[NLA] Discussion: AELS and Higher Ed

[Eileen Eckert]

Having worked in states where AELS is administered through the state DOE 
along with K-12, and where it's administered through the higher ed/community 
college system, I'd like to add my two cents. I've experienced David's 
concerns as a reality, but I think Carl's right too that adult ed. <can> be 
marginalized in any administrative set-up, and the key factor is the 
organization and advocacy of the field, and the ability of practitioners to 
communicate, demonstrate, and demand their place as the leaders of the 
field. That gets to Carl's point about providing data, and back to Debbie's 
question about guidelines for research in programs.

When I worked in the community college system, community-based programs were 
funded too, but I'm pretty sure some felt even more marginalized than 
programs in the colleges. And yes, in some of the colleges, adult ed. 
students were not considered "real" students, and we had to fight for them 
to have equal status. But I also encountered both CBO's and college programs 
that did not let any perceived marginalization become a barrier, and they 
thrived and did great work through good times and bad.

Debbie's question was originally about academic freedom, though. 
Theoretically, I think that aligning adult and family literacy with higher 
ed. is appropriate because the emphasis in higher ed <tends> to be on the 
primacy of the faculty-student relationship. More power is vested at the 
level of the course (teacher-student) and less at the level of 
administration and policymakers/legislators, so teachers should be able to 
respond to the needs of the students in front of them, not to some prototype 
addressed in state standards. However, funding streams often seem to trump 
academic freedom, and if your funding is determined by students' scores on 
standardized tests or other outcomes established outside of the 
student-teacher relationship, then academic freedom's a moot point no matter 
where you are.







>From: "Carl Guerriere" <carl.guerriere at po.state.ct.us>
>Reply-To: nla at lists.literacytent.org
>To: <nla at lists.literacytent.org>
>Subject: RE: [NLA] Discussion: AELS and Higher Ed
>Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2002 10:51:44 -0500
>
>David,
>There are some pearls in your post, but they can be missed in your
>deliberation.
>
>Although you supposedly state with an "emphatic no" that AELS should not be
>placed under higher ed., you also say
>	I do not want to be misunderstood, however, as arguing against funding
>	community college or other higher education institutions as providers of
>	adult education and literacy services.  Some of the best programs are
>	located in these institutions, just as some of the best are located in
>	CBO's, public schools, faith-based organizations, and volunteer
>	organizations. Campus-based programs also offer adult education and
>	literacy students the motivation to go on to higher education, an
>	important added value.
>
>Most of the reasons you give for not locating services with higher 
>education
>can also apply for not locating services with the state department of
>education.
>
>AELS can be the neglected stepchild in either area.  And we see that all
>across the country.
>
>You then go to give a good framework that an effective and equitable AELS
>system should use:
>	My point is that the state agency responsible for adult education and
>	literacy must demonstrate a commitment to provide the best services, to
>	a wide range of provider agencies, to an open and competitive grant
>	process, and to reaching a broad range of individuals with a wide
>	variety of learning goals.
>
>The real big pearl you offer is the following:
>	Sustained pressure from the adult education and literacy field demanded,
>and has supported, 	this kind of leadership from the Department of
>Education.  In states where the State
>	Education Department does not show this kind of leadership the field can
>	rise up and change this.
>
>I would like to see more conversation on this listserv about how to best
>organize ourselves to have meaningful impact on local, state, and national
>levels.  We cannot sit and hope that the leadership in state higher ed,
>state department of ed, the white house, etc. will be responsive.  We must
>effectively organize to convince policy makers at all levels with quality
>data and research, not "you should do this because it's the right thing to
>do...".
>
>I have been inspired by the letter writing campaign regarding NIFL
>leadership. Let's keep the process going.  And our national literacy
>organizations need to disseminate and organize best practices for impacting
>public policy.
>
>Carl Guerriere
>Executive Director/Literacy Advocate
>Greater Hartford Literacy Council
>99 Pratt Street
>Hartford, CT  06103
>(860) 522-7323 (522-READ) NEW NUMBER!
>www.greaterhartfordreads.org
>Fax: (860) 722-2486


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