial. It was found to be sufficient for the author to inspire growers with broad concepts, which were then applied by growers to their situations. It is suggested that extension agents concern themselves less with attempts to change clients' attitudes and instead encourage them to trial innovations and draw their own conclusions. Future research should consider characteristics of the internalisation of knowledge and the role of clients' emotional well-being. Guidelines for extension with Maltese vegetable growers of the Sydney region are listed, and many of these are generalisable to other circumstances of extension. / Master of Science (Hons) (Systems Agriculture)

No description available.

In this decade, the drive to improve the quality of learning environments at all levels has gathered pace, and accountability of providers has become a byword, particularly in secondary and tertiary educational institutions. In this process of meeting societal needs, the teacher's role is crucial to the provision of optimal conditions for learning. Teachers' adaptation to the changing clientele and technologies of the 1990's, also demands their flexibility and preparedness to contemplate anew their role in the learning transaction. Gage (1963) posed three topical questions about teaching: how do teachers behave, why do they behave as they do and what are the effects of their behaviour? The information gained by examining three types of variables, is required to answer these questions, the most central to research on teaching, is teaching behaviour, or the process of teaching. Secondly, there are the causes or determinants of those behaviours or processes and finally, there are the effects or consequences of the teaching behaviours or processes (Dunkin,1986). This research into teaching behaviours, conducted in three institutes of Technical and Further Education in the A.C.T., seeks to determine the quality of teaching for adult learners and the nature of the learning environment in TAFE. The design of the study incorporates comprehensive multi-variate instruments and a triangulating approach to data collection. In particular, a factor analysis of student questionnaires evaluates the main factors operant in the classrooms of the selected tertiary environments. The nature of the teaching behaviours and the contingent learning climate, enabled further conclusions to be drawn about the implications of these behaviours for adult learners eg. teacher expectancies, not found hitherto evaluated in a tertiary context.

Published research in Behavioural Sciences has indicated that there are some business and work environments which are more effective for the attainment of managerial objectives than others. In this study these research findings have been applied to learning activities of mature vocational students in TAFE in Canberra and to their teachers. Learning processes, learning theories and teaching are discussed. Teacher-student relationships and their impact on learning by creating sound learning environments are examined and a model of sound learning environment is created. This model is tested by investigation with final year certificate students. The impact of the model on teacher selection and teacher education is included in the discussion of results. The principal conclusion which can be drawn from the Study is that the sort of environment, which has been shown to be most effective in achievement of managerial objectives is also likely to be the most effective in achieving educational objectives for adult vocational students.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 27, 2007). Advisor: Alan Guskin, Ph.D. Keywords: late life learning, cognitive strategies, mental acuity, benefits of learning, lifespan learning, importance of learning. Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-227).

<p><font face="Times New Roman"> <p align="left"><font face="Arial">The study analyses the relationship between experience, participation and learning and seeks to establish how the experience of adult learners can be mobilised through active participation and how situational conditions can either facilitate or inhibit participation and learning amongst the learners. Another dimension of the study seeks to establish what caregivers learn and the processes through which they learn and how such learning contributes to changes in behaviour and relationships. In this study, the nature and dynamics of learning amongst adult learners in the NCTP programme at community level is explored as an example of socio-cultural theory and situated learning which hold that learning results from participation in various socio-cultural situations &ndash / the act of participation is seen as crucial in the learning. The study focused on a group of 10 learners in the National Certificate Training Programme for community health workers who are also caregivers in the Nokuthembeka Home-based Care Programme in New Crossroads in the Cape Town metropole and used a qualitative research design and interpretive approach to understand the situations in which they learn. An interpretive approach allowed for deeper insight into the socio-cultural contexts that influence the social interactions of caregivers with peers as well as their learning. In the study I argue that the experience of caregivers forms a critical resource and the foundational basis for learning.</font></p> <p>&nbsp / </p> </font></p>

Adult educators talk frequently about learning which occurs during daily living; however, relatively few explore the breadth and depth of such learning. I contend that shopping, as it is commonly understood and practiced in Western societies, is a site of everyday learning. Among people concerned about globalisation, this learning connects shopping to the politics of consumption, identity and resistance. Central to this inquiry are Antonio Gramsci's (1971) concepts of hegemony, ideology, common sense and dialectic. These are useful in understanding the irresolvable tensions between the political, economic and cultural arenas of social life. Informed by critical, feminist and critical race scholarship, I proceed to conceptualize adult learning as “incidental” (Foley, 1999, 2001) and holistic. I then conceptualize “consumer-citizenship.” Social relations of gender, race and class are central in the construction of identity which influences experiences and understandings of consumption and citizenship in the context of Canadian society and global development. My over-arching methodology, which I call “case study bricolage,” incorporates qualitative case study methods of interviews, focus groups and participant observation with 32 self-identified “radical shoppers” in Vancouver, British Columbia. As well, I employ cultural studies' intertextuality, and include an analysis of popular fiction to further expose discourses of shopping, consumption and consumerism. Drawing on Laurel Richardson's (2000) “crystallization,” I use various analytical “facets” to respond to three questions about shopping-as-learning: What do participants learn to do? Who do participants learn to be? How do participants learn to make change? Critical media literacy theory illuminates the function of popular culture in constructing a discursive web which shoppers navigate. Through shopping, participants learn how to learn and to conduct research, and how to develop a shopping-related values system, literacy and geography. Benedict Anderson's (1991) concept of “imagined community” helps explicate how participants' affiliations with shopping-related movements provide a sense of purpose and belonging. Finally, Jo Littler's (2005) notions of “narcissistic” and “relational” reflexivity clarify that different processes of reflexivity lead to different perspectives on societal change. This inquiry has implications for research and theorizing in adult learning, and the practice of critical adult education.