History of Adult Education: The 1960’s
I commented on Nic Spangle, Rose Hobby & Linda Simmons
History of Adult Education: The 1960’s
Wayne Tozzi
Ball State University
EDAC 631 Adult and Community Education
February 13, 2017
Introduction
The 1960’s was a
period of great change in the USA, with an effort to create equity for all
citizens. John F. Kennedy started off
this decade with a memorable inaugural address where he urges Americans to “ask
not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” (Shmoop
Editorial Team, 2008). John F. Kennedy continued this effort of helping
people by starting the Peace Corps in 1961, raising the minimum wage from $1.00
per hour to $1.25 per hour, a huge increase for that time in history.
After the assassination of John F.
Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson takes over the same path as J.F.K. and declares war
on poverty. “President Lyndon Johnson
signs the Economic Opportunity Act, one of the centerpieces of his domestic
agenda. In order to combat unemployment and poverty, the act allocates funds
for job training, adult education, and loans to small businesses.” (Shmoop
Editorial Team, 2008). This is a big effort to provide training for citizens
so they can pull themselves out of poverty.
President
Lyndon B. Johnson introduces his theme of a “Great Society” and shortly after
signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to outlaw discrimination and the Transit
Bill for construction of an urban transit system. In 1965 President Lyndon, B. Johnson creates
the Medicare and Medicaid health care system, signs the Voting Act of 1965, the
Higher Education Act, the first federally funded scholarship plan. There is an additional increase to the
minimum wage from $1.25 to $1.60 an hour, and Johnson signs the Low-Income
Housing Bill, “allocating
more than $5 billion to meet the housing needs of low-income families” (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008).
Highlights
According
to (Rose, 1991) “The initial terms of the national issue had been framed by
Kennedy when he said—the economic result of this lack of schooling is often
chronic unemployment, dependency, or delinquency”. This lead to The Manpower Training and
Development Act (MTDA) and the Area Redevelopment Act (ARA), programs designed
to provide training to the unemployed.
Many factories were becoming automated, but even with MTDA and ARA there
were issues of not being able to train individuals who could not read or
write. In 1963 there were amendments
made to the MTDA to provide basic education to help those unskilled individuals.
The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
created an emphasis of the government’s role in education. According to (US DOE 2013) “The purpose of
this Act was to focus on persons 18 years of age and older whose inability to
read or write English constituted a substantial impairment to their ability to
obtain or retain employment”. One key
aspect of this Act was that it focused on training institutes. In the Job Corps Annual Report (2004) President
Lyndon B. Johnson is quoted saying “I therefore recommend the creation of a
Jobs Corps, a Work-Training Program, and a Work Study Program” he further states, “A new national Job Corps
will build toward an enlistment if 100,000 young men…These are not simply camps
for the underprivileged. They are new
educational institutions”. Job Corps
opened in 1965 with 30 students in its first location at Camp Catoctin,
Maryland. The idea of a new educational institution
was needed and became successful. By the end of 1965 Job Corps had 87 locations
and were receiving 6000 applications a day.
Fast forward to today and Job Corps trains over 60,000
individuals at 125 locations. Their
Mission “is to attract eligible young people, teach them the skills they need
to become employable and independent, and place them in meaningful jobs or
further education.” (JobCorps.gov) Job
Corps provides academic, vocational, and employability training to at risk
youth 16-24 at no-cost to students.
Knowles claimed that “education was, however,
transforming and discovering that adults learned differently that children
learn”. Caruth ( 2014). Knowles
introduced the term andragogy to
focus on the characteristics of adult learners.
According to Rose (1991) “in 1965 the first ABA teacher training
programs were developed” and part of this funding was to “develop a publication
on adult basic education methodology”.
The U.S. Department of Education (2016) states “The
anti-poverty and civil rights laws of the 1960’s and 1970’s brought about a
dramatic emergence of the departments equal access mission.” The passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
Title VI made civil rights a focus of the Department of Education (DOE). According to the DOE, “Despite the growth of
the Federal role in Education, the Department never strayed far from what would
become its official mission: to promote students achievement and preparation
for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal
access”.
Influential
Factors
The 1960’s saw a movement for the
people. President John F. Kennedy ushered
in a decade focused on helping people.
The establishment of the Peace Corps, aimed at volunteers helping
others, raising the minimum wage, and pledging to land a man on the moon, were the
visions of a great man.
After John F. Kennedy’s assignation, Lyndon B. Johnson
continued that vision when he declares war on poverty, signs the Economic
Opportunity Act, the Urban Mass Transit Act, the Civil Right Act, the Voting
Rights Act, the Higher Education Act, Low-Income Housing Bill and creates Medicare/Medicaid.
The Kennedy and Johnson eras focused on
anti-poverty. DOE (2016) “in examining
the origins of the federal role in adult education, three broad programs
categories emerge: Education for government employees, Manpower development and
training programs, and Programs to develop literacy and basic skills”
Just as the Economic Opportunity Act sought to provide
education and training to help with the war on poverty, The Civil Rights Act of
1964 sought out to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity,
religion, or gender. DOE (2016) “Under
title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964… the Act also authorized grants,
training institutes, and technical assistance to overcome problems of
desegregation”
Job Corps was a big presence in providing education
and training in the 1960’s. When speaking
about Job Corps, Lyndon B. Johnson is quoted “They will be drawn from those
whose background, health and education make them least fit for useful work.” Job
Corps (2014). In the first year Job
Corps was established they received over 200,000 applications.
Job Corps was, “Originally established by the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964. Authorization for the program continued under the
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), then Title IV-B of the Job
Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and currently is included under Title I-C of
the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)” Job Corps (2014). Job Corps continues to be a strong presence
in the training of our youth today.
Implications
The 1960’s had a large impact on
adult education. It may have been the war
on poverty that started this movement in adult education during this decade,
but after time the value of education was realized. The factories were becoming more technically
advanced and this required more education.
Factory jobs today are not unskilled jobs, they are technically advanced
positions that need skilled workers with a higher level of training.
After the sixties, there was a
strong push to not enter into the trades and to go to college as the way to
earn more money. Academic and skill
training are big business, and just having a high school diploma is not enough
to support yourself in the economy. Some
type of additional training, whether it is college, apprenticeships or skills
training are required for financial success.
Today there is
a big push for Career and Technical Education (CTE) schools. Once college was to golden ticket to
financial success, now going into the trades is becoming a viable option
again. As the cost of college tuition
continues to rise, it is becoming too expensive for many people. An education in a skilled trade is a cheaper
option, and again considered a respectable career choice. Many businesses in the trades industry and
manufacturing are going to experience a 20-30 percent retirement of their work
force in the next 10 years. These
industries are looking to the Career and Technical schools, to help find new
young employees. Thirteen of the top 54
Promising Vermont Careers are hands on trades careers and most of those only
require a high school diploma and some training or apprenticeship.
Mcclurevt.org (2017). These jobs are
ones that have a median wage of at least $20.00 an hour and more than 100
opening in the next 10 years in Vermont. Many of those careers; carpenter,
mechanics, water treatment plant operators, electricians, plumbers, HVAC
mechanics are all programs at many CTE schools.
References
Shmoop
Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). The 1960s Timeline of Important Dates.
Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://www.shmoop.com/1960s/timeline.html
Rose, Amy D. (1991). Ends or Means: An
Overview of the History of the Adult Education Act.
(ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult,
Career, & Vocational Education).
U.S. Department of Education.
(2013). Federal adult education a legislative history 1964-2013.
Caruth,
Gail D. (2014) Meeting the Needs of Older
Students in Higher Education. Retrieved from ERIC database
Job Corp Annual Report
Program year July 1, 2003- June 30, 2014. Retrieved from
http://www.jobcorps.gov/libraries/pdf/py03report.sflb
Start Your Career. Join Job Corps.
(n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2017, from http://www.jobcorps.gov/Home.aspx
Mcclurevt - Pathways to Promising
Careers. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2017, from http://mcclurevt.org/pathways
Summary of the History of
Adult/Community Education
|
|
Areas
|
Summary
|
Social
Background
|
Lots
of social change. Many bills
introduced to try to create equity among citizens and fight poverty.
|
Highlights
|
The
Manpower Training and Development Act (MTDA) and the Area Redevelopment Act
(ARA), The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964
|
Influential
Factors
|
President
John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy’s assignation,
Assassination of Martin Luther King Civil rights movement
|
Implications
|
Addition
education id needed to avoid poverty. College, CTE, Apprenticeships or OJT
|
Great paper, Wayne. I was intrigued by how the interests and focus of the government in education, namely with literacy, was the same as it was in the 1980s (which I did my paper on). The focus on technical and vocational training is an important one and I am curious that, since there have been different programs but still an issue in America, if there is something that we could do differently to address these educational gaps with adults.
ReplyDeleteWayne, The 1960s was definitely a decade of great change for the good of those who had not received equal opportunity in the past. In 1964, both the Civil Rights Act and the Economic Opportunity Act opened the door to many people to learn how to read through basic education and to gain other skills necessary to be productive in the workforce. I love the idea of giving a hand up rather than a handout, because the people benefiting feel better about their own worth as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Wayne,
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow CTE teacher, I enjoyed reading your paper. Many people do not realize how many (lucrative) jobs are out there that only require 1-2 years of training outside of high school. In addition, with the rise of CTE education many students can complete their training while in high school and when they graduate are ready to join the workforce. Interesting paper!
I enjoyed reading your paper and think you did an excellent job describing the 1960s. Picking this era was an excellent choice because of all the advances in education that were taking place.
ReplyDeleteWe both did our papers on the 1960's and even though we focused on different aspects, its amazing the major themes that cannot be denied such as the war on poverty and the administration's vision of the "Great Society". I argue in my paper that we need to continue the missionary zeal with which we engaged the problems of the that decade, even if it was a tumultuous one. It seems during this decade so much legislation was passed, and if we look today, it feels as though nothing can be accomplished in regards to our government. I think the 1960's was the epitome of our desire to see a fair and equal society in which those in the depths of poverty could transform their lives through education and vocational learning. Interesting paper! Much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteWayne,
ReplyDeleteThis is a quite interesting paper! You have captured the major social events and the programs relevant to adult education. It is interesting to read about president Johnson’s policies and how they can impact the field of adult education.
Suggestions:
1. Highlight the connections between the policies and programs relevant to adult education. For example:
The Kennedy and Johnson eras focused on anti-poverty. DOE (2016) “in examining the origins of the federal role in adult education, three broad programs categories emerge: Education for government employees, Manpower development and training programs, and Programs to develop literacy and basic skills”
-- Are these programs relevant to the policies such as Economic Opportunity Act, the Urban Mass Transit Act, the Civil Right Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Higher Education Act, Low-Income Housing Bill and creates Medicare/Medicaid? Please tell us how the policies signed shaped the field of adult education. You have mentioned some connections in the following paragraphs. At the end of Influential Factors, you can summarize such connection.
President John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy’s assignation, Assassination of Martin Luther King Civil rights movement
—— Tell us how these events impacted the filed of adult education?
2. I like that you directly cited president Johnson’s words in your paper, which is authentic. However, try not to cite too many direct citations in the whole paper. You can use our words to rephrase the direct citations.
3. Check APA format and direct citations. For example:
“ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008).
According to (Rose, 1991) “The initial terms of the national issue had been framed by Kennedy when he said—the economic result of this lack of schooling is often chronic unemployment, dependency, or delinquency”.
--- Check APA about direct citation.
A new national Job Corps will build toward an enlistment if 100,000 young men
----- of 100,000 young men?
Check APA format in your reference. You don’t need to capitalize the first letter of every word in the title.
Bo