Adult Education Organizations Research Articles

The Impact of Institutional Collaborations on the Earnings of Adult Workforce Education Completers

This article reports findings from a mixed-methods study of the impact of collaborations between adult education organizations and nonprofit or business partners on the earnings of program participants. The project uses survey data collected from a network of state-sponsored educational institutions and unemployment insurance data from program participants. Findings from the study emphasize that collaboration between adult workforce institutions and business, government, or nonprofit partners increases the earnings of adult training participants. The effects differ for men and women. These results were estimated using regression analysis, which related changes in quarterly earnings to two aspects of institutional collaboration: the intensity of collaboration and employer involvement.

Perspectives on International Adult Education

In recent years, adult has emerged increasingly as prominent force on adult horizon. Although many adult educators have been conducting adult programs for numerous decades around world, Commission on International Adult Education (CIAE), formerly unit of American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE), has been most important catalyst for raising awareness and interest in adult education, stretching around globe to help adults learn in various cultures, contexts, and countries. The seven articles in this international adult education themed issue of Adult Learning (our journal of theory and practice) draw upon group of authors who share their experiences and broad spectrum of active engagement in facilitating adult learning through multiplicity of adult programs. Come with us on delightful trip as criss-cross globe! In first article, Roger Morris, from down under in Australia, reflects on his numerous significant adult encounters. He has done this during 30-year period of time to overcome what some call the tyranny of distance that separates Australia from other parts of world, including Asia, North America, Europe, and South Pacific. Roger has been deeply involved with United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and International Council of Adult Education (ICAE). In second article, Gretchen T. Bersch from Alaska describes in glowing temas how her grandmother and parents (because of their energetic, adventurous, and visionary penchant for travel) inspired in her lifelong interest in work throughout many parts of world. Asa consequence, Gretchen built figurative bridge flora Alaska over Bering Strait to Magadan, Russia (in far Eastern Siberia). She poignantly describes work she has done since iron curtain fell in 1988 between Russia and Alaska, and how she has helped destitute people in region where daily life is challenge often filled with unimaginable sadness. In third article, Peggy Gabo Ntseane from Botswana, Southern Africa, tells of her excitement for adult education, arising from Setwana Proverbs: we learn from one another, and a bag of locust can only be lifted if all lift it. Combining cultural socialization and indigenous learning models of collective learning with individualized learning models of United States helped Peggy focus her adult work on function of spearheading global social justice. In next article, Qi Sun takes us to Peoples' Republic of China. She developed her interest in adult through Scientific Research Institute of International and Comparative Education (SRIICE) at Beijing Normal University and discovered its connections with Russia, Eastern Europe, France, Germany, Japan, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and UNESCO. …

Illiteracy in Greece: Presenting and Confronting the Problem

The term illiteracy refers to a multilateral and constantly evolving issue that continues to take on alarming dimensions in the present day. During each modern historical period the factors responsible for its emergence and maintenance have been diverse and have had no national peculiarities. Illiteracy today presents itself as a particularly persistent problem in Greece, which has consistently concerned international organisations during the last five decades. The present study initially adopts a historical perspective, since it observes, records and diachronically interprets the problem of illiteracy in Greece, while also incorporating a comparative dimension, attempting to approach the issue as it has presented during various historical periods in Greece by making brief examinations of other societies. Finally, the study makes a reference to certain measures taken both through the Greek educational system and by other adult education organisations to confront this problem.

'I told them not to love one another!' Gender, Christianity and the role of adult education in the Ugandan response to HIV/AIDS

'I told them not to love one another!' Gender, Christianity and the role of adult education in the Ugandan response to HIV/AIDS Marc Fiedrich1 (bio) Introduction: Acknowledging The Boundaries Of Adult Education The only vaccine to combat HIV/AIDS is education. (…) Unlike other contagious diseases, AIDS is easy to prevent and preventive education works. (proceedings of workshop, UNESCO 2001) The image of education as an injection drug is a popular and compelling one, particularly in the context of HIV/AIDS. But while it provides a welcome boost to health education activities, it also carries substantial risks. The most pertinent is perhaps that education here appears as an external force that penetrates societies and individuals and reforms them in a predefined way. Such an overestimation of the powers of education is not only bound to create disappointment, it also skews our interpretation of failure once it does occur. When education fails to produce the 'rational' behaviour changes it is believed to harness (condom use, abstinence, faithfulness), inflated expectations are rarely blamed, instead education's unfulfilled promise is explained by pointing to 'barriers' that allegedly stood in its way: tradition, ignorance or, simply, 'culture'. In this paper I argue that it is more useful to think of the moral boundaries within which education takes place than of the barriers to it. Crucially, the idea that education may push boundaries while at the same time proceeding within boundaries allows us to consider the educational process as an expression of the historical and political contexts within which it takes place. By contrast, a focus on barriers to education easily dehistoricises and depoliticises the endeavour, forgetting that education reproduces rather than invents societies. [End Page 17] I start out by looking at why facilitators in one adult education programme in Madudu, central Uganda either evaded the issue of HIV/AIDS or limited themselves to hastily disseminated, moralising reminders about the value of faithfulness and abstinence. This tendency is all the more surprising when considering that the same group of facilitators eagerly discussed questions about HIV/AIDS and sex during their own training to become adult educators. Why did they regard such a discussion as inappropriate or difficult in the context of an adult education class? A first line of explanation considers the long-standing link between adult education and Christian organisations and practices. Learning rituals in the classes resonated with those of Christian worship and this I argue has consequences for the moral boundaries of debate. In short, facilitators and participants were not comfortable for class discussions to contemplate without immediate condemnation those practices and beliefs they took to be 'un-Christian'. Some adult educators may consider this a barrier to 'open debate' and one that in this case may carry serious health risks. It is argued here that recognition of such boundaries is a helpful first step for exploring means of working within them as well as expanding them. This is not to say that adult education should avoid challenging the sometimes undoubtedly bigoted views of learners but it is to say that, for better or worse, the control programmes can exercise over actual debates in classes is far more limited than widely imagined. To recognise this puts into perspective some of the contradictions that have plagued adult education practitioners ever since Freirean conscientisation efforts were first criticised. The perception of gender relations is a second important aspect explaining why debates in the classes were more likely to stick with solemn pledges to marital faithfulness than to address safer sex practices. Far from being self-assured patriarchs, I argue that many Ugandan men, rightly or wrongly, perceive their male authority to be on the wane. HIV/AIDS may well be a contributing factor, since public debate on the issue tends to condemn what was previously widely considered a virtue - men's sexual prowess. Being the wife of a man with largely unfulfilled patriarchal aspirations can be a delicate role to assume and this may prove all the more true for women learners. That is so because schools in Uganda have long been regarded not only as a place of opportunity for women but also as a risk to their feminine integrity. Thus...

Forum: Erwachsenenbildung/Weiterbildung und Gesetzgebung - Die nationale und internationale Perspektive

No AccessForum: Erwachsenenbildung/Weiterbildung und Gesetzgebung - Die nationale und internationale PerspektiveJoachim Η. KnollJoachim Η. KnollSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:Jan 2019https://doi.org/10.7788/bue.2003.56.4.471SectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail About Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Download book coverVolume 56Issue 4December 2003 ISSN: eISSN: HistoryPublished online:January 2019 PDF download

Nacionalne strategije izobraževanja odraslih

Čeprav si andragogi še niso enotni o tem, ali je za izobraževanje odraslih koristno, da tudi to dejavnost država sistemsko bolj ureja kot doslej, ugotavljamo, da si nekatere države prizadevajo izdelati strategijo razvoja izobraževanja odraslih. Oblikovanje takšne strategije je bilo v zadnjem času priporočeno v več mednarodnih dokumentih, na primer OECD (1996), Unesco - CONFINTEA V (1997), praviloma v povezavi s strategijo vseživljenjskosti učenja. Takšne strategija naj bi včlenjevala tudi sistemsko urejanje izobraževanja odraslih. V primerjalni raziskavi smo skušali identificirati tiste nacionalne programe v različnih državah, ki bi jih pogojno lahko opredelili kot nacionalne strategije razvoja izobraževanja odraslih v tej državi. Potem ko smo jih identificirali, smo s primerjalno analizo skušali ugotoviti, ali vsebujejo temeljne prvine, ki jim mora strategija imeti, da bi jo lahko označili za celovito. Uporabili smo šest takšnih prvin, to so: a) splošne in širše družbene, zgodovinske, politične in pravne določnice; b) temeljni cilji programa; c) teoretično-pojmovne opredelitve izobraževanja odraslih; č) potrebe po izobraževanju odraslih; d) sistem in organizacija ter omrežje izobraževanja odraslih v državi; e) zdajšnja sistemska ureditev izobraževanja odraslih; f) obstoj nacionalnega programa; g) strategija vseživljenjskosti učenja. Naša raziskava je pokazala, ela večine obravnavanih programov še ne moremo označiti za celovite in koherentne strategije izobraževanja odraslih, čeprav vsebujejo več prvin. Zato jih lahko, bolj kot s celovitimi strategijami, označimo s pojmi, kot so program, akcijski program, kampanja itn., saj z njimi zadovoljujejo predvsem aktualne potrebe v državi. V Sloveniji skušamo predložiti strategijo, ki bo zadovoljevala vsa navedena merila.

U3As in Australia and New Zealand: their value to the wider community, and new directions for future developments

Population ageing and growing competition for limited resources are likely to increase the onus on older adults to maximize their own well‐being. Recent literature speculates that it may be possible for older people to improve, or at least maintain, aspects of their health by engaging in stimulating mental activity. If that is the case, self‐funding adult education organizations like the University of the Third Age (U3A) are contributing, not only to the well‐being of members, but also to the national economy. U3A has grown strongly in Australia and New Zealand in recent years, and the value of its voluntary services to the community is calculated to be more than A$3 million annually. Despite their present rapid growth, the independent U3A groups may need to develop a more outward‐looking focus if they are to continue to meet the needs of existing members, and to provide different kinds of intellectually challenging programmes for newer ageing cohorts. One practical way of doing this would be through electronic networking between the U3A groups and similar adult education organizations, as well as by using the limitless resources on the World Wide Web. However, the hardware for electronic communication is expensive and purchases of this nature would be beyond the immediate resources of most U3A groups. A mechanism is outlined by which U3As may be able to attract one‐off funding for the purchase of computers or other resources which could help them to meet their educational objectives.

Kritična interpretacija kakovosti v izobraževanju odraslih

S kritičnim pristopom, ki se je uveljavil tudi v sociologiji izobraževanja odraslih, avtor kakovost v izobraževanju obravnava kot nekaj, kar je vse prej kot absolutno in enkrat za vselej dosegljivo. Predvsem pa ni nekaj, kar je odvisno zgolj od izobraževalcev. Karkoli kvaliteta že je, je nekaj, kar s svojimi interesi in močjo določa “porabnik”, deležnik v izobraževalnem procesu- izobraževanec, podjetje, država, politika, interni dejavniki. Izobraževalne organizacije pri tem pogosto nimajo veliko vpliva. Mnogokrat odločajo moč in interesi, ki imajo s kakovostjo, še manj z odličnostjo izobraževanja, kaj malo opraviti. V izobraževanju odraslih kot političnem procesu si zato morajo izobraževalne organizacije svoje pravo mesto šele izboriti. Bolj kot uveljavljati pri drugih določene principe kakovosti morajo aktivno, v pogajanjih, a obenem dovolj agresivno sodelovati pri definiranju tovrstnih prin­ cipov. Avtonomnost v oblikovanju in uveljavljanju principov kakovosti je, z vsem spoštovanjem trga, vendarle vprašanje obstoja izobraževalne organizacije.

Organization, constraints and opportunities: an analysis of adult education in Turkey

This paper discusses the organization of adult education in Turkey. From a historical perspective, it examines the development, organization and problems of post‐school adult education. It shows these to be related to the politics and position of Turkish society in the Middle East and to the high degree of centralization of educational decision making in Turkey. The paper argues a case for the decentralization of adult education services for better training of adult educators and better delivery of adult educational provisions.

TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF THE GOALS ACHIEVED BY ADULT ORGANIZATIONS IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of secondary agricultural education teachers in the United States toward the adult agricultural education organizations affiliated with their programs. A random sample of 367 teachers, stratified proportionally by state, was generated. Data were collected from March through May 1994 using a mail questionnaire. Usable responses were obtained from 244 teachers. Two (n=96) or one (n=82) adult organization(s) were commonly affiliated with secondary agricultural education programs. Advisory committees were affiliated with 199 programs, often advising on course content, assessing equipment and facility needs, and evaluating programs. Adult organizational goals that were being met by over 50% of all types of organizations included assisting the secondary agricultural education program with public relations, promotion, and identifying community resources; supporting FFA youth activities; and assisting young agriculturists to remain in agriculture. Although the teachers had positive attitudes toward a model of three adult organizations (i.e., advisory committee, FFA Alumni affiliate, and NYFEA chapter) affiliated with their programs, only 20 reported having all three. Agricultural education students remaining in the community after high school graduation commonly received continuing education in agriculture through local postsecondary institutions, the Extension Service, commodity organizations, and Farm Bureau.

The Tweedie Years, 1949 - 1975: Continuing Education Division The University of Manitoba

The Continuing Education Division at The University of Manitoba was established in November 1949 as the Department of Extension and Adult Education, with a major responsibility for providing advisory and coordinating services to adult education organizations in Manitoba. This paper marks some accomplishments of Stuart Tweedie over his 25 years as Director of Continuing Education at The University of Manitoba.

TRANSFORMING OLDER ADULT EDUCATION: AN EMERGING PARADIGM FROM A NATIONWIDE STUDY

Educational opportunities for older adults have changed dramatically in the past 20 years due, in part, to the rise of new institutions (e.g., learning in retirement institutes, Shepherd's Centers, OASIS institutes) and modification to earlier programs based in senior centers and community colleges. Little systematic research has examined the shared characteristics of these program types—how the are organized, funded, governed and so on. In response, with funding from the AARP Andrus Foundation, a national study of older adult education organizations was conducted during 1992‐1993. A “Critical Pathways Taxonomy” was devised in surveying 260 organizations that provide educational programs for seniors. Five program models were studied and compared. New roles for older learners were identified in areas of planning, teaching, governance, and community service. The study suggests that a new paradigm of older adult education is emerging.

Adult Education, Social Action and the IBA: the sixties to the eighties

Abstract The article describes the arrival and organisation of adult education on ITV. The author describes the development of social action programming and the arrival on the scene of the Community Education Officers in the ITV companies. The author contends that while the formal networked adult education output was only partially successful, the development of social action, fitting as it does the federal structure of ITV, opened up a rich new vein in British public service broadcasting.

Voluntary Organizations and Public Incentive Systems: A Norwegian Case

This article discusses the role and significance of public policy and financial incentive systems for voluntary adult education organizations in Norway. The discussion focuses on the public policy goal of social commitment through equalization and the functioning of the voluntary organizations in relation to this goal. Ideals and realities are examined, and paradoxes or dilemmas related to the promotion of public policy objectives are outlined.

Review: The Organization and Planning of Adult Education

Review: The Organization and Planning of Adult Education

Program Planning As Technology In Three Adult Education Organizations

Program planning models abound in the literature, but what is absent is a framework in which models can be related to one another and to the organizations which perform program planning. This study borrows and reformulates the concept of technology from organization theory and applies it to program planning in an attempt to explain variability in practices examined in three adult education units. A framework of adult education technology is developed and then compared. A combination of interviews, organization history, and record and report analysis provided the comparative data. It was found that program planning (technology) did vary among organizations, however, the framework of technologies employed was not sufficient to describe the mixed types of technology encountered.

The Role of the Association in the Formation of the Coalition of Adult Education Organizations

The Role of the Association in the Formation of the Coalition of Adult Education Organizations

Nonformal education and rural development in Ghana

This article describes and evaluates a nonformal education rural development project which evolved through a collaborative arrangement between a private voluntary organization in Ghana and a North American university. After extensive discussions a relationship developed between the University of Massachusetts' Center for International Education and Ghana's Peoples' Educational Association, a national adult education organization with links to the University of Ghana's Institute of Adult Education. The two organizations agreed to cooperate in the development and evaluation of several village facilitator models in which a much wider cross-section of the community would participate in a variety of development projects and educational activities. The models were to emphasize a shift from a leader-dominated perspective to more group participation with villagers taking responsibility for their actions, both in meetings and in development projects.

SURVEYING ADULT EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA

One of the results of a lack of overall co‐ordination of adult education in Australia is a very incomplete record of activities. Attempting to use existing data for research can be a very frustrating business. The form of the material available varies from State to State, is incomplete and uneven in quality. The peripheral nature of adult education in relation to education as a whole often results in only brief mention in official reports or no comment at all. The voluntary area, due for the most part to the spontaneous and informal nature of many agencies, is particularly poorly recorded. This paper discusses some of the problems facing researchers and brings together existing studies which have attempted to survey arrangements for the organisation and administration of adult education on a national basis.

Perception-oriented foreign language learning and teaching: Theory into practice-notional syllabuses

The notional syllabus is a new paradigm in foreign language teaching (flt) research. A notional syllabus is no longer primarily structure-oriented but meaning-oriented. ‘Meaning’ here is to be understood in its broadest sense, i.e. encompassing social and personal aspects of meaning in communicative encounters (cf. Wilkins 1976, 18-25). A paradigm is a pattern, an exemplar shared by a group of researchers that serves as the basis for their work. New paradigms usually indicate adopting Kuhn’s conception of the development of scientific theory a revolution in the field of research in which they occur. This revolution is usually preceded by growing dissatisfaction with the explanatory power of the “accepted” paradigms for critical problems in the field of research (Kuhn, esp “Postscripturn”, 1969). Even though I subscribe to the qualification expressed by Pearson in regard to the acceptance as far as linguistics is concerned of Kuhn’s concept of progress in science, that the _ participants in a supposed revolution are not in the best position to appreciate the significance (or lack of significance) of their own work” (Pearson, 1978, 389), there are nevertheless many indicators which permit us to give the notional syllabus the status of a “new paradigm” and attest to its revolutionary impact on flt research and practices, e.g.: (a) The growing unease about the basically structuralistic orientation of research and practice in flt (see below), an orientation which proves to be ineffective for the overall aim of teaching “communicative competence” in a foreign language. (b) The momentum the notional syllabus has gained in the past two years in fl educational policy (for instance, in West Germany the notional approach is adopted for most fl programmes in the state-sponsored adult education organization); at national and international conferences (e.g. the TESOL Conventions of 1978 and 1979); in the production of teaching material (e.g. Piepho & Bredella, 1978; Johnson & Morrow, 1977). Notional ideas lie behind research in English for Special Purposes (ESP), the field which has until now been the most neglected and they are responsible for the development of much teaching material (e.g. Candlin et al. 1976; Holden (ed.) 1977; Mackay & Mountford (eds.), 1978; Munby, 1978). c. The emergence of a new paradigm usually calls for the reappraisal of “traditional” knowledge and demands the restructuring and re-evaluation of hitherto accepted facts. This process of re-evaluation and restructuring is usually done in the face of opposition from those in the field who have not fully accepted the new paradigm (e.g. Mtiller, 1977). This last point carries the most important meaning for flt research in reference to the notional approach. The reorganization and reappraisal of some “accepted” norms for flt research and methods provides the context in which the development of perceptionoriented fl teaching and learning is to be seen.