Influence of E-consumer Services on Adult and Community Education in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the influence of e-consumer services in Adult and Community Education Centres in Nairobi county Kenya. The study focused mainly on e-consumer services and how they influence the programmes run in adult and community education centres. The study was guided by four objectives that is: to determine the extent to which e-consumer services are used by adult and community education learners in Nairobi County, Kenya, To determine the influence of e-consumer services on teaching and learning activities in adult and community education, to determine the extent to which e-consumer services influence the implementation of ICT in adult and community education and to investigate the level of integration of e-consumer elements in Adult and Community Education. This guided on data collection and analysis. The study design used was mixed method, including a combination of quantitative and qualitative research techniques. The research was conducted among adult learners and instructors in selected adult education centres in Nairobi. Other people involved in the study included e-consumer service providers in selected cyber cafes, administrators in Huduma Centre in Nairobi, and Adult Education Officers of Nairobi County. The review of related literature covered four main themes: contextual factors, teachers and learner factors, and institutional factors that addressed the study's objectives. Other relevant literature related to this study included an overview of the development of e-learning education. The use of e-consumer services by adult learners and how they influence teaching and learning in adult and community education centres. It will eventually lead to implementing ICT facilities in adult and community education centres. Finally, to investigate the level of integration of e-learning in adult education learning programmes. All this was reviewed to specify the knowledge gaps that the study needed to fill. Data was collected using questionnaires for the adult learners and teachers and interview schedules on the adult education officers, cyber café persons, and the Huduma Centre administrators. The research findings were analysed, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative data was processed and analysed with the help of the SPSS software programme and summarised into frequency tables and percentages. Qualitative data was subjected to content analysis from which relevant information was extracted. The analysis and findings based on the first objective revealed that adult learners highly use e-consumer services; there is a great need to integrate electronic gadgets in teaching adult learners in adult learning centres. The teaching and learning in adult education centres are influenced by the e-consumer services offered in their daily lives. Overall, the results pointed out that adult education programmes need to be aligned with the current developments in the present world. In light of these findings, the study recommended a study on the extent to which the government's willingness to support and fund the adult and community education centres. The financial income, family structures and responsibilities, job aspirations, and peer influence should also be assessed to verify if these factors influence the adults' perception of the e-consumer services in adult and community education programmes.