Functional education and human development are not mutually exclusive. To achieve an all-round development, the fourth Sustainable Development Goal partly emphasizes the need to ‘… promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ by year 2030. This article, therefore, uses a case study approach to analyse the impact of a government funded adult basic education programme in improving literacy level of Sehithwa community in rural, northwestern Botswana. Using a snowball technique and questionnaire/interview schedule survey to sample and interview 30 adult basic education programme participants and 30 non-participants, respectively, and holding other factors constant, the article’s main thrust was to determine the difference in literacy attainment between the two groups. Results from the T-test analysis performed showed that there was a significant difference in participants’ and non-participants’ age, association membership, and household size at p ≤ 0.00 level. Nonetheless, there was no significant difference in literacy attainment between the two groups, perhaps as a result of lack of effectiveness and other challenges associated with the implementation of the literacy programme in the study area.
BartonD., HamiltonM. (2000). Literacy practices. In D. Barton., M. Hamilton & R. Ivanič (Eds), Situated literacies: Reading and writing in contexts. London: Routledge, pp. 7–12.
2.
CrossK. P. (1981). Adults as learners. Jossey-Bass, p. 223.
3.
EllisF. (2000). Rural livelihoods and diversity in developing countries. Oxford University Press.
4.
FormanE. A., KrakerM. J. (1985). The social origins of logic: The contributions of Piaget and Vygotsky. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 29, 23–39.
5.
GravettS. (2005). Adult learning: Designing and implementing learning events: A dialogic approach. Van Schaik.
HollowayS. M., GouthroP. A. (2020). Using a multiliteracies approach to foster critical and creative pedagogies for adult learners. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, 26(2), 205–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477971420913912
8.
JenningsJ. E. (1990). Adult literacy: Master or servant? A case study from rural Bangladesh [Doctoral thesis]. University of London, p. 43.
9.
KabugaC. (1977). Why andragogy in developing countries? Adult Education and Development: Journal for Adult Education in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Reprinted in Knowles, M. S. (1990). The adult learner: A neglected species (4th ed., pp. 233–239). Gulf Publishing Company.
10.
KellyM. J. (2013). Beyond classroom borders: Incorporating collaborative service learning for the adult student. Adult Learning, 24(2), 82–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/1045159513477844
11.
KnowlesM. (1973). The adult learner: A neglected species (pp. 62–161). Gulf Publishing Company.
12.
KnowlesM. S. (1970). The modern practice of adult education: Andragogy versus pedagogy (pp. 37–376). Association Press.
13.
KnowlesM. S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy [Revised and Updated]. Cambridge Adult Education Company, pp. 40–251.
KolawoleO. D. (2005). Mainstreaming local people’s knowledge and implications for higher education in the South. South African Journal of Higher Education, 19, 1427–1443. (Special Issue),
16.
KolawoleO. D. (2009). Adult literacy and rural community development: Lessons from Southwestern Nigeria. In K. Parry (Ed.), Reading in Africa: Beyond the school (Vol. 2, pp. 139–155). Fountain Publishers Ltd..
17.
KolawoleO. D. (2011). Adults who learn: Sharing literacy project experience from south-western Nigeria. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 30(6), 795–813. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2011.627473
18.
KolawoleO. D. (2012). Is literacy key to community development? Analyzing two groups of adults’ involvement in development projects in northern Nigeria. Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies, 26(2), 221–241. (Special Issue on Literacy),
19.
KwekaA. N., NameneJ. J. (1999). Literacy for better communication: Second overall evaluation of the National Literacy Programme in Namibia. Ministry of Basic Education and Culture.
20.
LekokoR.OduaranA., OeuaqranC. (n.d.). Learning transformations in university continuing and the African response. University of Botswana.
21.
LindA., JohnsonA. (1990). Adult literacy in the Third World: A review of objectives and strategies. African Association for literacy and Adult Education Press.
MaruatonaT. L. (2002). A critique of centralized curricula in literacy programs: The case of Botswana. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 4 (8), 736–745.
MikuleckyL. (1992, December 3). Workplace literacy programs: Variations of approach and limits of impact [Paper presentation]. Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference, San Antonio, TX, United States.
MuiruJ., MukuriaG. (2005). Barriers to participation in adult literacy programmes in Kenya. Adult Basic Education, 15(2), 85–105.
28.
NafukhoF.AmutabiM., OtungaR. (2005). Foundations of adult education in Africa. UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE) and Pearson Education.
29.
OlivierC. (1998). How to educate and train: Outcomes based. Van Schaik.
30.
OluochP. A. (2005). Low level of participation in adult literacy classes: Reasons behind it. Adult Education and Development, 65, 7–17.
31.
Omoding-OkwalingaJ. (1994). Withdrawal from literacy classes: A study of adult male sample from Botswana, Kenya and Malawi. National Institute of Development Research & Documentation.
32.
PiagetJ. (1977). The development of thought: Equilibration of cognitive structures. Basil Blackwell.
33.
RogersA. (2001). Some contemporary trends in adult literacy from an international perspective. Adult Education and Development, 56, 21–32.
StreetB. (2003). What’s ‘new’ in new literacy studies? Critical approaches to literacy in theory and practice. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 5(2), 77–91.
37.
TlouT. (1971). The history of Botswana through oral traditions – Research among the peoples of the North-west District (Ngamiland). Botswana Notes & Record, 3(1), 79–90.
38.
ThompsonJ. D. (2002). Putting bread on the table: The effects of literacy and livelihood. Adult Education and Development, 59, 97–116.
39.
UdoujG.GroverK.BelcherG., KacirekK. (2017). An investigation of perceptions of programme quality support of adult basic education programmes. Evaluation and Program Planning, 61, 106–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2016.11.015
40.
UNESCO. (2002). Education for all: Is the world on track? EFA Global Monitoring Report.
UNESCO. (2004). The plurality of literacy: Its simplicity for policies and programmes. UNESCO Educational Sector, Paper 13. Retrieved January 28, 2021, from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000136246
Van Der VeenR., PreeceJ. (2005). Poverty reduction and adult education: Beyond basic education. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 24(5), 381–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370500169723
45.
VygotskyL. S. (1962). Thought and language. MIT Press.
46.
VygotskyL. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (p. 90). Harvard University Press.
47.
WaltersS. (1999). New challenges and opportunities for lifelong learning in South Africa. Comparative Education, 35(2), 217–224.
48.
WeinerE. J. (2005). Keeping adults behind: Adult literacy education in the age of official reading regimes. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 49(4), 286–301.
