Adult Education

Traditionally, the link between formal adult education and social action has been distorted. Adult education continues to place primary emphasis on the cognitive and psycho-motor realms of education without any critical reflection relative to experimental learning as it relates to the social context.

A rationale for the framework for this book emerged from conceptual issues associated with adult education (learning) and community development (social change). In this regard, certain pervasive themes seemed to be regularly mentioned or discussed in the literature and in workshops conducted by practitioners. From these pervasive themes, a list of specific assumptions relative to why and how things happen was generated. Learning, social change, and group dynamics theories are the fundamental fields from which the educational model of community development derives its foundation.

In some ways the formal educational system has been effective as a socializing institution for the young. It has provided a common experience and has served as a source of stability for rapid technological change. On the other hand, the formal educational system, including adult education, has many flaws and contradictory problems. At the youth level, the educational system has not provided a high-quality education for all of society's students. This failure can be seen dramatically among poor and minority groups in the United States and Canada.

Today, as families have become smaller with fewer children, and as public school adult education has expanded, parents are now more likely to be students. Yet, they may be subjected to a "preparation for life" curriculum. The previous experience of the adult learner has led to friction and uneasiness.

There is consensus that formal educational institutions are continuing to add to the vast reservoir of poorly educated adults. At the same time, adult education has not responded in proportion to the magnitude of the problem. There is a continuing debate as to the effectiveness of adult basic education (ABE) programs, which are found in all cities in the United States and funded by federal and state governments. It appears that professional adult educators have used the ABE programs as a scapegoat for their diminishing interest in and commitment to this target group of adult learners.

Research on the learning process of adults has mostly focused on formal adult education, with the exception of self-directed learning projects ( Tough, 1979). According to Tough ( 1978), most adult learners are involved in at least one learning project per year outside the formal setting. Tough and other researchers conducted case studies of a crosssection of adult learners. There was no significant difference reported in the number of learning projects between those with less than twelve years of school and others. Researchers concluded that years of education is a poor predictor of nonformal self-directed learning. Other studies have illuminated many case histories of nonformal learning by adults whom the formal system had failed. All along, adult social roles have been recognized as strong motivational forces that encourage active participation in organized and self-directed learning. This reality should stimulate society, and professional adult educators in particular, to question the myths of the undereducated and the illiterate. In the words of Eberle and Robinson ( 1980), "The myths are pervasive and dangerous. They limit our capacity to see all the possibilities and tempt us to generalize. For those reasons, we must resist them even at the expense of clever formulas and prescriptions"