Methods of teaching adult learners: a comparative study of adult education programmes in Ghana and South Africa

Abstract

The benefits of effective teaching methods have been well researched and documented. Salient amongst most literature on such benefits is their ability to promote learners’ subject-matter comprehension and their active participation in class activities. Subject-matter and learner participation can be considered key ingredients in promoting effective learning. In adult education, due to the unique characteristics that the learner brings to the learning situation, it behooves the educator to select appropriate methods in promoting learning. By employing appropriate teaching methods, the educator is able to help adult learners achieve the desired learning outcomes. This study therefore sought to comparatively examine the effectiveness of the various teaching methods used by educators in teaching learners in adult education programmes in Ghana and South Africa. The study focused on the National Functional Literacy Programme of Ghana and the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Programme of South Africa.

The study was conducted using a qualitative research approach where the multiple case study design was employed. A purposive sample of 152 participants comprising 72 learners and 4 educators each from Ghana and South Africa were selected for the study. The interview schedule, focus group discussion guide and unstructured observation guides were used to elicit data from the participants. The study revealed, amongst other things, that some of the methods employed by the educators in the teaching and learning encounter were ineffective in promoting adult learning in both programmes. The study recommends that methods employed to teach adult learners should help them effectively to make meaning of the various information or events that they are presented with. As a result, teaching moves from the traditional view of transmission to helping learners to reexamine their meaning-making structures.