DESIGNING NEED-BASED CRRICULUM FOR ADULT LEARNERS: A PERSPECTIVE

Amina Abba Sanda, Augsta Obum Okwute and Aminchi Daniel

Continuing Education and Extension

Services Department,

University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri

                                             ABSTRACT
Curriculum is a plan or an organization of the total learning experiences the learner is expected to engage in under the guidance of an educational institution or agency. It is a well known fact to educationists that curriculum is central to any educational programme, its relevance to needs and aspirations of the adult Learners cannot be overemphasized. Any curriculum which is designed without taking into cognizance the background, needs and aspirations of the learner will hardly succeed. Since adult education is primarily a need-based type of education, curriculum planners are expected to embark on needs assessment so as to know what should constitute the curriculum goals and objectives. The curriculum must contain the widest possible range of activities which have the capacity to attract interest, appreciation and participation. In this vein, the adult literacy instructors and organizers need to be well trained in principles of Andragogy. They also need to know the nature of the learners and be well acquainted with current methods of instructing adult learners. Therefore, to ensure success, the adult literacy curriculum must address the needs of the beneficiaries. The paper also discusses the components of a curriculum which include curriculum structure, objectives, contents, implementation and evaluation.

Keywords: Need-Based Curriculum for Adult Learners A Perspective