Tectonic Boundaries: negociating convergent forces in adult education PDF
Preview Tectonic Boundaries: negociating convergent forces in adult education
t » l u N D o Carmela R. Nanton A EditoR i t r A tectonic c o u f Boundaries: D S Negotiating e N Convergent o g i N Forces in Adult t i c Education u e N r i t i D N o w Number 149 » SpriNg 2016 c e & N NewDirectionsfor AdultandContinuing Education SusanImel JovitaM.Ross-Gordon Coeditors-in-Chief Tectonic Boundaries: Negotiating Convergent Forces in Adult Education Carmela R. Nanton Editor • Number149 Spring2016 Jossey-Bass SanFrancisco TECTONICBOUNDARIES:NEGOTIATINGCONVERGENTFORCESINADULTEDUCATION CarmelaR.Nanton(ed.) 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INDIVIDUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATE (in USD): $89 per year US/Can/Mex, $113 rest of world; institutional subscription rate: $335 US, $375 Can/Mex, $409 rest of world. Single copy rate: $29. Electronic only–all regions: $89 individual, $335 institutional; Print & Electronic–US: $98 individ- ual,$402institutional;Print&Electronic–Canada/Mexico:$98individual, $442institutional;Print&Electronic–RestofWorld:$122individual,$476 institutional. EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE should be sent to the Coeditors-in-Chief, SusanImel,3076WoodbinePlace,Columbus,Ohio43202-1341,e-mail: [email protected];orJovitaM.Ross-Gordon,SouthwestTexasStateUniver- sity,CLASDept.,601UniversityDrive,SanMarcos,TX78666. Coverdesign:Wiley CoverImages:©Lava4images|Shutterstock www.josseybass.com C ONTENTS EDITOR’SNOTES 5 CarmelaR.Nanton 1. UnderstandingAdultLearningintheMidstofComplexSocial 9 “LiquidModernity” AlikiNicolaides,VictoriaJ.Marsick Thischapterdescribestheincreasingcomplexityandfluidityofthecon- temporarycontextsinwhichadultlearningisoccurringfromvariousthe- oreticalperspectives.Themultidimensionalnatureofadulteducationis explored from simple, complicated, and chaotic learning contexts, cul- minatinginaproposedgenerative,complexitylearningapproachforex- pandingindividualandsocietalcapacity. 2. LiteracyDevelopmentandLanguageExpressionforAdult 21 LearnersinTransition ClarenaLarrotta,JiYoonChristineMoon Adultsfacemanytransitionsintheirlives.Thischapterhighlightssome of those transitions through case examples, identifies a growing gap in relationtoadultlearners’accesstoreentryadultprograms,andaddresses literacyandlanguageexpressionaskeyfactorsforsuccessfultransitioning andgoalachievement. 3. EducatingAfricanAmericanWomenThroughJobClubs 31 TraciL.Hodges,E.PauletteIsaac-Savage This chapter highlights the challenges of African American women as adult learners who are faced with the persistent challenge of long-term unemployment.Faith-basedjobclubsarepresentedasholisticcommu- nitiesofpracticefordevelopingpersonaladaptability,socialnetworkre- lationships,andnewcareeridentities. 4. InteractiveInfluencesonHealthandAdultEducation 41 LilianH.Hill Thischapterexaminesthecomplexinterconnectedfactorsaffectinghealth careinaglobalenvironment,addressesthelearningandanalyticalneeds of self-directed adults, and proposes an educational model for under- standingadulteducation’sresponsibilitiesforhumanhealthinthevarious contextsoflearninginsociety. 5. CompetingintheWorld’sGlobalEducationandTechnology 53 Arenas SimoneC.O.Conceic¸a˜o Technologyasatransformingforceinadulteducationdeliveryhaspre- sentedopportunityforadultlearnerstocompeteintheglobalarena.In- tergenerationaldifferencesandcharacteristicsareidentified,andtheneed ofadulteducatorsandadultprogramstoaddressthesedifferences,using learning-based approaches to design dynamic learning environments is articulated. 6. WhatOurAncestorsKnew:TeachingandLearningThrough 63 Storytelling RandeeLipsonLawrence,DennisSwiftdeerPaige Theuseofstorytellingpastandpresentispresentedasformalandinfor- malpedagogicalmethodsofadulteducationandlearning.Ethnodrama, fluidsculptures,andcounter-storytelling,amongothermethods,areex- ploredfortransformativelearning,forchallengingmasternarratives,and aswaystomakemeaningofadultlearnerexperiences. 7. TakingCareofBusiness:TheOpportunitiesandDilemmasfor 73 AdultEducationinaChangingEconomy EllenScully-Russ Thischapterhighlightshoweconomicchangesaffectadulteducationby highlighting workplace demands and the trend toward vocationalism. Arenewedlifelonglearningimperativeisanalyzedfromhumancapital, learningsociety,andlife-courseframeworks. 8. ChallengesforPolicyandStandardsforAdultandHigher 83 Education BelleS.Wheelan Illustrationsofconvergentforcesliketheeconomy,funding,government, and technology are presented. Collaborative partnerships are proposed for addressing the challenges and tensions arising from new types of programs, financial aid justification, and the quality of emerging adult programs. 9. NegotiatingBoundariesThroughFlexibility,Capacity,and 93 AgilityinAdultEducation CarmelaR.Nanton This chapter summarizes the key concepts of the volume and presents strategic methods for negotiating the complexity of identified forces in lightoftheframingmetaphor. INDEX 105 E ’ N DITOR S OTES C hangeisinevitable,yetitcanalsobedisruptiveandirrepressible.Change can be tactically chosen or imposed by external forces. At times, the change movement is invisible until irreversible change has occurred; other times it is so relentless that society and individuals are forced to change in order to survive.Eitherway,innovation,flexibility,andadjustmentarerequiredtone- gotiate and survive personal and institutional transitions as new possibilities for the shift to a more fluid adaptable social identity are opened. The geo- logical metaphor of tectonic plates as a framework for this volume was an intriguingandpertinentonetoexaminethechangesoccurringincontempo- rary adult education. Tectonic plates are mobile. Their powerful movement occurs because the plates are situated on a heated malleable fluid solidity called magma (Watson, 1999). The fluidity of this solid fosters movement of the plates. Movement results in collisions; rubbing of one plate against theother;orseparation,fromthreepropellingforces.First,convergentforces thatresultincollisions;theexplosivenessofthesecollisionscanresultinthe development of mountains (plates of equal density), volcanoes; or in sub- duction zones (plates of unequal density) where the strength of one plate overpowers the other, pushing it down (“Plate Techtonics,” 2002). Second, the movement of the plates can also be divergent. The slow separation re- sults in a rift or open space that is filled with solidified magma. The third transformativeinteractivemovementiswhenseparateplates(ofequalbutop- posite forces) slide alongside each other, forming faults or earthquake zones (Watson, 1999). The results of tectonic plates’ interaction are magnificent: whileconductingadulteducationcourses,Ihavehadtheopportunitytoview the Himalayan mountain ranges from China’s great wall, and I have stood at theedgeoftheEastAfricanRiftValleywhileteachinginKenya.Earlierchild- hood experiences included the opportunity to view the volcanic residue of St. Vincent’s Soufrie`re and to climb the volcanic rock formations of Aruba’s HooibergintheCaribbean. Usingthemetaphoricalframeworkoftheconvergingtectonicboundaries, thevolumeproposestoexaminetheseforcesfrompractice,experiential,the- oretical, and critical perspectives with future implications, illustrating emer- gent and converging forces of change and challenge in contemporary adult education. There are several salient and converging forces that have been in- creasinglyclamoringandpressingforfundamentalchangesinadulteducation practiceasweknowit.Mostofthem,onecouldargue,canbeconsideredto beinevitableasaresultofculturaldynamism.Demographic,workplace,and theoretical shifts, for example, understandably shape the approach or direc- tions of the practice and delivery of adult education programs. Beyond this, thetransformativeeffectoftechnology,policy,andincreasinglearner-centered PNuEbWlisDhIeRdECoTnIOliNnSeFiOnRWAiDleUyLTOAnNlDinCeOLNibTrINarUyIN(GwiEleDyUoCnAlTinIOeNli,bnraor.y1.c4o9m,)Sp•rinDgO2I0:1160.©100220/1a6ceW.2i0le1y71Periodicals,Inc. 5 6 TECTONICBOUNDARIES:NEGOTIATINGCONVERGENTFORCESINADULTEDUCATION demands call for access to a smorgasbord of educational options tailored to the individual learner’s needs and preferences for learning and development. Collectively they have begun to influence current philosophy, learning, and practice,pushingadulteducationprogramstobeflexibleandagileiftheyare toremainrelevantinthe21stcentury. Thisvolumeexaminesseveralofthesesociocultural,demographic,tech- nological,health,workplace,sociopolitical,andpolicyforcesthatbyvirtueof their nature are simultaneously converging on the adult education discipline andpractice.Asaresultoftheconvergence,thereisalsodivergentactivityev- identinsomeareas.Thisactivityoccursveryslowly,andthechangeoccurring isminuteandunnoticeableoveralongperiodoftimeuntilthegapistoolarge to be missed. Such a rift is currently occurring in adult education today, and thegapisnotonlyclearlynoticeable,buttherehasbeenactivemovementto fillthegapandcreatecapacitywithavarietyofentitiesandlearningmethod- ologiesthatareworthyofdiscussionbecauseoftheirpotentialtochangethe natureandpracticeofadulteducation. Authors explored whether any of these forces would rise to dominance, which could be projected to be part of a “subduction zone” reduced in im- portanceandprevalencebecauseofotherforcesthatarestronger.Negotiating thetectonicforcesofadulteducationrequiresacapacityforcollaborationand lifelonglearningtomeetthedemandsofthedynamicglobalenvironment,in whichadulteducatorspracticeandadultlearnersliveandlearn.Thecapacity for change and adjustment is also a crucial requirement for the adult edu- cation discipline and practice. Readiness for such change, then, depends on whetherweareinsyncwith,andhavestudied,thetrendsandpatternsleading uptothatchangeandhavemadeadequatepreparationtorespondeffectively. Strategiesarepresentedforanegotiatedresponsetotheeffectsoftheinevitable clashingofconvergentforcesandfornegotiatingnewlypresentedopportuni- ties for change and new directions vital to the sustainability of the discipline inthefuture.Chapter1beginswithanexplorationofthechangingnatureof adulteducationfromatheoreticalandphilosophicalperspective.Chapters2 through 4 and 6 examine various forces with which adult learners and adult educatorshavetocontend.Chapters5,7,and8addresstransformingandex- ternalforcesarisingfromtheenvironmentwithinfluenceonadulteducation programming and practice. Chapter 9 summarizes and highlights the salient thematic concepts and explores strategies for negotiating the boundaries of identifiedforces. CarmelaR.Nanton References Platetectonics.(2002).Scienceofeverydaythings.Retrievedfromwww.encyclopedia.com /doc/1G2-3408600204.html Watson, J. M. (1999). What is a tectonic plate? Retrieved from http://pubs.usgs.gov /publications/text/tectonic.html NewDirectionsforAdultandContinuingEducation•DOI:10.1002/ace EDITOR’SNOTES 7 CARMELAR.NANTONisprofessorofeducationandchairoftheProfessionalEducation Program in the MacArthur School of Leadership, Palm Beach Atlantic University. AsfounderandCEOofCarmelConnectionsInc.sheisaleadershipstrategistand businessconsultant. NewDirectionsforAdultandContinuingEducation•DOI:10.1002/ace
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