History

I commented on papers by:
Caroline Klein
Meredith Freeman

Adult Education in the Nineties 

By Kimberly Neal 

Abstract: This paper will explore the years of 1990-1999 in American society and culture with an emphasis on the impact, influence, and implications of this time period in regards to Adult Education.  It will discuss the important events and central issues facing adult educators, pinpoint significant historical events within the field, and in turn, identify the effects and lasting impact of this decade.

            The last decade of the twentieth century saw political and cultural changes around the globe, which impacted American society and adult education due to the expansion of trade, production, and finance on an international and global level (Creighton & Hudson, 2002).  In 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison in South Africa and went on to become president in 1994, the Soviet Union collapsed, reuniting East and West Germany, and Yeltsin was elected president of Russia.  Several countries in the former Yugoslavia declared independence which eventually resulted in the Bosnian war, Iraq invaded Kuwait which triggered the United States involvement in the Gulf War and Operation Desert Storm, and Civil War in Rwanda resulted in the genocide of nearly 500,000 people (1990s News, Events, Popular Culture and Prices).  One hundred and seventy-one countries participated in the indefinite extension of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed into law in 1994 and the World Trade Organization formed in 1995, spurring the first anti-globalization movement towards the end of the decade (U.S. Timeline - The 1990s Prosperity as the World Turns).  Terrorism and anti-American sentiment was building as evidenced by an Islamic group detonating a bomb at the World Trade Center in 1993, the Khobar Towers were bombed in Saudi Arabia with the intent to remove the United States presence in that country, and in 1998 Osama Bin Laden published his fatwa, fueling the Islamic fundamentalist agenda (U.S. Timeline - The 1990s Prosperity as the World Turns).

            The nineties saw a technological explosion, beginning with access to the internet for individuals ushering in the shift to digital communications.  It created a global communication network that enabled cultural exchanges.  The first website was created in 1991, and by the end of the decade there were nearly 17.1 million (Kriger).  Personal computers were now affordable enough for many households, in fact by the middle of the decade 30% of U.S. households had a computer (Farley, 1996).  This also fueled the economy, both at home and around the globe.  A whole new sector emerged that included manufacturing of computers, software engineers, technicians, and managers (U.S. Department of State).  Cable TV brought hundreds of new channels, and the markets that went with them from 24 hour news, pop culture reality shows, or the O.J. Simpson trial that elevated celebrity gossip and news to a whole new level (Kriger).  Mobile phones became commonplace, the threat of Y2K loomed, search engines such as Google were created,  Intel introduced the new Pentium processor, Microsoft ruled the computer software market, and Steve Jobs breathed new life into the Apple corporation (Anderson, 2015).  These burgeoning technological advances changed how America, and the world, found information, conducted business, communicated with each other, and ultimately added another spectrum of curriculum development and programming, along with a whole new method of delivery for adult and higher education: distance learning.

            The U.S. economy at the beginning of the 1990s was recovering from a recession, and although it began to strengthen as the decade unfolded many white collar middle management job losses occurred as well as the continued loss of blue collar jobs as in the past few decades.  Service and information-based jobs replaced manufacturing as the strongest sector of the labor market, and as industry felt pressure to remain competitive, advances in technology to increase productivity were becoming increasingly important; however, only a small number of people had the specialized skills that this new technology required (Farley, 1996).  This created a challenge for adult education providers to establish programs to train workers to fill the demand for these occupations.  By 1993 81% of the population earned a high school diploma; however, only 22% held college degrees.  The number of women on college campus rose to 56%, and female graduate student numbers went from 39 to 54 percent (Farley, 1996).  This increase in female participation was reflected in adult education programs as well, with a higher percentage of women engaging in continuing education (Stowe, 1998).

            Several factors influenced the demand for adult education in the 1990s.  The first and most important centered on the labor force market, and the need for adults with service and information based skills, rather than the manufacturing aptitudes of the past.  Adults needed to be educated about new technologies involving computers, software, and the digital control systems that were driving industry (Creighton & Hudson, 2002).  Secondly, a shift in attitudes as a result of this new “information based age” took value away from physical capital, and placed more importance on human capital, or in other words, the skills and knowledge of adults in the workforce.  This placed even more emphasis on continuing education.  Third, the nature of jobs was changing, and employers reported an “upskilling” of current jobs, with over half noting an increase in skill requirements (Creighton & Hudson, 2002).  Finally, the Baby Boomers were entering their middle age, and with the trends in continuing education the number of adults participating in adult education programs was increasing due the size of that particular age cohort (Creighton & Hudson, 2002).

            The demand for improved adult education spawned two major federal initiatives directed at adult education programming in the nineties beginning with the recognition that the joining of adult basic education with workforce training was essential in order to supply America with the labor force that it needed to compete on a global scale.  For the first time, adult education was included in a national statement about educational goals of the federal government by President George H.W. Bush.  “By the year 2000, every adult in America will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.”  (U.S Department of Education, 2013, p. 20)

            The National Literacy Act was signed in July of 1991, which increased funding for adult basic education, provided training for providers, and supported research to determine effective instructional strategies and the distribution of the research findings.  In addition, a key piece of this legislation focused funding to support partnerships between education organizations, business and industry, labor organizations, and private industry councils to improve the skills of the current workforce in areas of literacy.  The National Literacy Act even extended funding for inmates in correctional facilities, programming for residents in public housing, early childhood development, and parenting education (U.S Department of Education, 2013).

            In August of 1998 President Clinton signed the Workforce Investment Act, the second important federal initiative.  This signified the government’s belief in the connection between economic success and educational attainment.  It also emphasized collaboration between providers and instituted a “One Stop” mentality for adult education programs, determined locally by Workforce Investment Boards.  States were required to submit one cohesive plan.  This was also a pivotal moment for adult education because for the first time the term “family literacy services” was used, and adults with disabilities and those with limited English language skills were included as well (U.S Department of Education, 2013).

            The technological advances of the 1990s were the catalyst to a new method of educational delivery: distance education. More post-secondary institutions were offering courses and degrees via the Internet than ever before using computer-based instructional software.  This new system eliminated the barriers of time and distance that most adults faced when attempting to participate in adult education programs at brick and mortar institutions (Maehl, 2004).  In comparison to past correspondence based delivery systems, the digital age ushered in the use of multi-media formats, blogs, and other much more effective instructional tools to facilitate adult learning.  In addition, satellite communications allowed for distance education in virtually every part of the world (Brookfield, 1995).

            Throughout the nineties, there was a shift in the focus of adult education scholars from a scientific, rational and psychological approach in research to a perspective that took into account the societal changes taking place in America that were exhibiting strong influences on adult education such as cultural diversity of adult populations and social movements of the time (Chang, 2013).  In addition to the increase and influence of distance learning, two other  trends in the study of adult education emerged by the middle of the decade, the first being a recognition of cross-cultural dimensions of learning brought on by global communication and information sharing via the Internet.  Scholars pointed out the ethnic differences that exist between broad groupings need to be acknowledged if research in adult education is going to be truly valuable.  Educators were encouraged to think critically about their adult teaching styles, and take into account the learning styles of a specific ethnic group (Brookfield, 1995).  Second, the process of Practical Theorizing appeared, which is method by which adult educators reflect on the development of their own informal theories that direct their practice using two sources, the comparison of their informal theories to that of their peers, and the use of formal theories to pinpoint the central themes of their practice (Brookfield, 1995). 

            Many of the issues arising in the field of adult education in the nineties still hold sway today.  Adult educators must remain flexible, and meet the ever-changing needs of the adults they serve.  Our labor market has continued to grow in the areas of technology, services, and information-based employment.  It is now a given that a person can expect to change jobs several times in their lives, and will most likely need some form of continuing education in order to remain competitive.  Baby boomers are retiring and looking for activities to pursue during later life, social justice around the globe continues to evolve, and the need for adult basic education remains (Schmidt, 2013).  Technology will continue to have an influence on adult education in many aspects from curriculum delivery, sharing of research, communication between educators and students alike, and instructional methods.  Adult educators continue to search for new and better ways to impact learners, meet the social and educational needs of adults as their world changes, and promote the field of adult education by collaborating not only with each other but business and industry, policymakers, and workforce development agencies (Schmidt, 2013).  “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey

References:

1990s News, Events, Popular Culture and Prices. (n.d.). Retrieved from The People History: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1990s.html

Anderson, K. (2015, February 6). The Best Decade Ever? The 1990s, Obviously. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/opinion/sunday/the-best-decade-ever-the-1990s-obviously.html?_r=0

Brookfield, S. (1995). Adult Learning: An Overview. International Encyclopedia of Education.

Chang, B. (2013). Shift of Adult Education Research. Retrieved from Adult Education Research Conference: http://newprairiepress.org/aerc/2013/papers/10/

Creighton, S., & Hudson, L. (2002). Participation Trends and Patterns in Adult Education: 1991 to 1999. Washington, DC: United States Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics.

Farley, R. (1996). The New American Reality : Who We Are, How We Got Here, Where We Are Going . New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Kriger, P. (n.d.). What Did The 90s Mean? Retrieved from National Geographic Channel: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/the-90s-the-last-great-decade/interactives/what-did-the-1990s-mean/

Maehl, W. H. (2004). New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, Adult Degrees and the Learning Society. Jossey-Bass.

Schmidt, S. W. (2013). The Future of Adult Education. Adult Learning, 79-81.

Serrianne, N. E. (2015). America in the Nineties. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.

Stowe, P. (1998). Adult Education in the 1990s: A Report on the 1991 National Household Education Survey. Washington, DC: U.S Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics.

U.S Department of Education, O. o. (2013). An American Heritage, Federal Adult Education, A Legislative History 1964-2013. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education.

U.S. Department of State. (n.d.). The United States in the 1990s. Retrieved from Learn North Carolina: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-recent/6189

U.S. Timeline - The 1990s Prosperity as the World Turns. (n.d.). Retrieved from America's Best History: http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1990.html

I posted commented on Robyn Spoon's article.
Adult Education in the 1960’s

By Dawn M. Fewell

Introduction

            The 1960’s was a very complex decade in many ways all over our great nation.  It was a time of confusion and hurt, but also a time of great accomplishments for many people.  The decade began the first satellites being launched into space, blacks demanding to be treated equally, and John F. Kennedy becoming the 35^th president of the United States (History.com, 2017).  However, there was also much conflict during this time in the form of the Vietnam War, The Cuban Missile Crisis, the fear of nuclear testing, and civil rights demonstrations.  Even the hope many U.S. citizens had in young President Kennedy soon came to an end with his untimely death only two and half years into his presidency. 

            The uncertainty continued during this time period with the Civil Rights Movement.  Blacks wanted to be able to do what only white people were allowed to do.  The government did not get involved with Civil Rights until Lyndon B. Johnson became president in 1964.  President Johnson had a vision that the United States would be a “great society” where poverty and racial injustice would not exist.  During this time President Johnson developed many programs to help the people with all their needs through programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, Job Corps, and Johnson’s Office of Economic Opportunity (History.com, 2017).  All this led to the beginning of the federal government being involved in adult education.

            However, before this time period education was considered to be a local issue under state jurisdiction and control.  The federal government before the Adult Act of 1966 only got involved with education if it was determined to be a national concern.  Examples of the federal government involvement included the Morrill Act of 1962 which provided grants universities for agriculture and the mechanical arts due to a need in these fields, and the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 which provided vocational training (Rose, 1991, p.5). Another area the federal government became involved in was providing veterans with education opportunities through the G.I. Bill of Rights.  Literacy became an issue before the 1960’s when mass testing of recruits for World War I found that 25% of army recruits were illiterate and lacking basic skills (Rose, 1991, p.6).  However it wasn’t until World War II the government became concerned that illiteracy was threat to economic growth and national security issues (Rose, 1991, p. 6).  Illiteracy was a concern in all of the United States, but particularly severe in the Southeast among blacks (Rose, 1991, p.7).  These concerns are what led up to all the federal changes in adult education that occurred in the 1960’s.

Highlights

            The governmental concern for making sure all citizens were literate was the main focal point of the 1960’s adult education.  During the 1960’s the government began to focus on a stronger dominant role in adult education.  During the sixties there was rapid workforce growth, automation which allowed for economic transformation, and poverty initiative called the “Great Society” which hoped to “eliminate poverty and racial injustice through educational programs, job creation, and prohibition of discrimination” (Bannon, 2016, p. 320).  We are familiar with many of these programs still today such as Head Start, Medicare, Community Action Agencies, legal aid, and Food Stamps.  This was done through the Federal Workforce Development Legislation of 1962. 

            The following is a brief timeline of the Federal Workforce Development programs under the Presidency of Kennedy and Johnson in the “War on Poverty”.  In 1962 the Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA) was the first labor market policy framework and also centralized the role of the federal government in training.  It was created to retrain and assist dislocated workers because of automation.  However, was amended to expand services to high school dropouts, older workers, people who were in prisons, and individuals with disabilities (Federal, 2017, p. 1).  In 1963 the Vocational Education Act became an extension to the 1917 Smith Hughes Act, and it allowed federal funds for part-time employment for youth (Federal, 2017, p. 1).  Then in 1964 the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) expanded Community Work and Training programs that allowed states to have Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients continue to work and receive their AFDC grants (Federal, 2017, p.1).  The EOA also created Neighborhood Youth Corps and Job and was the first comprehensive poverty program at the federal level (Rose, 1991, p.1).  The Act provided grants to the states to develop programs for adults to focus on English language limitations, improve basic skills, and to help adults become more productive and responsible citizens (Rose, 1994, p. 7&8).  In 1968 the Work Incentive Program (WIN) provided Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients work and training programs (Federal, 2017, p. 1).   

Influential Factors

            There were many influential factors to the creation of many of the adult education programs that we know of today.  Just with any other movement, it did not all happen within a ten year period.  The first factor to start stirring the need for adult education was World War I and then World War II. This is when the military started realizing the problem of illiteracy with the enlisted soldiers.  The military were actually the first to begin to help their people develop the skills to become literate.  However, the federal government did not get involved in adult education until it became an issue of economic development (Bannon, 2016, p.316).

            President Kennedy on February 6, 1962 addressed the issue of adult education and the illiteracy which is passed from generation to generation (Rose, 1991, p. 11).  After Kennedy’s death, President Johnson carried on the adult education initiative.  During his term the Adult Education Act of 1966 was signed by him allowing the adult education out of the poverty program into the Office of Education.  This Act was the first time the federal government gave direct support of adult education (Rose, 1991, p. 12). 

Implications

            The implications of what had transpired in the 1960’s have affected adult education throughout the rest of history.  Many of the programs we have in existence today are due to the gains that were made over fifty years ago.  There is now access to many adult programs in every state which are actually backed by the federal government.  The literacy rate has increased over the last 50 years due to the focus on adult literacy.  According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) (https://nces.ed.gov/naal/lit_history.asp ) the percentage of persons 14 years old and over who were illiterate (unable to read or write in any language) was 3.2% in 1950.  The last statistic according to the NAAL was in 1979 and only .9% of the people were illiterate.  This has created a major impact for not only our economy, but also the welfare of these people.  Even with the turbulent times of the sixties, many people reaped the benefits and continue to do so today. 

References:

Bannon, J. L. (2016). Capitalizing on adult education: The economic imperative for literacy in 1960’s federal policy discourse.  College English, Vol. 78:4.

Federal workforce development legislation 1962-present. (2017, February 3). Retrieved from www.clasp.org.

National assessment of adult literacy (February 9, 2017), Retrieved from: nces.ed.gov. https://nces.ed.gov/naal/lit_history.asp

The 1960’s (2017, February 3).  Retrieved from History.com http://www.history.com/topics/1960s

Rose, A.D. (1994). Adult education as federal policy: The search for a literacy agenda. PAACE Journal of Life Long Learning, Vol. 3, p. 4-13. 

Rose, A. D. (1991). Ends or means: An overview of the history of the adult education act. Columbus: ERIC Clearing House on Adult, Career and Vocational Education, Center on Education, Information Series No. 346, p. 1-39.

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I commented on Christy Skeens' paper.

History of Adult Education in the 60’s

By Kathryn Brady

Abstract: This paper explores the history of adult and community education and covers the development of such in the period of the 60’s. It shows us what the influential factors during this period have been and explores the ideas that we could learn from such developments.

Adult education is the engagement of learning activity for people considered to be beyond the school going ages from pre-school to the early twenties when people are expected to be undergraduates. Community education on the other hand is a program that seeks to promote social and educational development amongst individuals and groups within communities.

Education can also be defined in the manner of service to the community by raising consciousness in the community. It is a service in more or less the same way that community development can be used to provide other valuable services such as housing, health and so forth to underprivileged societies.

Due to life’s constraints and unforeseeable and unavoidable circumstances however, it is sometimes impossible to have attained such a level of education by the time one has reached that age. Due to the constant demand for skills and knowledge, the concept of adult/community education became widely accepted and practiced as a way for adults to further gain more knowledge in adult education programs. These programs granted opportunities to people that had even missed out on getting basic high school education.

The government has been for a long period of time been involved in programs that support adult education. The nature and the extent of the governments support has been varied and has included the provision of funds to establish and support adult education programs and initiatives. Of key note is the governments enactment and legislation aimed at overcoming challenges to the access of education for adults.

Adult literacy took a focal point during the 1960’s in President Kennedy’s administration. A series of programs were launched and in August 20 1964, The Economic Opportunity Act was passed. It created the first Adult Basic Education program establishing a partnership with the federal and state governments charged with the dissemination of education to adults lacking high school education.

The 1964 Adult Education Act set out certain priorities which suggested: 

• The State education board was responsible for the execution of such programs. 
• Local institutions such as established elementary and high schools provided the learning environment to facilitate the adult education programs.

In 1966, Congressman Carl D. Perkins introduced an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education act that among other things, ensured that no less than 10% and no more than 20% was reserved for special projects and teacher training. It also established the National Advisory Council on Adult Education.

Also originating in the 1960’s was the Community control Movement. This included participants such as community groups, minority parents, teachers unions and school administrative staff.  The main idea of this movement was to devolve the role of education to the community as opposed to being the sole responsibility of the teachers.

Influential people that helped to shape and create the reforms evident in the Adult Education sector today include The Late President John F. Kennedy. He is fondly remembered for his passionate fight for the implementation of new government programs that addressed the needs of the elderly especially with regard to the education sector.

               The lessons we can have gleaned from this study is paraphrased in the words of President Obama “ The only way for communities to build long term power is by organizing people and money around a common vision…”(President Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father.)

Adult education is important and might as well be termed as a strong pillar that supports community. Different eras in life demand different sets of skills sometimes making the investment into adult education important in disseminating such skills and generally creating a consciousness and awareness that helps adults in improving their productivity.

References:

Davis H. Mark . The Economic Opportunity Act. History of Education (2002)

               Retrieved from: www.schugurensky.faculty.asu.edu

Eyre Gary Dr. History of Adult Education Act. Federal Response to Adult Literacy.

               Retrieved from: www,naepdc.org WEB 02/5/2017.

Obama B(1995). Dreams from My Father. New York. Crown Publishers.

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History of Adult Education in the 1910’s

By Oscar Guajardo

Abstract: This paper will explore adult education between 1910 and 1920 in the United States of America. It will discuss the “cause and effect” of the rapid industrialization and urbanization that started at the beginning of the third formative period of adult education.

In his article “Rewriting the History of Adult Education: The Search for Narrative Structures”, Barry John Hake challenges the prevailing and traditional narratives used to record the history of adult education. He proposes the adoption of formative periods to describe or report national educational movements (p, 15). One of these periods of history, the third one, is indeed of influential importance since it was susceptible to transformation by the country’s own fast industrialization and urbanization. For a period of approximately 50 years, between the 1870s and 1920s, growth and development brew the socio-political catalysts that demanded a change from a corrupt plutocratic system in the United States; as well as, precipitated the abdication of feudalistic systems, and the collapse of totalitarian empires around the world (p. 16). This paper will concentrate on a few significant events, sociopolitical developments and educators in the downward phase of this formative period of adult education, between 1910 and 1920, a decade that experienced the changes cause by the sociopolitical unrest at the end of the 19^th century.

The 1910s was the last decade of the so-called Progressive Era which was a historical episode in American history highlighted by actions bringing about social change and political reform. The 1910’s undergoes the results of the rapid industrial and economic growth, the massive infrastructure developments (such as the railroad construction) and the wealth inequality that originated at the beginning of the third formative period of adult education. Progressivism was the sociopolitical response to the decaying challenges of the American political system (as well as a transformation); however, it can also be seen as a stabilizing movement to keep the nation from radicals and revolutionist and to combat drastic change in the political regime. Many other countries around the world who did not have a progressive movement exploded in revolutions or had extreme changes in their political systems in the 1910s years: the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Mexican Revolution in 1910, the Finish Civil War in 1918, and the change in regimes of many other countries.

According to Hake, industrialization and urbanization “contributed to the emergence of the organized working class, a militant women’s movement, and the struggle for the right to vote” which lead to “the development of adult educational activities organized by socialist, communists, and anarchist political parties together with the trade unions and the women’s movement” (p. 16). This “gilded age” was a time of enormous wealth inequality – high concentration of wealth on a few individuals and vast poverty; plus, a wave of immigrant workers poured into the American workforce in view of the fact that wages were much higher than in most of the impoverished European nations. Unscrupulous individuals use the system for their own advantage and became a period of extreme corruption, discrimination against immigrants and women, extortion, lobbying, racial problems in the South, and religious hypocrisy (Morgan, p. 54). Therefore, Progressivism started and was carried out by reformers – “conservative and liberal, together with the hierarchies of the Catholic and Protestant churches”. In which, new forms of adult education provisions surface and “were largely intended to provide educational solutions to the social question of the emergent working class” (Hake, p. 16), which also promoted reformist solutions to the many issues of the time.

According to Thomas G. Sticht, “the turn of the twentieth century saw a plethora of institutions and organizations engaged in one way or another in adult education”. Business and industry, for example, saw the need to train their new employees in the new technologies, production methods and about new scientific knowledge; “elementary forms of vocational education and training developed with an emphasis upon technical drawing so that skilled workers could gain insights into the working of new machinery and production processes” (Hake). The Hatch Act of 1887 (which enabled legislation in 1914) gave colleges and universities the ability to get involved with the development of “extension” services dedicated to the needs of agriculture and industry which giving assistance to agricultural and rural populations around the country. Moreover, many other institutions and organizations such as churches, labor unions, libraries, foundations, the military, public schools, the media, health and welfare groups, and voluntary associations placed efforts in the development of adult education; for some of them; the idea educating adults originated with the concern of the rising social problems that amount with the influx of more people and could be sourced to the massive poverty and wealth inequality: health and sanitation, alcoholism, and prostitution. Proponents of educating adults were convinced that public’s behavior could be changed as a result of information and knowledge.

Between 1901 and 1910 8.8 million immigrants enter the United States to benefit from the job growth and higher wages; between 1911 and 1920 the influx of immigrants decrease but still was a vast amount: 5.7 million. At the beginning of the 1910s, industries in northern states depended on public and private, schools to provide some type of vocational education for their workers because immigrant from countries with a high proportion of untrained and uneducated workers was replacing competent and better-skilled workers. In order to meet this need, public schools made sure to prepare students for the new industrial workforce. For example, some minimum funding for agricultural extensions at some point expanded to include assistance for industries, technical training, night schools and continuing adult education for adults.

One of those few federal government programs specially designed for adults was the Smith-Lever Cooperative Extension Act (passed by congress in 1914). The mission of the law was “to enable people to improve their lives and communities through learning partnerships that put knowledge to work;” and it was a law that introduced and extended home instruction to adults. According to Melvin Barlow, the type of government intent proposed by the act was noteworthy: “cooperative agricultural extension work shall of the giving of instructions and practical demonstrations and home economics to persons not attending or resident in said colleges and in the several communities, and imparting to such person information on said subjects through field demonstrations, publications and otherwise” (Barlow, p. 51). It was significant because university educators began targeting adult learners through the extension education programs. So, for the first time in education history, adolescents were not the only ones benefiting from vocational education; adults had the opportunity to learn from a narrow but inclusive range of vocational and scholastic subjects through extension instruction at home and sometimes earn college credit through correspondence accreditation. The Smith-Lever Cooperative Extension Act was a very progressive and radical revolution of the field of adult education.

For a long time, proponents of industrial training, the National Society for Vocational Education, for example, worked tirelessly in order to obtain federal aid for vocational education. The growth of trade, industrialization, and urbanization went up unlike the growth of agriculture which remained constant. There was a desperate need for vocational education. The realization of this diligent work was the Smith-Hughes Act passed by congress in 1917. The law was a strategy of cooperation between the federal government and the states in order to provide financial support for agricultural vocational education but also for vocational education in general. “The Act had made provisions for this cooperative arrangement to extend to the fields of agriculture, home economics, and the trades and industries”. It gave the states a way to develop or expand their plans for more vocational education. One of the goals was to provide hands-on vocational training to secondary students (high school age) with the intention to funnel them into the industrial workforce and basically giving those students an “alternative” path in education for those students who were not headed for a “profession”. It also opened the doors for the training of adults (Barlow, p. 55-58).

Thomas Sticht stated that “in the twenty century the US military had its greatest influence on adult education”. One of the major event happening in the world in the 1910s was the Great War (World War I) which extended from 1914 until 1918. In a way, the war was an attempt by totalitarian empires to keep their power structure from collapsing; in the end, it accelerated it and gave rise to Fascism and National Socialism during the 1930s. According to Sticht, “the US Army sponsored the development of the first group-administered, standardized tests of "intelligence" for literates, illiterates or low literates, and non-English-speaking recruits. Which provided "objective" data on the masses: many native-born adults were well-educated and many immigrants illiterate could not speak English. This information was used by proponents of industrial training and adult education to advocate that there was, in fact, a need for adult literacy and “Americanization” education. During World War I, native-born and immigrants received some type of literacy education; soldiers and sailors were also encouraged to complete their high school degrees and continue to college and universities. “Nearly twenty-five thousand illiterate and non-English-speaking troops had received such training by February 1919” (Sticht).

Barlow explains that unfortunately the United States was not prepared, “skillfully” speaking, for the Great War; vocational education provided a relief. The first vocational education endeavors “were largely devoted to the needs of the nation in World War I” (1917-1918). Vocational education classes provided skills to thousands of civilian workers during the war campaign; those same workers used their skills in the post-war economy in the United States (p. 63). At the same time, another issue arose at the end of the war: the growing concern with the shifting of the participatory attitudes of women in the workforce. At the end of the 19^th Century, industrialization and urbanization contributed to the rise of “a militant women’s movement” and their struggle for women’s suffrage. The fight for the right to vote was heightened “by the experiences of World War I when women took the places in factories of men who were at the front” (Hake, p. 16). Strong debates stemmed arguing about the appropriateness of vocational training for women outside their “traditional” domestic roles – even though women were trained and performed traditionally men’s jobs during the war campaign. Some may argue that this debate was one of the reason’s women were granted the right to vote in 1919.  

Industrialization and urbanization at end of the 19^th century saw an increase in “regular” education and curriculum modifications were made to connect education to the need of growing economy. In this environment, Progressive Education was born. John Dewey wanted to modernize educational methods in public schools for years and his efforts continued into the 1910s.This was important because some of the qualities of Progressivism could be applied for vocational training, apprenticeships and adult education; under the traditional teaching systems, for instance, some of the adult education advantages, and benefits, of the Hatch Act, the Smith-Lever Cooperative Extension Act and even the Smith-Hughes Act not be applicable. In 1916, John Dewey published Democracy and Education which introduced the philosophies of Progressive Education to the American public for the first time. Dewey’s ideas persuaded the decision making people in government and industry (the Smith-Hughes Act benefited from this persuasion), as well as educators, that progressive education was suitable for the modern society of the time.

            There are definitely other influential factors in the history of adult education between 1910 and 1920 worth mentioning and studying; organizations such as National Education Association, the Carnegie Foundation and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); and educators  such as Cora Wilson Stewart who “created programs of instruction for adult literacy education, mobilized tens of thousands of volunteers as teachers and tutors for adult literacy programs, and advocated strongly for public support of educational opportunities for adult literacy learners” (Sticht). But this paper concentrated on few to show the “cause and effect” in a formative period of adult education. The “cause”, the rapid “industrialization and urbanization” of the country at the time; the “effect”, the sociopolitical changes and the policies implemented. We can probably say that education of adults has always occurred in America, but until the end of the 19^th century, there was no difference between children’s education and adult education. In the 1910s you can clearly pinpoint the difference.

Finally, one of the issues in the understanding of the history of adult education is that a definition is ambiguous; the term can have a different meaning to different people, so it is difficult to pinpoint historical information for the term. B. J. Hake states that “the history of adult education in its broader social and cultural contexts still has to be written. This will be the history of the individual and collective learning activities undertaken by adults in order to survive in difficult times and struggles to change society” (p. 18).

References:

Hake, B. (2010). Rewriting the History of Adult Education: The Search for Narrative Structures. International Encyclopedia of Education, 96-101. doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-044894-7.00017-8

Morgan, H. W. (2008). The gilded age, a reappraisal. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

Sticht, T. G. The Rise of the Adult Education and Literacy System in the United States: 1600

2000. Vol. 3,  ed. Comings, J. E., Smith, C. E., & Garner, B. E. (n.d.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series.

Barlow, M. (1976). 200 Years of Vocational Education: 1776-1976. The Vocational Education Emerges: 1876-1926. American Vocational Journal, 51(5), 45-58.

Barlow, M. (1976). 200 Years of Vocational Education: 1776-1976. Coming of Age, 1926-1976. American Vocational Journal, 51(5), 63-88.

Reading the Progressive Era Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2017, from

http://www.flowofhistory.org/themes/technology_transportation/progress_timeline.php