Needs assesment in adult education in reference to Şişli-Gültepe people's education center in Istanbul

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assist the Şişli-Gültepe People's Center in planning its adult education activities to serve the residents of the Sisli district in Istanbul by a need assessment survey. The Şişli district was conceived in terms of three socio-economically distinct regions. The survey was conducted on a sample of 140, using one respondent from each household. A total of 58 men and 82 women were interviewed, who were selected randomly using the cluster of streets in two regions, and the cluster of apartments in one region. An interview guide was developed by the investigator in order to collect compatible data. The survey findings indicated that there was a range of needs as expressed by the sample in the district for adult education courses and activities to be offered by the center. The majority of these expressed needs centered around homeactivities, reflecting the preferences of the larger number of females over males in the sample. It was also found that the Şişli-Gültepe People's Education Center needed better publicity in the district. The findings of this study should be considered as an attempt to identify the major areas which need attention. Due to the limited size of the sample and the other practical limitations associated with the project, the study stands as an exploratory work in the area of need assessment where, at present, little research is available.