Unique Adult Education Programs

Charlene commented on Groups 4 and 5
Becky commented on groups 2 and 5.

Roles:

Charlene - Introduction, Proofread

Becky - Comparison, Compiled rough draft, Posted final draft

Jessica - Implication, Proofread

Unique Adult Education Programs

EDAC 631: Group 3

Charlene Jackson

Jessica Kirby

Becky Moening

October 26, 2014

Introduction

            The two programs chosen for this project are the university tutorial classes of the Workers’ Educational Association and the Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program, a subset of the larger National Program, at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.  The university tutorial classes take place in the United Kingdom and the Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration program takes place in the United States. Both programs have unique methods of addressing pertinent issues that impact the lives of adults.

University Tutorial Classes

Educational Purpose

            The early goals of the university tutorial classes were to provide a new form of adult education, which would foster collective and individual social advancement (Turner, 2009). The classes brought university-level education to the working class to promote “self-development of the individual, not support of collective political purposes” (Turner, 2009, p. 369). Today, the classes cover a broad range of topics including employability, health and well-being, community engagement, and culture. The employability classes help students develop skills and knowledge to increase job prospects. The health and well-being classes allow students to engage in physical fitness and take a more active role in their own lives and in society. The community engagement classes help students engage with political and social issues by promoting greater participation in democratic decision-making and empowering students to take a greater role in civil society. The classes focusing on culture allow students to understand various cultures, identities, and environments so that they can engage more critically and independently with society (Workers’ Educational Association, 2014).  

Educational Perspective

            The tutorial class system has become more than a method of teaching adults, but a movement in itself (Turner, 2009). Its ability to bring university-level education to working adults has expanded the limits of popular education. The classes are student-centered, tutor-led, and designed to promote lifelong learning.  The students decide what they want to learn and tutors or teachers are viewed as equals. The various class offerings allow students to enhance their own lives and improve their communities.  The foundational belief is that learning is for everyone and can be life-enhancing and life-changing (Workers’ Educational Association, 2014).

Learners

            The class participants are 75% women and 25% men, 20% are ethnic minorities, 26% have a disability, 36% live in deprived postcodes, and 43% receive income-related benefits (Workers’ Educational Association, 2014).  The students are diverse and come from various backgrounds, but they share a common desire to improve their lives through education.

How was the program organized?

            The strong partnerships between local universities, trade unions, co-operators, church leaders, professors and WEA form the foundation of the university tutorial classes. WEA has over 4,000 local branches, 3,000 volunteers, and 2,000 part-time tutors. The classes are offered in groups no larger than thirty-two students. The students are able to choose the topics of interest and enroll in any course with little or no prior learning or experience. Each meeting consists of an hour lecture followed by an hour discussion. Students must commit to regular class attendance, complete required readings, and submit essays. WEA receives public, government, and private funding to support the classes. WEA also offers some fee-based classes for its participants that are able to pay.  

Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program

Educational Purpose

            Stemmed from Andrew Carnegie’s belief that American democracy cannot flourish without fixing the “broken” immigration system, one goal of the National Program is to create clear pathways to citizenship, civil participation, and civic integration for immigrants (www.carnegie.org). This goal is implemented through the Pathways to Citizenship Program, which develops strategic communications to increase balanced media coverage of immigration, supports organizations that are strengthening naturalization and civic engagement efforts, helps improve immigration policies, and encourages naturalized citizens to vote.

Educational Perspective

            The Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program’s aim of providing clear pathways to citizenship, participation, and integration for immigrants is rooted in the Carnegie Corporation’s belief that “enlightened citizenship is the everlasting strength of our democracy” (www.carnegie.org). The Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program believes that those men and women who have become “Americans by choice” are what make the nation strong and vibrant. Funding and resources are distributed to organizations and entities that are strengthening immigration policies and are helping the millions of immigrants with limited opportunities become integrated in the civic fabric of America. Instead of deporting illegal immigrants, which costs the country upwards of $285 billion, the Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program’s perspective is to develop comprehensive immigration reform.

Learners

            The learners of the Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program are men and women who are striving to become or have already become Americans by choice. The millions of foreign-born people residing in the United States are the focus of the Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program. Currently, there are an estimated 8.2 million legal immigrants residing in the United States (www.carnegie.org).

How was the program organized?

            The Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program is a subset of the National Program at the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The National Program addresses a broad range of issues impacting the experience of immigrants in America, including media coverage, legislation, access to economic opportunities, pathways to citizenship, and knowledge and understanding of voting rights. Funding is distributed to several organizations and entities committed to improving the integration of foreign-born citizens into the American mainstream. One example is the New Americans Campaign launched in 2012. The New Americans Campaign helps legal permanent residents (LPRs) understand the benefits of naturalization and helps with navigating the naturalization process (Baldwin, 2013). The New Americans Campaign has over 400 partners that help in the process including libraries, schools, faith-based organizations, and businesses.  

Comparisons

The university tutorial classes are designed to combat social exclusion while promoting active citizenship throughout England and Scotland. This is working on citizens of the individual country, helping these people to become more engaged in the national processes. The socially and economically disadvantaged adults that are being empowered by the programs are working with political as well as social issues. Many of these adults are not a part of the socially active population and the university tutorial classes encourage the adults to take stronger roles in their societies.

The Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program works slightly differently. While the university tutorial classes focus on citizens of the home country, the Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program focuses on helping immigrants to the United States integrate into society. The program’s focus is on immigrants learning about the state and local areas where they settle. The United States has so many immigrants with very few programs helping to integrate them into society. The Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program also provides programs to help the immigrants become naturalized citizens and to take a more active role in American society.

The WEA formed the university tutorial classes  in 1903 and they have become the United Kingdom’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult education. The WEA was built on volunteers and funding by outside agencies. In England, the WEA is funded by the Skills Funding Agency while in Scotland it is funded by the Scottish Government under the Strategic Funding Partnership Agreement. This organization relied on the generosity of volunteers and outside agencies to exist, flourish, and grow.

The Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration Program at the Carnegie Corporation is very different in that it grew out of one man’s passion for international peace. Andrew Carnegie was a wealthy man with a passion for philanthropic work. He funded the organization and made sure his mission would survive long after his death. The Carnegie Corporation continues to provide grants for programs that help promote international peace and to help immigrants coming to the United States.

Implications

The Worker’s Educational Association’s programs and their focus on community engagement are similar to Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration in several ways. The WEA works to reach an adult population and provide courses that help students learn skills and knowledge and teach them to become more active citizens (Community Engagement, 2014). Courses from the WEA demonstrate that adult education is designed to both teach ideas/skills and to help people become more involved in their communities and society as a whole. This dual purpose is unique and important, because unlike childhood or secondary education, adult education has the task of teaching students who have developed their own identity and sense of responsibility. The WEA’s programs highlight the importance of integrating social awareness into adult education courses.

Adult educators can learn a great deal from both the Carnegie Corporation’s Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration program and the Worker’s Educational Association courses that focus on Community Engagement. Each of these programs employees a different strategy to reach their students, but each of them focuses on the importance of creating active, informed citizens who are willing and able to work for change. Adult education has the ability to go beyond teaching basic knowledge and skills to helping adults develop as members of society. Current and future adult educators must be aware of the programs and courses being offered across the nation and around the world to help deepen their understanding of their own courses and provide high quality experiences for their students.

Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration from the Carnegie Corporation is a true example of the ability of adult education to work for both social and political change. The overall mission of this program is to protect and advance the rights of people who immigrate to the United States (Citizenship and Civic Integration, 2014). While this program is not a formal education program, it demonstrates the encompassing nature of adult education. Programs such as these take information to people and work to bring about change and action. Current and future adult educators can learn from this program’s approach. Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration tackles a large issue by providing information and resources to adults across the nation and then proposing action. Adult educators should embrace the challenge of inspiring individuals to be involved in their communities and their world.

Table 1. Summary of Unique Adult Education Programs

	University Tutorial Classes	Pathways to Citizenship and Civic Integration
Location	England and Scotland	United States
Educational Purposes	Provide part-time university-level education for working adults	Create clear pathways to citizenship, civil participation, and civic integration for immigrants Create balanced coverage of immigration and respond to anti-immigration rhetoric in the media
Educational Perspectives	Student-centered, tutor-led classes, expansion of popular education Learning is for everyone and can be life-changing and life-enhancing	Provide funding and support to local and national organizations and entities engaged in civic integration of immigrants If legal permanent residents understand the benefits of naturalization, they will be more likely to engage in the naturalization process. If the process to naturalization is easily to understand and accessible, more legal permanent residents would become naturalized citizens.
Learners	Working class adults with various socioeconomic statuses	Immigrants, “Americans by choice”, legal permanent residents, naturalized citizens
How was the program organized?	Partnerships between local universities, trade unions, churches, professors Funding provided by public, government, and private sources	Area focused on issues in America impacting the experiences of immigrants in America, legal residents, and naturalized citizens Addresses immigrant issues in news media coverage, legislation, economic opportunities, pathways to citizenship, and exercising voting rights
Why were they organized differently/similarly?	The university tutorial classes depend on volunteers and outside agencies for funding The classes filled the need in the region for an extension of the universities in an effort to meet the needs of local adults	The Pathways to Citizenship Program depends on wealth of single man who started the corporation Some Americans are concerned with the ‘immigrant problem’ and the Citizenship program responds to this. There is also a need in the United States for a simpler process of becoming a naturalized citizen and the citizenship program helps with this as well.
Implications	Increasing the involvement of adults into their communities, help adults learn skills and knowledge to allow them to become more active citizens	Creates active, informed citizens who are willing and able to work for change, helps adults become positive members of society

References

Baldwin, J. (2013). The new America campaign: Helping immigrants become U.S. citizens. The Carnegie Reporter, 7(2). Retrieved from http://Carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/Carnegie.Final_01.pdf

Carnegie Corporation of New York. (2014). Citizenship and Civic Integration. Retrieved from: http://carnegie.org/programs/democracy-and-civic-integration/citizenship-and-civic-participation/

Columbia University Libraries of Oral History Research. (2006). Carnegie Corporation Oral History Project. Retrieved from www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/oral-hist/Carnegie/about-carnegie

Hall, P. (1994). Business, philanthropy, and education in the United States. Theory Into Practice, 33(4), 211-17.

Hamburg, D. A., & Carnegie Corp. of New York, N.Y. (1997). A perspective on Carnegie Corporation’s program, 1983-1997.

New Americans Campaign. (2013, June 26). Citizenship mega workshop in Miami assists 1000 aspiring citizens [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77rYG2HMAV0

Turner, R. (2009). Workers’ Educational Association tutorial classes and citizenship in Scotland, 1907-1939. History of Education, 38(3), 367-381. doi:10.10801/00467600902855462

WEAadulted. (2012 November 9). WEA-Making a difference [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIA_HQYfzM4

Workers’ Educational Association. (1998). Workers’ education, civil society and international development. London, England. Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED423385)

Workers’ Educational Association. (2014). 2014 annual review. Retrieved from http://www.wea.org.uk/download.aspx?id=2187

Workers’ Educational Association. (2014). Community Engagement. Retrieved from: http://www.wea.org.uk/about/whatwedo/community-engagement