THE INFLUENCE OF ADULT EDUCATION IN THE PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

1.1 Introduction

Adult education is the transmission process of general, technical or vocational knowledge, as well as the skills, values and attitudes mean for developed people, is a authoritative tool for development, including poverty reduction, civic and social engagement. Cultural Heritage is an expression of the ways of living developed by a community and passed on from generation to generation, including customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions and values. Cultural Heritage is often expressed as either Intangible or Tangible Cultural Heritage (ICOMOS, 2002). The role of cultural practices and knowledge plays in the transferring and preservation of cultural heritage cannot be over emphasized and there are veritable medium by which cultural heritage are transferred from one generation to the other. However, it has been observed that adults‘participation, preservation and conservation of cultural heritage has not really been effective.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Cultural heritage is a group of resources inherited from the past which people identify, independently of ownership, as a reflection and expression of their constantly evolving values, beliefs, knowledge and traditions. It includes all aspects of the environment resulting from the interaction between people and places through time (Bonnic, 2009; Dümcke & Gnedovsky, 2013; Fairclough, 2009; Fojut, 2009;Greffe, 2009). A basic principle of adult education is that adult learners bring with them significant life experience and as such, adult education should draw from and build upon that experience.

According to Meyer-Bisch (2009) cultural heritage is defined as (a group of complementary, incorporated, objectified and institutional knowledge items, which are sources of capacities for the subject. It is thanks to this range of resources that the subject can exercise his rights, freedoms and responsibilities, alone or in association with others, for himself and for others, taking account of inter-generation coherency. From his viewpoint the term heritage refers not only to specifically cultural works but also to everyday objects, practices and institutions which correspond to the broad meaning of culture (Meyer-Bisch, 2009).

Book and Vondracek (2006) highlighted several past involvements of adult education in the preservation of culture to enhance access since medieval times when monks fastidiously transcribed documents by hand. They also indicated that adult education began massively in tertiary institutions to successfully reformat thousands of rare collections and crumbling culture as effective means of preserving our societal heritage.

Digicult (2003) concluded that “adult education contributes to the conservation and preservation of heritage and scientific resources, crates new educational opportunities, can be used to encourage tourism and it provides ways of improving access by the citizen to their patrimony”. Also, in recent times, adult education has played major parts in the preservation of cultural heritage. Making high quality images available electronically can reduce wear and tear of fragile items.

According to Jones (2001), we live in an increasingly digital world. Hundreds of libraries, museums and archives have recently launched projects designed to digitize their collections and place them on the web. According to Stephen Ostrow cited by Jones (2001), this trend is both “auspicious and ominous for cultural heritage institutions”. The main reasons to digitize are to enhance assess and improve preservation. By digitalizing their collections, cultural heritage institutions can make information that was previously only available to a select group of researchers accessible to all. Digital projects allow users to search collections rapidly and comprehensively from anywhere at any time (Jones 2001). One of the primary problems confronting library profession is lack of commitment by the available human resources, particularly, in the areas of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and preservation of resources on cultural heritage. The knowledge explosion brought about by the acceleration of scientific and technological progress is adding a new dimension to education, capacity building, amongst other essential human development endeavours. Librarians, irrespective of their levels in the professional hierarchy must possess the conceptual knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant to the performance of their jobs. Training refers to the manifestation of knowledge, skills and attitudes in a person which enables him to apply them in his work situation. In essence, education is to cause a permanent change in behaviour potential of the concerned individual and it is regarded as the key with which to unlock the stores of knowledge and for their use by the society. As a result of its importance for professional upliftment, libraries have often tried to inculcate some desirable professional orientations in their personnel through training. Digitization can also be the first step for conducting advanced research on historical materials. Ancient documents present a prime candidate for digitization because of their historical import, combined with centuries of exposure and degradation habits in their arrangement. However, Oketunji (2001) observed that the library schools are inadequate in meeting the challenges of modern information technologies owing to lack of financial resources to procure the necessary equipment needed for the training of students.

Similarly, Singh (2004) argued that skill in information Technology (IT) can be gained only when one gets hands on training and experience in laboratories under simulated conditions or in real life situations. The graduates and past graduates turned out by library schools do not possess adequate skill and expertise to interact confidently with IT specialists, evaluate what is recommended by their and full fall their requirements.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to examine the influence of adult education in the preservation of cultural heritage.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that educational structures were formulated by colonialists who had a cultural background different to that obtaining among Africans. Decades of self-rule and independence have not succeeded in empowering Africans through enabling them determine their educational framework. In part, this difficulty is a result of the continued social and economic ties between African countries and their former colonizing powers. Although Africa is politically independent, it remains technologically and economically dependent on countries that colonized it. Current educational structures are meant mainly to foster this bond, rather than reduce it. Reforms in African education were conceived and implemented within the framework of this relationship, hence they did not go far enough to develop and foster African culture.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to examine the influence of adult education in the preservation of cultural heritage. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To identify a relationship between adult education and cultural heritage.
2. To deduce whether adult education will influence the preservation of the cultural heritage of the people of Ikwerre Local Government Area in Port Harcourt.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Is there a relationship between adult education and cultural heritage?
• Can adult education influence the preservation of the cultural heritage of the people of Ikwerre Local Government Area in Port Harcourt?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There is no relationship between adult education and cultural heritage.
• H1: There is a relationship between adult education and cultural heritage.

Hypothesis Two

• H0: Adult education cannot influence the preservation of the cultural heritage of the people of Ikwerre Local Government Area in Port Harcourt.
• H1: Adult education can influence the preservation of the cultural heritage of the people of Ikwerre Local Government Area in Port Harcourt.

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1.7 Significance of Study

Efforts to preserve resources on cultural heritage have gained new momentum throughout the world nowadays. Protecting cultural heritage is economical, as well as historical and also a cultural process. While cultural heritage preservation has not yet become firmly rooted in the Nigerian consciousness as football is, a great number of people and organizations see cultural resources as critical to the nation’s economic development through tourism. Cultural heritage is based on the aspects of our past that we cherish, want to keep and pass on to future generations and outside world. However, the economic benefits of preservation are secondary to the intrinsic value of that heritage which is been preserved.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the influence of adult education in the preservation of cultural heritage using Ikwerre Local Government Area in Port Harcourt as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Adult Education: This is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values.