[NLA] Call for OERI Re-organization -- How will Adult Education Research fare?

[comingjo]

The House version of the OERI legislation has passed in its committee and 
though I haven't read it through yet, I'm told that it does continue support 
for the R&D Centers program that funds NCSALL.  The Senate committee will take 
this up on April 30th in hearings.  I think Kennedy will support the R&D 
Centers.  OERI does need reorganization and when it is reorganized, it will 
probably receive more funding, and so we should support reorganization.

My concern is this: The new structure will have separate "Institutes" for 
research, dissemination, evaluation, and education statistics (like NALS). The 
head of each institute will be a k-12 researcher. ABE will get little or no 
attention.  The only reason OERI is funding NCSALL (and NCAL before us) is 
because two Congressmen (Goodling and Sawyer) told them they had to do it. 
Goodling, Sawyer, and Kennedy have weighed in several times to look after our 
interests over the last 10+ years.  Goodling is now gone.  I feel we need some 
language in the bill that identifies ABE, adult ESOL, and ASE programs and 
students as a required area of OERI's work and that each "institute" must have 
a staff person who has experience and expertise in our field. If there is no 
ABE person, the institute will not pay attention to our concerns.

I don't think OERI will hire four ABE researchers and if they do, they will be 
one voice in each of four separate institutes.  Of course the institutes will 
be required to work together, but that kind of cooperation is rare in federal 
agencies. I think our field needs an integrated OERI institute in which 
research, dissemination, evaluation, and statistics are linked together.  This 
goes against the existing House bill, but I just don't see a structure run by 
K-12 researchers working for us.

I would, of course, like the R&D Centers program to continue, but the field's 
concern should be "How will the ABE/ESOL/ASE field get the attention it 
deserves in OERI."  I think it will only get that attention if OERI hires 
several researchers whose careers are in our field and that, for our field, 
research, dissemination, evaluation, and statistics are coordinated, which in 
a federal agency means that one person would be in charge of them.

>===== Original Message From nla at lists.literacytent.org =====
>NLA Colleagues,
>
>A March 6th  article in EdWeek
>    http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=25oeri.h21
>describes a bill before Congress, introduced by Representative Michael
>Castle, R-Del,  that would overhaul the US DOE's Office of Education
>Research and Improvement (OERI).
>
>Since OERI is the only place in the federal government with specific
>funding for adult education research and a center for that purpose (this
>is where the funding for  the National Center for the Study of Adult
>Literacy and Learning, NCSALL comes from) I am concerned when I see a
>call for a major re-structuring that adult education will be lost in the
>shuffle.
>
>After the Bush Administration's NIFL Board candidates -- none who has
>adult education experience -- I wonder if others see a pattern which
>will cause adult education to lose ground under this administration.  If
>so, isn't it time for some organized fax/letter/e-mail-writing?
>
>Are the National Coalition for Literacy, COABE and AAACE public policy
>committees, state adult education coalitions,  state adult education
>directors and others talking about this?  If so, let's hear about it on
>the NLA list -- and how about a plan for some action?
>
>David J. Rosen
>NLA List Moderator
>
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John Comings, Director
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
Harvard Graduate School of Education
7 Appian Way
Cambridge MA 02138
(617) 496-0516, voice
(617) 495-4811, fax
john_comings at harvard.edu
http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu

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