Comments on Selected Passages from "Adult Learners in Focus 2008"

“Over 26 million adults in the U.S. currently have no high school diploma, more than 3 million have not attended college and are earning less than a living wage, and over 8 million have not attended college and speak little or no English.” (7)

     The millions of adults in America who have no high school diploma, who have no college and are earning less than a  minimum wage, and those who speak little or no English gives some idea of the enormous pool of people who likely have untapped skills. These are the people who might be reached by adult education, if the issues that have blocked their access to it in the past are identified and addressed. Providing them with functional skills and a living wage would benefit them and the society as a whole.

     My biggest question to all of these issues: how did we as a society allow education to drift so far from the needs of individuals and the work force itself, and how fast can we change it.

“The good news is that adults are making up an ever larger share of the total enrollment in postsecondary institutions. By 2004, adults made up approximately 43 percent of total enrollment at community colleges (includes full-time and part-time).” (7)

Response:

     This is indeed good news. Adults who have identified their need for higher educational achievement or for better skills are already striving toward a better life. Though the obstacles are many (time, money, accessibility), by the very act of enrollment they become more open to new experiences, to critical reflection, and to transformative learning. And if they have children in their lives, they show them, too, that education is worth struggling for.

“Nontraditional students—for example,  those who have  delayed enrollment in postsecondary education, work full-time while enrolled, or have dependents other than a spouse—were more likely than traditional students both to participate in distance education and to be in programs available entirely through distance education” (8)

Response:

    Technology is providing new and unprecedented opportunities for adults to pursue higher educational achievement. Because distance (online) courses can be pursued on a flexible schedule in one’s own home or place of business, they may help overcome some of the obstacles non-traditional students face. MOOC’s (Massive Open Online Courses) are in their infancy, and may reach more people as these programs become better researched and more effective and as computer literacy and computer teleconferencing spread. Where possible, however, even MOOC’s should also include a social component, either face-to-face or collaborative work through the technology, as the interpersonal and social dimension adds an important dimension to learning. 

“States vary significantly in their success in moving students through this traditional educational pipeline. . . . But reliance on and attention to the traditional educational pipeline alone will not be enough.” (22)

Response:

      According to the report, only nine states are on track to meet the benchmark for international competitiveness:  55 percent of adults with college degrees. “Thirty-two states will be unable to reach a level of international competitiveness even if they could match the best state performance with traditional college-age students at each stage of the educational pipeline” (p.23). Therefore, that international benchmark can only be met by educating adults. The conclusion is that states must accept that they develop policies that educate adults—by helping them complete high school or to finish college if they’ve started. States should collaborate and cooperate in collecting and sharing data and best-practices strategies. Regional/state differences in the kinds of skills workers need will likely diminish as jobs are increasingly automated, computerized, and designed to require high-order skills.

“The issue of declining numbers of high school graduates, projected in a recent study by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (208), is yet another reason why a focus on the education of younger populations will not be sufficient.” (23)

AND

“.  .  . 13.3 percent of the adult population (26,455,554 individuals) . . . never completed high school. Many of these adults may face basic literacy challenges as well. One way to help this population is to address skills shortfalls through Adult Basic Education (ABE), gain a high school credential by completing a GED, then enter postsecondary study.” (24)

Response: 

         The decline in high school graduation statistics is perhaps the most troubling statistic. Adults who don’t finish high school are much less likely to pursue education in the future. Addressing the core issues at the heart of this statistic is vital—poverty, unsafe schools, lack of guidance at school, educational programs that don’t connect to students’ lives. But re-thinking what skills are important and how to deliver them is also vital.  The report suggests multiple paths and on-and-off ramps, interconnected networks of opportunities among institutions (military, business, school), education that is career-oriented...plus more apprenticeships, and financial aid.

My Quote: A second driver of economic vitality has been the nation’s ability to replace old, nonproductive industries with new ones through the process of “creative destruction.” But doing this requires a different kind of worker—flexible and adaptable, with an array of higher-order competencies and information-gathering skills that support rapid retraining. High wage, fast growth occupations require higher levels of education. (19)

                As the report goes on to say, the US economy is transitioning from an old corporate mass-production model to a new entrepreneurial one. This earlier system was established for a work force that required a large percentage of manual laborers, and few with higher order skills. The jobs of the future will require educating a work force that can be creative, can solve problems in a variety of ways, and can learn and work socially, in collaborative groups. We have to find new ways of assessing these strengths as well. And we have to embrace new technologies at every step. (See Sir Ken Robinson address “Changing Paradigms” (http:www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbdS4hSa0s; shorter version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=youtu.be).