Adult/Community Education E-Archive

Adult/Community Education E-Archive

Erin Rusher and Petra Davison, Ball State University

Erin commented on: Group 3 and 4

Petra commented on: Group 1 and 3

Roles: Petra designed the multi-media presentation. Erin wrote the paper.

website blog is: http://davisonpetra72.wix.com/edac-631-final-

The Significance of Adult Education

The History

•    The historical evolution of educational movements, the rise and fall of celebrated adult education institutions, as well as policies and reforms have to be seen in the context of the broader dynamics of social change and conflict. By the early twentieth century, adult education had become the fastest-growing educational sector in the United States (Rubenson, 2006).

•    The first study of adult education in the United States, initiated by the Carnegie Corporation in 1924, resulted in the formation of the American Association for Adult Education (AAAE) in 1926.  The purpose of the AAAE was to advance lifelong learning; serve as a central forum for a variety of adult-education interest groups; influence local, state, and regional adult-education efforts; monitor legislation; conduct special studies; and maintain a speakers’ bureau (Rubenson, 2006).

•    From its early beginnings, a defining character of the evolving field has been its strong international dimension built around shared values and aspirations.  This has positioned adult education as an international movement in order to combat inequalities, support democracy, and promote cultural and social democratic development (Duke, 1994). 

Leading Adult Educators

•    Adult educators have broad aspirations for the entire adult education field; they have a high regard for professionalism, specialized academic preparation for their work, and a concern for the coordination of the field (Griffith, 1989).

•    Loretta C. Ford, RN, EdD, PNP, FAAN, FAANP,  was a public health nurse, as well as a founding Dean of the University Of Rochester School Of Nursing. She implemented the unification model of practice, education, and research. During her tenure, the education mission of the School of Nursing also expanded beyond the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs to provide both doctoral and post-doctoral training (University of Rochester, 2011). Loretta is credited with being the mother of the Nurse Practitioner movement.

•    Shirley Sears Chater, RN, PhD, FAAN, was the first woman nurse president at Texas Woman’s University, the first woman assistant vice chancellor at the University of California, and the first woman nurse commissioner of the Social Security Administration for the United States with the responsibility of 62,000 employees.

•    Shirley envisioned opportunities for expansion and growth at TWU, and accomplished this through a number of new start-up programs. Increasing diversity on campus was an important area of focus. She selected a strong team to put several programs in place to honor women of different ethnic groups. Young girls were encouraged to become interested in math and science through the use of summer camps sponsored by TWU. Another program enabled single mothers to bring their children to live on campus while the mothers worked part-time jobs and held scholarships through school.

•    Large numbers of adult educators and learners have been rendered invisible to mainstream adult education by who they are (women, minorities, the disabled, homosexuals, and the elderly) and by what they do (community-based educators, popular educators, community activists, non formal educators, social activists, and radicals). These realities, coupled with an emergence of tools in the form of critical theory, postmodernism, and radical, feminist, and race theory, has at least increased awareness of the existence of previously marginalized, silenced, and unacknowledged people (Merriam & Brockett, 2007).

Unique Adult Education Programs

•    1 in 31 Americans is in jail, prison, on probation or on parole. Nationwide, as many as half of those released end up back in prison within three years (The New York Times, 2014). A high correlation exists between the level of education attained by an incarcerated person and his/her recidivism rate. The presence (or absence) of a degree has far-reaching implications for the employment opportunities available to formerly incarcerated people reintegrating into society. Gainful employment is one of the defining characteristics of successful reentry and readjustment into society (Prison Studies Project, 2014).

•    The Prison Studies Project (PSP) was established to promote informed conversation about the challenges of mass incarceration through an interdisciplinary approach committed to education and policy change (Prison Studies Project, 2014). The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) creates the opportunity for incarcerated men and women to earn a Bard College degree while serving their sentences. By challenging incarcerated men and women with a liberal education, BPI works to redefine the relationship between educational opportunity and criminal justice (BPI, 2014).

•    By participating in a prison education program, students discover new strength and direction, often fundamentally rethinking their relationship to themselves, their communities, and the world in which they live (i.e. transformation theory). Returning home with confidence and hope, participants are able to find and hold satisfying jobs in a range of fields, prepared to lead productive and fulfilling lives. PSP and BPI offer education programs (associate’s and bachelor’s degrees) within prison walls in order to provide a realistic opportunity for ex-convicts to assume the responsibility of returning to general society as better parents, neighbors, and citizens (BPI, 2014).

•    Higher education in prison programs reduces recidivism, which translates into reduction in crime, savings to taxpayers, and long-term contributions to the safety and well-being of the communities to which the formerly incarcerated return.

Important Adult Education Organizations

•    An organization's commitment to and capacity for learning can be no greater than that of its members. Building an organization that can truly learn cannot be accomplished without developing a learning culture where people can learn and think. Learning is a continuous, strategically used process, integrated with and running parallel to work. Learning is built into work planning, career paths, and performance awards (Watkins & Marsick, 1993).

•    American College Personnel Association (ACPA) is the leading comprehensive student affairs association that advances student affairs and engages students for a lifetime of learning and discovery (ACPA, 2014). ACPA supports and fosters college student learning through the generation and dissemination of knowledge, which informs policies, practices and programs for student affairs professionals and the higher education community (ACPA, 2014).

•    The National Association of Student Personnel Administration (NASPA)’s mission is to be the principal source of leadership, scholarship, professional development, and advocacy for student affairs. NASPA is the leading voice for the student affairs profession worldwide. They follow four guiding principles: 1) Integrity – committed to high moral principles exhibiting authentic, honest, just, and ethical behavior; 2) Innovation – continuously seeking improvement through new and creative approaches; 3) Inclusion – seeking ways to ensure access, voice, acknowledgement, opportunity, and participation at all levels; and 4) Inquiry – supporting research and scholarship to add to the knowledge base of the profession and ensure that data informs practice.

•    A core value of both the ACPA and the NASPA is honoring diversity, multicultural competence and human dignity. The concepts of diversity include being aware of personal bias, valuing the differences in human interaction, and fostering inclusiveness (NASPA, 2014).

Adult Education from Our Perspective

            Adult education is an important domain in the context of social change. Breaking the white, middle-class monopoly of adult education’s “official” knowledge base is key to redefining the professional field of practice (Merriam & Brockett, 2007). Important segments in adult education must not go unnoticed, i.e. women’s education, civil rights movements, and immigrant and labor education. Forming a cohesive practice of adult education amongst all adult educators would be one way to unify the field. The professionalization of adult education would allow any adult educator to share their vision within one body of knowledge, including key principles, theories, and specific areas of practice. From a global perspective, as the cultural landscape of society continues to evolve, so will the definition of adult education.

References

ACPA – College Student Educators International (2014). Who we are. Retrieved from http://www.acpa.nche.edu

Bard Prison Initiative (2014). BPI: Bard Prison Initiative. Retrieved from http://bpi.bard.edu/faqs

Duke, C. (1994).  Research in adult education - Current trends and future agenda. In Mauch, W. (Ed.), World Trends in Adult Education Research, pp 7-12. Hamburg: UNESCO Institute of Education.

Griffith, W. S. (1989). Has adult and continuing education fulfilled its early promise? In B. A. Quigley (Ed.), Fulfilling the promise of adult and continuing education. New Directions for Continuing Education, No. 44. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Merriam, S. B., & Brockett, R. G. (2007). The profession and practice of adult education. San Franciso: Jossey-Bass.

NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (2014). The leading voice for the student affairs profession worldwide. Retrieved from http://www.naspa.org

Prison Studies Project (2014). Prison Studies Project: Teaching, Research, Outreach. Retrieved from http://prisonstudiesproject.org

Rubenson, K. (2006).  The Nordic model of lifelong learning.  Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education 36(3), 327-341.

The New York Times (2014). Gov Cuomo’s bold step on prison education. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/opinion/gov-cuomos-bold-step-on-prison-education.html

University of Rochester Medical Center (2011). School of nursing founding Dean Loretta C. Ford named to national women’s hall of fame. Retrieved from www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/index.cfm?id=3135

Watkins, K. E., & Marsick, V. J. (1993). Sculpting the learning organization: Lessons in the art and science of systemic change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.