Haramaya University Adult Education and Community

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Haramaya University Adult Education and Community Development Department

Haramaya University Adult Education and Community – Check Below:
Background of the Program
Adult Education and Community Development (AECD) is one of the programs in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences CEBS. AECD is a recent development activity in Ethiopia and designed to address the need for trained personnel who can work both as adult educators and community development agents. The program comprises both short and long term training to satisfy the need for trained manpower in the area. The short-term training is meant to satisfy immediate need of the sector who can work as facilitators of Functional Adult Literacy (FAL). The training is intended to produce competent practitioners that can uphold AECD effectively.
The degree program, on the other hand, is design for three years duration to be offered in regular, evening and summer modalities. It is expected that the program would have paramount importance in producing competent experts and managers in field of adult education and community development with varied dimensions. AECD in three years education program would emphasizes in bringing attitudinal change, knowledge acquisition and skill development in four major areas of competencies: (1) facilitation, (2) coordination, (3) communication and (4) conducting research. In order to help candidates achieve these competencies, the program organizes the courses, course contents, activities, mode of deliveries and evaluation mechanisms. In addition, practicum courses are also included to expose the candidates to real life experiences and make learning more meaningful.
2.      Rationales for the Program
Following the introduction of the country’s development policy, different GOs & NGOs organized various development and training centers like Community Skill Training Center (CSTC), Farmers Training Center (FTC), centers working on health and agriculture that support the realization of the country development goals. Such development organizations are in a dire need of experts who can integrate education and development activities to meet the national development goals. Thus, creating an environment for developing adults’ life skills and various competencies is necessary to develop a sustainable knowledge society. To meet this objective, adult education professionals and institutions are indispensable elements.
Recently, the government has given due attention to adult education as it is one of the instruments for implementation of development and transformation plan. With this regard, MOE (2008) stresses the importance of building capacity of adult education facilitators, supervisors and other experts. Therefore, providing the capacity building training for supervisors and experts assigned for adult education at federal, regional and woreda levels in higher education institutions is emphasized as one strategy. Academicians in Universities and training institutions are encouraged to carry out research in sub-sector and train experts properly to enable them to contribute in strengthening adult education.
Hence, for the realization of the National Adult Education Strategy as well as integrating adult education with the country’s development endeavors, it is important to produce adult educators who plan and manage both adult education and community development programs.

  1. Program Objectives

Essentially, the general objective of this program is to produce adult education professionals and community development experts, leaders and researchers who can address community demands and challenges through critical analysis of community institutions’ and local environments (political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological). Moreover, the program is aimed to produce democratic, visionary, innovative, change oriented and professionally committed adult education and community development agents that can hold leadership responsibilities under the existing social contexts. Specifically, the objectives of undergraduate program in adult education and community development are:

  1. Produce skilled manpower of well-trained adult education and community development professionals capable of taking up positions in the growing demand of several socio- economic sectors.
  2. Create competent graduates who can provide consultancy and technical services as well as short-terms specialized training to both public and private sectors;
  3. Produce professionals who are responsive and effective in working with and through others as well as capable of making and implementing decisions.
  4. Produce professionals capable of searching and developing opportunities as well as solving community problems.
  5. Create professionals who are able to face the challenges of contemporary and future highly complex and competitive environment.
  6. Produce adult education and community development planners and mangers that can generate, manage and utilize community resources effectively and efficiently
  7. Produce adult education and community development planners and mangers who can initiate changes, innovations and developments by addressing local and regional needs and realities.
  8. Produce change agents that can mobilize and involve the local communities and thereby strengthen development endeavor and community relationship.
  9. Train students who can design and apply the principles of adult education and community development to identify and solve societal problems related to environment, agriculture, health, and teaching.

 

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