Adult Education: Social Change or Status Quo?
Some believe that adult education was focused on a mission of social change in its formative years as a field in the 1920s. As it evolved and became institutionalized, the field became preoccupied with professionalization. More recently, emphasis on literacy and lifelong learning in a changing workplace has allied it with the agenda of economic competitiveness. This Digest examines the debate over the mission of adult education: is it to transform individuals or society? It looks at whether adult education functions as a means of empowerment in a democratic society or as an instrument for maintaining the status quo.
Individual or Society?
One of the core tensions of adult education (Merriam and Brockett 1997) is whether the primary focus of the field should be on individuals or society. Beatty (1992) is unequivocal in her stance: "The individual and change within the individual are not only the necessary and sufficient beginning and ending points for all adult education but also the focal point for the educational undertaking" (p. 17). She argues that the individual-society dichotomy is false: educated, empowered individuals create social change in ever-increasing spheres. Hass (1992) agrees that social change is brought about by the individuals affected. Mezirow's transformative theory suggests that individual perspective transformation must precede social transformation (Merriam and Brockett 1997).
In describing the ideas of Lindeman, Heaney (1996) and Wilson (1992) point out the complexity of the relationship between individuals and society. For Lindeman, individual growth and development take place within the social context, and changed individuals will have the collective effect of changing society. But Wilson states that it is unclear just how the social order is thereby changed. Others suggest that groups and communities, not individuals, create social change (Horton 1989), that personal autonomy can be achieved only through collective action (Welton 1993), and that the fully developed individual is the consummation of the fully developed society. Ilsley (1992) argues that, although equality in the United States has been defined in terms of individual opportunity, liberty and justice do not arise from individualism.
Embedded in this argument is another debate over whether adult education actually did set out with a social purpose that has been lost. A strong practice of adult education for social change is apparent in the work of Paulo Freire in Latin America and Myles Horton at the Highlander Folk School. Their influence continues, although "well on the margins of the adult education mainstream" (Heaney 1996, p.
...ni and Steinbeck draw attention to the diminishing power of an individual in a large society. By using motifs and settings, the authors explain the ability the world has to influence humans’ behaviors and lives negatively. Hosseini convinces us to remain individuals, as Steinbeck professed, and not conform to the world in which we live. As Dahli Lamma once stated, “The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual's own reason and critical analysis”. Is he correct: is it necessary for humans to make individual decisions rather than follow the in the footsteps of others?
The lack of government intervention was causing major issues and uprisings throughout the 1900’s. Places like Packingtown took advantage of the limited regulations enforced by the government and tried to maximize their profits. This led to many problems for the workers in the factory and the meat consumers. First of all, there were very long working hours. A typical day at that time consisted of a
“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” – Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed [retrieved October 8, 2017 from https://www.goodreads.com]
Horton was interested in education for social change, he advocated that education be grounded in the learner’s experiences and included the use of questions to stimulate self-examination as well as examination of social systems. Horton’s approach to adult education has several key features. The key features in Horton’s approach are leadership development, social analysis, experience, learning and social meaning. (Pyles, 2013) Myles Horton’s organizing framework is a transformative approach anchored in the belief that societal change necessarily entrails a change in consciousness. (Pyles, 2013) Horton and his cohorts believed that people themselves are the authorities on their experiences and thus on their own learning needs and educational agendas. (Pyles, 2013)
To conclude, both We and Brave New World contain glimmers of hope, but in the latter novel, I feel as though Huxley offers no hope that society can be altered. Brave New World, in my opinion, was written as a warning to the world to change course or less turn into the dystopia depicted in the book and judging by society in places like Russia, we are not short of a worldwide dictatorship. We, however, ends ambiguously with One State’s future unclear. This could be taken to be hopeful as birds are repopulating the city and people start to commit acts of social rebellion, breaking the chains of One State’s oppression.
Transformational learning is a procedure that leads students to scrutinize the roots of their assumptions and preconceptions and, as a result, it has deepened their awareness to change their attitude and perception towards life, others and the affairs of the world. Philosopher Maxine Greene emphasizes that meaningful learning involves a process of disclosure, reconstruction and generation. She practically points out that when learners encounter dislocations, and have realized that their old inherited recipe for solving problems are no longer effective, their immediate central concern is to “mentally ordering his own life-world” by looking at the meaning of their experience in light of a new perspective. There are three main mental components of transformative learning, namely: First, the experience; Second, the inner meaning and; Third is the reflection. Mezirow point out that rational thinking and reflection takes place as a response to disorienting dilemma. This mental examination of an experience, serves an opportunity to process imaginative ways of accessing new values, new meaning perspectives that dynamically resolve the problem. Because of this, significant life learning transformation perspective is
Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen’” (Rand 21). This chant repeated by all men has influenced the thoughts of all within the society. Changing the thoughts to say you are not unique but you live only for your brothers. Language has influenced the men and women to not think for themselves but only for the society itself. “’You are not one of our brothers, Equality 7-2521, for we do not wish you to be. …nor are you one of our sisters’” (Rand 43). Equality and Liberty have both just changed how they are thinking and see that neither one is like the others. They both see past the ways they were taught to think and have started to think for themselves and see the changes in each other. Within a society of “We” these two people have found the “I” within themselves but have yet to find the real
L. The Role of Aging in Adult Learning: Implications for Instructors in Higher Education (2004,December)
With school budget cuts, and no music instruments, more and more people are beginning to realize the benefits of having music in education. Providing music as part of education helps develop intelligence that leads to greater success in school and in life. Everyone from VH1 Save The Music to The National Association For Music Education agree that, “Every student in the nation should have an education in the arts.” These two companies are doing everything they can to get out the information about music, and the importance of resorting music education as part of the core curriculum.
Much too often in America today, modern music and art programs in schools are perceived to many as extracurricular activities rather than important subjects that are vital to a students learning and skill development. The truth of the matter is that encouraging music and art education in public schools has a much larger impact on student’s grades, academic performance, and the economy than the majority people realize. Within the next year city school budgets will be dropping by twenty five percent, and despite the fact that music and art programs have been showing a dramatic contribution to student’s learning, this substantial drop in funding for the programs will lead to no dedicated money for art or music programs (Mezzacappa). There is no doubt that a cut in funding for art programs will take a huge toll on students overall grades and test scores. Research has found that the studying of music and art facilitates learning in other subjects and enhances children’s skills in other areas (Brown). Furthermore, providing students with a creative outlet can do great justice in reducing the stress from many other classes and even offer insight for students in possible career paths involving the art field. The art industry today currently supports 4.1 million full-time jobs (Dorfman). By increasing the funding of music and art programs for students preschool through twelfth grade we can see a dramatic increase in the education of children across the United States, assist with skill development in young students, and greatly benefit the economy at the same time.
Many public schools offer music education as part of their curriculum. Although these classes are required, many schools choose not to allocate enough money into the music programs in favor of better scores on standard tests. Recently there have been many strides to strengthen the importance of music education.
“Every student in the nation should have an education in the arts.” This is the opening statement of “The Value and Quality of Arts Education: A Statement of Principles,” a document from the nation’s ten most important educational organizations. The basic message is that music and art programs in the schools help our kids and communities in real and substantial ways. There is an abundant amount of facts and information that supports this statement. The benefits of arts education can be narrowed down into 4 basic categories: success in developing intelligence, success in ...
Kanki, B., Helmreich, R., & Anca, J. (2010). Crew resource management. (2nd ed.). Boston: Academic Press. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/lib/erau/docDetail.action?docID=10378827
"Why don't more adults take advantage of available opportunities to improve their basic skills?" is one of the more perplexing questions confronting the field of adult basic and literacy education. Only 8 percent of eligible adults participate in funded literacy programs and, of those who do, most (74 percent) leave during the first year (Quigley 1997). "What other area of education could live with such figures?" asks Quigley (ibid., p. 8).
To quote a phrase from Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, "Make me the master of education, and I will undertake to change the world." If we are to change the world simply because we have and continue to acquire the education necessary to increase knowledge; we must never forget education along without the practice of inducing what is learned is not enough to produce attainable results favorable to sustain a society in the 21st century. We must become the voice of the people by getting involved to make a difference in the world by putting into motion what we have learned.