Needs Analysis and Programme Planning in Adult Education

Abstract

One of the constant criticisms of adult education services has always been the lack of expertise for programme planning, for which needs analysis is a prerequisite to ensure relevance in terms of both the target audience and the context. Needs Analysis and Programme Planning in Adult Education therefore comes at the right time. With her substantial field experience and scholarly research in needs analysis and programme planning, the author manages with professional sophistication to present a clear theoretical overview of adult learning needs and their implications for programme planning. In her belief, ''Adult education has to balance educational and economic goals. It has to deal with individual interests and the interests of society.'' Thus a reliable needs analysis is critical for any adult educational institution to address the most-felt needs of its potential learners and to prepare itself to accommodate social needs for skills and competencies. Along with her comprehensive highlights of the special learning needs of adults, the author proposes that all adult education programmes should be well-designed in order to attract adults on a purely voluntary basis by matching their interests and needs. To this end, the author intends to induct practising adult educators to understand the basic theories of needs in relation to adult learning (Chapters 3 and 4), specific methodologies and procedures for needs analysis (Chapter 5), integrating needs analysis for adequate programme planning (Chapter 6) and finally basic steps for programme planning in adult education (Chapter 7). In addition, each chapter is supplemented with well-designed exercises and tasks to ensure that adult educator readers are prepared to fully understand the concepts and to apply the techniques in their actual practice. The concluding chapter provides a summary of this resourceful book with a series of insights and valid pieces of advice for successful programme planning