DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT

8 Users found this project useful

Effect of Adult Education on Adults’ Ability to Formulate Learning Questions

Abstract

Adult education provides adults with knowledge, skills, and learning experiences that support continuous learning and personal development, while the ability to formulate learning questions refers to the capacity to develop clear, relevant, and purposeful questions that guide inquiry and improve understanding of a subject. The ability to formulate appropriate learning questions is important because questions can help learners identify areas of uncertainty, seek clarification, explore new ideas, and direct their learning activities. However, some adults may experience difficulty developing meaningful questions about what they are learning. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of adult education on adults’ ability to formulate learning questions. Adult education provides learning experiences that encourage learners to think critically, participate in discussions, explore information, and identify areas requiring further understanding. Through questioning activities, classroom discussions, problem-solving exercises, reading tasks, and practical learning experiences, adults can be encouraged to examine information and develop questions based on their learning needs. Such activities may help learners move beyond simply receiving information and become more active participants in the learning process. The ability to formulate learning questions involves identifying areas of interest or uncertainty and expressing them through clear, relevant, and purposeful questions. Adults who can formulate effective learning questions may be better able to seek clarification, explore unfamiliar concepts, identify information gaps, and direct attention toward important aspects of a learning task. Adult education can therefore contribute to this ability by providing structured opportunities for questioning, inquiry, discussion, and critical examination of learning materials. The study will adopt a descriptive survey research design. The population will comprise adults participating in selected adult education programmes within the study area. A sample will be selected using an appropriate sampling procedure, while data will be collected through a structured questionnaire and suitable assessment activities designed to measure participation in adult education and adults’ ability to formulate learning questions. The data collected will be analysed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, with the relevant hypothesis tested at the 0.05 level of significance. The study is expected to establish that adult education has a positive effect on adults’ ability to formulate learning questions. Adults who participate in adult education programmes are expected to demonstrate greater ability to identify areas requiring clarification, develop relevant questions, express learning concerns clearly, and formulate questions that support further investigation and understanding. The findings are expected to have implications for teaching and learning in adult education. Adult educators may incorporate questioning exercises, inquiry-based activities, group discussions, and problem-solving tasks into instructional practices. Encouraging learners to generate their own questions may help them become more active participants in the learning process and develop greater confidence in exploring areas they do not fully understand. The study will be significant to adult learners, adult educators, programme coordinators, educational planners, and policymakers. Adult learners may benefit from improved questioning abilities that support active inquiry and deeper engagement with learning materials, while adult educators may gain useful strategies for encouraging learner-generated questions. Programme coordinators and policymakers may also use the findings to strengthen learner-centred instructional approaches within adult education programmes. The study will recommend that adult education programmes provide regular opportunities for learners to formulate and discuss their own learning questions. Adult educators should use questioning exercises, discussions, inquiry activities, and problem-solving tasks to help learners develop clear and relevant questions. The study will conclude that adult education can strengthen adults’ ability to formulate learning questions and promote more active and purposeful participation in learning.

Keywords: Adult Education, Learning Questions, Adult Learners, Question Formulation, Learner Inquiry, Questioning Skills, Critical Thinking, Learning Activities, Active Learning, Inquiry Skills, Learning Engagement, Knowledge Exploration, Learner Participation, Adult Learning, Educational Development