The participation of every individual in national development is very vital for the growth of such a country. Meaningful growth involves everyone in the population. If the adult population cannot participate in the development of such a country, then such a population could be as well be a burden to the country. Adult literacy can play a very pivotal role in this input. There is, therefore, a need to look at the contribution of adult education to community contribution in national development. The role of education in enhancing participation in national development cannot be underestimated. There is, therefore, a need for research in this area so as to ascertain what adult education can do towards improving this involvement for those adults who in their earlier stages of life were not able to access education.(Ministry of Education and Social Welfare, New Delhi India 1974). Such a study would shed light to the policy makers to make significant decisions that would allow a proper framework to be set up to allow full community participation enhanced by a rise in literacy levels among the adults in the community. It would enable planners to allocate resources towards promoting adult education.
Justification of the study
The findings of the study will have both theoretical and practical implications (Bassey 1999) for the Potiskum local government in Nigeria as well as the federal government of Nigeria at large in contributing to the policy decisions towards participation in national development. The findings are also expected to contribute to the development of the knowledge about the role of adult education in promoting participation of the community in national development. Theoretically, the study will focus on the uptake of adult education in Potiskum and how it has influenced the participation of these adults towards national development. In this regard, the researcher will try to establish which areas of the economy the adults can be involved in and which areas they can participate with their current level of education. Efforts will also be made to ascertain to what extent this participation can crucial with increased education for the adults in the area.
This study may be of immediate benefit to Potiskum local government as well as the Federal government of Nigeria. It will be useful for the authorities to able to determine how effective adult education is in promoting national development. It will also be useful for policy makers in assisting towards the planning of allocation of resources and provision of adult education to the unreached. They will be able to come up with proper framework to guide the authorities in ascertaining the need for adult education not only in the Potiskum local government but also nationwide.
The government will be able to determine how many resources to allocate to adult education and areas that need more attention. It will also help in ascertaining what the curriculum needs to include in meeting the needs of adult education in the Potsikum local government and the federal state of Nigeria. The curriculum could be organized in such a way that the immediate needs of the country’s economy are implemented so that it does not become irrelevant. It should be tailored to incorporate the urgent needs of the economy by identifying those areas that are relevant and will be useful to the learners.
This curriculum should also allow the students to specialize in those areas they are best suited. In this regard, the developers should design it in such a way that every person can fit comfortably in the world outside schooling. It should be done in such a way that the curriculum identifies all areas of the economy, and the participants fit where they can do best. If this is done, it could have the rippling effect of raising the growth of the economy because everybody has a stake to take in the economy and they can do it meaningfully.
The results of the study will give light to the policymakers and authorities to better understand the dynamics of adult education in Nigeria. It will help them plan for ways to promote the education of the adults and make it appropriate to the current needs of the community.
It is also the expectation of the researcher that the study will form the basis on which other researchers and scholars interested in finding out the role of education towards promoting community participation in national development can develop their education (Blaxter, Hughes & Tight 2010).
Research questions
The role of education towards community involvement in national development is a concern for all policy makers and leaders. The levels of literacy among the public will determine the awareness of the community in matters regarding national development. Therefore, the specific questions this study seeks to address are:
- What is the extent of the uptake of adult education in Potiskum local authority?
- What percentage of Potiskum’s local government’s budget goes towards adult education?
- What is the effect of adult education towards participation in national development?
Research approach
The collection and analysis of data in this research aims at combining relevance to research purpose with economy in procedure (Kothari 2004). This study will take a descriptive survey approach where data will be collected at one point in time rather than over a period of time. Donald and Trump (2009) define this approach as one which involves asking members of a population questions about a particular issue to determine the current status of the population on one or more variables. In this type of approach, information is obtained from a sample as opposed to the entire population at one point in time. This time may range from a few days to a few weeks. This research will use both quantitative and qualitative approached to determine the issue at hand.
The reasoning for adopting this approach is that it is cost effective compared to other methods and allows for quick data collection (Simons 2001). This approach will enable me to conclude my research on time and save the researcher resources. It should be remembered that research is a costly affair and adopting an approach that gives results in a cost effective way is appropriate for research.
The benefits that will arise from using both quantitative and qualitative approach are many (Cohen, Manion & Marrison 2011). The data collected from the quantitative research will be useful in making decisions in the Potsikum local government and as well as in other locations in Nigeria (Madrigal &Mcclain 2012).Quantitative data include such data as market size, demographics among others (ibid). On the other hand, qualitative data will be very useful in the design since it will give light to behavior patterns regarding adult education in Potsikum local government in Nigeria (ibid).
The reason for naming quantitative data as such is because this data is expressed in numbers. It is, therefore, possible to apply statistical tests in analyzing the collected data (ibid). This information is useful in determining preferences, differences between various groups as well as demographics (ibid). The strength of quantitative research lies in providing data that descriptive (Madrigal & Mcclain 2012). However, the weakness of quantitative research is that interpretation of collected data usually ignores certain key information that may be useful in data interpretation hence it may not be conclusive in its results.
In qualitative research, the focus is not in numbers but rather the qualities and characteristics (Madrigal & Mcclain. This type of research provides the researcher with details about human behavior, their emotions and personality characteristics (ibid). Qualitative research is observational in nature since these qualities will have to by during the research sessions and requires flexibility in response to data as it emerges (ibid). In most cases, qualitative research takes the form of interviews that are structured in such a way that the researcher will be able to get the desired responses from the sample population that he or she has selected for his or her research.
While conducting qualitative research, researchers can observe trends in the population (Yin 2009). This research is made possible through focusing on statements that are similar across the participants (ibid). The more a statement is repeated proves a trend and therefore, this information can be used in developing products, in this case, provision of adult education. This information is also useful in aiding business decisions as well as developing marketing strategies (ibid).
Combining both quantitative and qualitative research can provide a truthful reflection of the population sample. The researcher can use the qualitative data to design a quantitative research (ibid). This combination will be useful in determining the reasons for various trends in the population. That data that cannot be statistically determined, which is referred to as qualitative data, can be interpreted using quantitative data that can be statistically determined (Wilson 2013).
In doing so, it should be noted that qualitative research can be time-consuming and costly. Therefore, the researcher who combines the two approaches, that is, quantitative and qualitative approaches can have the benefit of saving time and money in conducting his or her research (Allen 2009). They will not have a significant budget to do the research, and the outcome will reflect almost all the factors that need to be considered in the sample population. The researcher will focus on qualities or characteristics of the population, which cannot be statistically determined, as well as quantitative data, which can be interpreted statistically.
The approach used will bring about the best results as efficiently as possible while still being cost-effective. The concern for cost will not, however, undermine the research. The researcher will go through every process of research without compromising on the outcome. The researcher will also ensure that the stipulated timeframe is strictly followed, and the release of the outcomes of the research is done on time.
Research methodology
Location of the study
The locality of this study will be Potsikum area in Nigeria. The criterion for selection is based on the literacy level of the adult population in the area and presence of adult education programs. The number of adult training centers will also be established to ascertain whether it is adequately undertaken in Potsikum area.
Target population
A target population is an entire population that is of interest to the researcher for undertaking the study (Orodho 2004). The respondents in this study will be adults taking adult education, local authority leaders and teachers in the adult education program. The target population will be approximately 10,000 adults, 300 leaders, and 100 teachers.
Sampling techniques and sample size
In sampling, some individuals are selected for a study such that the selected individuals represent a larger group. The purpose for this is securing a representative group that will enable the researcher to gain the desired information about the target population. The researcher in this study understands that the population from which this sample will be drawn does not constitute a homogeneous group. Different people have different backgrounds and preferences.
In this case, the researcher will employ random sampling technique (Friedrichsen& Dana 2003). This system will yield data that will be generalized to a larger population within margin errors that will be determined statistically (Orodho 2004). The researcher will select a random sample of ten localities in Potsikum local government. There will be a consideration for gender participation in this study. Each member of the sampled population will become a unit of observation or analysis.
The goal, in this case, is to achieve the desired representation from various subgroups in the target population. Each member of the target population will be given equal chances of being included in the final sample of the study.
Below is a sampling matrix for this study. From each unit of analysis, ten adults, three leaders, and one teacher will be sampled using random sampling to make the total study sample of hundred samples for the proposed research (Arthur et al. 2013).
Sample size
Among the target category, ten adults will be sampled from each of the ten areas of the study sampled as units giving 1000 teachers. Three leaders from the ten units will make up 300 leaders and one teacher from each unit will give a total of 100 teachers (Campbell 2014).
| Target group | Population | Sample size | Percentage of the sample size | Sampling procedure |
| Adults | 10000 | 1000 | 10 | Random sampling |
| Leaders | 1000 | 300 | 30 | Random sampling |
| Teachers | 100 | 500 | 20 | Random sampling |
Table showing sampling matrix for the study (source, author)
Research instrument
The data collection instrument will be questionnaires. They will be used to collect information from the adults, leaders, and teachers from the target population. Each item in the questionnaire will be designed to address each specific objective of the study, research question and hypotheses according to the proposed study. The level of literacy will be taken into consideration while designing the questionnaire. The questionnaire will have two sections, namely, section A and section B. Section A will comprise background information of the respondent while Section B will contain questions regarding the topic in question. There will be both open ended and closed ended questions.
Ethical or related issues in conducting the proposed study
The ethical questions envisaged in conducting this study relates to the confidentiality of information provided by the respondents (Brooks, TeRiele & Maguire 2014). The researcher will ensure that the data collected in this study will be solely used for this study alone (Denscombe 2013). The researcher promises not to divulge any data concerning the respondents in this study to any unauthorized persons except those who will participate in this study. To ensure that the information given by the students does not in any way jeopardize their privacy, the researcher will make sure that the do not in any way divulge their identities in the course of giving out any information (Mcniff & Whitehead 2013).
Another envisaged issue is the problems the results of the proposed study might cause in the political arena. The researcher will remain as objective as possible and refrain from being influenced by the local politics of Potiskum area. This refraining from political interference will be useful in ascertaining that the findings of this study are not in any way determined by external influences, will, therefore, form a reliable source of information, and can be used in policy making not only in Potiskum local government but also in the federal government of Nigeria.
Research outcomes and dissemination strategy
The outcome of this study is expected to provide information that will be useful in developing a policy for adult education in Nigeria. It will be used to determine how community participation in national development can be promoted in the state by improving literacy levels among the adult population in the country. The findings of this study will be published in existing journals so that other researchers and policy makers in conducting further research in this field and develop education policy frameworks respectively can use it.
To enable the findings of this study to be used internationally, the researcher will publish the findings in online journals where the information can be accessed easily over the internet. This publication will be done in the realization that factors affecting one country could be similar in many other countries even though they have different backgrounds.
The researcher also intends to use the findings of this study to seek for more funding for research to enable further research in this area. It is the desire of the researcher that the findings of this study will promote greater community participation in national development by highlighting those factors that affect adult education in Nigeria. The factors that stimulate participation in national development and those that hinder it will also be a point of focus with an aim to find ways in which education can provide a solution to this challenge.
The researcher will also involve the authorities in Potsikum area as well as those in the country. The purpose for this involvement is to ensure that the results of the findings are implemented soonest possible. In addition to this, the researcher will also suggest areas that need more research so that there can be improvement in the provision of adult education not only in Potsikum area but also in the federal state of Nigeria.
The results of this study are expected to fill the existing gap in research in this area. Therefore, the researcher will relate the findings of this study to other studies carried out in this area. The purpose for this is to combine efforts and come up with the best solution possible.
