Adult and Community Education in the 1980s
Lanny W Burnham
Ball State University
Adult and Community Education
EDAC 631: Intro to Adult and Community Education
Dr. Bo Chang
Name | Commented on: |
Lanny Burnham | Rachael Robertson |
Introduction
The 1980’s. I chose this decade for this history assignment because that is the era that I grew up in. Having been born in the middle of 1980, the educational policies and “advances” directly affected me in my early childhood years, and then followed me into the 1990’s. American culture in the 80’s was “defined by a proud political and social conservatism.” (UXL American Decades). Ronald Reagan was president for 2 terms during the 1980’s, from 1980-1988, and he brought (or created) a high standard for Americans during this time period. “A good education, a good job, and a loving family no longer defined success for many Americans. They had to have an M.B.A. degree, a high-paying job, an elegant home or apartment, a membership to an upscale health club, and the necessary clothes to give them at least the appearance that had succeeded.” (UXL American Decades).
Highlights
During this time with Reagan as the Commander In Chief, Dekler predicted that America will experience a “significantly expanding adult population and a decreasing youth population that will cause education for adults to be an increasing concern to the educational system.” As a result of this, Delker would go on to say that increasing the amount of resources aimed at adult education would be absolutely necessary. During this time, researchers were scrambling to acquire accurate data of how to propel a “comprehensive system” (Delker, 1979) that would meet the challenges of how, and what, adults wanted to learn.
Multiple institutions of higher education had to take a hard look during this time period at their current policies and procedures for non-traditional students. This push was driven of course by the fact that during the 1980’s, for the first time ever, part-time students became the majority of learners enrolled in higher education institutions. All of this was aimed at meeting the labor needs of skilled labor within the U.S.
Influential factors
The National Center for Research in Vocational Education was paramount in providing data for schools to utilize in the development of their adult education programs. Title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 was relabeled as Community Services and Continuing Education Programs. This allowed funding to be used to strengthen programs through the use of grants. A small example of various programs and colleges that benefited from this according to Hamilton was New York Community College - Paraprofessional Program, University of Northern Iowa - CounselingMature Women for Productive Employment, Indiana University - Minority Businessmen, University of Virginia - Office of Volunteer Community Service, Manchester Community State College - Connecticut State Prison, etc. Again, this is just a small sample and the list truly goes on for a while. All over the country programs were being developed to strengthen and target groups that previously were not necessarily socially accepted as what I am calling, “college material.” Some groups were simply overlooked based on race, ethnicity, poverty, etc.
Implications
This particular time period showed a huge influx of non-traditional adult learners. It was a period of awareness and expansion. As a result, the focus of post-secondary institutions had to drastically shift their focus to this rapidly growing customer base. With this new majority in play, resources in the areas of technical, physical, and sheer manpower had to be reallocated. Programs were created to train learners in the areas of industry that were struggling to find skilled labor.
What is another side effect of all these new customers? Colleges and Universities would grow and thrive with all the new business that was pouring in. Programs were created for a target population that didn’t have education readily available to them previously. It made education competitive again, which would eventually trickle down to the youth and the education they would receive within the public school systems.
The 1980’s “were a decade when politicians, educators, and business leaders concluded that we must not choose between quality and equality; a decade when American schools were asked to raise their expectations so that all students might learn more; a decade in which a consensus developed that America could not afford to neglect its schools” (Ravitch, 1990.)
Summary Table
Area | Summary |
Introduction | Standards raised for American image President Ronald Reagan - “Less Government” |
Highlights | Growing adult population Decreasing youth population Extensive research on adult education Skilled labor shortage |
Influential Factors | President Ronald Reagan Title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 reword Rapid growth of adult learners College programs increased in availability |
Implications | Huge influx of adult learners Post secondary had to respond accordingly
|
References
Brennan, M. (2023). Rear Vision: Lessons from Community Education in the 80s. In: Cleveland, B., Backhouse, S., Chandler, P., McShane, I., Clinton, J.M., Newton, C. (eds) Schools as Community Hubs. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9972-7_5
Civic Impulse. (2018). H.R. 4164-98th Congress: Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. Retrieved from Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act (1984; 98th Congress H.R. 4164) - GovTrack.us
Delker, Paul. Adult Education 1980 and Beyond: Implications for Research and Development. 1 May 1979. Division of Adult Education, U.S. Office of Education.
Ravitch, Diane. “Education in the 1980’S: A Concern for “Quality” (Opinion).” Education Week, 10 Jan. 1990, www.edweek.org/policy-politics/opinion-education-in-the-1980s-a-concern-for-quality/1990/01. Accessed 29 Jan. 2024.
Hamilton, Edwin (1980) "Continuing Education: A Challenge of the '80s," New Directions: Vol. 7: Iss. 3, Article 4.
"The 1980s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Overview ." U*X*L American Decades. . Retrieved January 08, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/culture-magazines/1980s-lifestyles-and-social-trends-overview
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