E-Archive and Survival Guide

Group 4	Role	Commented On
Samantha McFadden	Media for E-Archive and references	Group 1
Amelia Boggess	E-Archive slides and references	Group 1
Nathan Stoll	Survival Video and site formatting	Group 2, Group 3 (Jackie Davis & Shane Webster)

Group 4 e archive from NathanialStoll

Perspectives on Adult Education

Group	Roles	Commented On
Samantha McFadden	Introduction, Perspective #3	Group 3
Amelia Boggess	Discussions, Perspective #2	Group 1
Nathan Stoll	Implications, Perspective #1

           

Following the Funding: Perspectives on Adult Education

According to Dr. Sharan Marriam, “People are always going to see the field through their particular lens” (Marriam, 2019). Adult education can take on many hats from formal higher adult education such as post-secondary, adult basic education (ABE), and even education on social issues such as the opioid crisis. Equally interesting, is where funding for these different avenues of adult education come from. Dr. John Boulmetis states that significant financial funds going into social justices or community learning will not happen (Boulmetis). In order to understand the impact and importance of different avenues of adult education, this essay will dive into how funding is allocated and shapes three unique perspectives of adult education: formal adult education, workforce development through adult basic education, and community education on the opioid crisis.

Discussions

As noted by Dr. Marriam, “If you’re in education, whether it's higher ed or adult basic education…you're going to see [Adult Education] as education in developing the person and the skills they need for today's world” (Merriam, 2019). She went on to address the adult education field created by things such as the National Issues Forum.

This discussion is broken into three perspectives on the differing lenses that quantify “adult education” as mentioned by Dr. Merriam. Each perspective is presented with its ties to federal funding as discussed in an interview with Dr. Boulmetis.

Perspective 1: Formal Higher Education

Formal higher education is utilized as a way to educate adults most often with the intention of pursuing a specific field or career path. Students take classes in a variety of settings to gain an understanding of the knowledge and tools necessary to work in a field. College education for older adults is often used as a means to change career paths or advance within their current field. For decades, college has also been shown to increase earning potential which helps provide economic growth for the nation as well as individuals.

The article “Does Education Pay?” (2013) by Mark Schneider provides a summary of earning potentials for individuals who receive an education and the effects of getting different levels of degrees on first year income. This resource clearly illustrates the income differential between degree holders and non-degree holders. It is helpful in providing support to establish the importance of formal adult education.

Modern day objectives of formal adult education are to engage the critical thinking skills in adults and focus them on a specific field or major. This focus helps determine the courses necessary to develop a competency in the field of choice and, upon completion, is marked by a degree in that field. The various tiers of formal education range from certificates to doctoral degrees with a range in between delineating various levels of expertise in that field. 

Formal education is heavily funded by the state and federal government. The federal government is one of the largest loan providers for college students. It is often seen as a key interest of the government to have educated workers particularly in the modern job market which has increased its expectations of workers over the years. A majority of jobs today are requiring some form of formal education. To help stem unemployment, it is in the interest of the government to fund these schools and students to keep the people working and happy. Additionally, education is also often used as a lure by the government to attract people to serve in the armed services. Following a few years of service, veterans can use benefits provided by the government to obtain a degree at little to no cost to them. This has been used to help reacclimate veterans into society and keeps the flow of necessary human resources into the military.

This focus on job preparation as supported by federal funds is discussed in an article by Dan Berret.  “The Day the Purpose of College Changed” (2015) describes the shift in priority when it comes to attending college. The author discusses the shift from post-secondary education’s liberal arts-based approach to that of a skills focused job seeking approach. College became less about learning to learn and more about learning to do. This article aptly reflects the purpose and agenda behind subsidizing college education and the shift in attitudes that took place during the period of conservatism that followed the 70s and persists today. Much of this focuses on the use of college today as a means for vocational training and job preparation. 

Overall the field is necessary for providing adults opportunities to get the training and knowledge necessary for them to move forward in their career or to break into a new career. Over the decades, college has been transformed from a place of intellectual curiosity to a structured training center for future employment. This is one of the keystone pieces of adult education and it’s important to have it properly funded because the access to higher education is a life changing factor in a person’s ability to pursue the career of their choice.  

Perspective 2: Adult Basic Education (ABE)

Adult Basic Education (ABE) began to formulate as a fight to eradicate illiteracy in the early 1900s (Sticht, 2007), however it has grown to include “basic literacy and numeracy, English-language learning, pre-GED, GED, and adult high school instruction for adults” (Belzer and Kim, 2018). As an ever-evolving field, however, modern-day ABE is more akin to career development and job training with the above-mentioned components of literacy, mathematics, and GED preparation contextualized within the scope of workforce development.

In 1964, the first federal funds were allocated to ABE by the Economic Opportunity Act; this was a part of the War on Poverty (Belzer & Kim, 2018). In 1966, funding transferred to the U.S. Office of Education (Rose, 1991) and the scope of recipients was broadened to more diverse educational needs. “ABE has always been a core service area within federal work-based antipoverty strategies for the poor, lowest skilled population in the country” (Belzer & Kim, 2018).

In 1974, there came a federal amendment requiring states to show a demonstrated effort to coordinate with the workforce development system. It was at this point that, though the funding for ABE came from federal and state monies, the two funding streams became aligned to one goal. The purpose of ABE became “full human potential development” (Belzer & Kim). Interestingly, despite this core value of human development, the clear target of improved literacy in the U.S. became turning out employable people into the economic workforce, rather than increasing literacy for improvement’s sake, and that of the individual.

This thought development can further be seen in the 1998 Workforce Investment Act (WIA). With WIA, “integration of ABE into the workforce development system sent a clear message about its connection to employment. (Belzer & Kim, 2018) There was now a demand for specific attention to employment in ABE. This shifted emphasis for federally funded programs “to job search, retention, and career advancement skills, sometimes to the detriment of working toward meeting other learner goals” (Belzer, 2007).

            In 2014, the federal government replaced WIA with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). “WIOA is explicitly designed to create greater alignment within the workforce development system” (Belzer & Kim, 2018). WIOA also required states to provide unified plans for serving clients within all programs and for the programs to provide information on assessments and outcomes. These measurements allow the federal government to decided where and how to divide the funding for ABE based on each state meeting the requirements (and industrial needs) of the federal government.

            Debra D. Bragg wrote Is WIOA Good for Adult Learners? A Response to Amy Pickard’s Forum Essay (2016). The article explored three issues with WIOA as brought up by Amy Pickard. Bragg and Pickard grapple with the increased emphasis of adult education policy on workforce preparation and postsecondary education and its link to the possible detriment of classroom literacy instruction, the focus on performance measures pertaining to employment for adult learners, and the inequalities in access and outcomes for students of color going through ABE/ASE. (Bragg, 2016) This is an excellent article to consider the importance of ABE, the significance of the requirements created by WIOA, as well as the limitations and opportunities created by federal funding.

Perspective 3: Community Education and the Opioid Crisis

In addition to forms of adult education such as formal higher education and adult basic education, there has also been a surge of community education stepping up to fill needs-based education on social crisis. As referenced by Dr. Marriam, “[There’s] this whole National Issues Forum (NIF) where people get together and they produce these booklets on [the opioid crisis] or something and as a community, as a coming together of people in a volunteer in a community” (Marriam, 2019). An example of this type of education based on social need can be seen in the efforts to educate the public on the opioid crisis in Ohio.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017), adults between the ages of 45–54 had the highest death rate from drug overdose and overdose death rates increased the greatest in adults aged 55–64. Additionally, reports from AARP (2018) indicated that approximately 2.7 million Americans over age 50 are currently taking opioids for reasons contrary to or in amounts beyond what was originally prescribed. While there has been a national emphasis to address the opioid crisis, few efforts are currently in place that specifically address the impact of the opioid crisis on adults over age 50. The availability of web-based opioid prevention education materials on the websites of the Ohio Department of Aging (ODA) and all 12 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) in Ohio were investigated. Results indicated that these 13 websites did not include pertinent information on the impact of the opioid crisis on middle-aged and older adults (Orel, 2018).

The United States Surgeon General (2018) released a report, “Facing Addiction in America”. The report provides insight into why so little progress toward this goal has been made:

“Until recently, substance misuse problems and substance use disorders were viewed as social problems, best managed at the individual and family levels, and sometimes through the existing social infrastructure [such as the criminal justice system].…Despite a compelling national need for treatment, the existing health care system was neither trained to care for nor especially eager to accept patients with substance use disorders.” (Sharfstein, 2017, pages 24-25)

Currently education on the opioid crisis is coming from either first-hand experience (recovering addicts), or from local non-profit organizations such as churches. The federal government has not stepped up to sanction funding, neither has the Joint Commission, the major private organization that accredits hospitals, because in that would likely look as though they are taking the fault for this growing addiction issue. By ignoring the problem, and allowing communities to step in and do what they can to education adults on the dangers and risks associated with opioid use, the larger organizations can keep their hands and reputations free and clear.

Summary

The three perspectives explored above show the significance in how different each field of adult education is, and yet, all three are tied to the core idea of growth and learning for the betterment of people. The content of the education may be different, the obvious objective of the education may be different, and yet the objective outcome of learning within adults remains the same. Those in each of these fields may fail to understand that they share the umbrella of adult education together. Dr. Marriam muses, “what does it matter, you know, that everybody who is doing something educational with adults calls it adult education? Does that matter?” (Merriam, 2019).

This essay would argue that because of the commonalities of ultimate purpose – education of adults – it does not matter what label each perspective holds. They are still able to be fairly categorized in the field of adult education.

Marriam and our group are not alone in this conclusion; Elisabeth Hayes and Daniele D. Flannery wrote, “Adult education as a field of scholarship and practice is concerned with the learning and education of adults in multiple settings, such as adult literacy education, vocational education, continuing education for professionals, training in business and industry, religious education, and labor education” (Hayes & Flannery, 2002).

Dr. Boulmetis’s interview, however, points out significant differences in agenda of each perspective. In both ABE and formal higher education, the link to economic growth of the country can be seen to bring with it federal backing in the form of money. However, as can be noted in perspective 3, community education with a purpose that is not directly financially beneficial to the government must go without funding – despite the social need. The support of this sort of education is backed by those on the ground, dealing with the crisis first-hand. The above perspectives found every word of Dr. Boulmetis’s following statement to be true:

“You see money still going into adult literacy, you see money still going into vocational training, you see money still going into higher education (postsecondary education of some sort), but you’re never going to see federal monies - or substantial federal monies -  going into social justice. You're not going to see it going into community education or community development. You're not going to see it going into a variety of the personal growth kinds of things. It’s not going to happen because there's no payoff, or pay back, to the federal government from those kinds of things.” (Boulmetis)

Implications

Understanding the implications of the agendas that set the focus for adult education is a paramount part of being able to understand the field and its trajectory. When listening to Dr. Boulmetis about the trends in federal support and the use of taxpayer dollars, you can see the role that government and politics plays in the field of adult education. Throughout the paper we have discussed the ways in which agendas exist to pull focus onto specific areas of adult education and as we look at the effects of those in our own lives, we are able to underscore the importance of those agendas. Looking at it through the lenses provided by the interviews and the areas focused on throughout our discussion, we delve into the implications for each of us individually based on our personal experience and our futures.

Amelia worked in, and will probably work again, in the ABE field. To her, this growing demand for workforce preparation is both a positive and a negative. However, having the livelihood of careers and programs dependent on the ever-changing federal aid is somewhat unstable. Teachers are taught to listen to the needs of their students and to help them reach their goals; these goals are not always aligned to the work needs of the industry. To have teacher/program success measured by outcomes linking to industry recognized credentials rather than the desired path the student chooses to take can drain the teachers' motivation for doing the work they do. While it can lead to students’ personal and career growth, it can also lead to disengagement when they feel pushed to a specific industry-recognized field. Without this push, however, federal funding becomes limited and programs are not able to provide the services their community needs.

Samantha is going into the field of foster care, and the opioid crisis has had a profound effect on the number of children needing safe placement. Funding for community education on opioid addiction may help to decrease the number of families being ripped apart by this disease. It will also help to give foster families a better idea on how this crisis effects the children, so they are better able to cater to their foster kids’ needs. When we know better, we can do better. The role of funding for programs to educate on the opioid crisis impacts her field in a significant way and the troubling trend right now is that there is a lot of talk and little follow through when it comes to getting those funds to the communities affected by this crisis.

Nathan’s future is in formal secondary and post-secondary education. There has been a lot of attention given in recent years to the rising costs of formal education and the debt incurred by people choosing to pursue this field. Nathan experiences this firsthand right now working at the Indiana Academy where the line item from the state budget has gone down since 2002 all while the cost of housing provided by Ball State University has gone up. These costs have been passed onto the students and their families making the school unaffordable to those with the greatest need. This is just one example, but this is a challenge being faced by colleges and universities throughout the country and passing the costs onto students has the effect of keeping students who need the equalizing forces of education to earn enough to provide for themselves and their families.

In our discussion, we talked about how holding a degree has historically increased your earning potential and for those who are already struggling financially this is an important opportunity to a better future. (Schneider 2013) The problem though comes from states that are not matching the costs of education today that they once did and as this shift happens, students who go to school to pursue greater financial security are now leaving with greater financial burden. This has started the conversation again about whether or not the earnings differential is greater than the lifelong debt brought on by student loans. As this conversation pans out, colleges and universities across the country in states that are not meeting the needs of schools are now beginning to cut costs by reducing staff and reassigning those that remain with extra work. Fortunately, politicians are catching on to the situation and more and more are fighting for a better funded education system. The question that remains is will it be too late to stop the bleeding of institutions already struggling.

The impact of money on education of all kinds is profound. The role of politics in that money is equally profound. To be able to see how the government picks and chooses what it views as investments is to be able to understand the ways in which our elected officials decide what and who truly matters to them.

Summary of Assignment
Introduction	·       Funding for formal adult education ·       Funding for workforce development ·       Funding for community education
Discussions	·       Perspective #1: Government funding for higher education in a college setting is necessary to maintain educated workers and entice enrollment into the armed forces. Colleges have transformed from curious learning to job training centers. ·       Perspective #2: In 1964 government funding for ABE began, in which the objective was to increase literacy in adults. After funding began, however the focus shifted to literacy efforts only to build more employable people, not for the sake of ensuring literacy for adults’ well-being. ·       Perspective #3: Community education on the opioid epidemic is not funded by the government or major organizations, but is an area of focus that needs more attention.
Implications	·       Instability in funding for ABE shifts the ability for members of the field to be able to enjoy job security. ·       For people working in the foster care system, the opioid crisis has a significant effect and the education provided to help stem that is crucial, but without the proper funding, the problem becomes more and more difficult to manage. ·       The defunding of formal education is changing the ability for people to pursue degree obtaining education and this affects those working in higher education.

References

Belzer, A. (2007). Implementing the Workfoce Investment Act from in-between: State agency responses to federal accountability policy in adult basic education. Educational Policy, 21(4), 555-588. Retrieved from https:doi.org/10.1177/0895904806289263



Belzer, A., & Kim, J. (2018). We Are What We Do: Adult Basic Education Should Be About More Than Employability. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61( 6), 603– 608. Retrieved from https://doi-org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1002/jaal.693



Berrett, D. (2015). The Day the Purpose of College Changed; After February 28, 1967, the main reason to go was to get a job. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 61(20). Retrieved from https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A402007226/BIC?u=munc80314&sid=BIC&xid=6ce2ce23



Boulmetis, J. (Interviewee) Chang, Bo (Producer).  (2019). Interview 2 Result driven financial support. Retrieved from https://bsu.instructure.com/courses/73839/files/2264585?module_item_id=769490



Bragg, D. D. (2016). Is WIOA Good for Adult Learners? A Response to Amy Pickard’s Forum Essay. Journal of Research and Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary, and Basic Education., 5(2).



Hayes, E., Flannery, D. D., Brooks, A. K., Tisdell, E. J., & Hugo, J. M. (2002). Women as learners: the significance of gender in adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.



Merriam, S. (Interviewee) Chang, Bo (Producer).  (2019, January 16). Interview 1 Adult education with different hats. Retrieved from https://bsu.instructure.com/courses/73839/files/2264586?module_item_id=769489





Orel, N. (2018). Impact Of Opioid Crisis On Middle-Aged And Older Adults: Addressing Through Prevention Education. Innovation in Aging. 2(1).

Rose, A.D.  (1991). Ends or means: An overview of the history of the Adult Education Act (Information Series No. 346). Columbus: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, Center on Education and Training for Employment, The Ohio State University.



Schneider, M. (2013). Does Education Pay? Issues in Science & Technology, 30(1), 33–38. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=91982548&site=ehost-live&scope=site



Sharfstein J. M. (2017). The Opioid Crisis From Research to Practice. The Milbank quarterly, 95(1), 24–27. doi:10.1111/1468-0009.12241



Sticht, T. G. (2007, July 27). The Rise of the Adult Education and Literacy System in the United States: 1600-2000. Retrieved from http://ncsall.net/index.html@id=576.html


United States. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; United States. Public Health Service. (2018) Facing addiction in America: the Surgeon General's spotlight on opioids. Office of the Surgeon General. Retrieved from https://permanent.fdlp.gov/gpo122832/Spotlight-on-Opioids_09192018.pdf

Group Plan

Assignment	Due Date	Comment Date	Names	Roles
Perspectives of Adult Education	10/13	10/20	Samantha McFadden Amelia Boggess Nathan Stoll	See below.
E-Archive of Adult Education	11/17	11/24	Samantha McFadden Amelia Boggess Nathan Stoll	See below.
Overview	n/a	n/a	Samantha McFadden Amelia Boggess Nathan Stoll	Nathan will be in charge of checking for APA format. Samantha and Amelia will both review for punctuation and spelling errors.

Perspectives of Adult Education:

Introduction: We will all listen to the recordings on our own, by 9/25, and decide which recording we will focus on for the paper. Samantha will write the introduction, after we have discussed what we have each learned from the recording. This will be done by 9/27.

Discussions: Amelia will write this section. This will be done by 10/4.

Implications: Nathan will write this section. This will be done by 10/11.

Summary Table: Samantha will enter the information into the summary table and Nathan will publish the paper to the blog on 10/13 after reviewing.

Resources: We will each contribute at least 2 articles to help support the discussions and implications section.

E-Archive of Adult Education

E-Archive: Samantha will choose one example of adult education and provide videos, pictures, and descriptions of this type of education. Amelia will choose another example of adult education and provide various media to support and explain this type of education. These will be done by 11/13.

Survival Memo: Nathan will create a video on how to survive an adult education course. This will be done by 11/13.

Facebook Group: Samantha will post in the Facebook group.

Overview: We will all review the information each of us has shared on the blog by 11/16 and publish to the blog by 11/17.

Adult and Community Education in the 1940s

Adult and Community Education: The 1940s 

Nathan Stoll

EDAC631 

Ball State University 

Name	Commented on:
Nathan Stoll	Will Cooper

Introduction

The 1940s were tumultuous for a large part of the world. The decade has been stained in the blood of millions across the globe. 936,000 US soldiers alone lost their lives throughout the war. (United States Adjutant-General's Office) It’s estimated that globally 62 million lives were lost in the world conflict that changed the planet forever. (Levine, A. G., & Levine, M. 2011) Including the estimated 170,000 killed in Hiroshima and 140,000 killed in Nagasaki. (Rogers, R. 2011) It was those two cities that saw the brutal climax of the war and the violent introduction of the atomic bomb into the American arsenal. With the end of the war and the conflicts following, the tensions created out of this period would build into a Cold War that would shape the following decades. The war was at the center of the nation’s mind during this time and it had impacts that spread through every part of society. This was a period that utilized various forms of Adult Education to bolster the war efforts as well as influence opinions of the war. It was also a time that saw the introduction of formal education to new swaths of people who had seen post-secondary education as unattainable.

Highlights

With a large portion of the American workforce being drawn into the front lines many of the manufacturing jobs were left empty and needed to be filled. To help fill these roles, people who had been unable to fill these jobs previously were brought into the fold. All across the country women and black workers stepped into these jobs and received a lot of the trainings and skills necessary to get through the war. (Goldin, C. 2006) The necessity to keep the country moving forward meant that educating these women workers would be a priority to give them the skills necessary to keep the gears of war turning. By the time the war came to a close almost all of these jobs were given back to white men as they returned home. (Jaworski, T. 2014).  Even with these jobs and the experience, many women would go back into the home and out of the labor force. A significant number of women had left high school to go into the workforce to take advantage of the job opportunities, but at the close of the war they were left without a job and without the education necessary to pursue many other job opportunities available to them. (Jaworski, T. 2014)

As many of the men were returning home, many pursued a college degree using the credits granted to them by the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act or the GI Bill. This brought in a new set of people into the halls of colleges across the country. In the coming years, GI Bills would continue to allow servicemen and women the opportunity to trade years of service for years of college and would open up formal adult education to groups who had been left behind in previous generations. (Stanley, M. 2003).

Influential factors

I think it is important to address the role that propaganda took during the war as a means of education. The war effort was heavily paid for by war bonds. (Davis, E. Holmes., Price, B. 1943) To get those bonds, Americans needed to believe that the war was winnable and the we were going to be the ones who prevailed. In an effort to push this narrative on the citizenry, propaganda messages went out across the country in print, on the radio, and in film. (Davis, E. Holmes., Price, B. 1943) These were used by the government to educate the masses and convince them that the war effort was going strong and that their continued support and investment was necessary to overcome the Axis Powers.

The Atomic Bomb being dropped significantly changed the way we looked at science and it’s means for destruction. After the bomb fell, a lot of work went into educating the American public about the bomb and the dangers it presented. The Federation of American Scientists formed with the intention of working to educate the American people about the destructive nature of the bomb in an attempt to discourage them from using it again. They worked diligently with the United States government and other nations to devise a means for controlling atomic energy to help stop the end of the world. (Barnhart Sethi, M. 2012) The FAS brought in Public Relations experts to help them get the message out about the dangers of atomic power. They went before Congress, spoke in front of various citizens’ groups, published articles and education resources, and designed traveling exhibits to educate the public as best they could.  This work was effective in spreading the fear of the bomb and would carry on into the next few decades as the Cold War carried on. The fear based educational films like Duck and Cover and Atomic Attack are prime examples of the work done to spread the information from the FAS to the public.

Implications

I think in part we can learn a lot about the role that education has in being both an equalizer and a divider. During this period, we witnessed a significant change from previous decades. We saw people of color and women being brought up to work new skilled jobs that had been dominated by white men. While many of the jobs that had been occupied by these outsiders were taken back when the war ended, the skills they learned offered them the chance to pursue new job opportunities. Conversely, we also witnessed how higher education and degrees could create a divide and would then bolster a new generation of highly educated workers prepared for the next few decades which would only see the value of a college education increase. The introduction of the GI Bill gave returning soldiers the opportunity to pursue an education that may not have been available to them previously and gave them the opportunity to pursue the upward social mobility which has characterized the American Dream. The energy and investment put into adult education throughout the 1940s showed as a nation we can agree to invest in the future of our citizens. Those investments would grow and change as time went on, but the 1940s paved the way for adult education as the country entered the second half of the century.

Area	Summary
Social Background	Exiting the depression, attack against Pearl Harbor, entering World War II, death of a sitting president, experiencing the first look at atomic destruction, rising tensions at the end of the decade between Russia and America, stage set for the Cold War
Highlights	Women and Minority Workers filling the vacant positions for men at war, Servicemen’s Readjustment Act gave free education for time served in the war, Atomic Bomb reframed the conversation about science and destruction.
Influential Factors	Government investment, World War II, propaganda, military industrial complex.
Implications	Investment from government in formal post-secondary education, investment in education on nuclear warfare and it’s dangers.

Barnhart Sethi, M. (2012). Information, education, and indoctrination: the federation of american scientists and public communication strategies in the atomic age. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, 42(1), 1-29. doi:10.1525/hsns.2012.42.1.1

Davis, E. Holmes., Price, B. (1943). War information and censorship. Washington, D. C.: American Council on Public Affairs.

Goldin, C. (2006). The quiet revolution that transformed women's employment, education, and family. The American Economic Review, 96(2), 1-21. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30034606

Jaworski, T. (2014). “You're in the Army Now:” The impact of World War II on women's education, work, and family. The Journal of Economic History, 74(1), 169-195. doi:10.1017/S0022050714000060

Levine, A. G., & Levine, M. (2011). WWII and the home front: The intersection of history and biography. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(4), 433–441. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.2011.01119.x

Rogers, R. (2011). Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. In C. Allin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues, Revised Edition. Hackensack: Salem. Retrieved from https://online.salempress.com

Stanley, M. (2003). College education and the midcentury GI bills. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(2), 671-708. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25053917

United States. Adjutant-General's Office. (1953). Army battle casualties and nonbattle deaths in World War II: Final report 7 December 1941-31 December 1946. [Washington: Dept. of the Army.

1900-1930: A Thirty-Year History of Adult/Community Education in the U.S.

Name	Commented On
Amelia Boggess	Micah Maxwell: Technology Period in Adult Education (1989-2019)

1900-1930: A Thirty-Year History of Adult/Community Education in the U.S.

by Amelia Boggess 

Introduction

            The history of adult education in the United States is a “unique combination of elements of knowledge from varying backgrounds and concerns of different thinkers.” (Jarvis, 1987, p.301) The decades between 1900-1930 were no exception to this. With the invention of the U.S. census, both World Wars, desegregation of the military, and the Great Depression the social backdrop to this time period was rampant with a variety of factors impacting the development of adult education in the U.S. (America's Best History)

The people at the forefront of adult education brought with them a complex set of motivations and objectives which impacted the development of adult education. The impact can still be seen today at the core of adult basic education.

            This time period can be characterized by four significant influences or movements in relation to adult education – the role of the U.S. Military, the education professionalization movement, the Americanization movement, and the illiteracy movement. (Sticht, 2007) These influences will be discussed in further detail, including the people and organization which arose as leaders, in addition to the impact each had on adult education.

Highlights

The U.S. conducted its first census on June 1, 1900. (America's Best History, 1900-1909) A decade later, the 1910 census revealed that a surplus of five million adults in the U.S. were illiterate – the demographics recorded ranged from native-born white (3%), foreign-born white (12.7%), native-born black and other (30.5%). (Alston, 2017, p.186) This revelation lead to state and federal agencies, as well as grassroots leaders, professional organizations, and concerned citizens joining together to fight illiteracy. As will be discussed later, each group found motivation of a different kind, yet their fight was linked with the underlying objective to eradicate illiteracy.

There were three main motivators which contributed to the development of adult education that arose through the fight to eradicate illiteracy.  One, the professionalization of adult education. Another, helping the least educated acquire basic literacy and language skills. Finally, the desire to protect the U.S. by educating the people in order to preserve human resources. (Stitch)

Military Influence

On April 6, 1917 the U.S. declared war on Germany and officially joined the allies in World War I. (America's Best History, 1910-1919) This led to the creation of the first standardized tests. These tests were created to assess literates, low literates, illiterates, and non-English speaking recruits to the army. From these standardized tests came two initial outcomes.

First, the notion that foreign-born residents needed to be “Americanized.” This led to the formation of Development Battalions which provided literacy education being provided for both native and foreign-born military men. Second, after the results of the tests came out there were many who considered the results to be proof that there were those ‘uneducable’ and not capable of benefitting from further education. The Development Battalions proved that those who had been considered ‘uneducable’ were capable of learning basic literacy skills. These results would prove to be extremely influential.

On December 8, 1941 – one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor – America joined World War II by declaring war on Japan. At this time, another influx of recruits to the military occurred.  Many of those joining had their education disrupted in order to fight for their nation. In response to this, the first GED test was developed in 1942. The test was created in order to provide military men the opportunity to obtain a high school equivalency.  

As Sticht (2007) notes, today large portions of resources are dedicated to helping adults acquire a credential. These efforts can be clearly seen to have their origins in the development of the standardized tests of WWI and in the efforts to provide for both the educational and vocational needs of servicemen before and after WWII.

Influence of Educational Professionalization

On January 28, 1902, Andrew Carnegies donated ten million dollars to develop the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C. (America's Best History, 1900-1909). In 1911, he went on to found the Carnegie Corporation in effort to “promote the diffusion of knowledge among the population.” (Stitch, 2007, p.13)

Due to this mission, in 1926, the Carnegie Corporation committed funding to the America Association of Adult Education (AAAE), a new adult education organization that “conducted research, experimental projects, and other such activities that would advance adult education.” (Stitch, 2007, p. 13) Also important to note, the AAAE published the Journal of Adult Education and is largely responsible for the promotion of the term adult education to “bring coherence to the field by giving it a name.” (Stubblefield & Keane, 1994, p. 193)

Had it not been for Frederick P. Keppel, the Carnegie Corporation Board of Trustees and a former assistant secretary of war (WWI), this relationship between the Carnegie Corporation and the AAAE may not have been developed. Once again crediting the military with a major influence on the development of adult education, it was Keppel’s knowledge of the educational programs provided to soldiers that lead him to working with adult education advisories and attending conferences. It was through these efforts that he was able lead Carnegie Corporation to commit the funds to the AAAE. (Stitch, 2007)

Another major organization credited with the growth of adult education is the National Education Association (NEA). Established in the late 1800s, the NEA also recognized the issue illiteracy in the U.S. and would later join forces with the AAAE to continue its fight against illiteracy by support professionals in the field.

Influence of ‘Americanization’

            As previously mentioned, the 1910 census brought to light that an incredible 30% of the 5 million plus illiterate people in the U.S. were foreign-born. (Alston, 2017, p. 186) This led to two developments.  From 1915-1919 the Federal Bureau of Education supported groups interested in Americanization education. Additionally, in 1917, the government banned immigrants (ages 16+) from entering the U.S. if they did not have literacy in any language. It also led to the push of immigrant education in effort to Americanize those foreign-born who were already residing in the country.

            Another important organization to the Americanization movement was the American Library Association (ALA). The ALA “established its Committee on Work with the Foreign Born in 1918 to teach English to immigrants…and to prepare them for naturalization.” (Alston, 2017, p.187)

            IN 1920, the NEA formed the Department of Immigration Education to further assist those organizations willing to work on Americanization education. This title ‘Department of Immigration Education’ was contested by such influencers as Cora Wilson Stewart (discussed more later) who believed in the education of all illiterates – primarily those native-born and undereducated – not just those foreign-born.

            In 1922, Elizabeth Cleveland Moss, an educator in North Carolina, published Citizens’ Reference Book: A Text and Reference Book for Pupils and Teachers in Community Schools for Adult Beginners. This book would be revised again and again to include lessons in arithmetic as well “to enable the adult pupil to address the problems that came up in everyday life and to solve them with accuracy and intelligence.” (Alston, 2017, p.190)

Influence of the Illiteracy Movement

            At the same time of the Americanization movement, there were those leading the cause for native-born literacy to be at the forefront of attention – not just foreign-born, as was the focus of the Americanization movement. This movement was known as the Illiteracy Movement. (Stitch, 2007)

When mentioning the grassroots leaders of the illiteracy movement, one must include Cora Wilson Stewart and, following in her footsteps, Elizabeth Cleveland Moss (as mentioned above).  Stewart was among those who contested the NEA’s name the Department of Immigration Education due to its focus solely on foreign-born illiterates, as opposed to all illiteracy.

            Stewart was motivated to end illiteracy in the U.S.  These efforts began with the development of Moonlight Schools throughout the state of Kentucky in 1911. Not only did Stewart recognize the need for adult literacy, but she also recognized that adults needed materials appropriate for adults and their learning needs. She developed a reading curriculum based off of the news. Furthermore, she began teaching literacy with teaching adults to write their own names. She believed this would give them the confidence they needed to progress in their efforts to become literate.

            Stewart also started the National Illiteracy Crusade whose efforts were aimed “to wipe out illiteracy by 1930.” (Stitch, 2007, p.16)

            The mission continued to grow. Stewart gained the attention of the governor of Kentucky, who was inspired to begin an illiteracy commission in 1914. In 1918, Stewart caught the attention of the NEA president Mary C.L. Bradford who then established a committee on illiteracy.

            Meanwhile, Moss helped to publish reference books and bulletins aimed at helping teachers of adult immigrants and native illiterates. In 1927 and 1928, a two-part bulletin was released that “Teachers of both foreign-born and native-born adult illiterates found material of value.” (Alston, 2017, p.193)

By 1929, the illiteracy movement had gained national attention.  This led to President Herbert Hoover appointing the National Advisory Committee on Illiteracy. Unfortunately, this was the same year stock market crashed. (America's Best History, 1920-1929) The crash lead to the Great Depression, and once again the focus shifted from Americanization and illiteracy to the “conservation of human resources.” (Stitch, 2007, ps. 16-17)

Influence of the Human Resources Conservation Movement

            When the stock market crashed in 1929, this marked the beginning of the Great Depression, and the development of the New Deal. The New Deal brought with it a plethora of programs aimed at providing education towards employment as well as employing teachers to do the educating. Of the programs developed, there are two worthy of note here. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935.

            The CCC was developed to provide programs for unemployed and undereducated men. The WPA was to provide work for the unemployed teachers. Similar to Stewart’s creation of relevant materials, the WPA teachers created materials aligned to “adult-oriented content on topics such as health, safety, work, and family life.” (Stitch, 2007, p. 17)

            Despite being able to claim more than 1 million people had been taught to read and write, the WPA was ended in 1941 because of the demand for workers due to the WWII.

            It was at this time that (then General) Dwight D. Eisenhower voiced his concern “that poorly educated, functionally illiterate adults were a threat to national security, a drain on America’s industrial productivity, and a general waste of human talent.” (Stitch, 2007, p. 17)

            The education of adults switched focus from “Americanization” and a fight against illiteracy, and became one of necessity for the well-being of the industrial productivity and safety of America. This movement would take on greater force in the 50s.

Implications

            The most obvious implications from the above period of time is the influence that remains in modern day ABE programs. The standardization of tests, fight for professional recognition and need for the field of adult education, as well as the struggle between foreign-born education versus native-born, and the lingering effects of the Human Resource Conservation are all still prevalent today.

Standardized tests are still used for both native-born and foreign-born to measure their literacy and quite often – though determined inappropriately – their intelligence. These tests and the “measurable skills gains” made on them are what determine federal funding for the continuation of adult education programs.

The fight for legitimacy of adult education and its professionals can be seen if one were to study the constant battle ground that is legislative movements in regards to funding of adult education as well as under which department it is held - the Department of Education versus the Department of Workforce Development.

The current status of adult education under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) can be directly linked the ideas of the Human Resource Conservation movement. The goal of WIOA and similar funding streams (such as Integrated Education and Technology – IET) is not only to bind adult education programs to provide services that provide education in areas of soft skills and workforce development, but also necessitate that technical trainings are linked to the needs of the state and federal government – giving further evidence of this concept of humans as resources.

Social Background	First ever US Census, WWI, WWII, Great Depression
Highlights	1.     Seeking professionalization of AE as a broad, liberal educational component of the national educational system 2.     Seeking education for the least educated/literate adults. 3.     Seeking the conservation of human resources to enhance America’s security and increase the industrial productivity of the nation by giving education and job training to adults living in poverty.
Influential Factors	Organizations: US Military, National Education Association (NEA), Carnegie Foundation, Association for Adult Educatoin (AAAE), American Library Association (ALA) Movements: Americanization Movement, Illiteracy Movement, Human Resources Movement People: Cora Wilson Stewart, Mary C.L. Bradford, Elizabeth Cleveland Morriss, Frederick P. Keppel, Dwight D. Eisenhower
Implications	Movements and motivations from this period can still be seen in today’s ABE atmosphere, funding, and legislation.

References:

Alston Jones Jr., P.  Elizabeth Cleveland Morriss (1877-1960), Leader of the Literacy and Adult Elementary Education Movement in North Carolina. Information & Culture, [s. l.], v. 52, n. 2, p. 186–206, 2017. Retrieved from ttp://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.bsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=122997537&site=ehost-live&scope=site

America's Best History Timeline. (2019). Retrieved from https://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline.html

Carnegie Corporation of New York: Historical Note. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://library.columbia.edu/libraries/rbml/units/carnegie/ccny/history.html

Education and Training. (2013, November 21). Retrieved from https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/history.asp

Jarvis, P. (1987). Twentieth century thinkers in adult education. London: Croom Helm.

Merriam, S. B., & Brockett, R. G. (2007). The Profession and Practice of Adult Education: An Introduction. John Wiley & Sons. Chapter 3.

Sticht, T. G. (2007, July 27). The Rise of the Adult Education and Literacy System in the United States: 1600-2000. Retrieved from http://ncsall.net/index.html@id=576.html

Stubblefield, H. W., & Keane, P. (1994). Adult education in the American experience: From the colonial period to the present. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.