Factors Motivating Women’s Participation in Adult Literacy Programmes in Oji-river Local Government Area of Enugu State
Chapter One
Objective of the Study
General Objective
The main objective of this study is to assess women`s participation in integrated functional adult literacy program in Oji-River Local Government Area, Enugu State.
Specific Objective
The specific objectives of the study:
- To know the extent of women participation in adult literacy programmes in the study area
- To assess motivating factor women to participate in adult literacy programmes in the study area.
- To identify the program related factors that hinder women from participating in adult literacy programmes in the study area
- To identify the personal related factors that hinder women from participating in adult literacy programmes in the study area
- To assess whether efforts are being done to maximize women’s participation in adult literacy programmes in the study area by women, facilitator and experts.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
introduction
In this part of the study, different literature related to adult literacy and women literacy was reviewed. Thus, it deals critical issue including historical overview of adult education in Nigeria, the statues women literacy in the world, women literacy in Nigeria in different regime, the concept of literacy, integrated functional adult literacy, motivating factors of women participation in adult literacy program, challenges of women participation in adult literacy program and the efforts to maximize women participation.
Women literacy globally
According to UNESCO (2014) women literacy learning is important part of the child creating greater economic and political opportunities to contribute to families, communities and nations also contributes to empowerment, relationships with different peoples. Education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all. Howeverthe recent data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) shows that 750 million adults – two-thirds of whom are women – still lack basic reading and writing skills (UNESCO, 2017). Stromquist (2016) women continue to present two- thirds of the world illiterate i.e., those unable to deal with the basic demands of reading and writing in the contemporary world. According to this writer, adult illiterates comprise a group whose previous social marginalization prevented them from having access to the regular educational system.
Most illiterate persons are poor, often live in rural or deprived urban areas, and earn low salaries, usually characterized by long hours of harsh manual work.
Literacy
According to Nwafor andAgi (2013) literacy means the ability to read and write in a given language. McCaffery, Merrifield, and Millican (2007) the word literacy has taken on many meanings. Literacy simply meant reading and writing sometimes as little writing one’s own name. But the term literacy is beyond reading and writing in simple words. People often use terms like computer literacy to mean the ability to use computers for tasks like word processing and email. Keefe, & Copeland (2011) literacy is a human right and fundamental part of the human experience. Literacy includes communication, contact, and the expectation that interaction is possible for all individuals; literacy has the potential to lead to empowerment and collective responsibility of every individual in the community that is to develop meaning making with all human modes of communication to transmit and receive information. UNESCO (2018) literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy is about the uses people make of it as a means of communication and expression, through a variety of media, plural, being practiced in particular contexts for particular purposes and using specific languages.
Literacy is key to building a sense of empowerment, dignity, independence, and efficacy. It is Initiatives for basic education; economic growth, health and family planning, and social justice are all strengthened and stabilized through attention to youth literacy (USAID, 2010). Literacy has come to be seen as important aspect in nation development since being functionally literate is fundamental to all forms of both successes in school and in life. In global market, being literate is highly demanded in order that people are able to participate actively in larger society and in international activities such as international conference, research exchange, join research, and business and commerce. Being literate does not only contribute to personal development or personal learning, but being literate also leads to success in school and in life (Rintaningrum, 2009). Literacy is more than the technical skills like reading, writing and numeracy of communications: it also has personal, social and economic development. Literacy increases the opportunity for individuals and communities to reflect on their situation to explore new possibilities and initiate change (NALA, 2011)
Literacy is especially important for women because it can be a major tool for their emancipation, and itshould not be forgotten that many do not have a voice of their own. Literacy programs in the hands of women-led with knowledge of non- formal education methodologies and a transformative vision can and have been major institutions for successful literacy initiatives (Stromquist, 2016).In the 21st century, the definition of literacy has increasingly reflected the ability to use technology for gathering and communicating information. In the twenty-first century, literacy skills increasingly reflect technology use and the abilities necessary to problem-solve, collaborate, and present information through multimedia (Pilgrim& Martinez, 2013).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter is discussing about the methodology used in this study. It includes the research paradigm, approach, design, setting, source of data, population, sample and sampling technique, data gathering instrument, data gathering procedure, data analysis method, and finally ethical consideration.
Research design
According to Creswell (2012) there are six types of mixed method research design based on the research type; (1) the convergent parallel design (2) explanatory sequential design (3) exploratory sequential design (4) embedded design (5) transformative design (6) multiphase design. Form these types, the researcher used a convergent parallel design because the researcher’s interest was to collect and analyze data quantitatively and qualitatively. Creswell (2012) in convergent parallel design research design the researchers collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data, compare the results from the analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data and make an interpretation as to whether the results support or contradict each other. The direct comparison of the two by the researchers provides a “convergence” of data sources. One of the advantages of convergent parallel design is that it is quantitative data provide for generalizability. While qualitative data offer information about the context or setting. This design enables a researcher to gather information that uses the best features of both quantitative and qualitative data collection.
Source of data
To get adequate information about the current level of women participation in IFAL program at Oji-River Local Government Area of Enugu State, both primary and secondary data was employed. The primary sources were woman adult learners, adult literacy programmes expert, and facilitators. On the other hand, the secondary sources of the data were collected from registered paper and facilitator attendance paper because the researcher wanted to know the degree of women participation in adult literacy program and to compare men and to know the participation of women in a day-to-day learning process/class attendance. So, this document was related to the basic question number one /to what extent women participate in the adult literacy programmes in the study area.
Population, sample and sampling technique
The total populations in the adult learning centers were 220 women adult learners. From these total population, women participants found in different centers were (in center one 41, center two 36, center three 23, center four 21, center five 26, center six 27, center seven 16 and center eight 30). Since the list of the population was available in hand, the proper sampling was taken proportionally from each center. From the total population, the researcher had taken 20 samples in center one, 18 samples in center two, 12 samples in center three, 10 samples in center four, 13 samples in center five, 14 samples in center six, 8 samples in center seven and 15 samples in center eight and all are 110 adult woman participants. Nine (9) facilitators in each center and 3 IFAL experts were also taken as samples of the study. The total sample size of the study was 122. The researcher selected women learners are a randomly and the expert and facilitator are used in comprehensive sampling technique. So, this sample number is representative all of the total population.
In this study, the researcher employed comprehensive sampling techniques to 8 adult literacy programmes centers in the study area. Women participants were selected through simple random sampling techniques, particularly lottery system in each IFAL center. Cresswell (2012) in simple random sampling, the researchers select participants for the sample so that any individual has an equal probability of being selected from the population. Simple random sampling intends to choose individuals to be sampled who were being representative of the population. Furthermore, the adult education experts and facilitators have used a comprehensive sampling technique.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS
Demographic Information of Participant
In this part, the general background of the respondents who participated in the study was summarized with a focus on age group, marital status, levels of reading and writing educational level, and occupation, and so on.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summery
The main objective of the study was to assess women’s participation in the integrated functional literacy program of Debre tabor city. To discover the levels of women participation in the IFAL program, motivating factors of women’s participate in the IFAL program, push factors that hinder women from participating in IFAL program, the pull factors that hinder women from participating in IFAL program and the efforts are being done to maximize women’s participate in IFAL program. A convergent parallel design was employed.
In simple random sampling techniques were employed to select the women respondents for the study, facilitator, and experts used in purposively. The sample size 110 women adult learners, 9 facilitators and 3 IFAL experts. The data collecting instruments used were questionnaires, semi- structured interview, and document analysis. Hence, to meet the objectives of the study, the following research questions were developed. In order to achieve the objective of the study the same basic question, regarding to:
- To what extent women participate in IFAL program?
- What motivates women to participate in IFAL program?
- What are the program related factors that hinder women from participating in IFAL program?
- What are the personal factors that hinder women from participating in IFAL program?
- What efforts are being done to maximize women’s participation in IFAL program?
- The majority of women are low participation in class The reasons for this high workload, lowest economic status, high family responsibility, negative attitude of the community members in adult education, the learning content is not based on the need of women participants, the husband was not permitted to participate in the IFAL program, lack of personal interest.
- The participation of women in the class teaching-learning process comparing with men is Because many women participants were fear of peer participants, lack of knowledge, and frustration.
- Many women’s the main motivating factors to participate in the IFAL program were due to reading writing and calculating the smallest number, to improve the economic status (to learn income-generating activity) to use mobile, to use hand and wall time, to measure the balance(ሚዛን መመዘን), those are the dominant motivating factors of women’s participate in the
- Most unable to read and write women did not participate in adult literacy programmes were due to the lowest economy, heavy workload, for husband influence, and lack of personal interest is the dominant factor that affects women’s not participate in the program.
- The Program-related problem to decrease the participation of women’s in the IFAL program: – to learn non-relating the learning content and inconvenience of the learning time (the learning time is overlap in the working time), lack of knowledge of the facilitator and the lower participation of various stakeholders in the
- The personal related challenges of women’s less participation in the program were heavy workload, lowest economy, not voluntary of a husband, family responsibility, negative attitude of community members about adult education, and lack of personal interest.
- For maximizing the participation of women in the IFAL program in the study area there is not tack action to improve the involvement of women in the program. However, such activity will be done in the future those are: – the program will become focusing on beyond of reading, writing, and become to teach about various income-generating activities; will become to construct adult literacy center, the facilitator will become teaches need-based and the way of life of the women and new income-generating activities, skills, and professions; the program will become starting some saving method like epub, ider. And after the end of the program/ completed level three the concerned bodies will become facilitate various working opportunities. Then women’s participation in the program will become The above mechanism of maximizing the participation of women in the IFAL program fulfilling in the future increase participation of women in the IFAL program in the study area.
Conclusion
The main focus of the study was to assess the Participation of Women in the Integrated Functional Adult Literacy Program at Debre Tabor city. Based on the result of the analysis and the findings, the involvement of women in the integrated functional adult literacy program in the study area was ineffective and women have low participation in the attendance of IFAL program and many women adult were not attending in the learning class of the IFAL program due to high workload, lowest economy, husbands influence, the learning content is not based on the need of the women participants, high family responsibility and the negative attitude of the community members about in the IFAL program. The majority of women in the study area have low participation compared to men in terms of doing homework, classwork, group work, and answering questions for the reason of lack of knowledge and frustration.
The main motivating factors women’s participate in IFAL program were: the need to read and write their own and families name and calculating the smallest number, to improve their economic status (to learn income-generating activities), for improving social relationships, there is not want to layman by other peoples and easily to used smallest technology outcomes (for instance to use mobile, o’clock and sling balance).
Many program-related problems decrease the participation of women’s in the IFAL program such as non-relating the learning content with their need and ways of life, inconvenience of the learning time (the learning time is overlap within the working time), not encourage the different concerned body and after completing the program there is not facilitate work opportunity and working environment. That program-related factor is highly challenged were decrease in the participation of women’s adult learners.
Many personal related problems decrease the participation of women in the IFAL program such as heavy workload, lowest economy, not voluntary of husband, negative attitude of the community members about in women education/adult education and not participating peer women adults. Those personal related factors are significant factors of decrease the participation of women in the IFAL program. This indicated that the program and the personal based challenge is the dominant factor that affects decrease women participation in the IFAL program.
For maximizing the participation of women’s in the IFAL program such activity will be done those are: – the program will become focusing on beyond of reading, writing, and numeracy so it will become to teach about various income-generating activities skills and professions; will become to construct adult literacy center, every implementer of the program will become done their work, the facilitator will become teaches need-based of the learner and the way of life of the women, the program will become starting some saving method like epub, ider. And after the end of the program/ completed level three the concerned bodies will become facilitate various working opportunities and working conditions. The above listed activities of maximizing the participation of women in the IFAL program fulfill in the future increase participation of women in the IFAL program in the study area.
Limitation
It is clear that a research work may not be totally free from limitation, especially in this year. The shortage of time and it was very challenging time related with corona virus (covid-19) to get participants to collect data. At the time, difficult to observe the participation of males and females in the class room for this reason, the researcher was not used observation data gathering tool.
Recommendation
Based on the findings and conclusions drawn, the following recommendation was suggested. “Since Women are Mothers, sisters, and wives”:
Education stakeholders should communicate with women in the community who didn’t attend the program due to different problems and should take the necessary actions to resolve the personal and program-related challenge so that those women would be motivated to participate.
There should be a regular form of awareness creating program among the community members about women education to have the knowledge and understanding about the importance of the program for their life on women. Because teaching women is teaching the society.
The facilitators should teach based on the need of the learners and must teach by doing, because adults by nature need based learner and the facilitators should teach beyond 3Rs like income-generating activities, skills and professions.
Adult education implementers should motivate and create a comfortable learning environment to increase the participation of adult women.
All the IFAL expert workers, NGOs and civil societies should work in collaboration to create income generation activities, working opportunity and work togetherness for the women in the program to maximize their participation of the IFAL program.
The program implementers should facilitate the working environment for casting about loan service, business area, sellers of the product for increasing the participation of women in the program. Those activities are vital for maximizing women’s participation in the IFAL program.
Reference
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