Adult education

Libraries are useful resources for adult learners.

Adult education, also continuing education, is a broad term for the practice of teaching and educating adults. Unlike the education for children and young adults, which is often mandated through legislation and strictly structured into steadily advancing levels of achievement, adult education can be broken into several different fields of specialization including vocational education, personal enrichment, and for some adults, remedial training in literacy and other skills. The techniques and tools for adult education are also very different from education for children.

History

Since the terms adult education and continuing education do not have strict definitions, there is not a cohesive history of this area. Most of the developments in adult education happened in the nineteenth century and later. Scattered groups dedicated to, or responsible for adult education, sprang up in Europe during the Industrial Revolution, particularly with the need to educate the working class with certain vocational skills, although it was not until the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984 that equal opportunities were provided for adults in vocational education in the United States.

Some of the first formalized adult education institutions were correspondence schools. In Great Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, correspondence education developed and quickly spread during the mid-nineteenth century. In 1840, the English educator Sir Isaac Pitman taught shorthand by mail.

Intellectual curiosity and scholarship during these eras, in both Europe and the United States also led to the develop of societies and groups that fostered continuing education and academic discovery. Lectures and intellectual associations became popular in the early twentieth century, and from these developed social movements and the recognition that education was incredibly important to the benefit of society as a whole. Churches and community groups remained devoted to fostering education for many adults.

In the middle of the twentieth century governments and more formal educational institutions became involved. With changes in societal views, such as the view that educational opportunities should be equal, that education was not necessarily the privilege of the young, wealthy and majority, and a lessening of the stigma attached to adults as learners, came not just greater acceptance but also a demand for adult education. With the growth of Community colleges, Vocational colleges, and returning student oriented programs, adult education became increasingly popular. Governments of both industrialized and industrializing countries recognized the importance of adult education, and funded programs for literacy, vocational skills and adults seeking to earn more traditional degrees.

Today there are many organizations around the world dedicated to adult education. Almost every traditional higher education institution offers some form of adult education. Non-traditional institutions have also become popular, such as the British Open University, which practices distance learning and does not require previous educational experience for most of its programs. Regional governments and international organizations, such as the United Nations, provide programs and efforts to help educate on such topics as health, vocational skills, and literacy.

Categories of Adult Education

While there can be many different categories of adult education, most types would fall under one of the four categories below.

Vocational/Professional

Perhaps the bulk of adult education worldwide is vocational or professional related. This type of adult education can have many different facets on all sides of the spectrum. Sometimes adults with little to no marketable job skills or experience will attend vocational education programs at schools, such as community colleges, technical colleges and even at universities where they can earn certificates or degrees in technical or manual related professions. These types of programs are popular in both developed and developing countries, as the need for these types of skills are always in demand. Sometimes it is not out of desperation or a lack of skill that adults attend these programs, but more from the desire to switch careers or perhaps find a field of work that they can be successful at.

With technology becoming a major factor in the global economy, continued education for those already employed has become popular, particularly in politics as it is seen as giving older workers with less experience in regards to emerging technology opportunities to compete in a younger, more experienced job market. This can include both manual workers learning new methods mechanics, engineering and usage of computer programming.

Outside of technological fields, some licensed professions, such as education and health professions, require follow-up classes every few years to maintain their license.

Many businesses now promote, and even require employees to attend workshops or seminars to improve the productively and knowledge of their employees. These seminars can be on a range of topics, from methods to improve performance, team building and effective management, to industry trends and updates. Academics and scholars often attend seminars to discuss findings and papers.

Education for family and society

Community organizations and religious institutions have been providing adult education regarding issues confronting families. Workshops and classes dealing with issues confronting relationships, marriage, and parenting often fall within this category as well.

A fast growing sector of adult education in America is English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), also referred to as English as a Second Language (ESL). These courses are key in assisting immigrants with not only the acquisition of the English language, but the acclimation process to the culture of the United States. In many of the countries that have large immigration populations, such as the United States, classes are also offered, and sometimes required, to help attain citizenship. These can include classes around the host country's civil, legal and historical issues that all citizens should know.

Personal enrichment

A trend in adult education that emerged at the end of the twentieth century is the offering or classes, workshops, and seminars that are aimed at teaching skills and knowledge meant to better people emotionally, physically or culturally. Adults can attend classes at community colleges or universities, at community or religious centers. Adult education geared towards emotional betterment can include seminars and workshops on everything from self-esteem and self-image issues to psychological support group meetings (such as Alcoholics Anonymous). This type of education often is less classroom/lecture oriented, and is more focused upon creating a group space that is conducive to healing and therapy.

Adult physical education includes everything from health improvement to personal achievement. Yoga, aerobics, personal fitness lessons, sports activities, and martial arts are just a few of the examples. These are often taught at local gymnasiums or health clubs, or at small centers devoted to a particular practice. They can be both community sponsored and free to adults, or they can be businesses that charge for classes. Physical education for adults also includes outdoor activities, such as camping, boating, fishing, hunting, and extreme sports.

Adult education for cultural betterment runs the gamete from classes and workshops involving cooking, dancing, fine and performing arts, meditating, and learning a foreign language. These classes could be used to gain experience in other cultures and traditions that may or may not be used in everyday life (such as different cooking styles); sometimes the experience itself is enough.

Remedial

Social movements have emerged since the middle of the twentieth century to help adults with little to no education. Most often, in industrialized nations, this takes the form of literacy. In the industrialized world alone there are a high number of illiterate adults who struggle to perform daily functions, find employment and act as productive citizens. Often times community volunteers and government outreach programs provide free reading and writing classes to adults. While illiteracy is perhaps the most issue, there are other essential skills that are often taught to adults in order to help them remain productive citizens, such as how to manage personal finances, how to make a resume and apply for a job, and personal organization are a few of that are often taught to adults.

Adult learning styles and theories

One of the first and most prevalent theories is “Andragogy,” is the process of engaging adult learners in the structure of the learning experience. The term was originally used by Alexander Kapp (a German educator) in 1833, and was developed into a theory of adult education by the American educator, Malcolm Knowles. Knowles believed that it was crucial to acknowledge the differences between how children and adults learn.

One of the most important differences that Knowles recognized was that adults have accumulated knowledge and experience which can either add value to a learning experience or hinder it. Whereas children, especially when they are younger, often are most adaptable to situations and are naturally more inclined to absorb information, adults tend to have personalities that are firmly established and ingrained behaviors. While this means that their self awareness is greater and ability to focus, rationalize and apply new information may be greater than that of a child, it can also mean sometimes that adults can be more resistant to new modes of thinking and behaving. Authority and power dynamics are also key factors in adult education to Knowles. In most classrooms for children, the teacher and student share an unequal relationship; essentially, the teacher has (theoretically) absolute control and authority over the classroom, modeling the authority of a child's parents. Educators of adults share a different type of relationship with their students. A less significant difference in age and experience often means that educators must treat their students on a more equal level with more respect, sensitivity and appreciation.

Knowles' work (most notably the book Self-Directed Learning: A Guide for Learners and Teachers, published in 1975) has been controversial. To some, his proposed system states the obvious, to others, he has merely proposed an adaptation of existing child-learning theories.

Stephen Brookfield developed another popular theory regarding adult education with his book Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning. He saw adult education and adult learning theory as compromised of six leading principles: voluntary participation in learning, mutual respect among participants, collaborative facilitation, a praxis approach to teaching/learning, the necessity of critical reflection upon the breadth of life, and a proactive and self-directed empowerment of participants. While not in direct contradiction to Knowles, Brookfield focused more upon the self-motivating pre-requisite as the most important guarantee of success. Mainly, in most circumstances adults are not forced into educational settings, and even if they are, unless there is a willingness to learn and participate in the group than the adult will more than likely not learn.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Brookfield, Stephen. Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning. Jossey-Bass, 1991. ISBN 1555423558
• Hiemstra, Roger and Sisco, Burt. Individualizing Instruction: Making Learning Personal, Empowering, and Successful. Jossey-Bass, 1990. ISBN 1555422551
• Knowles, Malcolm Shepherd. The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy. Cambridge Book Company, 1988. ISBN 978-0842822138
• Knowles, Malcolm S., Elwood F. Holton, and Richard A. Swanson. The Adult Learner, Sixth Edition: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005. ISBN 978-0750678377
• Smith, M. K. "Andragogy", The Encyclopaedia of Informal Education, 2008 (original 1996; 1999). Retrieved November 18, 2008.

External links

• Universities of The Web - A large directory of colleges in US and Canada offering continuing education programs
• Free Continuing Education Search Tool - CourseList.org provides a searchable catalog of continuing education classes and training courses in each city
• International Council for Adult Education (ICAE)
• European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA)
• The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE, UK)
• The National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NRDC, UK)
• Working with Adult Learners in the Library Classroom: A Personal Reflection

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