PROFESSIONALIZATION AND QUALITIES OF GOOD ADMINISTRATION IN ADULT EDUCATION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 MEANING OF ADMINISTRATION OF ADULT EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Administration is the act of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, supervising, budgeting and reporting while Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. This often happens in the workplace, through 'extension' or 'continuing education' courses at secondary schools, at a college or university. Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers. The practice is also often referred to as 'Training and Development'. It has also been referred to as andragogy (to distinguish it from pedagogy). A difference is made between vocational education, mostly undertaken in workplaces and frequently related to up skilling, and non-formal adult education including learning skills or learning for personal development.

1.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF ADULT EDUCATION

Educating adults differs from educating children in several ways. One of the most important differences is that adults have accumulated knowledge and experience that can add to or hinder the learning experience. Another difference is that most adult education is voluntary, therefore, the participants are generally better motivated. Adults frequently apply their knowledge in a practical fashion to learn effectively. They must have a reasonable expectation that the knowledge recently gained will help them further their goals. One example, common in the 1990s, was the proliferation of computer training courses in which adults (not children or adolescents), most of whom were office workers, could enroll. These courses would teach basic use of the operating system or specific application software. Because the abstractions governing the user's interactions with a PC were so new, many people who had been working white-collar jobs for ten years or more eventually took such training courses, either at their own whim (to gain computer skills and thus earn higher pay) or at the behest of their managers.
In the Nigeria, a more general example is that of the secondary schools dropout who returns to school to complete general education requirements. Most upwardly-mobile positions require at the very least a University diploma or equivalent. A working adult is unlikely to have the freedom to simply quit his or her job and go "back to school" full time. Public school systems and community colleges usually offer evening or weekend classes for this reason. In Europe this is often referred to as "second-chance", and many schools offer tailor-made courses and learning programs for these returning learners.

1.3 ADULT EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Adult education in Nigeria, as in the British West African territory of the Gold Coast, is almost entirely a matter of literacy campaigns conducted by government departments on the one hand, and extra-mural activity by the country's one university college on the other. This article is concerned mainly with the extra-mural work, although something will be said about the increasingly important problem of bridging the gap between literacy work and university extra-mural education. The institution in 1948 of a university college at Ibadan, the capital of Western Nigeria, was one result of a decision by Britain's wartime government to develop higher education in the Colonies, a decision which led also to the establishment of university colleges in the Gold Coast, East Africa, Central Africa, the Sudan and the West Indies, and of a university in Malaya. These steps were preceded by the appointment of a number of commissions, one of which made recommendations concerning higher education in the Colonies generally, while the others dealt with particular areas, one being West Africa. All the commissions strongly urged that at the university colleges which they proposed should be established there should be extra-mural departments to develop adult education, and except in Malaya this advice was everywhere followed. Several reasons were advanced for these recommendations, and received different emphasis in the different reports. They are worth mentioning briefly, because they indicate the kinds of functions which it was thought university adult education could serve in tropical colonial territories, and provide criteria by which the success of the work subsequently done can be assessed.

One which was stressed in several reports was the necessity for associating the staff and graduates of the new universities with the people of the colonies, in order to prevent their development into an exclusive, and perhaps intellectually arrogant, caste within the community. It was further urged that it was very desirable that the university should be fully aware of the educational needs of its region, and that an active extra-mural department could contribute to this. Thirdly, it was stated that colonial territories contained many adults who possessed the abilities and the interests which would have enabled them to study with profit at universities, but had not had the opportunity to do so, and that extra-mural facilities should be provided for them. Finally, emphasis was laid on the importance of adult education, especially as provided by universities, as a means of equipping citizens for the responsibilities of self-government in colonies approaching independence.

In Nigeria the extra-mural department of the university college was set up in 1949; but before that date several tutors from the Extra-Mural Delegacy of Oxford University had visited both that country and the Gold Coast to see how far opportunities existed for the provision of adult education similar to that sponsored by university extra-mural departments in England. In both countries they found much enthusiasm, and started classes and student groups which later came under the aegis of the university colleges, the report of the tutors being that the quality and keenness of the students made extra-mural work of the traditional kind perfectly possible.

CHAPTER TWO

2.1 PROFESSIONALIZATION AND QUALITIES OF GOOD ADMINISTRATION IN ADULT EDUCATION

That is way that in recent years, many factors have converged to steadily increase the momentum toward professionalization of the field of adult literacy. Adult education programs are being held to higher standards not only as measured by student outcomes but also in terms of program quality indicators. Given the centrality of teacher competence in both measures of program quality and in learning outcomes, many states are investing in statewide professional development efforts and some are beginning to experiment with various types of competency and credentialing mechanisms.

QUALITIES IN DEMAND

According to a survey sponsored by Office Team and the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), hiring managers said they consider organizational skills, initiative and attention to detail the most important qualities for support professionals to possess. Following are additional highly sought traits:

EXPERIENCE -- In general, companies are looking to hire individuals with at least a year or two of related work experience. Applicants with three or more years of experience are in greatest demand.

JOB STABILITY -- Companies appreciate candidates who have stayed with previous organizations for at least two years, as it shows loyalty to the firm and allows the worker to gain a greater depth of knowledge about a particular position or industry.

ADAPTABILITY -- Eighty-five percent of managers surveyed by Office Team and IAAP said the responsibilities of administrative staff are becoming more complex, beyond traditional tasks such as filing, taking notes at meetings, handling mail and e-mail, and answering phones. For example, companies seek professionals who can manage vendor relationships, resolve conflict, connect disparate groups of employees, learn new technologies, and train others on new equipment and applications.

FLEXIBILITY -- Being able to handle a variety of tasks is a necessary skill for administrative professionals, as they often fulfill several roles within their organizations. An administrative assistant, for example, also might handle the typical duties of an office manager, especially in a small organization. As a result, hiring managers seek candidates who demonstrate an eagerness to learn and work beyond their job descriptions.

SUPERIOR TECHNICAL SKILLS -- Most companies now require proficiency with Microsoft Office, but many prefer applicants who can show advanced skills in using this suite of applications. In addition, hiring managers polled by Office Team, HR.com and IAAP said word processing, spreadsheet and e-mail and calendaring software skills are in high demand.

A COMMITMENT TO CONTINUING EDUCATION -- Increasingly, college degrees are a prerequisite for many administrative positions. In addition to bachelor's or associate degrees, employers place a high value on the pursuit of supplemental college courses, online training and relevant workshops or seminars. Those who possess the Certified Administrative Professional, Certified Professional Secretary or Microsoft Business Certification (formerly the Microsoft Office Specialist certification) credential also are highly sought. These professionals can expect starting salaries that exceed average levels for their positions by 7 percent to 10 percent, according to Office Team research.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS -- Administrative professionals often interact with their companies' clients or customers, vendors and internal staff. Because they serve as the face of the firm, they must represent their managers and organizations in a professional way. In a competitive market for skilled candidates, companies may be willing to train inexperienced applicants if their interpersonal skills and personalities are a good match for the job. In fact, 67 percent of managers polled by Office Team, HR.com and IAAP said they would hire an applicant with strong soft skills whose technical abilities were lacking; only 9 percent would hire someone who had strong technical expertise but weak interpersonal skills

The hiring outlook is most promising for candidates who can demonstrate they offer the complete package -- a proven ability to excel in the administrative profession, communicate effectively with others and contribute to the success of the team.

CHAPTER THREE

NATIONAL ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY IN ADMINISTRATION IN ADULT EDUCATION:

The National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) offered Nigeria an opportunity to experiment with medium-term economic development plan from 2004 to 2007. Onah (2006:46) posited that NEEDS focused “on wealth creation, employment generation, poverty reduction and re-orientating values”. These goals, he corroborated can be realized “by creating an environment in which business can thrive, government is redirected to providing basic services, and people are empowered to take advantage of the opportunities which the plan will usher”. The strategies that will drive the above 306 goals are: reforming government and its institutions; growing the private sector; implementing a social character and value; reorientation. The federal government had in turn encouraged States and Local Governments to adopt and adapt the NEEDS document to suit its peculiar purposes, accordingly the equivalent of NEEDS in the states are called SEEDS, while in the local governments, they go by the acronym LEEDS. In giving practical expression to the NEEDS programme, the federal government was reported to have allocated large percentage of capital expenditure to healthcare, education, agriculture, roads, water resources, power and security in the 2004 and 2005 annual budgets. With the usual allegation of unspent funds being returned at the end of the year by Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government coupled with the monster of pervasive corruption, allocating large percentage in budgets does not translate to faithful execution of programmes capable of delivering services to the citizenry.

REASONS FOR DEVELOPMENT PLANNING FAILURES IN NIGERIA

Various arguments have been adduced for the failure of development planning in Nigeria from 1962 to date. One of such arguments is that development plans appear compatible with Western notion of development. Ake (1981) in Onah (2006:60) averred that “development plans and development initiatives did not encourage the disengagement of Nigerian economy from the exploitative structural links with Western capitalist economies”. This argument of disengaging from Western notion of development was corroborated by Munroe (1992:148) thus: “this standard of measuring success is the source of much Third World frustration as nations… This success trap will not bring true fulfillment or freedom, but greater bondage”. 308

2.10 TRENDS IN THE ROLE OF UNIONS: ASUU, NLU, ETC.

The recent trends in wages and salaries administration have been clearly necessitated by the roles of the various trade unions in the country (Nigeria), specifically, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, and ahost of others. Previously, and at several times, they went on strike to press home their demands for better conditions of the institutions as well as improved working conditions generally.The most recent ASUU strike took over four months before it was suspended. And as part of the administration of wages and salaries, they has emerged a new salary structure and compensation scheme for the nation’s universities.

2.11 TRENDS IN THE NIGERIAN WORKER’S DEMANDS

Until recently, there has been a generalization that all the Trade Unions or Workers’ demands in this country have been directed at increase in wages, salaries and fringe benefits. Thus the workers or unions were criticized for their myopic tendency in the sense that they ignored, according to the critics, other issues such as the desire for autonomy or greater participation in major decision-making processes (Ngu, 2005).Significantly, recent trends have indicated that the workers or unions have manifested a paradigm shift in this respect. Since 1995 there have been tremendous changes in terms of the pattern and/or character of the union demands or agitation in Nigeria. For instance, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) declared an industrial action to force the government to improve the leaving conditions of students in the universities in addition to the demands for better condition of service.

4.2 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, a completed definition of teacher professionalism far exceeds the simple notion that a teacher be prepared in a certain manner. A professional is trained to handle all situations, as most episodes in the classroom require quick thinking. Also, teacher professionalism extends beyond one’s ability to understand content; the educator must discover if the students are being reached in an effective way. With the role of “teacher” becoming more autonomous, an educator must be competent in their studies, perform well under the eye of the administration and parents, while maintaining good conduct to facilitate quality communication.

REFERENCE

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