Adult Education in the 1990s - Emily Sheperd

I commented on Mike's paper from Group 4

Adult Education in the 1990s

Emily Sheperd

Background of the 1990s

The 1990s, unlike previous decades, did not have one theme tying it together. The 1990’s began with 41st President George H. W. Bush leading troops into the First Gulf War in 1991 and ended with the attempted impeachment of 42nd President Bill Clinton in 1998 over charges relating to his extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky (National Geographic, 2017). Outside of our presidents, anti-apartheid Nelson Mandela was freed from prison, Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorced in 1992 followed by her death in a car crash in 1997, the 1995 acquittal of O.J. Simpson of two charges of murder and the trial’s effect on the media, the Oklahoma City Bombings of 1995, the popularity of the sitcom Seinfeld, and AOL kept sending all of those discs in the mail (National Geographic, 2017).

            In looking at the numbers, the US economy grew by an average of 4 percent each year between 1992 and 1999, growth that has not been seen since in the US (Anderson, 2015). Job growth currently averages 850,000 a year, but in the 1990s it averaged 1.7 million per year (Anderson, 2015). Unemployment was at 4% at the end of the decade (Anderson, 2015). Fifty million Americans from Generation X reached adulthood (National Geographic, 2017). Between 1990 and 1999, the median income household grew by ten percent, and the poverty rate peaked in 1993 at fifteen percent and fell to about eleven percent in 2000 (Anderson, 2015).

            Focusing in on education, in 1991 the National Center for Education Statistics conducted the National Household Education Survey (1998). Part of the survey covered participation rates and reasons for participation in adult education activities for 12,000 adults across the country (NCES, 1998). From this survey, 32% of adults 17 years old or older participated in an adult education activity in the past twelve months (NCES, 1998). The groups more likely to participate were 25-54 year olds (37-39% participation rate), people with a bachelor’s degree or higher (51-55% participation rate), and employed individuals (41%) (NCES, 1998). 82.6% of participants were white, though about 80% of the US was white in 1990 (NCES, 1998). In terms of motivation for taking courses, 57.9% took a course to improve or advance in a current job or career, 19.4% took courses for personal/social reasons, 15.7% took courses required for degrees or diplomas, 6.1% to train for a job, and 0.7% to improve basic skills (NCES, 1998). On the other side, there were many barriers to participation. The most common issues were work schedules, meeting times, cost, and family responsibilities (NCES, 1998). Females with dependent children under 16 and people who had only completed education up to 11th grade were the two demographic groups most likely to report barriers to participation in adult education (NCES, 1998).

Adult and Community Education in the 1990s

President George H. W. Bush said one of the most important objectives of his administration was improving literacy, particularly for adults (US Department of Education (USDOE) 2013). In 1990, Bush in collaboration with the nation’s governors created an education strategy entitled “America 2000: An Education Strategy” with six major goals; goal number five relates directly to adult education and states “By the year 2000, every adult American 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” (USDOE, 1991). Bush took this goal seriously and steps were made throughout his presidency to increase literacy of American citizens.

In 1988 while Bush was vice president, the Adult Education Amendments of 1988 were passed in Congress which required the Department of Education to (1) formally define literacy, and then (2) report on the literacy rates of adults in the US (USDOE, 2013). The Department of Education utilized the definition of literacy developed in 1985 for the young adult survey: “using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential” (USDOE, 2013). From that, the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey was developed as a household survey for adults 16 years and older (USDOE, 2013) The survey ranked a participant in one of five levels of literacy, with a score in levels one or two being incompetent (USDOE, 2013). 47 percent of adults ranked in these two levels highlighting the extreme literacy incompetency facing adults in the US.

The second session of the 100th Congress passed the National Literacy Act which was signed by President Bush July 25, 1991, and the final rules and regulations were approved June 1992 (USDOE, 2013). This act expanded the goals of adult education programs to include enhancing the literacy and basic skills of adults, ensure that adults could not only function but also give them the greatest opportunity to succeed in their work and lives, and create and improve adult literacy programs (USDOE, 2013).

The legislation passed numerous provisions to ensure states could reach these goals. It increased the amount of money each state was receiving for adult and community education programs (USDOE, 2013). A second provision also called for the development of the National Institute for Literacy, an interagency agreement under the Secretaries of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services that oversaw funding for literacy programs, provided resources to adult and community education programs, and created research programs to identify best-practices (USDOE, 2013). A third provision created the State Literacy Resource Centers, a program that provided grants to states to help create and support literacy programs, particularly for adults with less than a high school education (USDOE, 2013). A fourth provision recognized the need for increased literacy in the workforce; this need was met by providing funding to the National Workforce Demonstration Programs, which partnered education organizations with different workforce groups to provide literacy services intended to improve job performance (USDOE, 2013). The program focused on a wide-range of aspects including basic skills, English as a Second Language programs, GED programs, and support services to ensure people could attend including transportation and childcare (USDOE, 2013). There were additional provisions for state grants including setting aside funds for education programs in correctional facilities, providing funding for grants for literacy programs in public housing programs, expanding the role of the Even State programs, and more (USDOE, 2013).

The legislation also included standards of accountability (USDOE, 2013). States were required to developed standards to measure the quality of the programs in numerous areas including, recruitment, retention, improvement of students’ literacy skills, curriculum, instruction, professional staff development, support services, and more (USDOE, 2013). States also reported learner gains using standardized tests, quantitative and qualitative improvement in job and life skills, and other markers (USDOE, 2013). The Government Performance and Results Acts in 1993 required all federal agencies to develop their own systems to establish if programs were succeeding (USDOE, 2013).

The late 1990s brought a new shift in adult education. This shift came from two new views: (1) the success of the economy is related to the success of education and workforce training programs, and (2) collaboration and cooperation increased the return on funding investments (USDOE, 2013).  The Workforce Investment Act was passed in 1998 to better match these newly identified views and needs (USDOE, 2013). “A synopsis of the bill indicated that its purpose was to consolidate, coordinate, and improve employment, training, literacy, and vocational rehabilitation programs in the United States” (USDOE, 2013, p. 24). The act contains five titles: Title I--Workforce Investment Systems, Title II--Adult Education and Literacy, Title III--Workforce Investment-Related Activities, Title IV--Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, and Title V--General Provisions (USDOE, 2013). The act repealed and replaced many previous adult education acts (USDOE, 2013). It brought programs together to create a One-Stop agency for core services, expanded adult literacy programs to include 16- and 17-year olds, addressed requirements for individuals with disabilities and non-native English speakers, and it set “five core measures [which] were:(1) educational gains, (2) attainment of a high school diploma, (3) entry into postsecondary education or training, (4) entry into employment, and (5) job retention” (USDOE, 2013, p. 26). The act also reauthorized the National Institute for Literacy that was created in the National Literacy Act of 1991 (CADOE, 2005).

Each state implemented the legislation and funding of the National Literacy Act and the Workforce Investment Act differently. California had been examining its literacy problem, particularly among low-income and minority groups, as well as its need for stronger adult education programs focused on job-training development at the same time the federal government was. From this, California created numerous programs to meet the needs of both the National Literacy Act and the Workforce Investment Act.

The California Department of Education in the early nineties created statewide projects utilizing federal funding from the National Literacy Act to address technology, communication, student assessment, and program evaluation. The Adult Literacy Instructors’ Training Institute trained adult literacy instructors and program coordinators to better meet the needs and learning styles of illiterate adults (California Department of Education (CADOE), 2005). It provides courses, certifications for instructors, resources, workshops, and best practices for adult literacy instructors and coordinators (CADOE, 2005). The ESL Teacher Institute catered to the rise of non-native English speakers by creating resources as well as a mentor network for teachers and program coordinator of English as a Second Language adult students (CADOE, 2005). The Evaluation and Training Institute provided evaluations and reports on the outputs and effectiveness of federally funded programs (CADOE, 2005). The Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) began in 1980 under the Adult Education Act and continued in the 1990s with federal funding (CADOE, 2005). CASAS was a collaboration of numerous adult education agencies, and it provided resources including assessment tools, curriculum programs and management, and evaluation systems to over two million adult learners at over 1,000 agencies in 49 states (CADOE, 2005). State literacy resource centers were also created in California and many other state due to funding from the National Literacy Act (CADOE, 2005). These centers provided adult education literacy programs as well as resources for family and workforce literacy (CADOE, 2005).

In the late 1990s, CASAS continued to provide the previous mentioned resources, but expanded to include correctional, welfare-to-work, special education, and secondary education programs and agencies as directed under the Workforce Investment Act (CADOE, 2005). Several new initiatives were also added to the program including a workforce learning system created in collaboration with companies and businesses that taught needed basic-skills and assessed their progress in them (CADOE, 2005). Additional federal dollars were also used to fund several statewide projects to train adult educators and provide resources for them to meet the specific needs of ethnic/racial groups that had larger populations of people lacking literacy skills (CADOE, 2005). In 1994, the National Institute for Literacy created a website named LINCS (Literacy Information and Communication System) and followed up in 1995 with regional physical locations, including one at the California State Literacy Resource Center (CADOE, 2005). One of the LINCS initiative was to develop literacy resources for adult educators; different California agencies developed different collections to cover topics such as ESL learners, science literacy, technology training, correctional education, family literacy, literacy and learning disabilities, and more (CADOE, 2005).

Results, Implications, and Conclusions

            The major question from this decade in terms of adult education is “did the acts Congress pass create a change?” Many people and organizations have tried to answer this question. In terms of participation, every age group has seen an increase in participation rates for all 3 provider types (credential programs, business or industry, and community organization) between 1991 and 1999, and community organization programs participation rates more than doubled (Hamil-Luker and Uhlenberg, 2002). This suggest progress in extending the reach of adult education programs (Hamil-Luker and Uhlenberg, 2002). Older adults age 66-74 experienced the greatest increase in participation from 8.4% in 1991 to 19.9% in 1999 (Hamil-Luker and Uglenberg, 2002).

            Literacy was a major focus on the 1990s. The 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey was followed up in 2003 with the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES, 2003). The prose and document literacy scores remained statistically the same between 1992 and 2003, but the quantitative score significantly increased (NCES, 2003). It is worth noting that black adults saw an increase in every category, the only race or ethnicity to do so (NCES, 2003). Hispanic adults decreased significantly in two categories, but there was a large increase in the hispanic population due to immigration of predominantly nonnative-English speakers (NCES, 2003). Adults 50-64 and 65+ both saw a significant increase in their quantitative scores (NCES, 2003).

            In general, these results are positive. More adults participated in education programs in the late 1990s than in the early 1990s, most likely due to an increase in access (Hamil-Luker and Uhlenberg, 2002). Literacy rates increased, and they experienced the largest growth in black adults, a group that performed poorly in the original survey (NCES, 2003). Unfortunately, President Bush’s dream of every adult American being literate in 2000 did not happen; however, this lofty goal allowed for the creation and funding of structured programs focused on an identifiable problem. The Workforce Investment Act forced collaboration between different institutions allowing them to increase their impact, a lesson we can learn from today (USDOE, 2013). Both acts expanded funding to groups not typically considered previously for adult education programs including welfare recipients, correctional facilities, nonnative English speakers, and older adults (USDOE, 2013). Education allows people from those groups to better participate in the workforce and improve their social and economic standing. The major takeaway from this time period is that legislation has a significant impact on adult education because it controls where federal dollar for adult education go. If a person wants to make a change in how adult education operates, they need to change the laws and funding to support that change.

References

Anderson, K. (2015). The best decade ever? The 1990s, obviously. The New York Times.

Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/

California Department of Education (2005). Meeting the challenge--A history of adult education

in california: From the beginnings to the 21st century. Retrieved from http://www.cde.ca.gov/

Hamil-Luker, J., & Uhlenberg, P. (2002). Later life eduction in the 1990s: Increasing

involvement and continuing disparity. Journal of Gerontology, 57B. Retrieved from https://www.geron.org/publications

National Center for Education Statistics (1998). Adult education in the 1990s: A report on the

1991 national household education survey. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/

National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). National assessment of adult literacy:

demographics [data file]. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/

National Geographic (2017). The 90s: The last great decade?. Retrieved from

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/the-90s-the-last-great-decade/

U.S. Department of Education (1991). America 2000: An education strategy. Retrieved from

https://eric.ed.gov/

U.S. Department of Education (2013). An american heritage--Federal adult education: A

legislative history 1964-2013. Retrieved from https://lincs.ed.gov/professional-development/publications