[NLA] education system or human services?

[Janet Isserlis]

Judy's timely post brings to mind a report recently issued in British 
Columbia about the state of literacy over the past decade and 
possibilities for  coming years.

Although it's a hefty PDF document, it may be well worth our time to 
consider -- especially in light of various, occasionally questionable 
analyses, presented in other state of the art reports recently 
released in New England and elsewhere, no doubt.

The report,   Outcomes of a Province-Wide Consultation: The Big 
Picture Up Close - Literacy   and Learning in BC - March 2002 is 
online at
http://www.nald.ca/PROVINCE/BC/Lbc/pub/bigpictr/bpuc.pdf

( *available in PDF only - HTML version coming).
I've not heard from folks in BC yet (as I only began reading it 
yesterday) as to whether or not it  resonates their truth , but the 
report does capture many of the same issues Judy and others have 
referred to here and would be of use to us as we continue to struggle 
to articulate our own vision[s] of what adult literacy learning/life 
long learning is/can be.

Janet Isserlis
janet_isserlis at brown.edu

>Does adult education fit in the category 'human service,' or should we refer
>to the work we do as part of the education continuum? Does it matter? What
>are the policy implications if policy makers think of the field as a human
>service? as a system of education? Does the designation contribute to the
>field's marginalization in the eyes of US DOE and their statistical reports?
>Why aren't other sectors of education considered human service? Does the
>culture of human services differ from the culture of education? If there are,
>do these differences impact the vision of the field that David has drawn? Or
>the process of professionalizing the field?
>
>I prefer to think of adult basic education as part of the life-long education
>continuum that recognizes the importance of linking intimately with social
>service provision. In this sense, adult education is a right, not a
>charitable contribution to a marginalized population.

_______________________________________________
NLA mailing list: NLA at lists.literacytent.org
http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/nla
LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
http://literacytent.org