Mona Patterson: Assignment 3

 History of Adult/Community Education: The 1960s Mona Patterson Ball State University EDAC 631 Adult and Community Education February 4, 2023 

Introduction 

The 1960 was time of world change, a time of empowerment, social justice and inequalities on the rise, hope, the lost of political leadership, and Vietnam War, the United States history was forever changed. The economic downfall of the nation due to poor/poverty, unemployed, lack of skills, and uneducated to increase the opportunity of adult education. President John F. Kennedy and later President Johnson realized that the nations economic and social issues led them to put many different legislative acts in action that will and continue to help support the huge increase in adult education. 

Highlights and Influential Factors 

Adult education in the 1960s going through a transitional change. The United States was going through a social change or a culture shift that dealt with the structure, goals of expanding adult education that had taken place at a much higher level the federal government had to expand the role of the adult education with their support and involvement. 

The agenda of the 1960s was to implement all the legislation acts to assure that the American people was giving a change to improve the unemployment rate, educational, social, financial issues to create a stability in the United States. During the time of President Kenndy and the Johnson milestones of their leadership, six legislative acts were passed to improve and invest in education and equal opportunities for all of the American people by carrying out what was called the “Great Society” (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). 

In the 1960s the government was productive in signing acts into place to increase the social, economic and education to the American people. President Kennedy and Johnson start with The Manpower Development and Training Act and well as The Area Redevelopment Act 1961 educational skills to unemployed adults. It was a three-year strategy to help with the reteaching and retraining that the American workers were facing with the rise on technology. With this focus the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was also introduced as another social problem on the rise on poverty. The Economic Opportunity Act set in place this plan of action created programs such as the Job Corps, which is a program that offered help with education and job training programs for at risk or low income people who would receive academic and vocational skill to apply for employment. 

While The Economic Opportunity Act had taking on another program in which was introduce and signed into place for the American people to be a part of. The Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA). The program VISTA was put into place to help with the fight on poverty within communities. After all these programs were set and had taken off. Two more Act can in The Civil Rights act 196, given equal opportunities to African American people to future the education this gains for African American were to have equal employment and education opportunities. The government saw at this was due to the lack of skills that African American face and this is how the Civil Rights Act was formed. The Adult Education Act of 1966, that provided funding to adults who need to obtain better skills and continue education.(U.S. Department of Education, 2013). 

The “Great Society” that was carried out by President Lyndon B. Johnson that would address the issues on the ‘war on poverty to the racial oppression and inequalities. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired and challenge the nation with his vision and peaceful protest to have equal rights. The nation heard what was lacking and the legislation reshaped, reformed the education and the nation on segregation through vocational education, higher learning. This changed provided qualified staff, skilled employees, and better community support. 

The study of andragogy “adult learning” came about by M.S. Knowles who began exploring the European concept of how adults learn. The adult education needs a change not only the political stand point but a social stand point as well. The theorists and activists started to develop the deeper thoughts of adult education. M.S. Knowles opened dialogue about adult education, which lead him to publish his first on Andragogy, Not Pedagogy (Merriam, 2001). Paulo Freire was an educator and an activist, that was inspired by all that was happening in United States in the 1960s with the civil rights. Freire developed his own theories and focused on education that would later empower and change society. 

Implications 

The overall implication of the 1960s, increase in the population and the growth in the nation. The legislation related to adult education had many components in the 1960s. The climate was to give as much and as many opportunities, such equal, quality education regardless of race, gender, and any other demographic factors to the American people to improve the overall well-being through adult education as well as a stainable nation. The civil rights movement was one of the key implications, that delt with the unfair, unequal opportunities and treatment of women, African Americans, and people with disabilities, that was denied the right to received education to those who suffered from poverty, unemployment, and undeveloped skill such as literacy, math and reading. With The Civil Right Act, was to decrease the level of poverty and the injustice of the nation. (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). The third implication that can be learned was the war on poverty that increased the growth adult education in the 1960s, which resulted in the support of financial aid funding for adults. At some point in time the government saw the need of providing support and assistance for Americans to purse their education (U.S. Department of Education). 

Summary

 There is so much to learn about the 1960s, that continues to affect and impact our society today just as it did then. The federal government saw the downfall and ineffective way of how and what the nation was facing in our communities that were not gaining in growth and/or improvement. The government stepped in and created get legislative changes to ensure and assure that all Americans would have the same opportunities of having an educational experience and training to have a better way of living. 

References 

A&E Television Networks. (2015). The 1960s. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/. topics/1960s A&E Television Networks. (2023). Retrieved https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rightsmovement. Adult Education Association. (1994). Adult education association (AEA-USA)/American association for adult and continuing education (AAACE) records. Retrieved from http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/a/aaace.htm Knowles, M. S. (1994). A history of the adult education movement in the United States. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company. Merriam, S. B. (2001). Andragogy and self-directed learning: Pillars of adult learning theory. In S. B. Merriam (Eds.), New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education (3-13). San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass. Rebecca L. Hegar, “Paulo Freire: Neglected Mentor for Social Work,” Journal of Progressive Human Services 23 (2012), pp. 159-77. U. S. Department of Education. (2007). 40th anniversary of the Adult Education Act. Washington, DC: Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. U. S. Department of Education. (2013). Federal adult education: A legislative history 1964-2013. Washington, DC: Office of Vocational and Adult Education.