History of Adult Education in the 1990's

 

History of Adult Education in the 1990’s

 

Nathan Valdez

EDAC 631: Adult and Community Education

History of American Education

Dr. Bo Chang

February 3, 2021

 

Name	Commented On
Nathan Valdez	Hayden Rawlins

 

Abstract

This paper will delve into the history of adult education, stemming from the environment it was indoctrinated into from earlier generations to what it became at the end of the 20^th century. At this point, a large variety of laws had already been passed declaring certain aspects of adult education, such as what should be considered equal opportunity and basic education for races and gender. Instead, the 1990’s were more so about making sure those laws were stuck to and followed through, creating more opportunities that was previously marketed for the average adult and community. On top of this, education took a dramatic turn through the later half of the 1990’s, with the rise and global dominance of the internet and mounting expectations for the average individual to have some form of higher education.

 

 

Introduction/Social Context

The 1990’s – a select decade were thousands of technology-minded people across the globe thought Y2K (Year 2,000) would be the ultimate collapse of society. Computers, as they thought, couldn’t specifically count past 1999 and assumed a global collapse of technology and society thereafter. Collapse was not the only possible suspenseful theme of the decade- in fact, quite the opposite. Yes, the Soviet Union began its collapse in the late 1980’s but wasn’t officially defunct until late 1991 and early 1992 (Pearson, n.d.). This meant the whole generation raised and taught to fear the Cold War (essentially a nuclear collapse and end to all of civilization) were washed of worries overnight, when multiple Soviet territories claimed sovereignty immediately following. The collapse of one society bred and birthed independent ones on that eastern side of the globe, creating new opportunities and chances for hope for western democracy and alliances worldwide, like Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the reunification of East and West Germany, long since separated since World War II. The European Union founded in 1992 after the news and lack of threat imposed by a unified Soviet Union (amongst other factors (Pearson, n.d.). In the United States, Bill Clinton becomes President in 1992, and reelected in 1996. At the same time this is happening, Nelson Mandela, released from a South African prison for protesting racial segregation know as apartheid, became President, ushering a new era of peace through democratic Africa. All of these above, however, have very little importance in human history than the rise of the internet – starting in 1991 for “unrestricted commercial use” (Pearson, n.d.) and the search browser ‘Google’ founded in 1998, the wealth of knowledge that could be uploaded and downloaded, reviewed and learned, and posted to exist forever- began.

 

Highlights

Adult and community education span a range of decades, starting in the early 1800’s to present day, but the 1990’s offers a rare glimpse into education that changes the tide of learning. To start the decade off, however, the Internet was nothing more than a place where strangers could interact and post, blogs, forums, and email becoming the main call of most adults – nothing drastically changing (Arena Group, n.d.).

A large benefit would be Bill Clinton’s organization expressed renewed interest in adult literacy programs, which would expand on previous policies and create more opportunity to use these skills. The Perkins Act of the 1990’s redefined vocational training, and the United States saw a large increase in adult education across the trades. Corporations and businesses began altering their pay structures based on the large influx of educated adults reaching the scene.

During the span of the 1990’s, there were quite a few educational conferences, including the Education for All conference, World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the Fifth International Conference of Adult Education. (UNESCO, n.d.). Other issues during this time were typically focused more-so on social standing and widening of the ‘individual perspective’ (UNESCO, n.d.).

By the end of the decade, however, the internet slowly became one of the fastest methods of learning amongst adult education (Creighton & Hudson, 2002), broadening the ability to learn and created more opportunities for employment and post-secondary education since the industrial revolution.

 

 

 

Influential Factors

The ideas and concepts proposed by the Clinton administration during his first term brought enormous benefits to adult education and post-secondary education and training. Yes, the Reagan-era programs in the recent past decades were extremely useful in developing an economy of educated adults post the 1950’s, but it was just that – education. Clinton wanted to pair those existing and new literacy programs with a well-laid track to use these new skills in the workforce (Department of Education, 2013). Essentially, the previous Reagan era policies on literacy education adults had gained until that point were not being used effectively and going to waste. Adults had basic opportunities for education, but with no clear path or need to use it after completion of whatever it was that they would take. The Clinton administration recognized this and began to push for useable credentials and skill certifications in high-need fields drastically more than any of the previous decades combined (Department of Education, 2013), which achieved a higher rate of job placement and more adults to use their new skills and knowledge.

During the 1990’s, European countries had a well-developed capability for adult literacy and education programs. Afterall, these other competitive countries spearheaded the Cold War and other militaristic projects with bases in science, technology, and vocational training. At the time, the United States was not, nor close to being, the leader in developing technologies or science (Arena Group, n.d.). By from a few years prior to the end of 1991, “the enrollment of full or part time students aged 35 and older in higher education rose by 248% ... and vocational training and work-related courses has grown at an even faster rate” (Department of Education, 2013).With vocational training at the time newly defined with the 1990’s Perkins Act as “organized educational programs offering a sequence of courses”, it meant a whole new framework to follow. High schools began to rapidly adapt courses in the trades, one at a time, to fine-tune young adults’ experience to create a more competitive workforce (Levesque, 1995). In time, the Perkins Act began to define a larger generalization of adult education, bringing access to trade education to the table.

During the span of the 1990’s, there were quite a few educational conferences. The Education for All conference brought up the awareness on the need for ‘adequate basic education’ to every member of every society (UNESCO, n.d.). The World Conference on Women in Beijing gave a comparatively massive jump for women obtaining an equal and comparative education to men across the globe (UNESCO, n.d.). The Fifth International Conference on Adult Education brought almost two thousand delegates from almost two hundred countries to agree and approve the Hamburg Declaration and Agenda for the Future, a plan that committed to providing continuous adult education, expressing beliefs in learning as a shared responsibility.

By the end of the decade, however, the internet slowly became one of the fastest methods of learning amongst adult education (Creighton & Hudson, 2002). More households began to own computers, which meant information was a keystroke away. Computer labs also made their way into almost all public institutions, from grade schools to universities, with some educators even being taught how to create webpages for the classroom.

 

Implications

            Adult education in the 1990’s had a decent impact on society as a hole, both positive and negative. With Clinton’s large push for vocational and trade schools and other post-secondary education, more people began to flood the system. As great and positive as that may sound, our capitalist culture disagreed. It meant that, now, more and more people where capable of learning and compensated for this growing culture of higher education by requiring a base level of education for all employees (Department of Education, 2013). Today, this manifested as a precursor to our modern economy where every job (outside of the service industry) seems to require a bachelor’s degree in some capacity all for barely more than minimum wage.  

            Outside of this economic impact, the educational conferences really helped promote adult education across the board, ensuring that both women and minorities had equal access to post-secondary educational tools, classes, trainings, and certifications (Hamil-Luker & Uhlenberg, 2002). The mindset shifted from post-secondary education as a bonus opportunity, to post-secondary education being a way to better help your future self and obtain a better footing in the workforce. By continuing to offer more track and sequential courses, it created a hierarchy of skilled laborers at various levels, allowing more people to fit in various employment positions.

            By the end of the 1990’s, the internet was in full swing, jumping way ahead past predictions of its usage, efficiency, and admirability. People could sit at a desk and learn anything they could find out on the web, without ever having to scroll through a library shelf and finding the perfect book. The internet also made it easier for people to find out about information they would not have been actively aware of, running into articles or sites by chance. Online forums made for great methods of communication between very diverse groups of people across vast distances instantaneous and created a new cultural emphasis on technology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Area	Summary
Social Background	-Collapse of the Soviet Union -Open access to the World Wide Web -Formation of the European Union -Nelson Mandela released from prison and becoming the South African President -Bill Clinton’s two-term presidency -Founding of Google
Highlights	-The internet created a global access to articles, websites, and information. -Reagan-era policies were not as effective with the current market -The redefinition of vocational education with the Perkins Act of 1990
Influential Factors	-Bill Clinton’s push to align literacy and post-secondary education with the nations’ current market and projections -World Conference of Woman creating a framework and creating opportunities for equity amongst woman and minorities -The Fifth International Conference on Adult Education creating and approving the Agenda for the Future, a detailed plan and commitment to adult education
Implications	-Shift in mindset of why an individual should obtain post-secondary education -Shift in corporate mindset, redefining basic employee requirements -Equitable rights for woman and minorities, now having more success and enrollment in post-secondary education

References

The Arena Group. (n.d.). 1990s: Peace, Prosperity and the internet | history.com - history. History. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.history.com/topics/1990s

Chan-Kopka, T. L., Schantz, N. B., & Korb, R. A., 03Adult education in the 1990s: A report on the 1991 National Household Education Survey (1998). Washington, DC; U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/9803.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1-1GV7A0o9STOhcJRWdY7dEKBB_t0DpRtx3U23o21Cnu4xaeW6QY3M93o.

Creighton, S., & Hudson, L. (2002). (rep.). Participation Trends and Patterns in Adult Education: 1991 to 1999. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002119.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1ybolcXF46TMY95NROJ_-aas4No6ObKV2UCnL9uW6EuA4Ta3GrMBBZCv4.

Hamil-Luker, J., & Uhlenberg, P. (2002). Later life education in the 1990s: Increasing involvement and continuing disparity. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57(6). https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/57.6.s324

Levesque, K., Vocational Education in the United States: The early 1990s (1995). Washington, DC; U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Educational Resources Information Center. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs95/95024.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2Z4oPkKtfSbRW6RJCO4vIqLeUolDDfzksYOMJqZgJ2e7zoSwWNLeqmU68.

The People History -- Steve Pearson. (n.d.). 1990s news, events, popular culture and prices. What Happened in the 1990s featuring News, Popular Culture, Prices and Technology. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1990s.html?fbclid=IwAR3q7URuFakJfN4XKaIWj6FwQyhSiH-sW5wg0rkfZxApdD4u2MyGVseiniE

U.S. Department of Education. (2013, November). Lincs community: Adult Education and literacy: U.S. Department of Education. LINCS Community | Adult Education and Literacy | U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://community.lincs.ed.gov/

UNESCO. (n.d.). The 1990s: CONFINTEA and the Diversity of Adult Education. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL). Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.uil.unesco.org/en/virtual-exhibition-19902-confintea-and-diversity-adult-education?fbclid=IwAR2FIJNcqQczaBKuzzsJltLXiDNr2ldNhOrGJx32ati2B9WAiEEdAaCYeyY