E-Archive and The Many Faces of Adult Education

Many facets of Adult Education

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Sean commented on the E-Archives of Group2 and Group4


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When trying to understand what Adult Education is, it's not just one simple thing.  It's like looking at a diamond.  Depending on the angle you look at it you can see many different facets.  Here are examples of certain events, certain people and certain groups that have shaped the fabric of adult education.

First thing to look at is the history of adult education.  We've looked at two decades for adult education, the 1920's and the 1940's.   Sean Rogers wrote, "The 1920's saw the increased availability of electricity, automobiles, telephones, radio broadcast and movies.   Adult education was a movement that would be influenced by an odd combination with corporate industrialists on one side and labor leaders on the other. But both sides wished to take the concept of education out of the realm of the traditional school, and both sides saw the importance of including the adults in their plans. Although, there are other factors that influenced adult education during this time, this report will concentrate on the changes in adult education as a result of organizational institution influences."

The 1940's saw World War II, the process of coming out of the Great Depression, society dealing with adversity with rationing and family members leaving for war. Technical inventions grew with leaps and bound with computers atomic weapons, radars, microwave ovens, Velcro, Tupperware and even the Frisbee.  With adult education, a great many universities help out the military with training and education and also offered the Adult Education Extension Services which allowed servicemen to take correspondence classes.  Combine that with the introduction of the G.I. Bill made a huge leap in adult education.

The next aspect to look at is the adult educational programs.  Programs can come from anywhere.  Local, city programs, to state programs to federal and national programs.  We took a look at 2. Unique programs.  First is Shifting Gears of Illinois.  Sean wrote, "The Illinois Shifting Gears or Illinois Bridge program is actually a group of programs that is pledged to improving job perspectives for unskilled and low-skilled low wage adults in Illinois.  The American Community Survey of 2010 (as cited by the Illinois Community College Board, 2013) found that in Illinois, over three-quarters of a million people do not have high school diplomas and many adults lack the literacy skills needed to fulfill the needs of potential employers."

The next program was the Texas Wildlife Association.  Mr. Faas stated, "The specific purpose of each workshop may vary (e.g. deer, quail, and water). In general we want to educate landowners, managers, hunters and wildlife enthusiasts about sound land stewardship, natural resource management, wildlife and habitat management and any concerns they may encounter in regards to private landowner rights."

Another important aspect that was covered was Adult Education Educators.  The first one that was talked about was Jane Addams.  Sean wrote, "Jane Addams had a firm belief that to make a change in the community, all members of the community should be served. Addams felt that under-educated adults were being under-served. She thought the best way to serve the community was to serve all the groups involved in the community, which included women and men, immigrants and natives. A list of courses taken from a January newspaper listing show classes offered in everything from arithmetic, art, music, and law."

Another adult educator was K. Patricia Cross.   "Although Cross is not trained nor making a career out of adult education, she has made an impact to the field of adult education with her publications. She was involved in publications that provide support to develop adult non-traditional study opportunities in the US."(2006) the way she shows in her writings is an innovative perspective on adult education which makes her one of the top researchers, speakers and writers in her field."

Finally, Adult Education Organization plays a major role in the future of adult education.  We looked at two, first was Proliteracy Worldwide.  Sean wrote, "ProLiteracy Worldwide is an international organization, based in Syracuse, New York, which aids programs that focus on adults with literacy challenges and connects these people with local programs that help them gain or improve their ability to read and write. In addition, ProLiteracy supports and champions’ literacy programs both nationally and internationally. ProLiteracy states it mission simply as “Every adult has a right to literacy. We develop and promote adult literacy learning, content, and programs to help adult learners, and we advocate on their behalf” (ProLiteracy.org). ProLiteracy supports programs in all 50 states and 34 international programs."

Last, the California Council for Adult Education plays a huge part in California’s' system.  "The mission of the California Council for Adult Education is to take a leadership role in promoting adult education, providing professional development, and effecting change to best serve the needs and interests of adult education, the CCAE membership and the people of California."

Regardless of how large or where geographically the programs are, one basic fundamental exists.  Programs that reach down to the grass roots level are the most effective and ultimately help the local community the most.  By focusing on local people, both educators and learners, these adult education programs reach further when the focus and direction is at the local level.  This is the biggest and most valuable piece of the project so far.  Every part of the project indicated that this is the “model” to follow is a program that uses resources from a range of areas yet it focuses on individuals and communities at a small, grass roots level.