[AAACE-NLA] [aaace-nla] Heckman and Adult Education

[George demetrion]

Tom and others,

In terms of impact, possible benefit has to be weighed in relationship to 
investment.  I don't know what the federal budget is for K-12, but I bet a 
whole lot more than $500,000.  From a federal perspective, even from the 
current neoconservative perspective, the issue cannot be whether adult ed is 
worth it as a zero sum game.  Rather, it's impact, both proximate and 
distall, needs to be assessed in relation to the modest cost of keeping the 
program intact, or even increasing support somewhat in light both of its 
positive value, and the potential negative impact of pulling the plug.

There has been a fair amount of research on impact in the anthropological 
ethnographic mode and some broad themes of positive, albeit modest impact 
are reported almost across the board.  There may be some romanticizing of 
the data there, but the observe side of marginalizing the value of such 
ethnographic work is, in my view, the bigger problem.  What I would like to 
see at this stage is some solid synthesizing of the top 20-30 studies in an 
analogous manner to Beder's 1999 NCSALL Report on program impact based on 
quantitative report.  BTW, that won't be me taking this on as I have other 
fish to fry.

Of course, the broader issue of who's listening and who cares is another 
matter of major proportions.

This stated, there is a fair amount of decently created qualitative 
research, which, combined with various quantitative studies, also of various 
quality, needs to be carefully sifted and articulated out into a solid 
report, and written with some punch a la Jonathan Kozol.  Such work would 
tell us a great deal about the impact, proximate and distall--onto the 
generations--of adult literacy education.  Perhaps with the support of a 
major funder, Proliteracy, NCSALL, NCAL, and the University of Georgia 
combined with the top 5-7 adult literacy scholars could get together on this 
or some comparable project.

No doubt, adult literacy as a field, is severely under-researched, though, 
in addition to limited resources, this is due in no small part, to the 
relative newness of the field.  Nonetheless, as a field we have substantial 
intellectual and imaganitive power, but sometimes our boxes of perception 
are so enclosed that we have difficulty perceiving reality outside of them.

George Demetrion