Pioneer Adult Education History
This article explores the history of adult education, tracing its roots and evolution into the multifaceted field it is today. It examines key figures, movements, and institutions that have shaped adult learning, from the early mechanics' institutes to modern community-based programs.
Early Seeds of Adult Education
The term "adult education" was coined in England in 1810, referring to the promotion of adult literacy. Across the Atlantic, adult education emerged in the nineteenth century as a means to enculturate recently arrived immigrants in the United States and Canada. During the early twentieth century, adult education primarily referred to vocational training for the labor force and academic programs for adults who had not completed primary or secondary school.
George Birkbeck: A Pioneer of Mechanics' Institutes
George Birkbeck (1776-1841), a Quaker doctor and teacher, played a leading role in educational institutions and movements in the first half of the nineteenth century and is known as the founder of Birkbeck College. A biography describes his early years in Yorkshire, his life as a student in Edinburgh, his work as a teacher of science in Glasgow, and his medical and educational activities in London. This biography provides the first complete survey of the origins and history of the mechanics' institute movement, with which he was particularly associated. This great adult education movement provided the starting point for many of our modern public libraries and technical colleges. Appendixes include a bibliography of Birkbeck's letters and a listing of mechanics' institutions recorded in Great Britain up to 1851, which shows the growth and geographical distribution of these institutions.
Mechanics’ institutes emerged as a vital force in providing educational opportunities for working-class adults during the Industrial Revolution. These institutions offered instruction in scientific and technical subjects, empowering individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
The Chautauqua Movement: Education in a Vacation Setting
The Chautauqua Institution, located on a 750-acre site beside Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York, was founded in 1874 by Lewis Miller and John Heyl. Although at first organized to train Methodist Sunday School teachers, the leadership and audience quickly included many Protestant denominations and became a center for adult education in a summer vacation setting. From almost the beginning, it offered short courses in music, art, religion, and physical training. By 1880, the Chautauqua Institution also presented prominent lecturers and discussions of current affairs and international issues as well as science and literature. Music grew in importance, with a symphony orchestra program offered regularly from 1920 and opera from 1929. From the 1920s, various New York universities have conducted summer courses at the Chautauqua Institution. Although in decline since the 1930s, in the early twenty-first century about 7,500 persons participated daily during the nine-week summer school. Some 100 lecturers spoke each year at Chautauqua Institution summer gatherings and special programs continued for youth and children, combining adult education with a family vacation in a camp-like setting.
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Inspired by the original Chautauqua Institute, traveling chautauquas appeared first in Iowa in 1904 under the leadership of Keith Vawter. Growing out of the city-based lyceum movement of popular lecturers and dramatic presentations, the traveling or tent chautauqua introduced mostly small town Americans to a variety of preachers, politicians, poets, and actors who were booked in regional circuits. Local chautauqua organizers, often educators and professional people, guaranteed ticket sales and publicized the five- to seven-day event. Farmers as well as townspeople gathered, often under tents, to hear dramatic readings of Shakespeare or inspirational speakers such as the politician William Jennings Bryan or preacher Billy Sunday. Music groups, especially concert bands, also were prominent on the programs.
Although many speakers were entertaining, and crowds eagerly anticipated Chautauqua Week as a release from the boring routine of farm and small town life, organizers saw their mission as educational by providing up-to-date information about world affairs, science, and art as well as platforms for reformers-especially prohibition and woman's suffrage. Themes of patriotism and moral uplift appealed to the mostly white middle class audiences.
The traveling chautauquas declined in the 1920s with the advent of radio that offered more assessable means of obtaining entertaining education. The moralistic and self-improving ethos of the movement also appealed less to audiences. Despite efforts to make programs more entertaining (for example, with more humor and music), the Great Depression ended the movement's traveling shows.
Community Schools: Education for All Ages
A physical education teacher called Frank Manley met up with industrialist and philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott to create an after-hours program in local schools. Program emphasized health, recreation, and adult education. “Lighted” or Community school - a school within easy access of local residents, open most days of the year, and with educational programs designed for, and in cooperation with, the residents.
Mott Foundation program initiated with a $6,000 grant to the board of education from C.S. Mott. Mott Leadership program was founded to train new leaders in the field of community education. "The Community educator starts with people, children, and adults, all of them. Ernest O. Melby papers. National Community Education day. The national center for community education combines schools with communities. US Congress passed legislation: 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. (Federal after-school bill”) giving grants to Community Learning Centers. Full-service schools - the Dryfoos model.
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The Rise of Lifelong Learning
The idea of lifelong learning as a means of ensuring personal and community development for all adults throughout adulthood emerged in the early twentieth century. Development of government policy and funding for lifelong learning programs began in the post World War II years and expanded through the 1960s and 1970s.
The Third International Conference on Adult Education held in Tokyo from 25 July to 7 August 1972 provided a new impetus for the growth of adult education and lifelong learning programs in North America and around the globe during the latter part of the twentieth century. As a result of work accomplished during the international conference, a recommendation on the development of adult education was adopted by UNESCO in 1976 that set forth the first international standards regarding adult education.
The UNESCO recommendation defined adult education as: the entire body of organized educational processes, whatever the content, level, and method, whether formal or otherwise, whether they prolong or replace initial education in schools, colleges, and universities as well as in apprenticeship, whereby persons regarded as adult by the society to which they belong develop their abilities, enrich their knowledge, improve their technical or professional qualifications or turn them in a new direction, and bring about changes in their attitudes or behavior in the twofold perspective of full personal development and participation in balanced and independent social, economic, and cultural development.
The recommendation also called for the recognition of adult education as an integral component of lifelong learning that extends through the individual's lifespan, restructuring of current educational systems to incorporate adult education, and development of opportunities for learning external to the current educational system. In contemporary America, adult education is used to refer to adult basic education, vocational-technical education, and community-based continuing education or lifelong learning programs. In this article, adult education refers to the latter.
Pioneers in the Field
Several individuals have left an indelible mark on the field of adult education, shaping its theories and practices.
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Malcolm Knowles: Knowles introduced andragogy in a 1967 speech and a related 1968 publication. The spelling was corrected to andragogy in 1968. The social movements which provide context of Knowles' times included: the humanistic adult education movement, the human services movement, the group dynamics movement, and the human resource development movement. Though Knowles had an eclectic philosophy of adult learning, humanism, a common theme through the movements, is central to the assumptions included in his theory. From the humanistic movement, Knowles gained consistency in philosophy. From human services, he recognized the need to be practical in his approach with adult learners. From the group dynamics movement, he became more authentic in his style.
Peter Jarvis: Peter Jarvis was a leading adult educator and pioneer of adult education scholarship. Jarvis' approach to teaching focused on learning that emphasized ethical and social nature.
Sharan B. Merriam: Sharan B. Merriam presents Beyond Andragogy: New Directions in Adult Learning Theory at the Adult Research Conference.
Dorothy Enderis: Dorothy Enderis, a pioneer in community recreation and adult education, used this legislation in Milwaukee to bring to fruition her vision of adult education and productive community recreation extending from the school system into the community.
Government Support and Legislation
Land grant Universities in every state offer service programs on farming, home economics, and public affairs to every county in the U. 1965 U.N. C.H. Moreland, Willis D. & Goldenstein, Erwin H. (1985). Pioneers in Adult Education. Flint, Michigan. Community Schools Act passed.
Modern Adult Education
In 1999, approximately 45 percent of adults 17 years of age and older participated in some type of adult education program. More than one-third of participants were involved in basic or vocational education. The remaining participants sought a multiplicity of personally motivated outcomes from their experiences, including outcomes related to leisure. Adult education is directly linked to leisure as individuals utilize education programs to learn about leisure and also enjoy educational programs as leisure experiences. Leisure interests of individuals may reflect innate characteristics, but those interests and related skills are developed through learning. For many individuals, a primary motivation for leisure is personal development-a significant outcome of learning. Individuals are driven to seek experiences that increase their understanding of themselves and the world around them, enhance personal skills, and provide novelty. Community-based adult education programs are an excellent tool for meeting these needs.
Community-Based Programs
Community-based adult education programs are offered through a variety of providers, including municipal parks and recreation departments, college and university continuing education programs, vocational and technical school programs, nonprofit organizations, local governments through adult education and community centers, hospitals and health centers, cooperative extension, libraries, museums, and Internet services. Financial support generally originates from one or a combination of the following sources: subsidies from sponsoring organizations, participant fees, auxiliary enterprises and sales or other fundraising activities, private grants, corporate sponsorships, and government funds. Adult education programs also serve as a revenue stream for the day-to-day operation of community-based organizations. Adult education programs usually are offered in the evening and vary in duration from two-hour workshops to semester-long courses.
The subject matter of adult education programs usually falls into one of two categories:
- Responsibilities and Tasks of Adult Life-This topical area includes an array of issues related to day to day living, including: family roles, career development, personal development, leisure, travel, hobbies, spiritual development, and living in a community.
- Society-The focus of programs in this category range from issues specific to the local community to matters of international concern. Politics, innovations in technology, health-care advances, and a wide range of social concerns are popular subjects in contemporary adult education programs.
The scope of community-based adult education programs has expanded since the 1960s to reflect the diverse interest and lifestyles of the population of the United States.
Education for Older Adults
An area of significant growth in adult education is programming designed for older adults. Senior centers and recreation programs offer an assortment of courses and workshops. Popular topics include technology, health, genealogy, arts and crafts, personal development, literature, and current events. Elderhostel is an international travel education organization that offers a remarkably diverse program of one to two week intensive, learning experiences at locations around the world. The Elderhostel Institute Network is a voluntary association of more than 220 Institutes for Learning in Retirement. Each of the institutes is affiliated with a college or university and directed by a group of older adults. On-line learning programs are offered by AARP and other providers. The number and variety of education programs for older adults will expand with the growth of the older population over the next several decades.
Challenges and Opportunities
Despite its growth and importance, adult education faces several challenges. One obstacle is the perception, held by some, that adult education is less important than K-12 education. This can lead to a lack of funding and support for adult education programs.
Another challenge is the difficulty of reaching certain individuals and encouraging them to participate in educational programs. Overcoming these obstacles will require a concerted effort by adult educators and policymakers.
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