An assessment of the functional literacy needs of adolescent inmates in the Borstal Home in Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the literacy needs of adolescent inmates in the Ilorin Borstal Home. The descriptive study of the cross-sectional survey type was employed in the study. The target population consisted of all adolescent inmates, as at the time this research was carried out, in the Borstal Home in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. All 141 sampled adolescent inmates were purposively selected. The researcher-designed questionnaire was analysed using percentage, mean, the t-test, and the One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at a 0.05 alpha level. A reliability coefficient of r = 0.81 was obtained. The outcome revealed that cultural and economic literacy functions were ranked as the most essential by the adolescent inmates. Besides, religion and ethnic background were not significant factors in determining the literacy needs of the adolescent inmates of the Borstal Home in Ilorin. Conversely, inmates’ parental level of education was a factor that significantly influenced the adolescent inmates’ perceived literacy needs. It was, therefore, recommended for Borstal Home students, their parents, and the warders that cultural literacy functions such as moving closer to one’s Creator and learning good habits from fellow students were among the most crucial functions for which literacy could be employed.