Community-Based Adult Education and Rural Development in Ondo State

This study examines the contribution of community-based adult education programmes to rural development outcomes in selected communities in Ondo State, South West Nigeria. Community-based adult education, which embeds learning activities within community development initiatives, is theorised to produce stronger development outcomes than centre-based programmes by linking literacy and skills directly to community improvement projects. Several rural communities in Ondo State have implemented integrated adult education and community development programmes supported by state agencies and development NGOs. This study uses a mixed-method design, combining a community survey of 200 adult residents in six communities in Akure South, Ondo West, and Ese-Odo local government areas with qualitative community focus group discussions. Development outcomes measured include agricultural productivity, participation in community infrastructure projects, health indicator improvements, and community organisation capacity. Findings reveal that communities with active integrated adult education programmes demonstrate significantly higher agricultural cooperative participation, improved sanitation behaviour, and stronger community organisation capacity compared to control communities without such programmes. The study identifies facilitator community embeddedness and programme co-design with community members as the strongest predictors of development impact. The study concludes that community-based adult education produces broader rural development dividends beyond individual literacy gains when programmed holistically. It recommends that the Ondo State Adult and Non-Formal Education Board adopt a community development integration model as the standard framework for all rural adult education programming.

Keywords: community-based adult education, rural development, Ondo State, community learning, non-formal education.