Adult education has proved very beneficial because of its specific functions and importance. The functions of adult education are as under:
(1) Adult education by providing opportunities for the utilisation of leisure, inculcates the spirit of inward communication, quiet reflection and dealing happily with occasional solitude.
(2) Adult education creates power of tolerance by inculcating the feeling of sociability in persons of different classes, groups of different social customs and persons of different religions. It is the function of adult education to develop the attitude of exchange of ideas and provide facilities of vocational and behavioural development.
Image Source : maestrobytumlare.com
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(3) To make the people capable of dealing with occasional, immediate and personal problems and develop ability to gather necessary resources accordingly.
(4) To enable the people to solve problems connected with agriculture and commerce, such as, destruction of crops due to natural calamities, change in prices due to demand and supply, loss in agriculture because of political impacts like war and peace and also to provide vocational and agriculture extension education to the farmers.
(5) To provide education through art, literature, music, nature study, excursions, dramas and movies, etc. for making them well-versed in cultural and civilized behaviour.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(6) To arouse political awakening, civic sense and sensible thinking in adults so that they are able to express useful, unambiguous and sound opinion for the smooth running of administration and the Government.
The above aims and functions of adult education were formulated by Carnegie Corporation, established in 1941. This Corporation is the best institution for research in adult education.
Its function has been to study the problems of adult education and to give useful suggestions regarding its organisation, methods, resources and material, training of workers, guidance, opportunity and research.
Consequently, the Corporation established contacts with more than 400 adult education leaders after visting adult education institutions of about 80 cities, and then presented suggestions for the development of adult education.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Adult education, prevailing in America, provides for the utilisation of leisure by giving opportunities of life-long learning. This education is given after the formal education provided in schools.