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

[Catherine B. King]

Hello George, et al:

I think most of us hold that Adult Education Systems are legitimate in their 
focus on the quality of life for adults, regardless of whether our adults 
have children or influence children's education in some way.

However, "social regeneration" in familial order--both good and bad--is a 
well-known fact that has been researched in many different ways and under 
many different social venues, e.g., the achievement gap between "White" and 
African American students in high schools  (Orfield, 2002 & 2005; & Neito, 
2005; Friere, etc.).

But to approach the problems associated with social regeneration from the 
point of view of the K-12 classroom ALONE is to social policy--as 
tying-one-hand-behind-our backs is to boxing?   A two-pronged approach (at 
least) would be much more appropriate to considerations of long-term remedy, 
i.e., K-12 AND the family--and the later through redoubling the support of 
our Adult Education programs.

Of course, we need to assume that remedy, in fact, is what is wanted by 
those who set policy (another liberal fallacy?--the assumption of 
reasonableness?)

But these are complex issues with individual nuance in every single case; 
however, as I suggested in an earlier note (and forgive me if this has been 
explored here already), it seems to me that there is an increasingly obvious 
missing policy connection between (1) the apparent educational-policy thrust 
of No Child Left Behind and Individuals with Disabilities Acts and (2) the 
known but still-studied facts of social regeneration.

It takes no genius to understand how educating (and training) adults in a 
family will affect the educational life of children.  One need only 
understand that "family members communicate with one another" to understand 
how educational activities on the part of one affects the thinking of others 
in ways that cannot be enumerated or even fully explained by anyone--
researchers or the adults themselves.

The same "assumption of communications" (and the increased quality of those 
communications that comes with educating adults involved in the 
conversation) is what George Demetrion is referring to as the "thick" level 
of influence.  The assumption can be applied to all adult-to-adult 
relationships in any culture.

Such communication and influence is pervasive, sometimes remote; and as 
intergenerational, it defies longitudinal studies that do not focus on the 
pervasiveness of educational-political influence or of ethical-horizonal 
development of its participants ("if we cannot count it now, it doesn't 
count"?), though we CAN (and do) focus on the short-term development of 
communication skills.   This speaks to a recent post that referred to the 
"immediate" results of adult education where K-12 takes years.  But this 
distinction is more about the realities of human development than it is 
about getting research that gives us (positivist?) results and programs that 
are not "failing"?

However, if such "communicative influence" weren't the case, and drawing an 
example from the worst-case-scenario, the Taliban would not be burning down 
their schools for fear of the socio-political-religious influence of 
"Western" education.  Literacy, education, and the opening-of-minds is, and 
always has been, a serious "problem" for those who want to maintain either 
secular or religious power (Friere).

My point is, however, that if "we" (U. S. Policy) really want to Leave No 
Child Behind (NCLB), we need go no farther than to connect-the-dots between 
(1) the present research in social regeneration to (2) Adult Education 
programs and their communications influence on the children in the family 
BEFORE they enter the classroom.

Again, such dot-connecting does not negate the import of continued education 
for our adult citizens per se--it's not either/or but both/and.

Finally, though I am always interested in new research, I'm sorry to say 
that I think, in the present political climate, the call for more research 
is a red herring--it sets the bar by positivist standards (as a political 
convenience), and is geared to buy-time, and to detract from what will go 
forward anyway, if the powers-that-be have it, after we "fail" again, which 
we will, if we run on the track that is prescribed for us. In this sense, we 
are like the horses in Animal Farm.

In the short run, I think it important to call-up the de facto conflict 
between present educational policy (NCLB, etc.) and a diminishment of Adult 
Education Programs in th U.S.  Under the implications of NCLB, etc., we 
should be redoubling our efforts in Adult Education and other programs 
rather than putting them on the "chopping block."

But then those implications are based on the assumption that some fidelity 
exists between U. S. Educational Policy (and what the current Administration 
says), and what is in fact the motivational factors and agendas at work 
behind the scenes.  I really don't think the powers-that-be share the same 
fundamental vision as most if not all educators in the U. S.

Catherine King

Orfield, G. (2002). "Policy and Equity: Lessons of a Third Century of 
Educational Reforms in the United States" in Fernando Reimers, ed. Unequal 
Schools, Unequal Chances: The Challenges of Equal Opportunity in the 
Americas, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Orfield, G. (2005). The Resurgence of School Segregation. Educational 
Leadership, 60(4), 16-20.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "George demetrion" <gdemetrion at msn.com>
To: <aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 2:41 PM
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] [aaace-nla] Heckman and Adult Education


> 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
>
>
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