Influence of Adult Literacy Education on the Environmental Behaviours of Women

Abstract

The study assessed the influence of adult literacy education on the environmental attitudes and behaviours of women in Edo State. A sample size of 253 respondents were selected using both census sampling to select the 15 adult literacy centers in the state and simple random sampling by balloting to choose the sample for the study. The instrument for the study had a reliability of 0.75 for the attitude subscale and 0.83 for the behaviours subscale. It was observed from the study that the majority of the respondents (57.3%) had a positive attitude towards the environment and their response revealed that they rarely partake in most pro-environmental behaviours. There was a weak positive relationship observed between the respondents' environmental attitude and their environmental behaviour. Hence the researchers recommended that more emphasis should be placed on implementing adult environmental education in each of the adult literacy centers in Edo State.

Benefits of Adult Education Participation for Low-Educated Women

“…In this comparison of women with different educational levels, it is evident, on the one hand, that women with ISCED 0-2 have less developed learning strategies, less socio-political participation, a higher level of unemployment and even worse health, which corroborates the results of previous studies (Patterson et al, 2008;Dave, Corman, & Reichman, 2012;Tawiah, 2017;Norris & Oyasande, 2017;Porras-Hernández & Salinas-Amescua, 2012;Duckworth & Smith, 2018;Prins, Toso, & Schafft, 2009;Lewis & Lockheed, 2007). When comparing low-educated adults, it is also evident that women face a double risk of exclusion, as explored in reports by Lewis and Lockheed (2007) or the OECD (2016); they have lower levels of learning strategies, social trust, health and employment than ISCED 0-2 men.…”

“…In this comparison of women with different educational levels, it is evident, on the one hand, that women with ISCED 0-2 have less developed learning strategies, less sociopolitical participation, a higher level of unemployment and even worse health, which corroborates the results of previous studies (Dave et al, 2012; Duckworth & Smith, 2018; Lewis & Lockheed, 2007; Norris & Oyasande, 2017; J. Patterson et al, 2008; Porras-Hernández & Salinas-Amescua, 2012; Prins et al, 2009; Tawiah, 2017).…”

“…Undoubtedly, the contribution to the social and cultural well-being of the community is another benefit of adult education that has been analysed by the literature at most at a general level (Manninen & Meriläinen, 2011;Field, 2009;Merriam & Kee, 2014;Motschilnig, 2012), specifically in the case of women. According to Norris and Oyasande (2017), participation in non-formal education activities promoted greater social and environmental awareness in women and greater solidarity, as shown by Duckworth and Smith (2018), and the promotion of greater social support in their communities, as stated by Prins, Toso, and Schafft (2009). In short, these benefits are what Freire (1994) advocated when proclaiming that adult education can offer organic tools of transformation for social awareness.…”

“…However, studies by J. Patterson et al (2008), Dave et al (2012), Tawiah (2017), Norris and Oyasande (2017), Porras-Hernández and Salinas-Amescua (2012), Duckworth and Smith (2018), and Prins et al (2009), among others, have shown the individual, social, cultural, and even economic benefits of participation in educational activities for women with low starting educational levels. All of this is explored in the hypothetical model that we present below.…”

“…According to authors such as J. Patterson, Linden, Bierbrier, Lofgren, and Wilhelmsson (2008); Dave, Corman, and Reichman (2012); Tawiah (2017); Norris and Oyasande (2017); Porras-Hernández and Salinas-Amescua (2012); Duckworth and Smith (2018); and Prins, Toso, and Schafft (2009), although the claim cannot be generalized, low education combined with lack of skills development during adult life could cause these women to be at risk of being excluded from participation in the social, political, and cultural spheres of their community and their potential employability could be reduced; they could even have worse health than women with a higher educational level.…”