Managing Diversity in Adult Education Classrooms in Multicultural Urban Centres in Nigeria

This study examines how facilitators manage cultural, linguistic, and age diversity in adult education classrooms in multicultural urban centres in Nigeria, focusing on Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt. Urban adult education centres in Nigeria frequently serve learners from diverse ethnic, religious, linguistic, and occupational backgrounds who bring different prior experiences, learning preferences, and social dynamics into the learning environment. Facilitator capacity to manage this diversity constructively is a critical skill that has received limited professional development attention. This study uses a qualitative research design, conducting classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with 30 adult education facilitators in urban centres across the three cities. Interview data explore facilitator perceptions, strategies, and challenges in managing diversity. Observation notes document specific classroom diversity management practices. Thematic analysis is applied. Findings reveal that most facilitators express strong awareness of cultural diversity but report inadequate training for managing linguistic heterogeneity and intergroup tensions. Common facilitator strategies include mother tongue-assisted instruction, cooperative learning groupings across ethnic boundaries, and use of culturally diverse examples. Facilitators in Abuja and Kano report the highest diversity management challenges due to the presence of conflict-associated ethnoreligious tensions. The study concludes that facilitator diversity management competency is a significant gap in Nigerian adult education professional practice. It recommends dedicated diversity management training modules as a core component of all adult education facilitator development programmes.

Keywords: diversity management, adult education, multicultural classrooms, facilitator competence, urban Nigeria.