The objective of this study was to expand our understanding on how non formal agricultural education of impact on innovative attitude of children and teenagers across socio-professional groups. Our sample included 491 female and male children (5-10 years) and teenagers (11-15 years). Data were collected mainly with a questionnaire. We used Likert scale of four items to measure (i) parents’ understanding of education process of education, of objectives and contents of education and their adherence to social norms of education; and (ii) learners’ rational belief, social norm compliance tendency and Innovation tendency. The study showed that children and teenagers’ innovative attitude in terms of rational and compliance beliefs and tendency for innovation were different across socio-professional groups. These results challenge the traditional thinking that the maintenance of culture is at the core of traditional education in Africa. Because non-formal education focuses on the development of children as member of a society, it supports the child in acquiring values such as loyalty, knowledge and skills that are considered appropriate to a person of a particular sex, age and social group. In such a context, non-formal education emphasizes social aspect of learning, breaking down the wholiticism of the content.

1. Understanding the Impact of Non-Formal Agricultural Education on Innovative Attitude across Age, Gender and Socio-Professional in Benin
Understanding the Impact of Non-Formal Agricultural
Education on Innovative Attitude across Age, Gender
and Socio-Professional in Benin
Ismail MOUMOUNI-MOUSSA
Laboratoire de Recherche sur l’Innovation pour le Développement Agricole, Faculté d’Agronomie, Université de Parakou,
Benin.
Email: ismailmm@gmail.com
The objective of this study was to expand our understanding on how non formal agricultural
education of impact on innovative attitude of children and teenagers across socio-professional
groups. Our sample included 491 female and male children (5-10 years) and teenagers (11-15
years). Data were collected mainly with a questionnaire. We used Likert scale of four items to
measure (i) parents’ understanding of education process of education, of objectives and contents
of education and their adherence to social norms of education; and (ii) learners’ rational belief,
social norm compliance tendency and Innovation tendency. The study showed that children and
teenagers’ innovative attitude in terms of rational and compliance beliefs and tendency for
innovation were different across socio-professional groups. These results challenge the
traditional thinking that the maintenance of culture is at the core of traditional education in Africa.
Because non-formal education focuses on the development of children as member of a society,
it supports the child in acquiring values such as loyalty, knowledge and skills that are considered
appropriate to a person of a particular sex, age and social group. In such a context, non-formal
education emphasizes social aspect of learning, breaking down the wholiticism of the content.
Keywords: Agricultural education, Benin, Children and teenagers education, Innovative attitude, Non formal education
INTRODUCTION
Ocitti (1971) relayed by Adeyemi and Adeyinka (2003)
identify five guiding principles of African traditional
education. First, children belonged to the community and
every member of the community had a stake in their
upbringing (communalism). Second, participatory and
utilitarian education brings the child to learn through
imitation, initiation ceremonies, work, play, oral literature,
etc. (functionalism). Third, education promotes multiple
learning for the learner to be able to undertake a multitude
of occupations (wholisticism), meaning that there is little or
no room for specialization. Fourth, the role of learning and
teaching was to equip boys and girls with the skills
appropriate to their gender in preparation for their
distinctive roles in the society (preparationism). Fifth, the
principle of perennialism refers to NFE as a vehicle for
maintaining or preserving the cultural heritage. To the best
of our knowledge, no study provides empirical evidence to
what extent the principle of perennialism guide education
to maintain cultural heritage. In addition, one may wonder
how effective this principle is nowadays.
NFE refers to any organized, systematic, educational
activity carried on outside the framework of the formal
schooling to provide selected types of learning to particular
subgroups in the population, adults as well as children
(Kleis et al., 1973; Coombs and Ahmed, 1974). According
to Asiyai (2018), NFE can contribute to the development of
life skills and personal development among male and
female. In rural areas in developing countries where few
people attend formal schools, NFE plays a key role in
human resource development (Kalirajan and Shand, 1984;
Asfaw and Admassie, 2004, Simac et al., 2019). Studies
Research Article
Vol. 5(3), pp. 278-287, December, 2019. © www.premierpublishers.org. ISSN: 2167-0432
International Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension

2. Understanding the Impact of Non-Formal Agricultural Education on Innovative Attitude across Age, Gender and Socio-Professional in Benin
Moumouni-Moussa I. 279
were conducted to understand non formal education
systems with regard to dance and music and art learning
(Pillai 2004), vernacular language learning (Siegel 2010)
and moral and spiritual education. In agriculture, NFE
usually refers to training and extension activities organized
by nongovernmental organisations, farmer or public
organisations as support to farmers. The importance of
home education has been underestimated as less
emphasis is put on how rural people prepare children to
become farmers and hand over the family farms without
attending any formal school. Some “organized”
educational approaches to preparing children and
teenagers for meaningful cultural life still existed
throughout Africa. Some examples include the poro (for
boys) and the sande (for girls) in Liberia, the ‘voodoo
convents’ in Benin, the bogwera (for boys) and bojale (for
girls) in Botswana and rites of passage in Cameroon
(Nsamenang and Tchombe, 2011) and in the Southern
African region (Gwanfogbe, 2011). Traditional educational
systems benefit from increasing recognition. The World
Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education which was
held in Albuquerque (New Mexico, USA), the relationship
between research and indigenous knowledge has been
identified as a focus in indigenous peoples’ education
(Brady, 1997). It is worth mining NFE systems as
outcomes of several centuries of educational practices in
the rural area which can generate knowledge useful for
educators (Akande 2010, Pardo 2003, 2011).
Research on the impact of non-formal education is not a
novelty. According to Fafunwa (1974), the goals of NFE of
child include the development of physical and intellectual
skills for specific vocational training, the inculcation of
character, respect for elders and authority, a sense of
belonging and commitment in/to family and community
affairs, and the understanding and promotion of the
cultural heritage of the community at large. Huffman
(1977) investigated the impact extension contacts on the
ability of farmers to adjust to price changes and
technological advances. Lockheed et al. (1980) captured
the impact of education on farmers' efficiency under
modernizing and non-modernizing environments.
According to Feng et al. (2019), non-formal education can
influence value orientation in culture-specific ways. The
objective of this study is to expand our understanding on
how non formal agricultural education of impact on
innovative attitude of children and teenagers across ethnic
groups. We define innovative attitude as a readiness or a
predisposition, organized through experience, exerting a
directive or dynamic influence upon the individual's
response to all objects and situations related to agriculture.
The innovative attitude of children and teenagers includes
their rational belief, compliance belief and innovative
tendency. Understanding this mechanism may open new
perspectives to agricultural extension in terms of target
groups, messages and strategies. Unsatisfactory results
after several decades of agricultural extension in Sub
Saharan African reveal the need for renewals its
approaches.
THEORIETICAL FRAMEWORK
Several educational factors can affect learner’s innovative
attitude. According to Eshach (2007) personal, physical,
social, and instructional factors should be considered as
determinants of learning in non-formal learning. Non
formal education may be more strongly associated with
socio-economic, sex and ethnic group (La Belle, 1982).
Wang et al. (2011) show that children ability to consider
social norms can depend on age, parenting and culture.
Eccles et al. (1993) also reports in the framework of formal
education that learning is for different age and gender
groups. Most studies on African traditional education
indicate that boys and girls were taught separately to
prepare each sex for their adult roles (Baguma and
Aheisibwe, 2011).
Analytic thinking promotes religious disbelief (Gervais and
Norenzayan, 2012) and then rational belief. The
development of analytic thinking can be explained from
two perspectives (Niu et al. 2013). This standpoint argues
that the development of critical thinking relies to a large
extent on people’s preexisting traits (Behar-Horenstein,
2009). A more widely supported point of view is that critical
thinking skills can be taught or learned (Sternberg, 1990).
Many strategies for teaching critical thinking base on
active role of learners in solving real-life problems (Niu et
al. 2013). They are derived from the constructivism
thought which see education as support for autonomous
learning and self-construction of knowledge through
personal work, field visits or social interactions in real life.
Alternate approaches are behaviourism and cognitivism.
Behaviourism is a directive approach which argues that
learning takes place through the adaptation of human
behaviours to the request of the environment through. The
cognitivist perspective suggests supporting the human
being in capturing and organising information through
memory recall, questioning, relation between past and
new knowledge. The famous Bloom taxonomy can be
divided into three cognitive, the affective and the psycho-
motor domains. The cognitive domain is the domain of
knowledge, intellectual abilities and skills. This domain
includes capacity for remembering, reasoning, problem
solving, concept formation and creative thinking
(Wellington, 2007). The cognitive domain seems to be
under the influence of what Bourdieu (1979) refers to as
embodied state of cultural capital defined as states of
mind, long-lasting dispositions of the mind and body,
pronunciation, attitudes and manners, which give the
holder bearing and status.
African educational process is guided to ensure that
children grew up to be socially responsible and productive
members of the community (Okawah, 2002). The
maintenance of culture would be at the core of indigenous
education (Brady, 1997). Because of its focus on the
development of children as a participant in society, non-
formal education is concerned with the learning that leads
the child to acquire values such as loyalty, knowledge and

3. Understanding the Impact of Non-Formal Agricultural Education on Innovative Attitude across Age, Gender and Socio-Professional in Benin
Int. J. Agric. Educ. Ext. 280
skills that are considered appropriate to a person of a
particular sex, age and social group (La Belle, 1982).
African Education does not divide curricular contents into
disciplines such as arts, sciences, agriculture, economics,
arithmetic, etc. although these are implicit in educational
ideas and practices. It integrates skills and knowledge
about all aspects of life into a single curriculum. Content
was not divided into disciplines and practice-oriented
(Nsamenang and Tchombe, 2011). To those arguing the
absence of intellectual training, Gwanfogbe (2011)
responds that imitation, observation and participation used
in non-formal education are indisputably abstract
processes. In non-formal education, teaching methods
included devoted observational and practice learning,
storytelling, proverbs and myths (Baguma and Aheisibwe,
2011). Baguma and Aheisibwe (2011) state that every
member of the community is expected to contribute to the
educational upbringing of children.
These review shows that the way parents consider
children as learners (developmental stages, gender
considerations), parents’ understanding of education
(objectives, contents and process) and acceptance of
social norms with regard to child education can influence
learners’ beliefs and behaviors.
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH APPROACH
The research project was implemented in three main
phases: the exploratory, deep and completion research
phases. During the exploratory phase, potential case
studies (non-formal agricultural education cases) were
explored throughout the country and selected provisionally
three representative non formal agricultural education
systems for deep investigation. These cases studies are
the non formal agricultural education in (i) the pastoralist
Pastoralists communities in Gogounou district in the
northern Benin, (ii) Baatonu farmers’ communities in
Banikoara district in the northern Benin and (iii) Xwela
fishers’ communities in Come district in southern Benin.
The next phase consisted of deep investigation on the
selected non formal agricultural education systems.
Banikoara district is located in North-West Benin. It covers
4,383 km², about 3.9% of the country’s total area. 48% of
the lands in Banikoara are suitable for agriculture. More
than 50% of people work in the agricultural sector.
Agriculture is the main activity in the district which ranks
first in cotton production. Cotton is farmers’ most important
source of money. Women have access to land, even
though they cannot inherit it. In rural areas, 31% of men
own lands while only 12% of women are land owners.
Women have to work first in the farm of her husband
before her own farm. Therefore, they must hire labor to
avoid late sowing. The population of the district is 150,000
inhabitants with the main ethnic groups being Baatonu
(70%) and Pastoralists (23%). Baatonu are farmers. Islam
(52%), Animism (34.5%) and Christianity (8%) are the
most important religions. These religions importantly
influence norms and values of the communities. Children
are increasingly sent to school for formal education.
However, the schooling rate is still low, as farmers and
cattle breeders consider children as important labor.
Pastoralist children, living in remote camps, are much
more concerned by non-schooling than Baatonu children.
In both communities, non-formal education is
predominant.
Come district is located in South-East of the country. The
population of Come is about 60 000 inhabitants. Xwela,
Watchi and Sawxè are the main ethnic groups. Traditional
religions such as Heviosso, Zangbeto, Kocou are deeply
rooted in the district. These divinities are supposed to
guarantee the moral and the observance of rules. The
schooling rate is about 42% for women and 58% for men.
Non formal education is still predominant. The
hydrography is marked by an important watercourse, the
Aheme Lake. Consequently, traditional fishing is one of the
major activities in Come, especially in the
Arrondissements of Agatogbo, Akodeha and Ouedeme-
Xwela. Demographic pressures, non-observance of the
fishing regulation, the desecration of traditional lake
protection norms accelerate the degradation of aquatic
ecosystems in the district. Although women contribute to
farm activity and domestic economy, men control the
decision-making power.
To train a girl how to flake fish or a boy how to fish is
principally the role of parents in Xwela communities.
Although all parents contribute to the education of all
children, females are much closer to their mother and male
to their father. Other family members relay the parents in
their absence. Community members intervene because
children and teenagers usually pay themselves visits. The
parents of one contribute then to the education of the
others. In Baatonu communities, grandparents, parents
and uncles generally live together in the same house and
contribute all strongly to child education. The influence of
the neighborhood is less important. In Pastoralist
communities, most households are located far away from
each other. The contribution of the neighborhood to child
education is sometimes inexistent. Role separation
between both parents is much clearer. The father
essentially takes care of boys and mother of girls. Table 1
presents contents of learning according to age, gender
and ethnic groups.
Our sample includes 491 female and male children (5-10
years) and teenagers (11-15 years) from 88 households
(table 2). Data were collected mainly with a questionnaire.
Independent variables (Table 3) were associated with the
attributes of the interviewees (Ethnic group, Age group,
Sex, Formal education, City visits, Outside learning of
social behaviour, Outside learning of agricultural
techniques), their understanding of education process
(Education process as support to self-construction of
reality, Holism of educational content, Importance of

4. Understanding the Impact of Non-Formal Agricultural Education on Innovative Attitude across Age, Gender and Socio-Professional in Benin
Moumouni-Moussa I. 281
Table 1. Contents of learning according to age, gender and ethnic groups
Children (5-10) Teenagers (11-16)
Males Females Males Females
Fishing
- To go to canoe (7+)
- To swim
- To make small fishing net
- To fish with small fishing net
- Respect, honesty
- To go to canoe
- To swim
- To flake fish
- To smoke fish (8+)
- Respect and honesty
- To make nets
- To fix fishing net
- To fish any kind of fish
- To differentiate fishes
- To know good fishing places
- To fry fishs
- To buy and sell any
water products
- To differentiate fishes
- To fish crabs
Farming
- To sow (numbers of grains
and spaces)
- To pick up harvests
- To weed (6+)
- Respect and shame
- To sow (numbers of
grains and spaces)
- To pick up harvests
- To weed (6+)
- Respect and shame
- To clean farms, sow, weed,
apply fertilizers and pesticides,
harvest for any crop
- To make crop rotation, fallow
- To know soil fertility, seasons
- To know rituals and solidarity
- To clean farms, sow,
weed, apply fertilizers,
harvest for any crop
- To make crop rotation,
fallow
- To know soil fertility,
seasons
- Solidarity, taboos
Husbandry
- To get familiar with
environment
- To handle animals
- To go to pasture around
hamlet (7+)
- To take care of calves
- Respect, pride
- To get familiar with
environment
- To take care of
calves
- To take care of milk
- To go to pasture alone
- To know pasture and watering
places,
- To identify new pastures, water
sources
- To know and prune fodder
trees
- To have road maps
- To water and graze
- To cross road
- To treat some diseases
- To handle animals
- To go to pasture
around hamlet
traditional methods, Acceptance of vocational change,
Appropriate decision-making style), of education
objectives and contents (Social skills development,
Intellectual and practical skills development); and their
adherence to social norms of education (Reciprocity,
Reward principle). Dependent variables were learners’
rational belief, social norm compliance tendency and
innovation tendency (Table 2). Oral consent of the parents
was requested before interviewing children and teenagers.
Table 2. Sample
Districts Gender groups Age groups Total
Males Females Children Teenagers
Gogounou 46 45 50 41 91
Banikoara 98 101 97 102 199
Come 99 102 100 101 201
Total 243 248 247 244 491
Likert scales of four items were used to measure (i)
parents’ understanding of education process of education,
of objectives and contents of education and their
adherence to social norms of education; and (ii) learners’
rational belief, social norm compliance tendency and
Innovation tendency. Reliability of scales has been
established using Cronbach Alpha. Scales were
considered to be reliable when the value of Alpha is higher
than 0.60. Numbers of items were decreased to tree or two
get acceptable reliability levels. To the question “To which
extent do you agree with the following statements about
children and teenagers?” the respondent is invited to
selected the suitable answer out of four possibilities (Agree
not at all, Not agree, Agree, Totally agree). The options
“Agree not at all” and “Not agree” were grouped as low
agreement. “Agree”, “Totally agree” correspond to high
agreement. Binary logistic regressions were run to assess
which factors affect learners’ rational belief, social norm
compliance tendency and Innovation tendency.
Descriptive statistics for independent and dependent
variables are presented in table 4.

5. Understanding the Impact of Non-Formal Agricultural Education on Innovative Attitude across Age, Gender and Socio-Professional in Benin
Int. J. Agric. Educ. Ext. 282
Table 3. Independent and dependant variables and measurements
Factors Variables Types and levels
of variables
Description - Items (* = inverted items) Modalities
Attributes of
children and
teenagers
Ethnic group Categorical - 0 = Farmer
1 = Pastoralist
2 = Fisher
Age group Categorical - 0 = Child
1 = Teenager
Sex Categorical 0 = Male
1 = Female
Formal education Ordinal - 0 = No
1 = Primary
2 = Secondary
City visits Continuous Number of city visit last year -
Outside learning of
social behaviour
Binary - 0 = No
1 = Yes
Outside learning of
agricultural techniques
Binary - 0 = No
1 = Yes
Understanding
of education
process
Education process as
support to self
construction of reality
2 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
Learning together with their peers is not
very effective
It’s not important to let them work together
with their brothers and friends (*)
0 = Low
1 = High
Holism of educational
content
2 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
They did not learn agricultural practices
simultaneously with the related concepts
and social values
Agricultural practices and the related
specific concepts and principles must be
learned as a whole
0 = Low
1 = High
Importance of
traditional methods
2 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
I tell them some important stories
Typically, they learn proverbs meaningful
for agriculture or life
0 = Low
1 = High
Acceptance of
vocational change
4 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
It is interesting that children do as vocation
something different than their parents
The ones who do not follow the vocation of
their parents are not the good ones (*)
They should not do something else different
from the profession of their parents (*)
I give them other vocational possibilities
0 = Low
1 = High
Appropriate decision-
making style
Choice between 5
participation levels
and construction of
binary variable
I expose the situation and call for
suggestions and I decide
I expose the situation and we make
decision together
I expose the situation and ask to my
people to make the decision
When I make decision, I consult my people
and can consider their opinion or not
I make decision as head of the household
and inform my people
0 = Low
1 = High
Objectives and
content of
education
Social skills
development
2 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
I do not talk about social behavior with
them. They have to learn it by themselves
(*)
It is no use for me talking about social
norms and values to them. Anyway, they
will have to learn it somewhere (*)
0 = Low
1 = High
Intellectual /practical
skills development
2 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
They don’t need to know the functioning of
the farming system (*)
I teach them the whole organization of the
farming system
0 = Low
1 = High

6. Understanding the Impact of Non-Formal Agricultural Education on Innovative Attitude across Age, Gender and Socio-Professional in Benin
Moumouni-Moussa I. 283
Table 3 continued. Independent and dependant variables and measurements
Adherence to
common
education
norms
Reciprocity 2 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
If you help somebody, you cannot rely on
him when you will need assistance (*)
I’m please to provide assistance to people
because I can rely next time on them
0 = Low
1 = High
Reward principle 2 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
I can give a gift to any child when he
behaves well
I can compliment any child in the village
when he behaves well
0 = Low
1 = High
Cognitive
system
Rational belief 2 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
If something very bad like a bad harvest
happens, one should not leave it to god, but
try to change its course
If something that one really dislikes
happens, like harvest devastation by
animals or insects, one must accept it as
god will (*)
0 = Low
1 = High
Social norm compliance
tendency
2 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
I will not be well thought of people if I do not
adopt new techniques they have adopted
I will be isolated by other people if I do not
adopt new techniques they have adopted
0 = Low
1 = High
Innovation tendency 3 items Likert scale
and construction of
binary variable
I like new things
We need to change our way of doing
agriculture/fishing/Husbandry
I like being the first to get or adopt new
knowledge in the village
0 = Low
1 = High
Table 4. Descriptive statistics of independent and dependent variables
Factors Variables Modalities Descriptives (%)
Attributes of
children and
teenagers
Socio-professional groups (N=491) 0 = Farmers 40.53%
1 = Breeders 18.53%
2 = Fishers 40.94%
Age group (N=491) 0 = Child 50.31%
1 = Teenager 49.69%
Sex (N=491) 0 = Male 49.49%
1 = Female 50.51%
Formal education (N=485) 0 = No 30.31%
1 = Primary 56.91%
2 = Secondary 12.78%
City visits (N=487) Mean 2.30
Min 0
Max 65
Outside learning of social behaviour (N=485) 0 = No 48.87%
1 = Yes 51.13%
Outside learning of agricultural techniques 0 = No 71.75%
1 = Yes 28.25%
Understanding of
education
process
Education process as support to self-construction of
reality (N=483)
0 = Low 54.04%
1 = High 45.96%
Holism of educational content (N=472) 0 = Low 40.25%
1 = High 59.75%
Importance of traditional methods (N=469) 0 = Low 62.27%
1 = High 37.73%
Acceptance of vocational change (N=482) 0 = Low 48.55%
1 = High 51.45%
Appropriate decision-making style (N=478) 0 = Low 48.12%
1 = High 51.88%
Objectives and
content of
education
Social skills development (N=476) 0 = Low 39.29%
1 = High 60.71%
Intellectual/practical skills development (N=455) 0 = Low 63.74%
1 = High 36.26%

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Int. J. Agric. Educ. Ext. 284
Table 4 continued. Descriptive statistics of independent and dependent variables
Adherence to
common
education norms
Reciprocity (N=468) 0 = Low 64.53%
1 = High 35.47%
Reward principle (N=472) 0 = Low 42.58%
1 = High 57.42%
Cognitive system Rational belief (464)
Norm compliance tendency (467)
Innovation tendency (430)
0 = Low 62.93%
1 = High 37.07%
0 = Low 59.96%
1 = High 40.04%
0 = Low 62.09 %
1 = High 37.91 %
RESULTS
The results of the logit models are presented in Table 5.
For all the three models, the null-hypothesis that all
variables can be dropped is rejected at less than the 1%
level of significance, although the pseudo R2 is low,
especially for the compliance belief model. The signs and
significance levels of most of the variables are almost
similar in the three models (Table 5).
Table 5. Binomial logistic regressions
Factors Variables (N) Rational
belief
Compliance
belief
Innovation
tendency
Attributes of
children and
teenagers
Farmers (491)
Breeders (491)
Fishers (491)
-1.937**
-
-3.020***
-0.700
-1.380
-
1.346
-
1.924*
Age group (491) 0.287 0.051 0.425*
Sex (491) -0.256 -0.366 -0.080
Formal education (485) -0.044 -0.263 0.125
City visits (487) -0.056 -0.062** 0.019
Outside learning of social behaviour (485) -0.281 -0.321 0.012
Outside learning of agricultural techniques
(485)
0.552 0.203 -0.342
Understanding of
education
process
Education process as support to self
construction of reality (483)
-3.326 0.202 0.668***
Holism of educational content (472) 0.317 1.851** -0.228
Importance of traditional methods (469) 0.329 0.129 -0.050
Acceptance of vocational change (482) -0.297 0.280 0.518*
Appropriate decision making style (478) 0.821 0.046 -0.154
Objectives and
content of
education
Social skills development (476) 0.437 0.872** 0.376
Intellectual/practical skills development (455) 0.177 -0.454 0.342
Adherence to
collective norms
Reciprocity (468) 0.751** -0.095 -0.245
Reward principle (472) -0.264 0.064 -0.130
Constant
Number of obs.
LR chi2(16)
Prob. > chi2
Pseudo R2
0.603 -1.107 -2.113
383 378 358
292.58 198.87 83.49
0.000 0.000 0.000
0.76 0.53 0.70
*, ** and *** significant at the 10, 5 and 1% levels respectively
The signs and significance levels of most of the variables
are not too similar in the three models meaning that the
three dimensions of learners’ innovative attitude (rational
and compliance beliefs and tendency for innovation) were
shaped differently. Therefore, the variables associated
with the attributes of children and teenagers, their parents’
understanding of education objectives, content and
process and their adherence to collective norms affect
differently the innovative attitude of children and
teenagers.
Rational belief
Ethnic group and acceptance of reciprocity principle in
education are both social characteristics of parents which
influence the rational belief and capacity for rational
thinking of children and teenagers. Breeders’ kids tend to
develop more rational beliefs than others. The behaviour
of children and teenagers after doing mistake when they
see their parents tells us about. Breeders’ and fishers’
children and teenagers tend more to talk to their parents

8. Understanding the Impact of Non-Formal Agricultural Education on Innovative Attitude across Age, Gender and Socio-Professional in Benin
Moumouni-Moussa I. 285
without much fear. Farmers’ children and teenagers run
away. In addition, the adherence of parents to social norms
with respect to education influences learners. Parents who
accept the contribution of the neighbourhood or villagers
in educating their children and teenagers make it possible
for them to experience different ways of thinking or doing.
This develops rational thinking capacity.
Compliance belief
Parents’ understanding of educational objective (social
skill development) and process (wholiticism and possibility
for city visits) influences the compliance belief of their
children and teenagers. The content of education impact
children and teenagers’ compliance beliefs. The more the
content is holist; the more likely are learners to be
compliant. Compared to the other socio-professional
groups, fishers accept more easily that their youth
embraces other vocation than their own (fishing). Due to
the scarcity of aquatic resources, fishers encourage their
youth to look for more productive or promising activities. In
educating their children, emphasis is put on social skill
development, breaking down the wholiticism of the content
of education. Farmers and breeders apply more the
principle of wholiticism, combining both practical and
technical contents. When the parents put emphasis on
social skill development as objective of the education, in
fisher communities for instance, compliance beliefs tend to
evolve in children and teenagers. In general, children and
teenagers who frequently visit cities tend to be less
compliant than the others.
Innovative behaviour
Cultural (understanding of education process as support to
self-construction of reality, acceptance of vocational
change) and social (ethnic group) attributes of parents
influence children and teenagers’ tendency for innovation.
Fishers’ kids tend to be more innovative. Because of
environmental constraints, Xwela people encourage
vocational change more. Then, education process
becomes just a support to the youth for self-construction of
own reality. Their children and teenagers get better chance
to develop innovative behaviour more than the others. In
general, teenagers are more innovative than children
DISCUSSION
How conservative is current African non formal education?
Non-formal education contributes severally to the
development of life skills and personal development
among male and female (Asiyai 2018). Our study shows
that children and teenagers’ innovative attitude in terms of
rational and compliance beliefs and tendency for
innovation are different across socio-professional groups.
These results confirm that non-formal education is a part
of general education, which gives people the required tools
for cognition and creativity (Ivanova 2017). However, they
result question the traditional thinking that the
maintenance of culture is at the core of traditional
education in Africa (Brady, 1997). Many authors diversely
describe indigenous education as an element of social
reproduction and renewal essential for the progress of any
country (Ki-Zerbo 1990). Based on intergenerational
communication this education would promote the smooth
transmission and continuous preservation of the values
and traditions of a society from one generation to the other
(Boateng, 1983). According to Bray et al. (1986), African
non formal education aims normative goals by instilling the
accepted standards and beliefs governing correct
behaviour. Banda (2002) also supports that the principal
objectives of this education includes the transmission and
conservation of the accumulated wisdom of the family, the
clan and the ethnic group. Baguma and Aheisibwe (2011)
even argue that this traditional education system is similar
in most African countries. This standpoint refers to as the
principle of perennialism (Ocitti, 1971; Adeyemi and
Adeyinka 2003) argues that every skill, knowledge or
attitude learnt in such an education system aims at
protecting or ensuring successful reproduction of the
community needs to be shaded.
Does the principle of wholiticism of African non formal
education resist to global change?
Because it focuses on the development of children as a
participant in society, non-formal education supports the
child in acquiring values such as loyalty, knowledge and
skills that are considered appropriate to a person of a
particular sex, age and social group (La Belle, 1982). In
Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia or elsewhere
in Africa, non-formal education of children and teenagers
would involve intellectual, physical and attitudinal training
in order to develop fully into acceptable adults, socially
responsible and productive members of the community
(Okawah, 2002; Banda, 2002; Baguma and Aheisibwe,
2011). African education does not divide contents into
disciplines although these are implicit in educational ideas
and practices. It integrates skills and knowledge about all
aspects of life into a single curriculum. In non-formal
education, teaching methods included devoted
observational and practice learning, storytelling, proverbs
and myths (Ocitti, 1971; Adeyemi and Adeyinka 2003;
Baguma and Aheisibwe, 2011). This point of view is
described by Ocitti (1971) and relayed by Adeyemi and
Adeyinka (2003) as principle of wholisticism supports that
non-formal education promotes multiple learning for the
learner to be able to undertake a multitude of occupations.
This standpoint may be moderated. Our study shows that
under environmental constraints, rural communities can
encourage their children and teenagers to embrace other
promising activities they are not qualified to initiate them
to. In such a context, non-formal education emphasizes
social aspect of learning, breaking down the wholiticism of
the content. Non formal education influences value
orientation in culture-specific ways (Feng et al. 2019).
while non-formal educational programs have some effect

9. Understanding the Impact of Non-Formal Agricultural Education on Innovative Attitude across Age, Gender and Socio-Professional in Benin
Int. J. Agric. Educ. Ext. 286
on adolescents’ psychosocial outcomes, integrated
interventions involving all components of young person’s
ecosystem (i.e., family, school, community) might be more
effective in affecting youth agency (Karimli 2019)
CONCLUSION
The objective of this study was to understand how non
formal agricultural education impact on innovative attitude
of children and teenagers - in terms of rational belief,
compliance belief and innovative tendency - across socio-
professional groups. Results show that children and
teenagers’ innovative attitude in terms of rational and
compliance beliefs and tendency for innovation are
different across socio-professional groups. These results
question the traditional thinking that the maintenance of
culture is at the core of traditional education in Africa.
Moreover, under environmental constraints, rural
communities can encourage their children and teenagers
to embrace other promising activities they are not qualified
to initiate them to. In such a context, non-formal education
emphasizes social aspect of learning, breaking down the
wholiticism of the content. From a practical point of view,
the results of this study open new perspective to
agricultural extension that focuses only on the
dissemination of agricultural technology or innovation.
Supporting farmers’ capacity building, i.e training of
agricultural youth, is crucial to having children well-
prepared enough for agriculture works.
In view of these results, understanding the impact of non-
formal agricultural education approaches on children and
teenagers’ cognitive processes would shed more light on
innovative behaviour establishment. In addition, it may of
interest to investigate parents make choices on non-formal
agricultural education across socio-professional groups.
This may help to design educational support programs for
them to make appropriate decisions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author would like to thank the Alexander von
Humboldt Foundation for having supported this study
which has been done during his postdoctoral studies at the
Faculty of Organic Agriculture, University of Kassel at
Witzenhausen, Germany. The contribution of Prof Ulf
Liebe was key in this research.
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Accepted 18 November 2019
Citation: Moumouni-Moussa I (2019). Understanding the
Impact of Non-Formal Agricultural Education on Innovative
Attitude across Age, Gender and Socio-Professional in
Benin. International Journal of Agricultural Education and
Extension, 5(3): 278-287.
Copyright: © 2019 Moumouni-Moussa I. This is an open-
access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original author and source are cited.