Community Education Needs of Community-Based Organizations Leaders in Anambra State, Nigeria
Chapter One
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study was to ascertain the community education needs of community based organizations leaders in Anambra State. Specifically, the study sought to find out:
- The extent to which community based organizations leaders need basic
- The extent to which community based organizations leaders need social
- The extent to which community based organizations leaders need political
- The extent to which community based organizations leaders need economic
- The extent to which community based organizations leaders need cultural
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Conceptual Framework
Concept of Community
Community according to Cox (1997) is viewed as place in which people live (villages, cities, etc); or reflecting a population group bearing similar characteristics (rural dwellers, urban residents, old people, children, and young adults); or as a trait or concern commonly shared by people (religious freedom, status of women, status of the poor and down trodden, etc). Bensman (1994) viewed community as a relatively small isolated centres with a stable population, in which all economic and social services necessary to life can be maintained.
The term community according to Wikipedia (2011) has two distinct meanings: one confined to living organisms used in biology and the other referring to a group of human beings. In biological terms, a community is a group of interacting organisms sharing a populated environment with regard to humans, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location generally in social units larger than a household. The word can also refer to the national community or international community. In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.
Hegmon (2002) noted that community is used in two ways in archeology, paralleling usage in other areas. The first is an informal definition of community as a place where people used to live. In this sense, it is synonymous with the concept of an ancient settlement, whether a hamlet, village, town or city. The second meaning is similar to the usage of the term, in other social sciences. A community is a group of people living near one another who interact socially. Social interaction on a small scale can be difficult to identify with archeological data. Most reconstructions of social communities by archeologists rely on the principle that social interaction is conditioned by physical distance.
Anyanwu (1999:1) defined community as:
A population living within a legally established area;
A group of people who communicate;
A group of people living in a given geographical Such groups may include: the family, the village, the town or clan, and the tribe, state or nation in which people share in common the basic conditions of life. Anyanwu further stated that, a community, therefore, is a social group, occupying a more or less defined geographical area, and based on the feelings people have for one another. Such feeling can accommodate the facility to identify a common sentiment, the ability to share a recognized way of life, and the possibility of living wholly within such group.
Anyanwu (1999:3) further stated the six principal characteristics of community as:
Shared territory: A community occupies a territorial area, within which its members live and develop the ways of life that give the community the unique features that tend to make its identity easily recognizable;
Shared beliefs: These are the beliefs which are nurtured andcherished by the people in the development of their common ideals, objectives, attitudes, and values;
Shared bond of fellowship: This is a feature that distinguishes one people from another. It may be typified by the demand of obligations from citizens and the conferment of benefits upon them;
Set standards or pattern of behavior: The idea behind this characteristic is that a community arises from the living together of human The psychological situation that ensues from such living together is that people perform mutual actions and reactions towards one another. Such interaction is incessant; and no citizen can wholly cut himself off from such social relations;
Common culture: This is the aggregate of the social, ethical,intellectual, artistic, governmental and industrial attainments of a community, and by which it can be distinguished from any other It includes the ideas, traditions, customs, usages, institutions, associations, and material objects characteristic of such community;
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHOD
This chapter presents the procedures that were used in carrying out this study. They are described under the following sub-headings: Design of the Study, Area of the Study, Population of the Study, Sample and Sampling Technique, Instrument for Data Collection, Validation of the Instrument, Reliability of the Instrument, Method of Data Collection, and Method of Data Analysis.
Design of the Study
Descriptive survey design was used for the study in determining the community education needs of community leaders in Anambra State of Nigeria. According to Nworgu (2006), descriptive survey design is concerned with collecting data from a sample of a population in order to describe conditions or relationships that exist, opinions that are held, processes that are going on, effects that are evident or trends that are developing. This research design was considered appropriate for the study because it helped the researcher to obtain relevant information from the respondents on the community education needs of community leaders in Anambra State.
Area of the Study
The study was carried out in Anambra State which is made up of three senatorial zones, namely, Anambra North, Anambra Central, and Anambra South. These three senatorial zones have 21 local government areas.
Anambra State is an industrial cum commercial state where majority of the community leaders take education as a secondary aim. This is because evidence of basic education is not shown in their children as they hawk during school hours. The leaders, who should have been the agents of change in the areas of education, health, politics, among others, fail to sensitize their people on their educational needs. This may be that majority of the leaders are educationally disadvantaged.
Population of the Study
The population of the study comprised all the 1,701 executive members of the 189 registered Autonomous Community Based Organizations (ACBOs) set up by the communities within the 21 local government Areas that make up the three senatorial zones of Anambra State namely: Anambra North, Anambra Central, and Anambra South (See Appendix B, p.96. ).
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS
In this chapter, the results of the data analysis based on the five research questions and three hypotheses that guided the study are presented in tables. Out of the 1,701 copies of the questionnaire distributed and returned, 26 copies were badly filled and discarded while the remaining 1.045 copies were presented and analysed in tables.
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND CONCLUSION
This chapter presents discussion of findings, implications of the study, conclusion, recommendations, and suggestions for further research.
Discussion of Findings
From the analysis of data collected in research question one, it showed that the respondents agreed to the basic education needs that would make them perform better in their communities. This is in agreement with the views of Lynette and Babara (2010) that basic education refers to all those programmes with fundamental education, as well as those programmes with alternative curricular, including areas such as basic health, nutrition, family planning, literacy, agriculture, and other vocational skills.
Result of research question two showed that social education needs were agreed to a very great extent by the respondents. This means that the respondents need social education to establish good relationship in the community, communicate effectively, restore peace and harmony, improve their family life, among others. This agrees with the view of Davis and Gibson (1997:12) who noted social education as:
Any individual’s increased consciousness of himself- of his aptitude and untapped resources and of the relevance of these to others. It enhances the individual’s understanding of how to form mutually satisfying relationships, and so involves a search for the adult for ways of helping a young person to discover how to contribute to as well as take from his associations with others.
Social education here, is emphasized as a particular type of process directed at a specific task-the social development of adolescents. Here, education and learning are seen as gerund- words which can be used as a noun or a verb. Learning can, therefore, be viewed as either an internal change in consciousness or as the process of acquiring knowledge, feelings, and skills. In this context, then, social education is a particular type of learning process and/or an attempt to achieve an internal change of consciousness such as the achievement of maturity.
Conclusion
From the foregoing, it can be concluded that one of the major indices of development in any society is education of its citizenry. Community education becomes a panacea for improving the quality of life in the community. It embraces all range of development activities in any community undertaken by the people, the government or non-governmental organization. Community development, therefore, relies heavily on community leaders who are the real agents and catalysts of social change and improvement of their communities.
For community leaders to perform very well in their expected roles, community education programmes are of utmost necessity. Such programme of community education include: basic education, social education, political education, economic education, and cultural education. It is assumed that when they acquire these educational programmes, the decline in their roles will be reversed and a desired set of conditions set in.
Recommendations
Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made:
The agency for mass literacy, adult and non-formal education in Anambra State should mount campaign in the rural communities on the need for community education programmes. This is to sensitize community leaders to ensure their popular participation in educational programme activities that are designed for them to improve their quality of life.
The government should from time to time organize workshops, seminars, and symposium for community leaders and adult educators. This will go a long way in strengthening the leaders’ knowledge and skills in developmental programmes especially when new innovation in education is made.
Community education centres should be established in rural communities and qualified adult educators employed. This will enable the people to integrate into the whole spectrum of development programmes and to meet the demand of both the non-literate and functionally illiterate adults to improve themselves educationally which guarantees a leverage to better livelihood.
The policy makers and other administrators in mass literacy, adult and non-formal education should reflect the needs of the community in policy formulation. This will make the people see the educational programmes as their own and this will make them participate in the learning exercise.
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