African Perspectives on Adult Learning (APAL) Textbook Series

UIL publishes a series of textbooks by African scholars on adult education in Africa. Through this series, UIL aims to contribute building capacities of universities in the region to develop contextualised curriculum materials and to present African perspectives as an alternative to the North American/European models which predominate.

Titles published:

Management of Adult Education Organisations in Africa

Developing Programmes for Adult Learners in Africa

The Social Context of Adult Learning in Africa

Research Methods for Adult Educators in Africa

The Psychology of Adult Learning in Africa

Foundations of Adult Education in Africa

Development of an Adult Basic Education Programme in Botswana (2005 – 2010)

From 2005 to 2009, UIL has provided consultancy services to the Government of Botswana. Together with a local team, UIL worked on designing and developing a comprehensive modularised outcome-based Adult Basic Education Programme (ABEP) equivalent to Primary Education (Standard 1-7), subsuming the prior National Literacy Programme as its Level One. Through a team of leading experts, UIL built capacities at the Department of Out of School Education and Training (DOSET ) in the Ministry of Education, developing a new curriculum as well as learning modules for adults in the core learning areas (Setswana, English and maths) and general studies addressing contents related to social issues, health, economy and work, and science and technology. The material was pre-tested to make sure it was relevant for meeting the learning needs of a variety of target groups. Many stakeholders and partners, including learners, facilitators, staff from the Ministry of Education and other governmental and parastatal institutions, non-governmental organizations, the university, and the private sector were consulted, making the process of defining the curriculum blueprint dynamic and participatory. The three levels of the ABEP curriculum are equivalent to formal primary education and accredited within the National Qualifications Framework. The new programme, which provides flexible approaches to adult learning and promotes lifelong learning in Botswana was launched nationwide in February 2010.