Facilitators’ gender and soft skills as correlate of adult learners’ attitude towards learning in the federal university Oye-Ekiti Sandwich programme, Ekiti state, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between facilitators’ gender and possession of soft skills, and adult learners’ attitudes toward learning in the federal university Oye-Ekiti Sandwich programme, in Ekiti State,Nigeria. Underpinning the study is the adult learning theory. The population consist of all adult learners and facilitators at the federal university of Oye-Ekiti Sandwich programme, while the sample for the study was selected using simple random sampling technique, and comprised 33 facilitators (11 males and 22 females) and 97 adult learners (31 males and 66 females). Two instruments tagged “Facilitators’ Soft Skills Questionnaire (α=0.71)”, and“Adult Learners’ Attitude towards Learning Questionnaire (α = 0.81)”, were used for data collection using mean and standard deviation, and correlation at 0.05 level of significance. Results revealed a positive attitude among adult learners toward learning, a moderate level of soft skills among sampled facilitators, a positive and significant relationship was found between facilitators’ soft skills and adult learners’ attitudes toward learning, but with no significant relationship with facilitators’ gender. The study concludes that facilitators’ soft skills, irrespective of their gender, positively impact adult learners’ attitudes toward learning. It is recommended that facilitators of adult education be more enlightened and professionally trained on the import of and exhibition of soft skills. Measures should also be put in place to foster positive learning attitudes in adult learners. Self-report questionnaires were used in collecting data for the study, as such, there might be elements of response bias from the sample. Future research could improve upon these lapses for more generalizable results