Adult education
is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the
workplace, through 'extension' school (e.g. Harvard Extension) or 'school of continuing education' or
'school of general studies' (Columbia General Studies). Other learning places includefolk high
schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers. The practice is also often referred to as
'Training and Development 'and is often associated with workforce or professional development. It has
also been referred to as andragogy (to distinguish it from pedagogy). Adult education is different from
vocational education, which is mostly workplace-based for skill improvement; and also from non-formal
adult education, including learning skills or learning for personal development.
Characteristics
Programs provide one to one tutoring and small group sessions for adults at the 6th grade level or below.
Public libraries, nonprofit organizations and school systems administer these programs across the
country. Many adult education centers from community colleges receive grants from Welfare and
Unemployment departments to offer training to welfare and unemployment recipients to help these
individuals gain life and work skills to facilitate their return to the mainstream. They also provide programs
for ex-offenders to reintegrate to society.
Educating adults differs from educating children in several ways. One of the most important differences is
that adults have accumulated knowledge, work experience or military service that can add to the learning
experience. Another difference is that most adult education is voluntary, therefore, the participants are
generally better motivated.
Adults frequently apply their knowledge in a practical fashion to learn effectively. They must have a
reasonable expectation that the knowledge recently gained will help them further their goals. One
example, common in the 1990s, was the proliferation of computer training courses in which adults (not
children or adolescents), most of whom were office workers, could enroll. These courses would teach
basic use of the operating system or specific application software. Because the abstractions governing
the user's interactions with a PC were so new, many people who had been working white-collar jobs for
ten years or more eventually took such training courses, either at their own whim (to gain computer skills
and thus earn higher pay) or at the behest of their managers.
In the United States, a more general example, and stereotypical,is that of the high-school dropout who
returns to school to complete general education requirements. Most upwardly-mobile positions require at
the very least a high school diploma or equivalent. A working adult is unlikely to have the freedom to
simply quit his or her job and go "back to school" full time. Public school systems and community colleges
usually offer evening or weekend classes for this reason. In Europe this is often referred to as "second-
chance", and many schools offer tailor-made courses and learning programs for these returning learners.
Those adults who read at the very lowest level get help from volunteer literacy programs. These national
organizations provide training, tutor certification, and accreditation for local volunteer programs. States
often have state organizations such as Literacy Florida!Inc., which provide field services for volunteer
literacy programs.
In the U.S.A., the equivalent of the high school diploma earned by an adult through these programs is to
pass the General Education Development (GED) test.
Another fast-growing sector of adult education is English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), also
referred to as English as a Second Language (ESL) or English Language Learners (ELL). These courses
are key in assisting immigrants with not only the acquisition of the English language, but the acclimation
process to the culture of the United States.
A common problem in adult education in the U.S. is the lack of professional development opportunities for
adult educators. Most adult educators come from other professions and are not well trained to deal with
adult learning issues. Most of the positions available in this field are only part-time without any benefits or
stability since they are usually funded by government grants that might last for only a couple of years.
These educators face many difficulties at professional and personal levels and are rarely equipped to
empower their adult learners.
