Adult Basic Education Research Articles

SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS IN ZIMBABWE'S NEW CONSTITUTION

1. Introduction The constitutionalisation and justiciability of socio-economic rights has always been debated among scholars and practitioners. While everyone agrees that every constitution should encompass socio-economic rights there is still disagreement on whether they should be under the Bill of Rights or Principles of State Policy. The constitutional debate in Zimbabwe also included such discussions which resulted in the inclusion of socio-economic rights as both National Objectives (Principles of State Policy) and Declaration of Human Rights (Bill of Rights), under chapter two and four respectively. Though this is a welcome move towards the progressive realisation of socio-economic rights the big question remains whether this will improve the protection and promotion of these rights, subsequently bringing change to people's lives. This overview provides a critical analysis of the new constitution and offers recommendations for the improvement of the socio-economic rights regime in Zimbabwe through courts, state institutions and government. 2. The new Constitution The preamble of the new constitution (1)) recognises the supremacy of God and gives special recognition to the liberation struggle, natural resources, diverse culture, democratic values, rule of law and fundamental human rights. It values the principles of rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedoms, gender equality, good governance and representation of the electorate and places an obligation to the State to protect and promote these values and principles. Though the preamble of the constitution has no legal standing it spells out the purpose of the constitution and it reflects the goals and commitment of government. It is an introductory statement and courts can refer to it on cases pertaining to the constitution as reliable evidence of what the state has promised to achieve and provide for citizens. The preamble commits the state to uphold and defend fundamental human rights and freedoms, which include socio-economic rights. The protection and promotion of socio-economic rights serve to support the commitments set in the preamble, such as transparency, freedom, tradition and culture, fairness and equality. In countries such as South Africa where the preamble is not legally binding, the courts have interpreted the commitments highlighted in the preamble in, for example, the Bato Star Fishing (PTY) LTD vs Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism case, interpreting the commitments in the preamble as an obligation on the state. In addition to traditional civil and political rights, the new constitution contains a full catalogue of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights. This includes every person's right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being (section 73); and an obligation to protect the environment for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures. Section 75 (rights to education) entitles every citizen and permanent resident of Zimbabwe to a basic state-funded education, including adult basic education and further education, which the state, through reasonable legislative and other measures, must make progressively available and accessible. This is in line with article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). It remains to be seen whether the Government will implement the constitution and enforce the right of girls in some rural areas of access to education where they have been hindered by traditional practises. Section 76 (right to health) confirms the right of every citizen and permanent resident of Zimbabwe to have access to basic healthcare services, including reproductive health. Every person living with a chronic illness has the right to have access to basic healthcare services for the illness. No person may be refused emergency medical treatment in any health-care institution. …

Un Sustainable Development Goals until 2030: Implementation in the Educational Process of Training of Information Affairs Specialists in Ukraine

The purpose of the study is to highlight the experience of implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 in the process of training and retraining of information professionals. The article analyzes the theoretical approaches to the study of the concept of education for sustainable development, the experience of systematic implementation of education in the field of sustainable development in Ukrainian universities, project activities in the field of education for sustainable development in formal and non-formal education. Emphasis is placed on the main projects implemented by the Ukrainian Library Association to increase the capacity of libraries to contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.The research methodology is to use socio-communicative and systematic approaches, methods of source and content analysis.The scientific novelty of the study is to attract observations and materials obtained during the teaching of the author of the discipline “Strategic Management of Information Activity” at the Borys Grinchenko Kiev University after in the masters of “Information, Library and Archival Affairs” and “Public relations”.Conclusions have been made on the multi-vector and multi-level process of implementing education in the field of sustainable development, to which higher education institutions of Ukraine are actively involved. It is noted that the presented experience of implementation of the CSF ONN until 2030 in the educational process at different educational and qualification levels can be used in the future in higher education institutions that train future specialists in information, library and archival affairs.A promising direction to continue the study is the study of the experience of project activities in the field of education for sustainable development, in particular the activities of adult education centers that participate in the implementation of the UN CRC until 2030 at the regional development of local communities.

Escuela y diversidad cultural en la educación primaria de personas jóvenes y adultas en Santiago del Estero, Argentina

En este trabajo exploramos las formas en que se nombra y procesa la diversidad en escuelas y centros de educación básica de adultos en la ciudad de Santiago del Estero y zonas urbanas y periurbanas aledañas. Para ello analizamos la normativa a nivel nacional y provincial; realizamos observaciones participantes en ocho de dichas instituciones, donde además entrevistamos al personal docente y directivo, así como al estudiantado. Encontramos que el personal docente y directivo ejerce un trabajo comprometido a favor de construir una matrícula para estas instituciones escolares, con el propósito de evitar la exclusión educativa. Este personal reconoce la diversidad del estudiantado en cuanto a sus saberes escolares, generacionales y de necesidades, pero invisibiliza la diversidad sociocultural en un sentido amplio. Finalmente, caracterizamos estrategias para el abordaje de la diversidad, mayormente homogeneizantes, que construyen geografías situadas de inclusión/exclusión en estas instituciones educativas.

An exploration of workplace learning of centre managers and educators in South African Adult Education and Training centres

Workplace learning is a critical aspect of both continuing professional education and human resource development. However, often providers, scholars and even the learners themselves pay little attention to the learning that actually happens in the workplace. The study sought to obtain insights into workplace learning of Adult Education and Training, centre managers and educators. Qualitative data generated through interviews and focus group discussions with 62 conveniently selected educators and centre managers in 18 Adult Education and Training centres were thematically analysed through a seven-step process. Educator workplace learning emerged around judgement, decision-making and problem solving, awareness and understanding, role and task performance and team work and passion. Data also indicated that the learning was tacit, surface, context-rooted and consequential to managing crises in the Adult Education and Training centres. The study recommends adequate resource provisioning to this sector by the Department of Higher Education and Training to promote deep learning-in-practice and to minimise the surface learning in crisis management that is prevalent in the centres. Adult Education and Training has to fulfil its mandate of contributing to economic development and transformation of broader society; however, without resource supports, this crucial role will remain a dream, which may force educators into paying lip-service to the work of educating adults.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: The Use of Pictures to Promote Literacy and Reading in Foundation Phase and ABET-Level 1 Learners

Since time immemorial, pictorial images have been used to illustrate, document, map, narrate, and facilitate textual and verbal information. The facilitation and illustration of texts through pictorial support have an added advantage in the sense that it stimulates both spheres of the human brain, thus making lasting effects on the impression of cognitive understanding of the content read and boosting reading comprehension. These positive effects and benefits are observed in storybooks with illustrations that present an aesthetic appeal and typographic interplay to the reader. In recent years, texts and stories have been conveyed and disseminated through visual compositions, creative outputs and visual narrations that are presently enhanced by digital technology. This is a conceptual paper that is conducted from a constructivist point of view, reviewing literature on photo elicitation where pictures are used as aids to facilitate comprehension in textual readings. It is argued that the eradication of illiteracy through reading is a less intuitive and rather complex process that requires the reader to read the text at hand with good comprehension and understanding. The study concludes that pictorial images are worth being part of the typography of texts because they create the necessary visual appeal and support the reading process, especially for foundation phase and adult basic education and training (ABET) level 1 learners.

Integrating Creativity in the Facilitation of Adult Learning through Analytic and Synthetic Methods: Study of Adult Basic Literacy Education Program in Enugu State, Nigeria

Adult basic literacy education program requires the integration of creativity into learning activities to increase the rate of adult learning in adult basic literacy education program. The study assessed the extent of integrating creativity in facilitating adult learners in adult basic literacy education program. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The instrument titled, Integrating Creativity in the Facilitation of Adult Learning through Analytic and Synthetic Methods Questionnaire was administered to 880 adult education administrators, adult literacy facilitators and adult learners. Data were presented through the use of mean, standard deviation and ANOVA. The results of the study revealed that integrating analytic and synthetic methods to a moderate extent facilitated the learning of adults in an adult basic literacy education program. The study recommended that state agency for mass literacy, adult and non-formal education should encourage adult literacy facilitators to create personalized programs of instruction and lesson plans that are based on the adult learners’ skill level and learning styles.

A lesson in teaching English while White

AbstractThis article offers a close analysis of a 90‐minute teaching sequence in an English as a foreign language classroom of an adult basic education program for refugee‐background learners in a Finnish community college. The White European‐heritage teacher, the author of the article, researcher on‐site, and substitute teacher at that point, taught a lesson with a focus on ownership of English to a group of about 15 adult learners of color from mostly Middle Eastern and African backgrounds. She used peer‐supported discourse analysis of the lesson transcript to better understand the processes of Whiteness that interfered with students’ learning and engagement during the lesson. This revealed that the researcher‐teacher’s discourses and practices erased racial differences between her and the learners, perpetuated Eurocentric ideologies of argumentation, and positioned her as “white listening subject” (Flores & Rosa, 2015a) vis‐à‐vis the students. A theoretical lens of critical Whiteness pedagogy (e.g., Matias & Mackey, 2016) helps understand these findings within larger racist and Eurocentric structures of educational systems and socialization. Each finding feeds into recommendations for teachers and teacher educators, particularly those who received their education in predominantly White institutions but work in racially and culturally diverse contexts.

Modernisation of organisations due to migration?

The following paper discusses as a research question the effects of increased migration by refugees and asylum-seekers on German adult education centres (Volkshochschule - VHS). Other studies have focused on the effects of co-called integration courses on learners, their trajectories, or general societal effects, such as inclusion in the labour market. In these studies, adult education was perceived as a means of how to deal with migration and integration, and the research was less focused on how migration and integration affects adult education centres. Based on modernity theories, this study used quantitative analysis in order to determine if the approximately 900 German adult education centres have changed in the last two decades due to increased migration and different legal frameworks. Program analysis were used in previous studies, while here the provider statistics were used for a longitudinal data analysis. This analysis focused on the following three factors: professional staff, the fields/subjects of provision, and financial sources.

Collaborative Creative Processes That Challenge Us as "Anomaly", and Affirm Our Indigeneity and Enact Our Sovereignty

Collaborative Creative Processes That Challenge Us as "Anomaly", and Affirm Our Indigeneity and Enact Our Sovereignty

The Lessons of the Churn: Adult Basic Education and Disciplining the Adult Learner

The Lessons of the Churn: Adult Basic Education and Disciplining the Adult Learner

Escolaridad básica en personas adultas en México

El propósito de esta investigación es analizar la situación de escolaridad básica de las personas adultas en México en los últimos años y los programas para su atención, para determinar si hay avances en la reducción del rezago educativo. El enfoque utilizado parte de las obligaciones del Estado mexicano en derechos humanos, especialmente sobre el derecho a la educación; asimismo, se examina la evidencia empírica relacionada con las carencias en educación básica proveniente de distintas fuentes, entre otras, de la Encuesta Nacional de los Hogares (ENH) del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI, 2018), así como el presupuesto destinado a los programas de educación para adultos entre los años 2010 y 2018. Se evidencian avances sustanciales solamente en la alfabetización, pero no en la reducción del rezago educativo en la escolaridad básica en su conjunto, lo que podría estar asociado a la ineficaz distribución de los recursos económicos.

Student Engagement for Enhancing Mentoring and Leadership Development in Adult Basic Education and Literacy Programs

AbstractThis article describes three programs which provide formal student engagement training and leadership opportunity with adult basic education learners.

Conceptualizing health literacy promotion in second language courses based on a realistic review

Abstract Background Second language courses (SLC) and adult basic education courses are considered appropriate settings for promoting health literacy (HL) of vulnerable and hard-to-reach migrants and refugees. Yet, these courses and the process of HL promotion in SCL are not yet empirically well-understood. In the project SCURA, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, we explored the role of SLC in HL promotion and developed interventions to improve the HL of newcomers. This study's aim was to analyze projects on HL promotion in SCL and to develop an empirically based theory of change. Methods We conducted a systematic literature search on HL and SCL on four databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, ERIC, google scholar) and a free online research. Two researchers screened titles, abstracts and full-text and identified 20 articles of 13 interventions eligible for a realistic review (Pawson 2005). We extracted the context and characteristics of the programs, methods, results, influences and triangulated the data to create a model. Results Despite the heterogeneous contexts, HL can be successfully promoted in SLC. The theory of change unfolds key program activities, outputs and outcomes, supporting factors and their relationships, and specifies the roles of teachers, health professionals, schools and students. The study reveals factors ensuring sustainability e.g. integrating health topics in the standard SLC, capacity building of teachers and institution, partnerships with local health services and focusing on language for health. Conclusions HL can be improved in SLC, but interventions need to adapt flexibly to the context and situation. Further relevant factors and process are depicted in the empirical-informed model facilitating the development of interventions and to advance the discussion on HL in SLC. Key messages Empirical data proves second language courses are adequate settings for promoting health literacy. The empirically-informed theory of change helps to guide the development of promising interventions to develop health literacy in second language courses.

Migração, trabalho e escolarização de jovens em diferentes percursos escolares

O objetivo do trabalho é analisar a relação entre migração, trabalho e escolarização de jovens em diferentes percursos escolares. Observamos entre os jovens migrantes um percurso escolar irregular e sujeito a interrupções, dada a dificuldade de conciliar estudo e trabalho, as mudanças em meio ao período letivo, a rotatividade de escolas, as dificuldades de adaptação, entre outras. A pesquisa que sustenta as análises está sendo desenvolvida na cidade de Florianópolis, estado de Santa Catarina, local que tem recebido um grande fluxo de migrantes, especialmente de outros estados do país. A estratégia metodológica foi integrada por técnicas qualitativas e quantitativas de geração de dados, tais como questionários, grupos focais e análises de documentos em três espaços de pesquisa, nos quais abordamos a relação dos jovens migrantes com o trabalho e a escola: Escola de ensino médio regular - pesquisa com estudantes que frequentam o ensino médio diurno e noturno; Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - pesquisa com trabalhadores temporários da construção civil, os quais apresentam baixa escolarização e interromperam os estudos; Núcleos de Educação de Jovens e Adultos - pesquisa com estudantes que buscam retomar o processo de escolarização. Conclui-se que a migração da classe trabalhadora é um fenômeno intrínseco aos processos de expropriação e exploração da sociedade moderna, que o percurso escolar dos jovens migrantes encontra-se determinado pelo trabalho e caracteriza-se pela permanente tensão entre expulsão e integração.

Repositioning the Funding of Adult and Non-formal Education (ANFE) in Anambra State, Nigeria.

The need for repositioning the funding of adult and non-formal education (ANFE) in Anambra State cannot be overlooked as manpower and material resources needed for such programs can be acquired when there is adequate funding. The study focused on the repositioning the funding of ANFE in Anambra State. Descriptive survey research design was adopted in this study, guided by three research questions. The population of the study comprised 331 instructors in all the government-owned adult education centres in Anambra State. There was no sampling because the population was manageable. Questionnaire was the instrument for data collection which was validated by two experts in the Department of Adult and Continuing Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Cronbach Alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument and the overall reliability coefficient of 0.79 was obtained. Mean statistics was used to answer the research questions. The findings indicated that ANFE is funded to a low extent in Anambra State. The study also revealed that some of the challenges confronting ANFE in Anambra State include: difficulties in identifying budget meant for ANFE, lack of information on funding by individuals, inadequate funding by the government, among others. The study further showed that the strategies to be adopted in repositioning the funding of ANFE in Anambra State are: distinct budget allocation by federal and state government for ANFE, effective utilization of fund accruing to ANFE, assisting of ANFE through regular funding by international bodies and NGOs, among others. Conclusion was drawn and the study recommended that governments both federal and state should provide adequate support to ANFE, especially through proper funding and adequate monitoring of such funds.

ADULT EDUCATION AS A STRATEGY FOR "GROWING UP" DEMOCRACY: THE EXPERIENCE OF GERMANY

The range of educational services is really wide. The main reasons and goals of people's universities are as follows: the formation of knowledge, the formation of beliefs, the formation of will, the formation of man. Its motivation is a return to rationalism in everyday life and "concern" for the irrational. The establishment of adult education centers is an opportunity to promote democracy. Such education forms an awareness of the political, social and cultural that can serve as the basis for a true revival of European values. The modern globalized world needs a democratic education that is not limited to national borders and the national idea. For a commonly desired future, there is a need for a broader, panoramic and forward-looking view of European values and the integrative content of European culture. Adult education centers work with traditional universities, non-governmental organizations, local associations to unite society, unite the community for a fairer and more stable social life. Such centers perform the functions of integration and translation of cultural values, universal values of humankind, teach people to be effective in the unity of diversity: uniting people of different talents, competencies and skills into an effective organism of social order.

Abilities in the blind spot of testing regimes: Eliciting the benefits and the limitations of participatory research approaches for numeracy in adult basic education

In the past decade, the numeracy component in adult basic education has gained scholarly attention. The issue has been addressed by large-scale assessments of adults’ skills and intergovernmental policy agendas, but also by qualitative research into numeracy from the perspective of social practice theory. However, some aspects of numeracy are still under-researched. This article argues that adults with learning difficulties (also referred to by some as intellectual disabilities) and their numeracy-related abilities are still hidden in the blind spot of large-scale testing regimes. To address this underrepresentation, the authors present an overview of the key paradigms of a global testing culture, outline their two areas of interest, disability and numeracy, and identify the blind spots of large-scale international surveys. They consider ways of extending the range of methodological approaches to investigating (literacy and) numeracy, and opt for a participatory research approach, for which they identify five guiding principles. They showcase and reflect on these guiding principles by presenting selected data from a small-scale qualitative study on numeracy practices of adults with learning difficulties. Their aim is to demonstrate the benefits and limitations of using participatory research approaches in the context of investigating numeracy among all members of a country’s adult population.

Exploring adult basic education and training as a transformative learning space for alienated out-of-school youth in South Africa

Adult education and training (AET) was always a neglected part of South African education. In the mid-1990s, the South African government sought to change this by introducing a number of policies that prepared the way for adult basic education (ABET) to become part of the formal educational system, and to attain its official status as a formally recognised qualification pathway. In 2013, the government’s redistributive response to this pathway’s past marginalisation was to incorporate AET in the national qualifications framework (NQF) as a system parallel to basic education for children. These policies introduced a shift in the function of AET from providing opportunities for the acquisition of literacy, especially for ethnically marginalised adults, to offering a formal qualification and the opportunity for out-of-school youth to improve their work opportunities. This changed status of AET created a second-chance educational opportunity for out-of-school youth to complete their general education as well as an opportunity to further their education. An interesting phenomenon is that, whereas these youthful, non-traditional AET students had a troubled history with formal schooling, they seem to be successful in AET. Based on her narrative interviews with youthful, non-traditional AET learners, the author of this article looks at how they navigate second-chance education and investigates what facilitates these learners’ educational success.

Docudrama for the emerging post-war order: Documentary film, internationalism and indigenous subjects in 1950s Mexico1

This article focuses on the productive tensions between the competing ideological discourses of post-war internationalism, Mexican post-revolutionary nationalism and local indigenous representational paradigms in the activities of the film unit of the UNESCO-sponsored adult education centre (CREFAL) in the town of Pátzcuaro, Mexico in the 1950s, which combined village screenings of educational, promotional and informative movies from the world over, with the local production of pedagogical documentary shorts by non-professional filmmakers from across Latin America. Inspired by the work of British documentarian Paul Rotha, whose United Nation picture World Without End (Mexico/Thailand/United Kingdom, 1953, codirected with Basil Wright) was partly filmed at CREFAL, these films frequently resorted to a docudrama format that enabled amateur documentary filmmakers to engage with the agendas of their indigenous subjects even as they subordinated them to the United Nation’s call to hygiene, progress and civic values. In doing so, they responded creatively to appeals by theorists such as Kracauer and Grierson for a critical realist cinema. They also acted as a link between the so-called ‘classical’ pre-war documentary movements in the United Kingdom, North America and elsewhere, and the later, socially committed new cinemas.

Spillover Effects of Job Skills Training on Substance Misuse Among Low-Income Youths With Employment Barriers: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Objectives. To examine spillover effects of job skills training (vs basic services only [e.g., adult basic education, job readiness training]) on substance misuse among low-income youths with employment barriers.Methods. Data came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, a longitudinal cohort study of youths born between 1980 and 1984 in the United States. Based on respondents' reports of substance misuse (past-month binge drinking and past-year marijuana and other illicit drug use) from 2000 to 2016, we estimated substance misuse trajectories of job skills training (n = 317) and basic services (n = 264) groups. We accounted for potential selection bias by using inverse probability of treatment weighting.Results. Compared with the basic services group, the job skills training group showed notable long-term reductions in its illicit drug misuse trajectory, translating to a 56.9% decrease in prevalence rates from 6.5% in year 0 to 2.8% in year 16.Conclusions. Job skills training can be an important service component for reducing substance misuse and improving employment outcomes among youths with economic disadvantages and employment barriers.