Social Capital and Community Development

Abstract

This chapter explores the types of informal learning that take place as women participate in adult literacy programs, community development projects, and as they use social capital in three states in south-western Nigeria. The data used for this study were extracted from a recent research work titled “Effect of Literacy Education and Social Capital on Rural Women's Involvement in Community Development in Southwestern Nigeria.” Three states were selected from the southwestern Nigeria, two Local Government Areas (LGAs) were selected from each of the three states, and two rural communities were also selected from each of the selected local government areas by random sampling technique. From each of the rural communities, 60 rural women were randomly selected, making a total number of 720 respondents. A structured questionnaire, an in-depth interview guide, and focus group discussion were used to collect data. The women attributed the informal learning documented to the relationship they formed during the period they attended literacy classes and participated in community development projects.