Talk:Adult education
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Continuing Education implies personal enrichment or community education. Adult Education in my mind is distinctly different and more more academic. Adult Education acknowledges that adults learn differently than adolescents, and that includes university students, graduates, migrants with no education or otherwise. Obviously the US educational system is in need of repair, and the discussion of andragogy vs. pedagogy may appear in the small school movement and school reform debates. So far, the content and discussion of this page is focused on theory, such as andragogy and self-directed learning. I would add that Adult Education is more often offered in Adult Schools that operate independently under public unified school districts, as well as Community Based Organizations, Correctional Facilities and other agencies. State and federally funded programs are moving toward more accountability to departments of education, just as K-12 schools are with NCLB mandates. In California, and much of the western US, public adult education programs host large ESL programs as well as comprehensive Adult Secondary Education programs that offer alternative and independent programs for concurrent high school students and adults who want to earn their GED or high school diploma. Adult Education also serves older adults and adults with disabilities. Many adult schools offer competitive hi-tech vocational and career education and are programmed into state employment development department initiatives (Workforce Investment Act). Parenting, Family and Consumer Awareness is another funded area of adult education. Burr Guthrie.
The US Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education cited 2,736,192 learners in the 2002-2003 year. About 40% were in literacy programs and 60% in basic education or Adult Secondary Education. There is no shortage of research about adult education in the US. [burr.guthrie@gmail.com]
This page needs vastly more work; as it is it says almost nothing that isn't common knowledge. Commentary on the situation in other nations would be particularly welcome, plus an in-depth examination of specific teaching methods used with children that do not work with adults and vice-versa.
Also, I feel that the ways in which a person learns new knowlege or skills are highly individual in any case, so it may not mean much to say "kids are taught this way but adults must be taught this way". Should we be discussing university-level teaching as well here? Graduate students are definitely adults, but this may not be quite the same as a 25-year-old waiter who wants to go back and finish gen ed requirements to apply to university. Comments? This is not my field. Jeeves 08:47, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I'm interested in this too, but I don't know of any special studies done in this field. Maybe we Wikipedians are doing some original research :) My general impression is: we need to link up the concepts of self-directed learning (at any age), learning materials (libraries, self-study courses, videotapes, the internet), acknowledgements of competence (degrees and such), and opportunities for expressing that knowledge (through application, discussion...what else?). Not sure how to do that though.
I personally am very interested in programs such as those offered by The Teaching Company, which are purely for enjoyment, and also the self-study and self-government practiced at the Summerhill School. But I realize that most people do study to get something concrete out of it, such as a degree. We should separate those two somehow. Mjklin 10:10, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)
