Management of Adult Education Organisations in Africa

Book synopsis

This book presents and explores adult education as an academic discipline in several African countries. Leadership and management are prerequisites to the successful operation of adult education and organizations in Africa. The book is written by three professionals whose background is mainly in the fields of business management, economics, human resource development, adult learning, teaching and learning. These authors rely on both Western and African perspectives, by creating a platform for low income and middle income countries, to illustrate the urgent need to recognize the importance of managing adult education organizations effectively.

Although the authors depend on the African perspectives to discuss the importance of management in adult education organizations, they implicitly state that this book addresses a number of diverse audiences: researchers, practitioners, students, and organizations. First, it is ideal for all individuals who want to expand their knowledge of adult learning. Second, the book can be used by organizations to develop adult education programs. Finally, this book is written for researchers and practitioners who want to add to the human resource development literature by pulling together current research and practices of adult education organizations, and stimulating further exploration and applications.

To meet the aforementioned audiences, the book sets out to maintain a balance between theory and practice. The book discusses different theories of management in the African context and also presents how management techniques and practices can be applied to different adult education organizations in Africa. To develop knowledge and skills of adult education management, case studies, activities, and additional resources are provided throughout the book. To aid comprehension of ideas and arguments presented, each chapter has well‐written summary and key points sections. In addition, reflection questions are provided to engage the readers.

The book is divided into ten chapters. Chapter 1 sets the stage for the other chapters in the book by discussing diversity challenges and the role of management in the adult education organizations. The authors state that diversity is important in the African Renaissance because Africa's rebirth depends on diversity and the management skills needed to address diversity issues in organizations. Also in this chapter, the authors stress the importance of management and leadership in diversity because they believe that organizations need both to operate successfully. Chapters 2 and 3 explain the importance of each in further detail.

Chapters 2 and 3 discuss the main argument of the book: leadership and management are fundamentals to the successful operation of adult education organizations. The discussion in chapter 2 is focused on leadership and its effect on the organizational performance. The authors believe that effective leadership is critical to the success of all learning organizations, especially ones that are facing many challenges. Leaders can be and should be developed because they influence individuals' commitment to their organization, job, and performance. As stated in Chapter 1, an organization needs both leadership and management. We see that leaders play a role in organizational development because they influence and motivate individuals. Managers, on the other hand, are as important as leaders because their role is to plan, organize, and motivate employees. Chapter 3 discusses management and management skills needed to run adult education organizations. The central thesis of Chapters 2 and 3 is that African values can be integrated to the management and leadership or an organization.

Chapter 4 builds on the themes discussed in Chapters 2 and 3 by discussing the importance of human resources in adult education organizations. The previous two chapters discuss the roles of leaders and managers in influencing and motivating individuals to carry out actions in meeting organizational goals. Chapter 4 adds on to this idea by arguing that human capital investment is important to the development of Africa. Since “Akili ni mali” (“Intelligence is wealth”) is important to the development of adult education organizations in Africa, human resource development (HRD) is said to be the discipline that can be used to confront issues that African adult education organizations face. This chapter examines the HRD functions and processes in much detail. In addition, the authors discuss human resource management as another field to improve human capital. Differences and similarities of HRD and HRM are discussed in this chapter. Chapter 5 focuses on change and organizational development (OD). Change is inevitable and organizations are faced with challenges that are caused by society's changing demand, individuals' changing attitudes and behaviors, and global changes taking place in organizations. In this chapter, the authors provide tools and models that can be used in organizational development. OD continues to be important in the change process because interventions need to be implemented to improve organizational effectiveness.

Chapter 6 dwells more into the topic by discussing Ubuntu Embedded Leadership, a leadership paradigm that has guided many African societies for thousands of years. Ubuntu is an African leadership paradigm that values the “humaneness” in individuals and leaders. As previously stated, organizations are faced with a rapidly changing environment, like the ones many African teaching and learning organizations are facing. In this case, the authors argue that the Ubuntu and learning organization paradigms are keys to maintaining and/or transforming systems as learning organizations. Chapter 7 focuses on planning, implementation and evaluation. Specifically, the chapter discusses the importance of developing planning and evaluation tools that reflect systematic thinking and responsible program management. Chapters 8 and 9 emphasize the importance of time and financial management in the development of Africa's adult education organizations. Without time and financial management, managers will have difficulty meeting organizational outcomes.

Chapter 10 summarizes the previous chapters by emphasizing the inevitability of issues in the management of adult education organizations in Africa. Politics, corruptions, health issues, value of indigenous knowledge, diversity, financial difficulties, societal change, globalization, technology, and individual values are all factors that can hinder or promote organizational development. Mindful of and being proactive to these problems can assist with Africa's management of adult education organizations such as public universities, corporate training institutions, private universities and many other non‐profit organizations offering adult education learning programs in Africa.

Evaluation

This book is a very useful source for HRD researchers and practitioners who wish to participate in the management of adult education organizations. It discusses different theories, provides numerous models, and offers an array of activities. Scholars can refer to this book for an overview of organizational work. In other words, this book is well organized because the headings of all the different chapters capture important issues that organizations face. Although the book is written from the perspectives of African culture and values, the information provided can be used in other situations. For instance, the authors use different models of program planning in Chapter 7: the ADDIE model, Cafferella's interactive model of program planning, and the logic model, all of which are currently used in different cultures, organizations, and contexts. This book is well written and can be used for current and future research and practices.

However, the authors' integration of international discourses of adult learning may not solve all of the issues of Africa's management of adult education organizations. Theories discussed and models provided in the book were based on Western research and practices and are appropriately adapted to the African setting. UNESCO must be commended for having funded this project focusing on African perspectives of adult learning. One hopes that UNESCO will fund similar projects aimed at examining Chinese perspectives of adult learning, Indian perspectives of adult learning among many other world cultures. Future research should examine the effectiveness of these African perspectives of adult learning in other countries including the Western countries. In practice, all books written on adult learning are from the Western world, hence the need to learn how non‐Western societies learn and the need to have this knowledge in print. Doing so will assist adult education organizations in Africa to determine gaps between the perspectives and practices of the different cultures.

Arghode (2011) said in his review of this book that the authors diminish the gap between Western and non‐Western viewpoints on adult learning. A critique of the African perspectives of cultural influences presented in the book is rather limited to say that the book can be used for other countries like China, Indonesia, Japan, and India – hence the need to have books written from these societies' perspectives. In other words, it is inadequate to assume that the book is applicable in all non‐Western cultures. Within non‐Western cultures there are low, middle, and high‐income countries, and each one has their own way of doing business. We need books written from these societies' perspectives instead of purely relying on Western books. For instance, a developed, non‐Western country like Japan may not have issues associated with individual health and well‐being; thus, the country focuses its adult learning management in a different perspective. I have never read a book on adult learning in Japanese society; most likely, the Japanese also rely on Western theories and practices. Overall, this book is a useful resource for HRD researchers and practitioners because it provides a framework for understanding the management of adult education organizations in Africa. Although the book cannot be applied in all non‐Western cultures, it has the basis for understanding the management of underdeveloped countries in Africa.

In the author's own words

Regardless of current changes and pressures, stakeholders of adult learning organizations are challenged to rely on strong leadership and management to effectively drive individual performance and meet organizational outcomes. These successful leaders and managers are individuals who “value and respect diversity in the workplace and in learning institutions” (p. 19). Diversity, learning, and changes are essential at all stages of individual and organizational development. Reflecting on this view, human resource development can facilitate the developmental processes and “can help managers and leaders provide a meaningful, progressive, and dynamic teaching and learning experience for everyone concerned” (p. 77).