History of Adult/Community Education

I commented on group 1 and 3; however group 1 blog wouldn't allow me to comment so I posted under blackboard group 1 blog work space.

Petra Davison

EDAC 631

History of Adult Education

January 27, 2014

Ball State University

The modern forms of adult education and learning have their roots in the modernization of industrial process and the resulting far-reaching changes to society that took place in the later nineteenth and early twentieth century (Rubenson, 2006).  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 (Rubenson, 2006).  The second part of the nineteenth and the first part of the twentieth century saw a marked increase in educational activities for adults in Europe and North America (Rubenson, 2006).  Kidd and Titmus (1989) noted that these were perceived as discrete activities rather than part of a coherent field of adult education.  By the early twentieth century, adult education had become the fastest-growing educational sector in the United States (Rubenson, 2006). 

This created the urgency to form national associations of adult education and saw a gradual move to a professionalization of the field.   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 in 1926 (Rubenson, 2006).  The purpose of the American Association for Adult Education (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). 

In Europe, the formation of adult-education association originally had less to do with developing a professional orientation but was instead aimed at bringing adult education to the working class and others; for example, women previously denied access to education (Duke, 1994).  A primary example of this is the mechanics institutes and the Association for the Higher Education of Working Men formed in 1903, and renamed as the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) in 1905 (Duke, 1994).    The WEA movement quickly spread to Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, where adult education became seen as an essential tool for encouraging new immigrants to contribute to their new society (Duke, 1994). 

A sign of a maturing field of adult education has been the mushrooming of local, regional, and world organizations (Duke, 1994).  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 promoting adult education as a way to combat inequalities, support democracy, and promote cultural and social democratic development (Duke, 1994). 

Since adult education began to emerge as a field, there have been discussions about what terminology to use to describe the enterprise as well as about its definition.  Selman and Dampier (1991) noted that different terms are used for the same thing and people doing similar work may refer to this a community education, adult training, literacy extension, or adult education.  Similarly, the terminology differs from country to country depending on historical circumstances (Selman and Dampier, 1991).  Over the years, different definitions of the term adult education have appeared.  The most commonly used definition is presently the one adopted by UNESCO (1976) and reads in abbreviated form, “The term adult education denotes the entire body of organized educational processes, whatever the content level and method, whether formal or otherwise, whether they prolong or replace initial education in schools, colleges, and universities as well as in apprenticeship, whereby persons regarded as adult by the society to which they belong develop their abilities, enrich their knowledge, improve their technical or professional qualifications or  turn them in a new direction and bring about changes to their attitudes or behaviors in the twofold perspective of the independent social, economic, and cultural development, adult education, however must not be considered as an entity in itself, it is a sub-division, and an integral part of, a global scheme for lifelong education and learning”.

Darkenwald and Merriam (1982, p.9) state “adult education is a process whereby persons whose major social roles are characteristic of adult status undertake systemic and sustained learning activities for the purpose of bringing about changes in knowledge, attitudes, values, and skills”.  Thus, adult education refers to “activities intentionally designed for the purpose of bringing about learning among those whose age, social roles, and self-perception define them as adults” (Merriam and Brockett, 1997, p. 8).   According to this view, it is not age that defines someone as an adult, but the social roles that the person is carrying out.  However, it is difficult to maintain this definition; not all adults talking part in adult education are adults in terms of social roles and function, it is commonly pointed out that participants in adult education is not always a volunteer act but it is more commonly becoming something an adult has to do to keep their work or become eligible for certain benefits, and attempts to separate adult learners from first-time students attending regular school or university are also becoming more blurred.  The traditional pattern of study has changed and with an increasing number of students moving in and out of the educational system and the labor market, it is difficult to identify who is in the first cycle of studies and who is a recurrent learner (Rubenson, 2006). 

The embracement of lifelong learning, in its broad or restrictive meaning, results in a shift from the concept of adult education to adult learning, result in further proliferation of the terminology in use (Rubenson, 2006).  Today a distinction is being made between three basic categories of settings where purposeful learning activity takes place (European Commission, 2000); formal learning, non-formal learning, and informal learning.  Formal learning typically takes place in an education or training institution; it is structured and leads to certification.  Formal learning is intentional from the learner’s perspective (Smith, 1999, 2001).  Non-informal learning is learning that is not provided by an education or training institution and typically does not lead to certification.  It is, however, structured (in terms of learning objectives, learning time, or learning support) and may be provided in the workplace and through the activities of civil-society organizations and groups.  Non-informal learning is intentional from the learner’s perspective (Smith, 1999, 2001).  Informal learning results from daily life activities related to work, family or leisure.  It is not structured and typically does not lead to certification.  Informal learning may be intentional but in most cases it is non-intentional (Smith, 1999, 2001).   While policy documents overwhelmingly subscribe to definitions to adult learning that broadly correspond to those presented by the European Communities’ policy documents, the scholarly literature contains many different and competing definitions and questions the advisability of trying to seek clear definitional distinctions between the three concepts (Rubenson, 2006).  Others warn that the tendency to substitute learning for education can de-politicize the field and move the focus away from broader issues such as equity, the role of the state, policy, and resources that are central when addressing issues of democracy and equality (Duke, 1994; Rubenson, 2006). 

A full appreciation of adult education and learning requires that they be seen in their socioeconomic, political, and cultural contexts (Rubenson, 2006).  In a historical perspective, the idea of modernization provides an insight into the changing institutional realities and conceptual meaning of adult education and learning (Rubenson, 2006).  The period between the late 1950s and the present day can be regarded as the fourth and significantly complex formative period which has fundamentally reshaped the organization of adult educational institutions and practices, especially in the global context (Hake, van Gent, & Katus, 2004).  On the one hand, the end of World War II lead to the emergence of national independence movements in the remnants of the British and French empires in Africa and Asia.  This process of contested decolonization involved the recognition of a new role for adult education in nation building and economic development in the Third World which was driven by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) and its institutes (Hake et al., 2004).  A series of world conferences, namely Montreal (1960), Tokyo (1972), Paris (1985), and Hamburg (1997) focused on the role of adult education in postcolonial nations (Hake et al., 2004).  The emphasis upon the importance of literacy for development gave rise to the repression of emancipation movements in many countries in South and Central America (Hake et al., 2004).  On the other hand, the end of World War II gave rise in Europe to the Soviet hegemony in the Baltic, Balkan, and Central European countries.  Adult education was put to work there in the service of the communist revolution and priority, especially in terms of the access of adults to higher education, was given to party members, women, the military, workers, and farmers (Hake et al., 2004). 

In Western Europe, and elsewhere in the English speaking world, the late 1960s and 1970s were marked by the development of compensatory educational opportunities for adults.  This involved second chance and second way adult education, with an emphasis upon outreach work to the nonparticipants in adult education, which was associated with the development of non-formal and informal community based forms of adult learning (Hake et al., 2004).  In addition to the rapid expansion of evening and day institutes for adults during this period, there was a major expansion of distance learning for adults and in particular the establishment of open universities worldwide (Hake et al., 2004).  Important policy concepts at international and national levels during this period referred to lifelong, permanent, and recurrent education in terms of redistribution of educational opportunities throughout the life span (Hake et al., 2004). 

The field of adult education is very broad and does not allow itself to be neatly organized within strict boundaries.  While scholars are engaged in debates on what constitutes the field of adult education and how the scholarly field should evolve, adult learning has become a way of life for a large majority of the population in the industrialized world and is increasingly spreading in the developing world. 

References

Darkenwalk, G. and Merriam, S. (1982). Adult Education: Foundations of Practice. New York: Harper and Row.

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.

European Commission (2000). A Memorandum on Lifelong Learning.  Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Commission.

Hake, B.J., van Gent, B., and Katus, J. (eds.) (2004). Adult Education and Globalisation: Past and Present.  Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

Kidd, J.R. and Titmus, C.J. (1989). Introduction. In Titmus, C.J. (ed.) Lifelong Education for Adults. An International Handbook, pp 23-39. Oxford: Pergamon.

Merriam, S. and Brockett, R. (1997).  The Profession and Practice of Adult Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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

Selman, G. and Dampier, P. (1991). Adult Education in Canada. Toronto: Thompson Educational.

Smith, M. (1999, 2001): “Non-informal education” in infed, the encyclopedia of informal education http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-nonfor.htm

UNESCO (1976). Recommendations on the Development of Adult Education. Paris: UNESCO.

Adult/Community Education from 1920 – 1929

Erin Rusher, Ball State University

Abstract: The history of adult education in its practical application can be traced back to
the 1920s, when this type of learning became an official practice. This paper will review
the social background of the decade, the significant events of adult education in the
1920s, influential factors on the development of adult education, and future implications
from this period of time.

Introduction

In the 1920s, Americans were “weary of being noble” after a decade of intense
progressive reform, morality, and self-righteousness. The 1920s saw a restless culture,
spearheaded by America’s youth rebelling against the moral restrictions of past generations
(Jarmul, 2006). This decade is commonly known as the “Roaring Twenties” as it brought a
feeling of freedom and independence to millions of Americans, especially young Americans.
Young soldiers returned from World War I with new ideas. They began to challenge some of the
old traditions of their parents and grandparents (Jarmul, 2006). With new social thinking and
activities came new social conventions. Sex became far less taboo and it was more openly
discussed, fueling the promotion of birth control. The sexual revolution brought with it changing
ideas about women (SparkNotes, 2011). Women began to wear new clothes that no longer hid
the shape of their bodies, smoke cigarettes, and drink with men in public for the first time
(Jarmul, 2006). Buoyed by the decade’s prosperity, young people threw parties, drank illegal
liquor, and danced new, sexually suggestive steps out in the open. Dances like the Fox Trot and
the Charleston were commonplace as a new sound began to emerge, one that was about to
transform the current culture (SparkNotes, 2011).

The Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance

The 1920s saw the emergence of African American culture in the arts. In music, black
culture expressed itself through jazz, an improvisational and spontaneous musical form. The
character of the music was associated with the “loose” morals and relaxed social codes of the
time (SparkNotes, 2011). Black literature gained momentum in the Northeast, especially in the
New York City borough of Harlem. Black artists explored the African American perspective
through poetry and novels. Harlem was the site of social and intellectual activity as influential
and lasting black authors, artists, and musicians received their first serious critical appraisal. This
group included Langston Hughes, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and Alain
Locke (Whitley, 2011).

A Decade of Prosperity

The very nature of consumerism changed during this period as new products filled the
market. Electrical appliances rapidly grew popular as electricity reached almost two-thirds of
American homes by the mid-1920s (SparkNotes, 2011). The vast reach of the newly invented
radio created a national market and spurred advertising to unprecedented levels, as well as bring
new ideas and experiences into their own living rooms. Industry benefited from the consolidation
of large firms, assembly line manufacturing, professional management, and installment buying
and credit programs (SparkNotes, 2011). Many people had extra money to spend on things other
than food, housing, and other basic necessities. The automobile gave millions of Americans the
freedom to travel easily to new places and broaden their horizons (Jarmul, 2006). In the fall of
1929, the New York Stock Exchange was more active than it had ever been. Economists
predicted a permanent high plateau (Whitley, 2011).

The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments

The Eighteenth Amendment, which made it illegal to manufacture, sell, or transport
alcoholic beverages, went into effect in January 1920 (SparkNotes, 2011). Enforcement of
prohibition faced significant opposition in many states as bootleggers smuggled liquor and
speakeasies in every city provided alcohol. Organized crime controlled the distribution of
alcohol in major American cities, and gangsters such as Al Capone made a fortune. Prohibition
was repealed in 1933. This unsuccessful act brought about much of the flavor of the “Roaring
Twenties”.
The Nineteenth Amendment was passed in August 1920, which gave American women
the right to vote. Of equal importance, many women took jobs during the war and continued
working after the troops returned home (SparkNotes, 2011). New machines freed them from
spending long hours in the home, washing clothes and preparing food. Women had a newfound
sense of independence. Now that many of them were wage earners, they were able to buy new,
inexpensive fashion as the status symbol aspect of clothing was losing its importance and class
distinctions were becoming blurred (Whitley, 2011). America moved ahead of other countries in
mass production of contemporary clothing style for women (Whitley, 2011).

Entertainment and Popular Culture

The 1920s saw the growth of popular recreation, in part because of higher wages and
increased leisure time. Just as automobiles were mass-produced, so was recreation (SparkNotes,
2011). Movies were the most popular leisure attraction, making stars out of Charlie Chaplin,
Rudolph Valentino, and Gloria Swanson. In 1927, movies began to include sound and in 1928,
Steamboat Willy was released as the first animated sound film. Professional sports gained a new
popularity as well. The single greatest sports hero of the time was the baseball player, Babe
Ruth. Babe Ruth could hit a baseball farther than any other human being (Jarmul, 2011).
However, the most popular icon of the 1920s was neither a movie star nor a sports hero, it was
Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh was the first man in history to fly an airplane across the Atlantic
Ocean without stopping (Whitley, 2011). President Calvin Coolidge greeted the young man
when he returned to Washington D.C. Americans liked Lindbergh because he was brave, quiet,
and handsome and seemed to represent everything that was best about the United States (Jarmul,
2006).

Highlights

Prior to 1924, the term “adult education” was not used in the United States (Houle, 1992).
In 1921, The National Education Association became interested in adult education and
established the Department of Immigrant Education (Merriam and Brockett, 1997). In 1924, after
broadening its scope, its name was changed to the Department of Adult Education (NEA/DAE).
By 1927, it included members from public school adult education, and any person engaged in
teaching, supervising, or administering programs of adult education, under private or public
auspices (Knowles, 1960).
In 1923, Frederick P. Keppel, President of the Carnegie Corporation, envisioned an
agency that could unify the field of adult education through concerning itself with the problem of
adult education as a whole (Henschke, 2007). By 1925 and early 1926, a series of regional
conferences was called by the Carnegie Corporation to consider organizing a new national
organization for adult education. During each of these conferences, prevailing (although not
unanimous) sentiment was expressed for forming a national organization (Henschke, 2007).
Consequently, on March 26, 1926, the American Association for Adult Education (AAAE) was
established at a national conference organizational meeting in Chicago (Knowles, 1960). The
next ten years saw the Carnegie Corporation making grants totaling just under $3 million through
AAAE to organizations that engaged in adult education (Kett, 1994; Knowles, 1994). Major
functions of the AAAE were to conduct research, experimental projects, and other such activities
that would advance adult education. It published the Journal of Adult Education to disseminate
information about adult education and to promote the use of the term adult education, hoping to
bring coherence to the field by giving it a name (Sticht, 2002).
Many additional adult education activities, often funded by the Carnegie Corporation,
took place during the 1920s and the 1930s. Literacy programs for new immigrants were
common; a permanent Board on Library Adult Education was established and published a
regular newsletter on adult education activities; discussion groups on contemporary topics were
regular events (Killacky, 1983). A number of major library leaders made repeated efforts to
install adult education as a central library function. The first history of adult education urged that
libraries go far beyond the book service function. It was urged for librarians to act as guides and
teachers to all adults, to persuade adults to come and ask what they should read, to quiz them on
their progress, and advise them from day to day (Killacky, 1983).

Influential Factors

Education was an important force behind the social changes of the 1920s. The post-
World War I baby boom led to dramatic increases in the numbers of students attending school
and a marked rise in the demand for teachers (American Decades, 2001). American universities
and colleges, both public and private, experienced a surge in enrollment. Social and economic
factors produced such phenomena as the “Red Scare” (fear of a rise in communism), religious
controversy, and political strife, which in turn influenced education in the United States. New
classes in the sciences, physical education, home economics, geography, and industrial arts
expanded the curriculum from the traditional focus of years past (American Decades, 2001).
The movement from the farm to the cities and suburbs and the development of the
motorcar supported a national movement toward school-district reorganization. Particularly
noteworthy programs for school reorganization were begun in New York State in 1925 and in
Arkansas in 1928 (American Decades, 2001). By the end of the 1920s the number of publicschool
districts had been reduced by consolidation to approximately 130,000. Simultaneously,
the average number of school days in session per year increased from 161.9 to 172.7 (American
Decades, 2001).
New teaching methods also arose during this decade. The Dalton Plan and the Contract
Plan enjoyed worldwide and enduring popularity (still used in the mid-1990s) (American
Decades, 2001). The Dalton Plan required students to work on long-term individualized projects
in a laboratory setting; the Contract Plan emphasized an individualized assignment agreed to by
student and teacher in a written contract. This contract defined requirements to be fulfilled in
order to earn a particular letter grade (American Decades, 2001). Both plans emphasized
individualized instruction and student responsibility.
In the latter part of the nineteenth century there was a growing concern among civic
groups and state and federal policymakers about the large influx of illiterate immigrants into the
country. For the millions of illiterate foreign-born, the idea arose to “Americanize” them in
immigrant education programs (Sticht, 2002). In 1920, the NEA formed a Department of
Immigrant Education to provide professional members working in the Americanization
movement with assistance. As the movement for adult education began to spread, the NEA in
1924 changed the name from the Department of Immigrant Education to the Department of
Adult Education and broadened its mandate beyond concern for immigrant education to include
adult education in general (Knowles, 1977).

Implications

The decade from 1920 – 1929 saw an upheaval of conservative, restrictive, and religious
morality into a fresh, relaxed, independent atmosphere of a new America. People from all races,
ethnicities, and both genders were allowed to express themselves in new ways and offered
additional opportunities for success. This decade marks the formal birth of adult education as a
professionally recognized concept in the United States (Killacky, 1983). The entire mentality of
educating adults underwent a major overhaul. Educators of adults found problems with the
pedagogical assumption that the purpose of schooling was to transmit knowledge and skills.
They also noted different characteristics for adult learners than for children. Adult learners
desired more than just knowledge, and resisted pedagogical teaching strategies such as drills,
rote memorization, and examinations. The andragogical model focuses more on the educator as a
facilitator who makes resources and procedures available to the adult learner (Knowles, 1980).
This model is still in effect today.

AREAS SUMMARY

Social Background
This decade is commonly known as the “Roaring Twenties” as
it brought a feeling of freedom and independence to millions of
Americans. With new social thinking and activities came new
social conventions. The 1920s saw the emergence of African
American culture in the arts, specifically music and literature.
Industry benefited from the consolidation of large firms,
assembly line manufacturing, professional management, and
installment buying and credit programs. The Eighteenth
Amendment, which made it illegal to manufacture, sell, or
transport alcoholic beverages, went into effect in January 1920.
The Nineteenth Amendment was passed in August 1920,
which gave American women the right to vote. Movies were
the most popular leisure attraction, professional sports gained a
new popularity, and Charles Lindbergh was the first man in
history to fly an airplane across the Atlantic Ocean without
stopping.

Highlights

This decade marks the formal birth of adult education as a
professionally recognized concept in the United States. In
1921, The National Education Association became interested
in adult education and established the Department of
Immigrant Education and in 1924, its name was changed to the
Department of Adult Education (NEA/DAE). On March 26,
1926, the American Association for Adult Education (AAAE)
was established at a national conference organizational
meeting in Chicago. Literacy programs for new immigrants
were common; a permanent Board on Library Adult Education
was established and published a regular newsletter on adult
education activities; discussion groups on contemporary topics
were regular events.

Influential Factors

American universities and colleges, both public and private,
experienced a surge in enrollment. The movement from the
farm to the cities and suburbs and the development of the
motorcar supported a national movement toward schooldistrict
reorganization. New teaching methods also arose
during this decade: the Dalton and the Contract Plan. In 1920,
the NEA formed a Department of Immigrant Education to
provide professional members working in the Americanization
movement with assistance. As the movement for adult
education began to spread, the NEA in 1924 changed the name
from the Department of Immigrant Education to the
Department of Adult Education and broadened its mandate
beyond concern for immigrant education to include adult
education in general.

Implications

The decade from 1920 – 1929 saw an upheaval of
conservative, restrictive, and religious morality into a fresh,
relaxed, independent atmosphere of a new America. People
from all races, ethnicities, and both genders were allowed to
express themselves in new ways and offered additional
opportunities for success. Educators of adults found problems
with the pedagogical assumption that the purpose of schooling
was to transmit knowledge and skills. Adult learning moved
from a pedagogical to an andragogical approach.

References

Henschke, J.A. (2007). Adult Education Professional Societies. Retrieved from
http://www.umsl.edu/~henschkej/articles/added_05_07/Ch_20_Adult_Education_Profess
ional_Societies.pdf
Houle, C.O. (1960). The Education of Adult Education Leaders. In Handbook of adult education
in the United States (pp. 117-128). Chicago: Adult Education Association in the USA.
Jarmul, D. (2006). ‘Roaring Twenties’ a Time of Economic and Social Change. Retrieved from
http://www.manythings.org/voa/history
Kett, J.F. (1994). The pursuit of knowledge under difficulties: From self-improvement to adult
education in America, 1750-1990. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Killacky, J. (1983). Public libraries and adult education: An historical review. Research in Rural
Education, 2(2), 51-58.
Knowles, M.S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education. New York: Cambridge, The
Adult Education Company.
Knowles, M.S. (1994). A history of the adult education movement in the United States (3rd ed.)
Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company.
Merriam, S.B. and Brockett, R.G. (1997). The profession and practice of adult education: An
introduction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
SparkNotes (2011). Culture in the 1920s: Loosening Social Structure. Retrieved from
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/history/chapter16section3.rhtml
Sticht, T.G. (2002). Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy (3rd ed.) San Francisco: CA:
Jossey-Bass Publishers.
“The 1920s: Education: Overview.” (2001). American Decades. Retrieved from
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3468300763.html
Whitley, P. (2011). 1920-1929. American Cultural History. Lone Star College-Kingwood
Library, Kingwood, TX. Retrieved from
http://www.appskc.lonestar.edu/popculture/decade20.html