The Impact of the Adult Literacy Programme by Radio Instruction Offered by Radio Chikuni on the lives of people of chikuni,monze-Zambia
Date
2011-11-28
Authors
Mate, Joseph
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Abstract
This study examined the impact of adult literacy programme by radio instruction offered by Radio Chikuni in uplifting the lives of the people in Chikuni community (Chikuni Parish). The study was based on five research objectives. Firstly, the study wanted to examine the impact of the adult literacy programme offered by Radio Chikuni on the lives of people of Chikuni. Secondly, the research wanted to identify the targeted educational needs of the adult literacy programme offered by Chikuni Community Radio. Thirdly, the study aimed at
establishing the changes in literacy levels among the people of Chikuni community from the inception of the community radio station. Fourthly, the study assessed the responsiveness of the adult literacy programme of Radio Chikuni on the needs of the people of Chikuni.Finally, the study investigated the adequacy of the adult literacy programme in solving the literacy problem in Chikuni community. The research design used was a case study and data was collected by using semi-structured
questionnaires and interviews and focus group discussion. Questionnaires were distributed to Education Broadcasting Services (EBS) staff, Radio Chikuni management team and mentors of the literacy programme. Interviews were mainly administered on participants, former participants and headmen. Focused group discussions were held with three groups of
secondary beneficiaries of the adult literacy programme. These respondents formed the targeted population of this study.
After data collection, the coding of responses of respondents, the manual method and qualitative and quantitative methods of analysing data were used in line with the objectives of the study. Tables and figures were used in the presentation of data.
The study arrived at three (3) major findings. Firstly, it was found that the adult literacy programme offered by Radio Chikuni was functional literacy focusing on reading (in Chitonga and English), writing and arithmetic (the three Rs), farming sanitation and health education. Little was being done to awaken people's critical and reflective minds. Secondly,although the study findings were that the literacy programme was a success, it had problems with relevance in some aspects such as income generation due to inadequate consultation or consensus on what adults really wanted to learn. Thirdly, the results showed that the programme was still inadequate in reaching out to the majority who need adult literacy as few adults were participating in literacy lessons at the time the study was conducted. In fact,
few centres were offering adult literacy and that the few mentors available were poorly
remunerated hence the high attrition rate and turnover among such fundamental human
resource in the programme. The major recommendations were: (1) that the adult literacy programme should design civic education that would produce critical and reflective people. Simply put, the study
recommends that critical literacy be taught in addition to the functional components that were being taught. (2) the second recommendation was that since most of the participants and former participants showed that they needed education that would make them break off from poverty, more entrepreneurship and income generation skills need to be promoted in the programme. The study recommended that the programme be more participatory in arriving at what needs to be taught. (3) Finally, the study recommended that more adult literacy learning centres be established to address its inadequacy in dealing with the
problem of adult illiteracy in Chikuni. If possible, the numbers of mentors be increased and these people be motivated by being regularly remunerated as what is done to the teachers in government-aided schools. Side-by-side this, all IRI centres for children should have components for adult literacy well equipped with relevant instructional and learning materials. This will ensure that the distance covered by adult learners to and from learning
centres is reduced.
Description
Keywords
Adult education--Zambia , Functional literacy(radio instruction)-Zambia