Amber Smith - History of Adult Education

Amber Smith	Commented On: Amanda Godwin

History of Adult and Community Education in the 1960s

Amber L. Smith

Ball State University

  

Introduction:

            The 1960s was an era of unrest and social change in the United States. The decade began with the election of John F. Kennedy, who campaigned with an agenda to eliminate injustice and inequality in the United States (“The 1960s”, 2010). John F. Kennedy was later assassinated, and Lyndon B. Johnson became stepped into the role of President. President Johnson then declared his aspirations to make the United States into a “Great Society”, building upon the social-issue agenda that began under President John F. Kennedy. The “War on Poverty” began under President Johnson and social programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, and Job Corps for training unskilled workers were enacted (“The 1960s”, 2010). While there were bright spots in the 1960s such as the “War on Poverty”, there was also unrest with the controversial Vietnam War and the difficulties of moving forward with the Civil Rights Act. The legislation surrounding social issues of the 1960s brought about changes to adult education with the impact still felt today.

Highlights:

The social and economic situations described previously led to a need for the United States government to respond to the educational needs of the poor, unemployed, and undereducated adults. Fortunately, in the 1950s the U.S. Office of Education added a new section to the organizational chart, Adult Education. The Adult Education section described a purpose that included, amongst other things, helping Americans “become more aware of the importance of lifelong learning and how it can aid in solving many of their problems” (U.S. Department of Education [DOE], 2013, p. 4). As the social and economic situations pushed for education of adults the availability of an area of the U.S. government to focus on the issue allowed for immediate changes to the adult education sector.

            Self-directed learning was a significant trend for informal, experienced based learning in the 1960s. Self-directed learning is “any increase in knowledge, skill, accomplishment, or personal development than an individual selects and brings about by his or her own efforts using any method in any circumstances at any time” (Gibbons, 2002, p. 2). Studies in the 1960s showed that adults developed life and job-related skills because of their own initiative (Carliner, 2013). The combination of the acknowledgement of the value of self-directed learning, the involvement of the government in adult education, and the general push for social change greatly influenced the availability of resources for informal, experience based adult education.

Influential Factors:

            As the United States Federal Government became more involved in education, the policies and direction of the role of the government in Adult Education was shaped by President Johnson’s antipoverty programs, including the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the Adult Education Act of 1966, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Amendments of 1968 (DOE, 2013, p. 5). The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 allowed the federal government to work with the states to expand educational opportunities for adults, which was important as there was an economic recession in the 1960s with high unemployment rates.

 “Increasing awareness of the need for quality education for both children and adults, along with changing needs of the workforce, incorporation of technology, and increasing global competition, played a part in succeeding federal bills concerning adult education” (DOE, 2013, p. iv).

            As the government became more involved in adult education three areas of focus emerged: education for government employees – both civilian and military, manpower development and training programs, and programs to develop literacy and basic skills” (DOE, 2013, p. 5). The education provided by the programs allowed individuals to participate more fully as citizens as they developed basic reading, math, and writing skills. Though these federal programs may not seem to influence experience-based education, they are immensely important for informal learning. The skills of reading, math, and writing are building blocks for individuals to be able to participate in experience-based education. Establishing literacy allows an individual to read the plaques at museums to gain knowledge as they walk through the exhibits, to read signs regarding the nutritional value of produce at the farmer’s market, or to read anything in public that contains information that is new to the individual. Additionally, the decision of the federal government to place value on training programs pushes forth the value of education, encouraging self-directed education and promoting the importance of a lifetime of learning. One must also consider that the expansion of education traditionally opens more employment opportunities, if an individual is gainfully employed they may have the more financial stability that allows them the opportunity to go to museums, events, and programs that provide informal learning opportunities.
            As a response to the need to better serve the poor and generally disadvantaged population the 1964 Library Services and Construction Act made funds available to deliver library services to the socially disadvantaged population (DOE, 2013, p. 8). The Library Services and Construction Act was far-reaching, it allowed for the purchase of 375 bookmobiles, the addition of 14 million books to library collections, and the construction of 363 local libraries in 53 states and territories (Farrell, 2012). The services that libraries provide are important aspects of the experienced based information education. Expanded library services have provided numerous opportunities for adults to expand their education through the availability of resources, artwork on display, as well as the numerous events that are offered to the public, often at no cost. The Library Act even provided the opportunity for bookmobiles, making library resources and programs available to those that are not able to travel to the library.
            The U.S. government passed other pieces of legislation in the 1960s that impacted informal education. In 1965 an act was passed to establish the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities. In the passing of the act Congress declared that to "fulfill its education mission, achieve an orderly continuation of free society, and provide models of excellence to the American people, the Federal Government must transmit the achievement and values of civilization from the past via the present to the future, and make widely available the greatest achievements of art” (National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, n.d.). Congress continued to promote the availability of artwork through the 1966 act that established the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden as part of the Smithsonian, to showcase art and artists (Hishhorn Museum, n.d.). The final piece of legislation that will be covered in this paper is the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. This act eventually led to the establishment of Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS, in 1969, followed by the establishment of National Public Radio, NPR, in 1970 (History Timeline, n.d.). Both PBS and NPR provide significant amounts of informal education to the population.
            Outside of the federal government’s role on informal education in the 1960s, there were also individuals making strides in informal education. Malcom Knowles was one of the individuals influencing informal education through the concept of andragogy. Knowles’ andragogy had five underlying principles for the learner, identifying them as someone who has: an independent self-concept and can direct his own learning, a reservoir of life experiences that is a rich resource for learning, learning needs that are closely related to changing social roles, is problem centered and interested in immediate application of knowledge, and is motivated by internal factors to learn (Merriam, 2001). Knowles suggested that adults can plan their own learning. Although many of the principles of andragogy seem to focus around more formal education, some aspects, such as the ability to direct their own learning, the reservoir of life experiences, and the motivation of internal factors, resonate with the informal learning process. Much of experience-based education is based on the desire of an individual to engage in a learning process. Even when thinking of experience-based education in a grocery store, at some level the learner has a choice, they do not have to listen to the person talking about the health benefits of the food that is available to sample, that is a conscious choice that individual makes to engage in the learning process.
            During the 1960s Paulo Freire promoted a horizontal learning relationship where the teacher can also learn from the student as the student learns from the teacher (Diaz, n.d.). Freire’s horizontal learning relationship encourages the student to recognize that the teacher does not know all the answers, allowing the student greater freedom to raise questions and to attempt to critically think for themselves to discover answers to questions that do not have obvious answers (Diaz, n.d.). He also impacted adult education in the 1960s with his work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. One especially relevant topic discussed in the work was the encouragement of tolerance of others for dialogue, or conversation, to occur between people, bringing about the truth (Diaz, n.d.). Experience based learning in daily life can occur through conversation with others, however for learning to occur individuals must recognize and accept the fact that they can learn from others. The work of Freire acknowledges the need for individuals to humble themselves, in a way, to facilitate learning from another individual.

Implications:

            The 1960s was a decade that encouraged adult education. The federal government passed numerous acts that allowed for expanded education. The variety of acts passed highlight the importance of all levels of education. Although they were not highlighted in this paper, since other groups will be covering the topics, there was sweeping legislation for basic literacy education, legislation for community colleges, and legislation that impacted universities. The lesson from this is that societal trends impacted education in the past and will continue to do so. The 1960s also highlighted the importance of social activism for producing change in society. There was a push for justice and equality and that push brought about sweeping changes to adult education, making additional opportunities available to the low-income population and pushing forward educational rights for minorities. These changes would not have happened without a social movement, which is important to remember and consider now, as we continue to work through social issues in current times. The work of Friere, on tolerance and dialogue, is an important perspective to consider with the current social movements, as taking the time to converse with those different than us can help to provide perspective on many issues.  

            Finally, the 1960s also brought about the idea of self-directed learning. Adult learners can decide what they are interested in and can then develop additional knowledge on the topic. Self-directed learning continues to impact education today as adults can truly learn about any topic they find interesting using the internet. In the 1960s the government worked to make learning available for all adults, through formal education and through informal resources such as libraries and museums. I do not have a reference for this, but I recently read something on the internet about an individual questioning whether libraries would even be approved funding in our current political climate. Moving forward we, as society, must protect the educational resources that are available, and we should continue to push for more.

Experience Based Informal Education in the 1960s
Social Background	John F. Kennedy campaigned to eliminated injustice and inequality, Lyndon B. Johnson “Great Society”, Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War,
Highlights	Adult Education section of the Office of Education, self-directed learning
Influential Factors	Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, Paulo Freire – dialogue and horizontal learning relationship, Malcolm Knowles – andragogy.
Implications	Societal trends impact education, Social activism can bring about changes to education, Society has to continue to push for educational opportunities to be available to everyone

  

References:

Carliner, S. (2013). How have concepts of informal learning developed over time? Performance Improvement, 52(3), 5-11. doi:10.1002/pfi.21330

Diaz, K. (n.d.). Paulo Freire. Retrieved February 18, 2018, from https://www.iep.utm.edu/freire/

Farrell, M. (2012, June 29). A brief history of national support for libraries in the United States. In International Federation of Library Associations. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/past-wlic/2012/140-farrell-en.pdf

Gibbons, M. (2002). The self-directed learning handbook. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-209). (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2018, from https://www.neh.gov/about/history/national-foundation-arts-and-humanities-act-1965-pl-89-209

Hirshhorn Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2018, from https://hirshhorn.si.edu/about-us/

Merriam, S. B. (2001). Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning: Pillars of Adult Learning Theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 3-96. doi:10.1002/ace.3

The 1960s. (2010). Retrieved February 18, 2018, from http://www.history.com/topics/1960s
History Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2018, from https://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/history-timeline

United States, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education. (2013). Federal Adult Education: A legislative history 1964-2013. Retrieved from https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/Adult_Ed_History_Report.pdf