The Use of Social Media for Adult Learning and Education in Southern Africa

Anna Weekes and Linda Daniels explore the use of social media in and for adult education in Southern Africa. This is a new and exciting area that is just beginning to be explored. Read the study to find out more about their findings and recommendations.

There is very little research on how social media is being used in ALE in southern Africa. Most research focuses on the use of social media in tertiary education or distance higher education. However there are useful lessons that can be learnt from projects and research carried out in other countries in Africa and other regions of the world.

The research investigates the perspectives of educators to understand the opportunities and challenges of integrating social media into educational settings. The literature shows that e-learning brings many benefits. Learners are already widely engaged with social media and may become more engaged with ALE if their educators start to use social media in teaching and facilitating ALE courses. Learners also appreciate that courses run on social media platforms are accessible at any time of the day, making them suitable for adult learners who may be at work or undertaking caregiving duties in the evening when ALE classes are held. Having a repository of learning on social media, allows learners to catch up later. However, the literature cautions that educators need to be very intentional about creating communities of learners online to build interaction and discussion, which is crucial for adult learning and to ward off isolation.

Read the Southern African study to find out more about their findings and recommendations.