Work‐related adult education: challenges and possibilities in poverty areas

The aim of this article is to talk about the possibilities of work‐related adult education programmes within the context of developing countries. The focus of the analysis is on poor populations, particularly those dwelling in rural and marginal urban areas. The background comprises the challenges for productive incorporation, social exclusion, the relative absence of skill development programmes in these areas and the historical ineffectiveness of adult education programmes. In the light both of lessons drawn form several experiences carried out mainly in developing countries and insights coming from educational and developmental research, the article puts forward some theses that may serve as guidelines when carrying out work‐related adult education programmes, such as the need to stem from integral and inter‐institutional perspectives, to rely on sound strategies that can have a direct impact on both social and economic development, to learn from local contexts (knowledge and opportunities) and evaluate the potential within these spaces, to properly assess the different areas (health, housing, organization etc.) that are related to any social development process, and the importance of taking productive activities—work—as the axis and starting point of programmes.     

Poverty reduction and adult education: beyond basic education

One of the Millennium Development Goals declared by the United Nations in 2000 was to reduce by half the population of people living in extreme poverty, by 2015. Adult education can and should contribute significantly to this development goal. Nevertheless it has hardly been explored so far in the national Poverty Reduction Strategies Papers. In as far as attention has been given to the contribution of adult education to the reduction of poverty, the trend has been to focus on literacy or basic education. Nevertheless, adult education is potentially much more than literacy or basic education. Successful contribution of adult education to poverty reduction programmes includes also agricultural extension, vocational education, community development and training for active citizenship. In this introduction of the special issue of the International Journal of Lifelong Education, we will sketch the state of the art for each of these branches of adult education. Moreover, our central argument will be that developing countries do not only need a more extended system for adult education, but also a more flexible and more targeted system than the rather traditional practices in most developing countries.     

Policy and practice in widening participation: a six country comparative study of access as flexibility

Widening participation to higher education (HE) is central to the educational policies of countries throughout the world, and takes the form of a range of types of intervention, which can be classified within a three-fold typology. Access as in-reach refers to those programmes that prioritize recruiting potential students into the institution—examples include adult Access courses and certain summer school provisions for school-leavers. Access as out-reach is typified by efforts to widen participation and involve partnerships with one or more of employers, schools and the wider community. Alongside in-reach and out-reach exist a number of initiatives that can neither be categorized primarily as either of these, but focus on transformations and adjustments to the structure, administration and delivery of HE programmes. The third category of Access as flexibility refers to systematic as against discrete provision and includes such structural arrangements such as the use of accreditation of prior learning (APL), open and distance learning and the use of information and communications technology (ICT). In this paper—based on research commissioned by the Scottish Executive—policies and practices from Australia, Canada, England, Finland and France are compared and analysed with particular focus being given to flexibility. The implications of these policies and practices and their potential transferability to Scotland are considered.     

Science Education and Health Education: Locating the Connections

Context-based chemistry education aims to improve student interest and motivation in chemistry by connecting canonical chemistry concepts with real-world contexts. Implementation of context-based chemistry programmes began 20 years ago in an attempt to make the learning of chemistry meaningful for students. This paper reviews such programmes through empirical studies on six international courses, ChemCom (USA), Salters (UK), Industrial Science (Israel), Chemie im Kontext (Germany), Chemistry in Practice (The Netherlands) and PLON (The Netherlands). These studies are categorised through emergent characteristics of: relevance, interest/attitudes/motivation and deeper understanding. These characteristics can be found to an extent in a number of other curricular initiatives, such as science-technology-society approaches and problem-based learning or project-based science, the latter of which often incorporates an inquiry-based approach to science education. These initiatives in science education are also considered with a focus on the characteristics of these approaches that are emphasised in context-based education. While such curricular studies provide a starting point for discussing context-based approaches in chemistry, to advance our understanding of how students connect canonical science concepts with the real-world context, a new theoretical framework is required. A dialectical sociocultural framework originating in the work of Vygotsky is used as a referent for analysing the complex human interactions that occur in context-based classrooms, providing teachers with recent information about the pedagogical structures and resources that afford students the agency to learn.     

The boundaries of adult education for active citizenship fiinstitutional and community contexts

In common with many other countries, the 1980s and early 1990s in New Zealand were years of considerable upheaval. The welfare state along with many democratic institutions was under attack from the forces of multinational capital. This article reports some findings from a largescale study investigating the impact of these changes on the provision of education and training opportunities for adults as well as possible effects of some of these programmes on wider policies and practices. It is hoped that the study will contribute to greater understanding of the complex relationships between the ‘curriculum’ of adult learning and education and wider social, economic and political forces. This article focuses exclusively on adult education programmes for active citizenship, i.e. programmes explicitly intended to promote, inform, analyse, critique, challenge, or raise public consciousness about public policies and issues. It investigates the nature and extent of the contributions of educational institutions and voluntary organizations to adult and community education for active citizenship. The findings suggest that from one perspective adult education for active citizenship was alive and well in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The period saw an increase in the number of social movements and ‘non-educational’ voluntary organizations and groups engaged in adult education for active citizenship. Much of this drew on progressive or radical democratic traditions. From another perspective the position was by no means as positive. Educational institutions varied widely in their commitment to adult education for active citizenship. Most institutions, drawing on conservative and pragmatic traditions, demonstrated little commitment, while those that were involved drew on liberal traditions. These traditions, grounded in discourses that de-politicized education, reinforced the boundaries between adult education and political action and thus served to legitimate the neo-liberal ideologies.     

Another development training programme? Education for practical engagement in extension and development work

Current development education in the United Kingdom usually offers participants from developing countries studies of what development is or should be. These programmes are well suited to the needs of higher-level planners or policy researchers. They contrast markedly with the urgent need for the knowledge of and skills in how to undertake planned economic and social changes. This paper suggests a possible route towards a practical, professional training for middle-and lower-level personnel engaged in managing development and extension services. Briefly, the paper notes the lack of educational programmes aimed at practical training and middle-level staff in Britain; and the role of education in the process of development. Current difficulties for locating these programmes in the developing countries themselves are discussed, and the outline for a suitably practical programme, initially based in Britain, is proposed.     

Teacher students’ meaningful learning in widening learning worlds

ABSTRACT

This qualitative metasynthesis investigated students’ meaningful learning experiences amid andragogical teacher education programmes. The programmes catered to the specific learning needs of adult students in the context of university-based teacher education. This study aimed to provide a wider picture of the frames of students’ meaningful learning in andragogical teacher education programmes. The findings revealed three major learning worlds of adult students’ meaningful learning, which formed a common system widening from the professional awakening to the transformative community and agency in society. Based on the findings, this study argues that in andragogical teacher education, which emphasises collaboration and networking in accordance with the current trend in higher education, teacher students may become empowered participants and active agents in society. The findings can be used in planning curricula, and developing programmes of higher education in general and teacher education in particular.     

Continuing Engineering Education for Developing Countries: a challenge and an opportunity

All developing countries are committed to use science and technology for the uplift of the economic condition of their population. Although development is a complex multi-variable optimisation process, and application of science and technology is only one of the dominant variables, no sustained economic development is possible without a proper infrastructure of education and training of scientists, technicians and engineers. Building such an infrastructure is beset with numerous difficulties in many developing countries, e.g. unavailability of trained teachers, lack of financial resources for upgrading laboratories and workshops, and making the course curriculum relevant to the needs of the country. In the context of these difficulties, it is suggested that developing countries should take advantage of continuing education programmes to meet their development needs for trained manpower. Updating the competence of teachers of engineering and technology, improving the skills of technicians and engineers in the wake of improved or new technologies and preparing the young engineers and managers for the technologies of the future have been identified as the major CEE needs of developing countries. Rapid development in educational technology tools, e.g. audio/video material, media-packages, programmed learning, computer-assisted instruction has made it possible to cut down the cost of manpower training and also meet the shortage of fully-trained teachers. Brief details of the CEE programmes being run in India are given. International Cooperation in the exchange of learning material including computer software for instruction purposes has been identified as a method to accelerate the growth of CEE movement in developing countries. A few criteria have been specified to ensure that such exchange of material is useful.     

The effects of adjustment on education: A review of asian experience

Summary and conclusions It is difficult to isolate the effects of adjustment policies on education. Even elaborate country studies could not properly assess the definitive effects of adjustment. As Stanley Fischer (1991, p. 526) observed, ‘the evaluation of adjustment lending is not only extremely difficult, but also essential. None of the methods of evaluation are entirely satisfactory’. Here, an attempt has been made to examine the association between adjustment and the development of education. The effects identified can, at best, be treated asprobable effects. While no causal relationship could be found, intense adjustment is generally associated with declines in a variety of indicators on educational development in Asian countries, similar to patterns observed in many other regions. At the same time, it should also be noted that, on the average, while the education sector in Asian countries suffered during adjustment, it also seems to have been relatively well protected from the brutal effects affecting developing countries in other regions experiencing adjustment. The effects of adjustment, however, have not been uniform on all countries of the Asian region, and several economies suffered severely. It has been found that, during the adjustment processes, the proportion of GNP or of total government expenditure allocated to education declined in a majority of the adjusting (including intensely adjusting) countries, even though the corresponding figures also point to a decline in some of the non-adjusting countries. In a large number of the adjusting countries, the relative share of capital expenditure on education declined and that of current expenditure increased. The allocation of resources to primary education seems to have been protected in most countries, except in Pakistan and Bangladesh. This is also true of non-adjusting countries, such an India and Malaysia, where the relative share of primary education actually increased. More importantly, the real expenditure per student in primary education increased significantly in all countries, with the exception of the Philippines and Nepal, during the first half of the 1980s (the only period for which these data are available). Expenditure per student in primary education as a ratio of GNP per capita also increased in all countries, while the corresponding proportion relating to higher education declined in all countris, except in India. All this indicates that concerted efforts have been made by the adjusting as well as the non-adjusting countries in Asia to protect primary education; a remarkable achievement when compared to other developing countries of the world (see Berstecher & Carr-Hill, 1990). Adjusting countries could have protected primary education from budget cuts through social safety-net programmes introduced as a part of adjustment policies in several countries, as in India during the 199s. However, enrolment ratios in primary education declined in two of the intensely adjusting countries, namely in Pakistan and Thailand. Although the gross enrolment ratio in Pakistan is deplorably low (44% in 1990), Bangladesh registered remarkable progress with increases not only in gross but also in net enrolment ratios, which went up from 54% in 1985 to 69% by the end of the 1980s. The number of pupils per teacher in Bangladesh, however, has increased to one of the highest levels in the region, suggesting that quality was traded-off for quantitative expansion. Internal efficiency also increased in all countries of the region. While gender discrimination has been found to have increased as far as the stock of the educated people is concerned, gender discrimination in enrolments has been coming down in all the countries. Lastly, the relative share of the private sector, although limited at present, seems to be increasing. Fees appear to have been introduced even in primary schools in some countries and have had a negative effect on the demand for education and on total enrolments. Increases in the degree of privatization and the introduction/increase of fees in education have been dominant, thought not necessarily explicit, components of adjustment polcies. While, on the whole, the effects of adjustment on education seemed to be mixed, and no striking difference could be observed between adjusting/intensely adjusting and non-adjusting countries in short-term educational development trends in Asia, the tentative evidence from a few countries does suggest a strong association between adjusting policies and a deterioration in educational situations. Such a strong association is clearly discernible with respect to several important indicators of educational development, although not with respect to all. It would be useful to look into this association more closely in one or two selected countries to clearly understand the effects of adjustment on education. Though the problems that will be found and the associations observd in a particular country may be unique, and may not be relevant for others, such country studies would be valuable to draw lessons, not only for the countries concerned, but also for others. The experience of both the Asian (and even other) countries, as well as of international agencies with structural adjustment programmes is short (about ten of fifteen years). As ‘adjustment’ is a long on-going process, analysis of its effects over a short period of time would be premature and problematic, as quick results cannot be expected. More importantly, it is probable that the ‘positive impacts are realized with a considerable time lag, while its adverse effects are immediate and highly visible ... [but these programmes] may not be sustainable, economically and politically, if their immediate [negative] impacts are not mitigated’ (Yanagihara, 1989, p. 319-21). Otherwise, programmes may not be taken to their logical conclusion. Further, gradual adjustment policies have been generally found to be successful in the East Asian economies, rather than a ‘big bang’ approach involving shocks and sudden simultaneous shifts in all policies in an attempt to move forward quickly (Agrawal et al., 1992, p. 182). The latter approach can, in fact, be counter-productive. As a result of the growing research in the area and the interest of international organizations, such as UNICEF, the adverse effects of structural adjustment on social sectors are being monitored by both the donor agencies, such as the World Bank/IMF, and the countries concerned. Accordingly, structural adjustment programmes are being supplemented in a number of countries with sectoral adjustment and ‘social safety nets’ and other contingency programmes, so that the poor are not severely affected. Primary education is one of the important components of such programmes. In general, it is necessary that structural adjustment programmes and education sector adjustment programmes be integrated, and that the adjustment programmes include agreements on increasing public expenditure on education. Structural adjustment policies without such education sector adjustment programmes and social safety-net programmes that guarantee increases in public expenditure on education are likely to cause serious adverse effects. Hence, ‘it is important that structural adjustment agreements recognize the need for countries to commit new resources and reallocate existing resources toward investment sectors, such as basic education, which affect both social welfae and medium- and long-term economic growth’ (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 1992, p. 63). Further, it is necessary for the success of the adjustment programmes that the primary responsibility for the concetion of structural adjustment programmes lie with the national authorities that will implement and sustain the programmes; imposed programmes may not work (Malan, 1991, p. 539). The Republic of Korea is a good example of how structural adjustment programmes could succeed because it was undertaken on the basis of its own conviction. This will also help in reducing the political costs of adjustment programmes. With the level of expertise and competence available in the Asian countries one should expect that shifting the primary responsibility to the national governments is perfectly possible, compared to those regions that do not have indigenous expertise. Of late, some flexibility in and softening of the World Bank/IMF’s hard-line views of precisely what an ideal package of structural adjustment reforms should consist of are visible (Ranis, 1987, p. 97), though it may have to be further improved (Tilak, 1992). Lastly, it should be realized by all-the lending institutions and the countries concerned-that education becomes an important input in the success of the adjustment programmes, and hence investment in education is necessary for the very success and sustenance of structural adjustment programmes. Original language: English Jandhyala B.G. Tilak (India) Head of the Educational Finance Unit, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi, Ph.D. from Delhi School of Economics. Mr Tilak taught at the University of Virginia, the Indian Institute of Education and the University of Delhi. He was also on the staff of the World Bank. Recent publications includeEducation for development in Asia (1994),Educational planning at grassroots (1991), and several articles on economics, development studies and education. A contributor to theInternational encyclopaedia of education. Editor of theJournal of educational planning and administration and a member of the editorial board ofHigher education policy.     

Lifelong learning policy in two national contexts

This article describes and discusses the development of lifelong learning policy in two EU member states, Denmark and Portugal. The purpose is to show how different societal and historical contexts shape the development and implementation of lifelong learning policies, even though these policies have significant common elements. As a basis for the discussion an inventory of policy elements is presented. Denmark and Portugal have been chosen as examples of smaller EU member states with different historical, social and cultural characteristics. Developments and policies in the two countries, including the links with EU education policy, are described. The discussion includes comparison drawing on the inventory of policy elements. A main conclusion is that the different historical trajectories of the two countries remain very important for present-day education and for the advancement of lifelong learning policy. Early development of public primary education and popular adult education has provided a strong foundation for lifelong learning policy in Denmark while in Portugal not only institutional provision but also popular demand for lifelong learning has had to be built up relatively recently. EU education policy has had much more impact on lifelong learning policy in Portugal than in Denmark, because Portugal has had to depend much more on economic support from the EU social fund.     

“Growing together”: A Latvian retrospective of learning opportunities created in the cooperation among Nordic and Baltic adult educators

This article tells the extraordinary story of the cooperation among adult educators in five Nordic and three Baltic countries (NB8) which began in 1991 – the year when Latvia regained its independence. According to individuals who experienced the evolution of this cooperation from the beginning and were actively involved in the process of developing contemporary theories, policies and practices of adult education in Latvia, this cooperation resulted in the creation of a range of unique opportunities for learning and development. Latvian adult educators were engaged in many activities; they learned themselves, taught others, did research on adult education and developed a new system of adult education. What had started out as a “donorship” grew into a “partnership”. With hardly any published information about this cooperation to rely on, the authors of this article build their case using (1) their own memories of participation; (2) the information gained through interviews with key experts; and (3) a number of largely unpublished documents indicated in these interviews. Tracing the evolution of this cooperation, their study seeks to understand how learning opportunities were created and how they were used by adult educators in Latvia. Adopting an ecological (in terms of learning environment, relationships, agency, motivation and identity) sociocultural perspective on learning and learning opportunities, the authors analyse the quality of the learning opportunities created in the context of Nordic-Baltic cooperation, aiming to identify what makes international cooperation successful.     

Restructuring Teacher Education,the National Interest and Globalisation

This paper argues that the repositioning of Asian countries as new ‘centres’ for world trade and commerce and the transformation of Australian society and economy to accord with this global consolidation, includes a general restructuring of all levels of Australia's ‘education industry’ and specifically the (re)forming of its initial teacher and professional‐education programmes. The need for such reformation arises in part from the restructuring of the work of teaching based on a broader definition of the people and educational settings that are involved in the teaching/learning process, a reworking of this teaching/learning process, the higher status given to certain substantive areas of study, such as languages other than English, and the management of education along corporatist lines. This paper suggests further that teacher‐education programmes should also provide students with the resources to critically analyse these changes, giving consideration to issues such as identity, the impact of new technologies on culture and learning, the use of language in promoting particular discourses, and the repositioning of education as a tool for economic reform.     

One-third of the globe: The future of higher education in China and India

China and India together account for almost 25% of the world’s postsecondary student population. Most of the enrolment growth in the coming several decades will be in developing countries, and China and India will contribute a significant proportion of that expansion, since China currently educates only about 20% and India 10% of the age cohort. Both countries are expanding the higher education sector, while at the same time seeking to improve its quality. Challenges of funding, educating qualified academics, and building a sustainable academic culture are significant. An emerging private higher education sector and developing masters and doctoral programmes are additional pressures. Internationalization is a key factor as well, as both countries seek to expand their global profile and develop strategies for international programmes. Also, higher education development is central to future economic growth of these two of the world’s fastest growing economies.     

Engineering Education in Developing Countries: social relevance versus international comparability

The growing frustration of developing countries with their relatively slow rate of economic progress, their increasing dependence on imports of technology despite genuine efforts for endogenous developemt, and the flight of their skilled manpower for employment in developed countries have combined to focus attention of their educational planners on the ‘appropriateness’ of their engineering education programmes. Since technology is nation- and culture-specific, it is argued that all educational programmes in the field of engineering and technology should be specifically designed to meet the needs of the country concerned. Formulation of such programmes may, however, inhibit mobility of engineers across national boundaries, hamper transferof technology and decelerate global economic and technological development. The paper examines the observable differences in the characteristics of developing and developed countries, the technological framework and projections of economic growth of developing countries and the special features of the engineering educational system needed to respond to their needs. Implications of recent advances in information technology, biotechnology and manufacturing technology on engineering education planning are analysed. The compatibility of socially relevant engineering education with that of internationally comparable standards is examined in detail. It is shown that it is possible to develop programmes in developing countries which are intellectually challenging, meet international standards of achievement and at the same tiem equip students with competence in technology assessment, with awareness of pitfalls of technology transfer and with experience in use of technological solutions for current social and economic problems. It is argued that such programmes while essential for developing countries will be equally useful to developed countries and would accelerate international appreciation of problems of development. The reversal of brain-drain is proposed through the creation of challenging opportunities at home coupled with the utiltisation of intellectual and financial resources of emigré nationals abroad.     

Education and Social Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe

This article evaluates the outcomes of the efforts of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to make their education systems more effective in enhancing broader social and economic goals. It focuses on those 11 Central and Eastern European countries which became members of the EU in 2004 or following this date. First, it presents a short analysis of how educational goals were connected with the broader goals of social and economic progress before and during the first phase of the transition period after the collapse of Communism. It then analyses the impact of the accession of these countries to the EU, including the impact of some European mechanisms that have contributed to the strengthening of linkages between education and social-economic progress. The third part of the article attempts to evaluate the outcomes of the relevant national education reforms, development programmes and policies, most of them generated by these mechanisms, in the light of a number of selected indicators. A key conclusion of the article is that the adoption of the lifelong learning approach of the EU has been a major engine to strengthen the role of education in social and economic development in the CEE region, but most countries still need further efforts to translate this approach into coherent and effective national policies and to implement them so that they produce relevant and significant outcomes.     

Navigating plurilingual learning: An inclusive education approach

Language experiences and linguistic knowledge of teenage migrants can be valuable resources for their continued language learning. Yet, home languages and existing plurilingual skills are often framed as obstacles to learning that tag young migrants as at risk of school failure in the context of monolingual education systems. This article draws on a comparative education study carried out in Aotearoa New Zealand and France in 2017–2019, observing young migrants' use of their languages in classroom learning. A total of 42 secondary students from a mix of asylum-seeker, refugee, and migrant backgrounds participated, originating from 22 different countries and speaking 24 different languages. All of the students were in their first year of schooling in New Zealand or France at the time of the study. Findings draw on observations of how students made use of their existing knowledge of languages to (1) access learning in the language-of-schooling, (2) learn interactively through their home languages, and (3) navigate unfamiliar styles of teaching and learning, thus engaging with the unknown and developing behaviours for successful learning. Patterns across the cohort show that young migrants are adept at drawing on their existing language resources in learning. This suggests a re-framing of success at school as not only outcomes, but also as defined by effective learning processes that young migrants put in place. As a result, this study suggests ways that teachers can work inclusively with young migrants through their languages, to support processes of learning that could lead to better educational outcomes.     

Designing distance learning programmes for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students in large urban areas: An application of perceptual mapping and conjoint analysis methods

Providing low cost, high quality educational services to growing numbers of multilingual communities is perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing large urban school districts. In the Los Angeles urban area, adult students who wish to attend English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are presently constrained by the limitations of school resources, public transportation and growing levels of crime and street violence. Urban distance learning programmes may provide the best alternative to meet the educational needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) adult students because it can service large numbers of students who are separated from their schools by geographical distance, safety, convenience, transportation, etc. Using perceptual mapping and conjoint analysis methodologies, this study analytically identifies and examines the design features or attribute characteristics of an ESL urban distance learning programme for LEP adults. Using focus groups as the basis to identify these attributes, perceptual mapping methods point to a market niche in developing technology‐driven, low‐cost distance learning programmes for these students. A conjoint analysis survey finds that LEP students generally favour distance learning programmes where ‘cost’, ‘effectiveness’ and ‘assessment’ are the primary attribute components.     

Thought and action in the life of F.D. Maurice,with particular reference to the London Working Men's College

Lifelong learning is realized in different ways in different countries. Socio-economic and cultural factors are important determinants of implementation. Japan is a self-styled ‘maturing’ society with an ageing population. It is wealthy, but undergoing rapid social, economic and technological change that poses a threat to its sense of community. Its economy is faltering for the first time since reconstruction after World War II. In the author's view, based on desk study and a visit to relevant agencies in Nagoya and Tokyo in June 1999, lifelong learning is seen to be a key means for addressing these three central issues - ageing, community and economic change. National bodies have deliberated on the problems and informed themselves of needs and options for development. They have articulated policies to promote and celebrate learning of all kinds at any point of life through adult, vocational and community education. Initial education is perceived to have a key role in inculcating aptitude for, and positive attitudes towards, learning over the lifespan. This paper argues that, in Japan, lifelong learning is viewed as a ‘lifeline’ i.e. a vital means of communication on these issues between the national ‘think tanks’, bureaucrats and the Japanese public. The Bureau of Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Monbusho) seeks to develop and implement policies to achieve these goals.     

The Pedagogical Value of the Lecture Method: The Case of a Non-Formal Education Programme in Ghana

Adult learning rests on the foundation of learner experience and involvement in the teaching and learning process. The methods employed in facilitating adult learning have to a large extent sought to place the learner at the centre of the entire teaching and learning encounter. The lecture method is one of the many methods used to facilitate learning in many educational programmes. This article reports on a study that posed the question; How effective is the lecture method in facilitating learning in non-formal adult education programmes? The case study design was used for the study. The National Functional Literacy Programme of Ghana was purposively selected for this investigation. Two classes in the programme comprising 10 adult learners and one facilitator each were purposively selected as sample for the study. It was found that the lecture method was ineffective in promoting learning in non-formal adult education programmes in Ghana since it failed to stimulate the comprehension of subject-matter and learner involvement in class activities.