Integrated nonformal education in Zambia : the case of Chipata District
Creators: name: Mumba, Elizabeth Cisece
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2010

description: This research was concerned with integrated nonformal education programmes in Zambia. The purposes of the research were: (1) to identify factors thought by administrators to facilitate and hinder the implementation of integrated nonformal education programmes; (2) to establish the relative influence of each factor; (3) to determine the perceived degree of integration from the perspective of four administrative levels; and (4) to determine skills and knowledge acquired from integrated nonformal education programmes through the perceptions of participants. Critical incident interviews and questionnaires were used to gather data from administrators, extension workers and programme participants in Chipata District of Eastern Zambia. Integrated Rural Development Programmes had been in operation since 1972. The critical incident technique was used to interview seventy-seven administrators and extension workers at four administrative levels -national, provincial, district and local. Data from the interviews were used to identify a total of eight factors that were thought to facilitate implementation of integrated nonformal education programmes and nine factors that were thought to hinder implementation of integrated nonformal education programmes. Both facilitating and hindering factors were ranked for each administrative level. Data from questionnaires were used to determine the perceived degree of vertical and horizontal integration from the perspectives of four administrative levels as well as to determine outcomes of integration, through perceptions of programme participants. A total of 106 administrators and extension workers responded to the Administrators' Questionnaire; 50 responded to the Local Level Questionnaire; and 77 selected participants around three local sites answered the Participants' Questionnaire. Survey questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance to determine whether there were any differences between administrative groups. The major findings that emerged from the study were these: 1. Factors perceived as facilitating and hindering implementation of integrated nonformal education programmes rank differently according to the administrative level of respondents. For administrators at three administrative levels (national, provincial and district) seminars/workshops and training facilities is a powerful facilitating factor. At local level, however, administrators ranked seminars/ workshops fourth as a factor facilitating successful implementation. In this research, inadequate skilled personnel ranked as the highest hindering factor at three administrative levels (national, provincial and district) but ranked fourth at local level. 2. Vertical integration is positively correlated with horizontal integration. 3. Administrators at the national level believe that a higher degree of vertical and horizontal integration exists in integrated programmes than do administrators of the other three administrative levels. 4. The small number of extension workers and their inability to adequately cover their constituency, seriously affect the impact of integrated nonformal education programmes. Based on the results of the study, recommendations for theory, further research, and for practice are presented.