LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.

2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Concept of Education

Education has been defined by various educationists, philosophers, and scholars from different fields. Education also comes in various forms with its unique features and importance. The system of education varies across the globe; in Nigeria, the system of education differs from that of America, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and other nations of the world. Etymologically, the word education is derived from two Latin words “Educare” and “educere” (Amaele et al., 2011). Accordingly, “Educare”, means to train, to form, or to mould. In other words, it means the society trains, forms, or to moulds the individual to achieve the social needs and aspirations. “Educere”, on the other hand, means to build, to lead, or to develop. This is mostly favored by the humanists who argue that the function of education is to develop the natural potentialities in the child to enable him to function in the society according to his abilities, interests, and needs (Kingdom, Orji and Job 2013).

Beside, education is entirely used to develop human beings in their cognitive, affective, psychomotor, and psycho productive domains. It involves a pleasing approach in human behavior through the process of teaching and learning. Fafunwa, (2004) defined education as what each generation gives to its younger ones which makes them develop attitudes, skills, abilities, and other behaviors which are the positive values to the society in which they live. Also, Amaele et al. (2011), buttressed the aforementioned definition of education as the total development of the individual child through acceptable methods and techniques according to his abilities and interests to meet up the needs of the society and for the individual to take his rightful place and contribute equally to the enhancement of the society. Furthermore, education is the social institution through which society provides its members with important knowledge, including basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms values. One of the most important benefits of education is that it improves personal lives and helps society to run smoothly. Education is a tool that provides people with knowledge, skill, technique, information, enables them to know their rights and duties toward their family, society as well as the nation. It develops the capabilities to fight against injustice, violence, corruption, and many other bad elements in society. It is the most important element in the evolution of the nation (Rajesh Parihar 2017). This buttressed by Bhatta, (2009) who opined that “healthy society was not possible without educated individuals”. She believed that the educational framework which targets the purpose of personal development is a good basis of human ethics. Thus, without education, one will not explore new ideas and development would be stalled.

According to National Policy on Education(1979), Education is the process of acquiring knowledge. It is a tool for person’s development, the single most powerful weapon against poverty, and a fundamental human right to which we all are entitled. It gives people the opportunity to improve on their health, raise productivity and help foster participation in civil society. Education is a process of keeping the world and our society intact and in fostering the development and growth upon which human survival and progress depends. It the development of process of equipping individuals with knowledge and skills to enable them solve the complex problems of living usefully for themselves, their families and make worthwhile contribution to the overall progress and development of the overall progress and development of the society. “Thus the educational process has been described as the intentional transmission of something worthwhile or desirable in a morally acceptable manner. It is the all-round development of a person physically, intellectually, morally, and spiritually. This implies that education encourages a wholesome development of the individual through participation in the activities of the social group, and that there must be a guide who can direct such education in a way that can result in all round development of a person. Education is a tool for national development, the single most powerful weapon against poverty, and a fundamental human right to which we all are entitled. It gives people the opportunity to improve health, raise productivity and help foster participation in civil society. Education is a process of keeping the world and our society intact and in fostering the development and growth upon which human survival and progress depends.

Okeke D. (2009) further asserts that Education is the process of providing information to an inexperienced person to help him/her develop physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, spiritually, politically and economically. That is why at graduation ceremonies one hears the Vice-Chancellors pronounce these words while awarding degrees to their institutions’ graduates, “you have been found worthy in character and learning…” In education parlance, it means that the individual has acquired adequate and appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes and values, known as cognitive, psychomotor and affective behaviours to be able to function optimally as a citizen. These behaviors are the focus of training individuals in institutions of learning .

The planned and systematic training given in an institution of learning is formal education. The programme or is organized, planned and systematically implemented. In an informal education, there is no plan and the training is haphazard and incidental. Education is the process through which individuals are made functional members of their society (Ocho, J. 2005). It is a process through which the young acquires knowledge and realizes her potentialities and uses them for self-actualization, to be useful to herself and others. It is a means of preserving, transmitting and improving the culture of the society. In every society education connotes acquisition of something good, something worthwhile. Education is one of the fundamental rights of individuals. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December, 1949 stipulated that:

Everyone has the right to education.

This shall be free at least in the elementary and primary stages.

Elementary education shall be compulsory while technical and professional

Education shall be made generally available.

Higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

According to Nwangwu, (1976) cited in Etim, M. (2013) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. Why should everyone have the right to education? The answers to this question are given thus:

The child is born helpless and has to rely entirely on parents and other older members of the society to survive and satisfy her growth needs in all their ramifications

The degree and quality of participation in the life of the society depends to a large extent on the degree and quality of her education. This will enable her perform her political and other citizenship duties and exercise the rights pertaining thereto effectively.

Kingley,A. (2015) further explained that every citizen benefits from the result of the education of her fellow citizen and since every generation receives its education from an older generation, every generation has a duty to reciprocate by educating the generation that comes after it. No nation can afford to toy with the education of her citizens, especially, the child, who will be the father or mother of tomorrow, because education is the bedrock of all facets of development. Children are future leaders of tomorrow and mothers are guardians of the future, and the first aim of every family and society should be to raise healthy and productive individuals who are physically, psychologically, socially, and mentally well developed.

Forms/Types of Education

Education goes beyond what takes place within the four walls of the classroom. A child gets an education from his experiences outside the school as well as from those within the school system. Based on these factors, there are three (3) main types of education, namely: formal, informal, and nonformal (Yuri Vanetik 2019).

Informal Education

Informal education is not organized by an institution such as school or college and has no fixed timetable or schedule. There is no set curriculum required as such education consists of observed experiences and informal instructions, within the family, community, or among social groups. Informal education, therefore, refers to all learning activities outside of the school environment, without the use of any particular learning method. People can also get an informal education by reading many books from a library or the internet. It may be learned at the marketplace, playground, at home, or among friends. In this type of education, conscious efforts are not involved. It is neither pre-planned nor deliberate. Informal education may take diverse forms. For example, a parent teaching a child how to prepare a meal, or ride a bicycle, or some spontaneous type of learning such as operating an electronic bank door, the use of an electronic device, and so on (Yuri Vanetik 2019). Hence, informal education is independent of boundary walls, has no definite syllabus, not pre-planned and has no timetable, requires no fees, awards no certificates, engages a broad list of sources/media, and is a lifelong process in a natural way without stress. It can be gotten from any source such as media, life experiences, friends, and family (Yuri Vanetik 2019).

Non-formal Education

Non-formal education includes adult basic education, adult literacy education, or school equivalency preparation. In nonformal education, individuals can acquire literacy, other basic skills, or job skills. Home education, individualized instruction (such as programmed learning), distance learning and computer-assisted instruction are other possibilities. Nonformal education is imparted consciously, deliberately, and systematically. It is organized for a homogeneous group and programmed to serve the needs of the identified group. This necessitates flexibility in the design of the curriculum and the scheme of assessment. Non-formal education is planned and taken outside the formal school system, the timetable and syllabus are adjustable. Unlike theoretical formal education, it is practical and vocational-based education. Non-formal education has no age limit and is likely to charge fees and award certificates of attendance, takes the form of full time or part-time learning of professional skills. Examples of nonformal education are Boy scouts, Girls guide, and sports programs like swimming, fitness programs, community-based adult education courses, vocational courses, and free courses for adult education developed by organizations (Yuri Vanetik 2019). Hence, the importance of education in national development cannot be overemphasized.

Formal Education

Formal education or formal learning usually takes place on the premises of the school, where a person may learn basic, academic, or trade skills. Small children often attend a nursery or kindergarten but often formal education begins in elementary school and continues with secondary school. Postsecondary education (or higher education) is usually at a college or university, which may grant an academic degree. Formal education is associated with a specific program of teaching and learning activities and is provided under a certain set of rules and regulations. Formal education is given by specially qualified teachers who are supposed to be efficient in the art of instruction. It also observes strict discipline. Both the student and the teacher are aware of these facts and engage themselves in the process of education. Formal education is structured hierarchically, it is also a planned and deliberate system of education, Scheduled fees are paid regularly, and it has a chronological grading system. It has a syllabus and it is subject-oriented; the syllabus has to be covered within a specific period. Examples of formal education include learning in a classroom, school grading/certification, college, and university degrees (Yuri Vanetik 2019).

Philosophy and Goals of Education in Nigeria

A nation’s policy on education is the government’s way of realizing that part of the national goals which could be achieved, using education as a tool. However, no policy on education can be formulated without first identifying the overall philosophy and goals of the nation. The overall philosophy of Nigeria is to: live in unity and harmony as one indivisible, an indissoluble, democratic, and sovereign nation founded on the principle of freedom, equity, and justice; promote inter-African solidarity and world peace through understanding. The five main national goals of Nigeria, which have been endorsed as the necessary foundation for the National Policy on Education, are the building of; a free and, democratic society; a just egalitarian society; a united, strong and self-reliant nations; a great and dynamic economy; a land full of bright opportunities for all citizens (Adiele, E. E. 2006). In Nigeria’s philosophy of education, education is an instrument for national development, and the interaction of persons and ideas are all aspects of education. Education fosters the worth development of the individual, for each individual’s sake, and for the general development of the society, the training of the mind in the understanding of the world around. This is through the acquisitions of appropriate skills and competencies as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of the society. Consequently, the quality of instruction at all levels has to be oriented towards inculcating the following values; respect for the worth and dignity of the individual, faith in man’s ability to make rational decisions, moral and spiritual principle in inter-personal and human relations, shared responsibility for the common good of the society, promotion of the physical, emotional and psychological development of all children/ learners, and the acquisition of competencies necessary for self-reliance which is the hub of national development (Evang, H. M. Molagun 1999).

Concept of Community Development

Community development is a process of allowing the community members with their own initiative to harness both human and material resources in the community to better the living conditions of the people by engaging in development projects and programmes. Community development is a process that helps people to recognize and develop their ability and potential in order to address their problems and needs which they share (Johnson, 2008). Hence, it could be regarded as a skilled process which hinges on the approach that controls and uses assets to promote social justice and helps improve the quality of community life.

Some scholars like Afuye (2005) see community development as a structured intervention that gives communities greater and control over the conditions that affect their lives. This does not solve all the problems faced by a local community, but it does build up confidence to tackle such problems as effectively as any local action can perform. Community development works at the level of local groups and organizations rather than with individuals or families. Community development has to look both ways: not only at how the community is working at the grassroots, but also at how responsive key institutions are to the needs of local communities.

Community development is a process designed to create conditions of economic and social progress for the whole community with its active participation and fullest possible reliance upon the community’s initiative (Morrison, 2000). Community development practice has arisen from a variety of sources and settings. Its roots can be traced to the social reform movement in Britain and North America in the latter half of the 18th century (McDonald, 2002). Community development principles were formulated and applied to in third world development efforts following decolonization.

Britain currently hosts the main international body representing community development, the International Association for Community Development (IACD). This body started in USA in 1953, moved to Belgium in the seventies and to Scotland in 1998. Community development as a term has taken off widely in Anglophone countries i.e. USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other countries in the commonwealth. It is also used in some countries in Eastern Europe with active Community Development Associations in Hungary and Romania (EU, 1999). The international community development Journal, Published by Oxford University press, and set-up in 1967 has been the major forum for research and dissemination of international community development theory and practice.

However, community development is crucially concerned with the issues of powerlessness and disadvantages; as such it should involve all members of the society and offer a practice that is part of a process of social change (Gordon, 2007). In fact, it is the active involvement of people in the issues which affect their lives. It is a process based on the sharing of power, skills, knowledge and experience. Community development takes place both in neighbourhoods and within communities as people identify what is relevant to them (Clark, 2010).

Hence, community development is the ability of people to act together to influence the social, economic, political and environmental issues which affect them. This is in line with UNDP (2004) which asserts that community development aims to encourage sharing and creates structures which give genuine participation and involvement of the local people in the decisions that affect their lives. In the same vein Olaitan (1998) sees: Community development as all about developing the power, skills, knowledge and experience of people as individuals and in groups, thus, enabling them to undertake initiatives of their own to combat social, economic, political and environmental problems, and enabling them to fully participate in a truly democratic process (p. 44).

In addition, the community development process is collective, but the experience of the process enhances the integrity, skills, knowledge and experience, as well as equality of power for each individual who is involved. Community development seeks to enable individuals and communities to grow and change according to their own needs and priorities and at their own pace, provided this does not oppress other groups and communities or damage the environment.

The destruction of the natural environment on which people depend should be tenaciously guided and restricted to further depletion by widespread fire outbreak and deforestation among others. Little wonder, Blair (2007) is of the opinion that, community development is a process that seeks to empower individuals and group of people by providing them with the knowledge and skills they need to effect change in their own environment/communities. These skills are often created through the formation of large social groups working for common agenda. Community developers must understand both how to work with individuals and how to affect communities positions within the context of larger social institutions.

According to Morison (2000) a number of different approaches to community development can be recognized and they are capacity building, social capital formation, political participatory development, non-violent direct action, ecologically sustainable development, asset based community development, faith based community development, community practice social work, community based participatory research, community mobilization, community empowerment, community participation and community driven development etc. Such development according to Boothroyd (1991) seeks to build strong, sustainable communities by bringing people and groups together for the good of the wider community and society. Based on the principles of equality, fairness and respect, it sets out to influence power structures and remove barriers that prevent people from taking part in decisions that affect their lives.

Estes (1984) asserts that community development also operates in a larger structure of national and international commitment to the social and economic development of socially disadvantaged sectors of the population. The implication of his assertion is that community development is carried out not only at the local grassroots level, but also at international, local, state and regional levels, in limited or broad areas of concern for the members of the community. As has been mentioned earlier, what is important is that the development efforts require a commitment to communal participation of all and sundry in the community; hence the emphases on such concepts like “bottom-up” approach and “sustainability”.

The characteristics of community development portrays that community development should be initiated by the people themselves before seeking for assistance either from the government or donor agencies (Nwafor, 1988). Before a particular community embarks on any community development project or programme, the felt-need of the people should be sought first. The identification of the felt-need of the community members will now make all of them to be involved in the community development project. Community development places a high premium on and extols the values of self-help and voluntary co-operation among members of the community seeking to address their problems (Harper, 1997).

It enlists the support of established centres of public and private authority and power. Community development seeks to enhance the acquisition, re-distribution of resources and the utilization of processes to increase social and political awareness of the causes of people problems (Steinberg, 2006). Hence, community development is an essential concomitant in the larger process of social and economic dynamics in a democratic society aimed at integrating the people into the over-all socio-economic system by activating their latent productivity potentials. Through the creation of conditions which allow them to get their fair shares, economically and socially from development efforts. In this scenario, proper evaluation of youth’s involvement in community development is desirable because through this means numerous self-help community development projects will be completed. The assessment of youth’s involvement in community development projects should be a continuous process in order to ascertain the extent of their involvement and proffer possible solutions for improvement.

IMPACT OF FORMAL EDUCATION ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN OREDO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, EDO STATE

The imperative of formal education is expressed in the fact that it serves as a tool to enrich an individual’s knowledge and develop his potentials as well as develop a sound moral character for the benefit of the society. Education develops national consciousness and political awareness in people and it helps us to alter our ways of thinking, and our attitude to people, events, and situations. Education is a powerful instrument in the advancement of individual and national goals. According to Nelson Mandela, education is the most powerful weapon which can be used to change the world. Again, Martin Luther King Jnr opined that the function of education is to teach one to think intensively and critically. Education is an important aspect of the modern industrialized world. Education is needed for survival in the present competitive world. The modern knowledge society is based on people who have high living standards and knowledge which allows them to implement better solutions for their challenges like twenty-first-century Nigeria.

Education facilitates quality learning all through life among people of any age group, caste, creed, religion, and region. It plays a great role in career growth as well as in personal growth. Thus intelligence plus character is the true goal of education (Onwuka, 2014). The features of the education include empowerment resulting in poverty alleviation as well as the safety and security of individuals who are less susceptible to being cheated or become victims of violence. Other features are the prevention of wars and terrorism which lead to a safe and secure life. Individuals take active part in various educational activities. These types of productive activities provide knowledge to live a better life, and promotes commerce and trade in the country. A good education does not simply mean going to school or college and getting a degree. Education helps to become self-dependent and build great confidence among the citizenry to accomplish difficult tasks. Another important feature of education is the internalization of law and order by the citizenry to enable the process of the nation's fast development. Further still, the relation between education and communication is apparent. A good education helps to communicate better with other people. Education is the social institution through which society provides its members with important knowledge, including basic facts, job skills, cultural norms and values. As social beings, it is our responsibility to give back to society and make it a better place for the next generation. An educated person is aware of his personal as well as social responsibilities. Proper education teaches a person to think beyond his interests and also provides him the ability to give back to society. Education could also mean innovation. Innovation and creativity can only occur when people are skilled enough to know how to operate with different technologies. Educated people always find a solution to their problems with the help of better techniques. It is no secret that a good education has the power to change a life. What is new is the demand for that change. Governments are investing more than ever before on educating their citizens, eager for them to compete in the global workforce. A growing global middle class is spending more of its own money on educating their families. Employers are looking for a new sort of colleague - someone with the skills to flourish in the 21st century. Combined with technologies that continue to develop at breakneck speed, the result is a world that has the want, and the means, to learn at scale (Onwuka, 2014).

hat a developed or educated polity is the one that has enough manpower and each person occupies his or her rightful position to enhance the growth of the society. To support this, Ajayi and Afolabi (2009) have also remarked that education is largely perceived in Nigeria as an indispensable tool which will not only assist in meeting the nation’s social, political, moral, cultural and economical aspirations but will also inculcate in the individual knowledge, skills, dexterity, character and desirable values that will foster national development and self-actualization. From the definitions of education and its importance enumerated earlier in this study, it is clear that education trains an individual to be useful in society and to meet up the need of the society for national development. Therefore, without education, a nation cannot acquire the needed manpower for national development. The trained engineers, teachers, medical doctors a nation’s education determines the level of its national development. Also, the 21st century is characterized by information explosion based on science and technology. Without education, information, and knowledge needed for national development cannot be shared via information and communication technology facilities like the world wide web through the internet. In this regard, Obansanjo (2012) states that education trains individuals to relate to and interact meaningfully with others in society and to appreciate the importance of effective organization for human progress. Here, the school system within the educational system fosters this development. The schools have a way of bringing people from diverse places and different cultural backgrounds, together for a common purpose. This encourages and increases mutual co-existence among the different students and this has a way of developing the nations globally in the 21st century where the building of relationships can help promote unity. Again, in the school system, there are officials clubs and organizations in existence. Learners who participate in these organizations and clubs gain experience in working and relating with others outside the individual organizations and to some extent in working competing with outside groups with minimum friction which goes a long way to promote national unity and peaceful co-existence that would lead to national development. Education also inculcates much to learners beyond the prescribed academic curriculum and also encourages the development of social behaviour that will be useful to them in adulthood; by this, the nation will develop in individual those values which make for good citizenship, such as honesty, selflessness, tolerance, dedication, hard work, and personal integrity, all of which provides the rich soil from which good leadership potentials is groomed. Education also promotes the culture of productivity by enabling individuals to discover the creative potentials in them and applying the same to the improvement of the existing skill and technique of performing specific tasks, thereby increasing the efficiency of their societal effort in national development (Obansanjo, 2012).

2.2 THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

Community Development Theory

Community development theory and practice has come a long way and has become more mature over the years. We moved through various theoretical paradigms coming from the evolutionary paradigm of Spencer (Park, 1921), through the conflict and functionalist theoretical paradigms to the advent of the complexity theory paradigm in a the post-modern 21st century. Each of the phases of development thinking accumulatively contributed a unique focus on the theme and was integrated into a new set of knowledge in its own unique way into a next phase. However, all of the mentioned theoretical approaches were macro theories and when applied in meso- and micro-environments, are continuously confronted with exceptions to the rule. In short, it provides little help in the practical application of community development projects other than to offer an explanation for an expected outcome. The result of this was that community development became closely associated with charity organisations, altruistic individuals with creative thinking, and political parties that want to win over votes by promising voters in certain communities/constituencies, assistance to get them out of their misery. No wonder community development projects are mostly associated with the plight of the poor as observed by the “not so poor”. This understated demand of performance in development projects contributed mainly to the unintended, but flawed association of community development projects with the typical input/output behaviouristic models. This idea originated with governments and funding agencies, demanding visible outcomes for money spent on community development projects. This background tainted the concept of community development to such an extent that it has became one of the most exploited concepts by members from the target communities, often demanding unrealistic services and facilities, as well as from the side of political and government institutions of whom one of the primary functions is to create safe and healthy communal environment for their citizens. This paradigm of thinking also signalled the beginning of projects that were merely social engineering exercises, where outsiders would decide what is best for a community and governments and funding agencies were promised by project leaders that they will be able to deliver the goods and that certain outcomes would be reached. This era was short lived and during the nineties, the absence of concrete community development results and the reasons for failures formed the central debate among community development theorists and recognition started to be given to the complexity of the process and with that, the comfort of a guaranteed positive outcomes of development projects were simply not as possible as some would have liked to believe.

2.3 EMPIRICAL STUDIES

Kobani 2014 in his study investigated the impact of Girl-Child Education on Community Development with focus on Ika Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The specific objectives of the study was to identify the role of Girl-Child Education in Community Development, to determine the factors impeding against girl-child education in the aforementioned area and to examine how social, economic and political development affects Girl-Child Education in Ika Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The total population for this study is 39,500 and the sample size of three hundred and ninety five (395) persons from the selected communities i.e. Ikot Inyang Udo, Ikot Akata, Urua Inyang, Ikot Oyo and Ikot Okon were drawn. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and data were analysed using the chi-square (X2 ) statistic at 0.05 level of significance. It was found among other things that Girl-Child Education helps in Community Development and the factors militating against girl-child education were culture and poverty level of the people. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made; the society should stop the discrimination of the girl-child in the provision of education, also that government should make policy statements that will make the education of the girl child legal and compulsory.

Adam Sibuyi (2016) opined that education is a tool that avails people with knowledge, skill, technique and information which empowers them to know their rights and duties toward the family, society, and the nation. Education has helped in no small measure to improve the quality of life in any society. This could be seen in features exhibited through education which include removing poverty, safety and security against crime, prevention of wars and terrorism as well as commerce and trade. Others are maintenance of law and order, women empowerment, communications, and upliftment of economically weaker sections of the societies. One of the most important benefits of education in a society is that it improves the standard of living and assist individuals to contribute to the development of the nation/society.

Formal Education is a very important key that can be used to unlock many closed doors in a country. When a nation understands the imperative of education as a catalyst to development, such a nation would experience astronomic socioeconomic growth in a short time. However, for a developing country like Nigeria, there is the need to realize how education can be used to improve the economy. When illiteracy is eradicated, the citizens become enlightened and this results in the right actions expected by a good citizen. It is noteworthy that once the citizens live aright, the country will be in better shape. Also, an educated person, who is transformed, cannot be found in the act of robbery, murder, kidnapping, rape, and other vices, thus making the nation a place of peace and comfort where economic development thrives (Lochner, L., and Moretti, E., 2004) .