Angela Blankenship History of Adult/Community Education— Based Adult Education in the 1980’s EDAC 63

Angela BlankenshipCommented On:   

Jennifer Bradley

Amanda Godwin

Introduction:

During the 1980’s, many American’s embraced a new conservatism in social, economic and political life due to rising crime, inflation, and foreign policy turmoil brought on by the previous decade.  The 1980’s is remembered for its materialism and consumerism, the decade became a time of blockbuster movies, cable networks such as MTV, music videos, and the “yuppies”.

According to the People’s History website, Japan started selling the first CD player in 1983.  Motorola started selling the first mobile phones to the United States.  The 1980’s started the age of the computer.  Computers started in offices but them moved into homes.

Highlight:

The early 1980’s brought about debate, writing, discussion about the whether andragogy is a theory of adult learning.  The five assumptions to the andragogy of an adult learner are (1) has an independent self-concept and who can direct his or her own learning, (2) has accumulated a reservoir of life experiences that is a rich resource for learning, (3) has learning needs closely related to changing social roles (4) is problem-centered and interested in immediate application of knowledge, and (5) is motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors (Merriam, 5).   It was questioned whether andragogy was a theory for adult learning at all.  The other question that continues to be asked today is to which assumptions are actual characteristics of an adult learner.  Some adults require a teacher for structure and some adults may be externally motivated to learn for the sake of keeping their job

Influential Factors:

Adult education began to expand as there was in increased in leisure, earlier retirement, longer lives, new technologies, and even unemployment (Bruce, 210).  There was also a push for learning to happen in other ways than just in a classroom setting.

The 1984 amendments to the Adult Education Act were indicative of Reagan administration. These include a renewed interest in literacy but without federal support, an emphasis on the use of the volunteer, and measures for cost cutting and the encouragement of private enterprise's entrance in areas typically saved for the public or private nonprofit sector.  In 1981 the nongovernmental Coalition for Literacy was established. This group emphasized volunteer activities, publicity for literacy issues, response to public inquiries, and fund raising to support these activities. The Reagan administration also pushed for the use of volunteers as a way of decreasing costs while still dealing with what was coming to be seen as a crisis in literacy. It launched the Secretary of Education's Adult Literacy Initiative.  This group focused on the use of volunteers to increase different literacy activities.  The National Advisory Council on Adult Education (NACAE) found that there was widespread concern about the initiative among adult educators who feared that the secretary had overlooked existing ABE programs, that volunteers would not be properly trained and supervised, and that the influx of volunteers would affect management of programs in adverse ways.  In addition, the Secretary of Education became responsible for providing an information network. The secretary was also mandated to come up with a definition of literacy within 2 years and to conduct a study to estimate accurately the number of illiterate people in the United States (Rose, 25).

Implications:

The field of Adult Education grew in the 1980’s due to the increase in technology.  Computers started to become more commonplace.  First in the office and then in the home and schools.  There was in increase interest in adult education due to the fact that individuals were living longer lives, retiring earlier, and having a motivation to want to learn.  Adults wanted to learn to better themselves or to have a better understanding of what they needed for their careers.  The government was calling for an increase in Literacy.  There was a push for more volunteers in Literacy.

Summary of the History of Adult/Community Education

Social Background

*Increase in technology

*Computers and mobile phones

Highlights

*Andragogy as a theory

*Characteristic of adult learner

Influential factors

*Increase in who is interested in adult education

*Increase in Literacy

*Use of Volunteers

*Secretary of Education created an information network

Implications*growth in Adult Education due to technology and the want/need of others to learn.

References: 

Bruce, M. (1982). Demand Is Growing for Adult Education. The Phi Delta Kappan, 64(3), 210-211. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.bsu.edu/stable/20386637

History.com. (2011).  The 1980’s. Retrieved February 11, 2018 from http://www.history.com/topics/1980s

Merriam, S. (2001).   The New Update on Adult Learning Theory. In S. B. Merriam & P. M. Cunningham (Eds.), Handbook of adult and continuing education (pp. 3-15). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/anniv40/end-mean.pdf

Rose, A. (1991). End or Means: An Overview of the History of Adult Education Act.  Information Series No346. Washington, DC: Eric Clearing House.  Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED341875.pdf

The People History. (2016). 1980s news, events, popular culture and prices.  Retrieved from http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1980s.html