Development of Adult Education - Literature review Example

DEVELOPMENT OF ADULT EDUCATION: AN ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE Development of Adult Education: An Ethical Perspective Customer Name: Lecturer Name: Date: Introduction: Andragogy which concerns learning strategies focused on adults has been gaining popularity, where in the recent past; there has been a global rush by adults to go back to school according to global statistics, it is therefore uncommon to find adults schooling with the age mates of their children or on some cases, age mates of their grandchildren. Some researches have argued that adult education consumes a lot of the countries’ and families limited resources at the expense of the younger generation, and that adult learners are egoists who in an attempt to gain late education, with relatively fewer years in service to the society, consume the limited resources which could have otherwise benefited more children resulting to another generation of uneducated persons. However, education is a basic need and the age is not a factor, other researches have argued that adult education is ethical since an educated society. The ethical perspectives surrounding adult education are therefore varied and demands analysis. Ethical perspective of adult education The ethical perspectives of adult education are varied, depending on the perspective of the arguments. Several researchers such as Stephen, (1986) have been of the opinion that adult learners are more concerned of their own good and gains in pursuing adult education, where the need for personal advancement and development is argued to be the motivator of adults to pursue education, this view has however contrasted the arguments of authors such as Wlodkowski et al, (2001) who hold the opinion that adult learning is for the benefit of the society and common good of humanity, in such perspective, adult learners sacrifice their comfort and achievements to be subjected to the difficulties of reading and learning torments of examinations, with the objective of serving humanity from what they learn. Consequentialism / Utilitarianism view From a Utilitarianism point of view, the consequences of adult education are considered, at the expense of the intentions of the adult learner. Whereas some adult learners have reported going back to school for pleasure, the underlying objective of most learners is to increase employability, this has several consequences. Adult learners have reported increased employment opportunities for the learners after completion of their studies; this is for the common good of the society, Gordon & Sork (2001), since better education is directly related with better employment opportunities. Ethically adult education consequences have not been effectively reported by lack of a control group, this has been a serious limitation, considering that employment is exceedingly susceptible to fluctuations in the economy, therefore ethical implications of the adult education in terms of employment opportunities for the common good of the humanity are hard to be inferred since it is difficult to determine whether gains achieved were caused by participation in adult literacy or by economic factors. Increased employment opportunities of adult learners from a Utilitarianism view, can be seen to be of benefit to be society, in this contexts adult learners are able to use their diverse experience gained from the education to improve the living standards of the society, Purcell-Gates, & Waterman, (2000) and Harkness, (2004). It is on the same breadth that adult education has been argued to have a negative consequence on the society, with increased number of adult learners going back to class, there is high tendency for such persons to be employed hence taking up the few available employment opportunities, this has resulted to fewer chances for the young graduates who have relatively little or no experience, form this perspective, adult education therefore has negative ethical implications, Kilgore, (2001). In Utilitarianism, an action has viewed to be ethically correct if it can be of benefit to humanity. The consequences of adult learning include Increased earnings, where researches such as Texas JOBS evaluation (15W) and the Washington Workforce Study (5S suggest that adult learning which used hard economic data to measure earnings and included matched comparison groups were of the agreement that participants in adult literacy education is directly related to earnings gain. Increased in earnings for individuals suggest increased living standards for the society, Belzer, (2007), hence being of common good for the humanity, from the utilitarianism perspective, adult learning therefore results to improvement of the living standards of the humanity, hence being ethically acceptable. Egoism and Subjectivism perspective Adult education can be analyzed from ethical egoism perspective, from this perspective adult education is morally permissible considering one’ own self-interest first. In this regard the objective of the pursuers is considered first, regardless of the impacts of such actions to the society. In this regard the adult learners pursue adult learning to avoid occupational Obsolescence, regardless of the impacts of such education to others. On these regard digital technologies, skills, techniques, occupational developments, Job and knowledge are dynamic and continually evolve to the point that adults have to continually go back to class in order to meet competence in job requirements so as to keep their jobs. In this regard, adult education is viewed by the pursuers as a way of keeping their jobs, hence being egoism in nature, where the pursuers are more concerned with keeping their jobs, hence denying others, the opportunity to be employed. This is furthermore exalted by the number of adults who are more concerned about self and pursue adult education in order to gain better employment opportunities. The egoism nature of adult education is also revealed when participants are driven by the need to attain increased income, regardless of the impacts of their education on others. In this regard, the participants are motivated to go back to school get better pay, this is highlighted by the report Investing Wisely in Adult Learning is Key to State Prosperity (Southern Education Region Board, 2005), which suggests that adults with bachelor’s degree earn 45 percent more than adults with only a high school degree or GED equivalent. The egoism perspective of adult education is fostered by studies which suggest that most adult learners enrol in schools for the sake of self satisfaction and in quest searching for a dream job. Once job security is also more of a personal issue than a societal construct, in this case adult learners have gone to class for their own benefit in terms of improving and enhancing their job security. In the united states for example, the Household Data Annual Averages (U.S. Department of Labour, Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2009) report, imply that adults with high school degree or GED have higher unemployment rates. The egoism nature of adult learning is furthermore highlighted by the fact that several learners pursue the education in regard for Self-interests in terms of Personal Development where lifelong learning and changing interests, are the motivators for adult learning. In this regard, the interests of the learner in terms of changing life styles, better health and wellness and life experiences are the main considerations for the learners who pursue the studies, on the egoism perspective, adult education is therefore ethically acceptable, since it leads to individual development. Ethically pertinent features There are varied features which have been highlighted as the ethically pertinent features of adult education this includes allocation of resources to adult learners, addressing accessibility and diversity of adult education, quality of education, personal development, influence on the employment, influence on the family, ethical impacts on the Curriculum design issues as an ethically pertinent feature There exist biased perceptions in terms of curriculum implementations between youth learners’ curriculum and adult learners for the same course offering. Cervero, (1994). The theories and principles of adult learning, dictate that there exists several differences between the way young persons and adults learn. Considering Malcolm Knowles' Theory of Andragogy, Foley,( 2004), adult and child learning are different, bearing in mind that andragogy is more than learning or teaching and adults have diverse challenges which are to be considered in course delivery, Kagitcibasi, Goksen, & Gulgoz, (2005). Unlike children, adults have diverse life experiences, expectations, and goals furthermore adults several other responsibilities which limited the time taken in learning, hence reducing the content offered to adult learners, therefore content delivery for learning in adults tend to be limited, course content in most cases tend to be reduced with some degree of decreasing in coverage, in comparison to youth education, this raises an ethical question, is it ethically correct for two persons who pursued same courses, but different content coverage to be offered similar credentials and qualifications ?. Accessibility and Diversity of adult education The accessibility and diversity considerations in adult education have been an ethically pertinent feature. In most adult education ventures, the participants have to meet the expenditure, and in most cases, the cost of attaining adult education driven qualifications are more than the cost for the youth education, for the same credentials. It is on this regard that adult education is considered to be selective and tend to favour only those who are materially and financial endowed who can pay the money demanded by the courses, therefore the education is limited in accessibility to the financially capable, hence raising an utilitarianism perspective ethical question, is adult learning for the good of the entire humanity, or is it an opportunity for the selected few members of the society who have the capacity to pay to advance their knowledge, while leaving out the economically less privileged ? The diversity ethical issue results from the fact that adult education classes are specifically meant for the adults, and in most cases, the courses available are limited, forcing the adult learners to pursue courses not of their due to the courses availability, on ethical perspective, is it ethically moral to do a course because it is available, regardless of the individuals perception of the course?. Impacts of employment as an ethical feature of adult education Adult education results to better employment opportunities of the participants, while conventional education institutions continually produce graduates who expect to be employed in the society Bahaudin &  Preziosi, (2006). However, when more adults pursue education, considering their experiences, they are at an advantaged position yet they compete with the youth graduates who belief that the adults have had their chances, and are therefore limiting the chances available for the youth. The ethical feature results from the consequences of the adults pursuing education, and then competing for opportunities with the youth. Is it ethically correct for older persons having had their opportunity for employment and in some cases approaching retirement, to be employed after completing adult education yet there are youth who have similar qualifications who are unemployed? Resource consumption as an ethically pertinent feature Several countries have been experiencing slow growth in their economies; financial depression has even complicated economic problems further, where the resources available have been limited. Education has been an important expenditure; Australia for example spends 5.7 percent of its GDP on education. The limited resources available for education means that an expenditure on adult education means were resources such as teachers, classes, supervision and administration available to be used for education of the youth. With limited resources, tend to miss education, hence raising an ethical question, is it ethically sound to spend the limited resources to educate older persons, instead of the youth, since using such resources results to youth dropouts due to lack of resources ? The family and adult education Families have been traditionally been treated as the basic foundation of the society, anything perceived to have a positive ethical consequence on the family is consequently treated as been ethically positive to the society as a whole, and vice versa. Adult education is a challenging task which demands time and dedication, when persons with families such as parents and spouses enrol in adult education classes, they have to dedicate a lot of time and resources is most cases at the expense of the family. In this case, from Utilitarianism perspective, adult education does not bring the most benefit or good to the members of the family at that time, such as the children and spouses, the ethical pertinent issue is, is it ethically correct for family members to abdicate their family roles and responsibilities so as to dedicate time and resources to pursue adult education? The family responsibilities is also a pertinent issue is that the consequence of adult education is improved and enhanced lifestyle for the participant, consequently the family benefits from the transformation, such as improved earnings, enhanced employed prospects and better job security. Utilitarianism argues that whatever action which brings the overall good to humanity is ethically correct, adult education has such consequence of improving the living standards of the family, hence improving the standards of the entire society. Personal development and progression as an ethical feature of adult education Adult education results to development of the participants in diverse ways, such as Attainment of Personal Goals, improved self image and experience attainment. Whereas it is difficult to quantify personal goal attainment with matched comparison group design, adult education results to improved personal gain which agrees with the egoism perspective that it is morally acceptable to pursue one’s own self-interest as of foremost importance, especially as regards Universal Ethical Egoism. Personal development is the underlying reason, why several employed adult learners have enrolled in classes, Mikulecky, & Lloyd (1993), this has raised an ethically pertinent feature, from a egoism perspective, adult education has assisted individuals to individually develop their skills, experiences and knowledge, however have the skills been developed at the best interests of humanity or have they been developed to serve the individual pursuing the education alone? Recommended cause of action Adult education is an imperative ingredient of the advancement of the society. It is therefore important that the education be given the ethical consideration that it deserves; this can be achieved by transforming the academic institutions, their students and communities as well as the regional and national policies that shape such institutions. The transformation encourages baccalaureate degree attainment for non-traditional students, in this case the adult learners while preserving the strengths of existing programs, this is intentioned to avoid competition especially of resources between the conventional students, and the adult learners programmes. For an action to be acceptable for the society as a whole it must contribute to the common good of the society, in this case adult learning should not result to compromising the resource allocation for the conventional education but should play a supportive role. There are several working and unemployed adults whose potential has remained untapped due to lack of sufficient. It is therefore ethically and morally acceptable to seek means and ways developing the untapped potential of such members of the society, founding on the Egoism perspective as well as on the utilitarianism perspective that the success of such persons is indispensable to them­selves, their families, and the society and to the growth, development and security of the nation. Whereas some adult learners pursue education more for personal gain, without consideration on the impacts of their actions to the society, Adult learners should be appreciated as dissimilar and multifarious set of individuals exhibiting extensively divergent objectives, levels of understanding and degrees of risk. Due to the varying nature of life circumstances of adult learners, the educational system should favour advances which promote service to humanity Tennant, (1988). On the egoism perspective, adult learners should not be presumed to have spent resources meant for younger learners, since egoism assumes no one is specifically entitled to anything since other persons have interests, and interests can and should compete. In the arguments, no persons are more superior to others but rather all persons are equally free to benefit from uninhibited liberty to pursue self-interests. This agrees with the Adam Smith's view of the market considering the buyers and sellers with opposing interests, whereas each party have different goods, the resultant objective is of the common good of the society when the parties agree, in this regard, whereas several adult learners may pursue the education objectively for their own good, several such objectives merge resulting to the common good of the society and hence humanity, therefore adult learners should be encouraged to learn, since the results are for the good of humanity, regardless of the objective in pursuing the education, Burns, (2002). Considering that adult education, result to competition of employment opportunities with the youth who on ethical grounds feel that the competition is unfair considering diminishing job opportunities, a critical ethical analysis is imperative to conclusively determine the way forward. Several jobs demand experiences and fresh graduates have hardly any experience, continued employment of the adult persons who continually pursue education so as to progress means that the younger potential jobseekers can hardly be employed as they have no opportunities to even get job experience. However, adult employees also ethically and equally deserve to be offered employment. Furthermore, the common good of humanity can be argued to take precedence over individualistic interests, therefore if the aged employees serve the organizations better considering their experiences, hence serving humanity better, Boyter-Escalona, (1995), it is therefore ethically acceptable to employ such persons, regardless of the ethical perspectives and perceptions of the younger potential employees. Education is important for all, regardless of their social status or financial capabilities so as to improve the living standards of all persons. On the argument that adult education fails ethical criticisms since it favours only the well endowed, the policy makers, government and stakeholders should develop policies and framework to ensure that adult education is available to all. Willing adult learners who do not have material capacity should be supported to gain education, hence making the education acceptable to available to all. Considering that technology advances are dynamic techniques, occupational developments, Job and knowledge are dynamic and continually evolve, the dictates of advances ultimately demand that adults should go back to school to learn how to utilize the developments, advances and innovations, under all perspectives therefore it could be ethically wrong to deny adults opportunities to gain education regardless of the ethical proposition to the contrary. Individuals should therefore continually update their experiences, skills and competencies through education for their own common well and for the good of the society, these efforts should be appreciated since it is not only the individual who benefits from the education, the family, society, the country and therefore humanity stand to benefit from adult education of an individual. Conclusion Considering the trends in adult education from several perspectives is at times contradictory with inconclusive results and perceptions, Ethical Egoists agree that adult education should be pursued due to its several benefits to the individual. On the other hand, Utilitarianism perspective is divergent, on one hand, Utilitarianism dictates that adult education is unethical due to its negative impacts on the humanity such as the family, however on the same perspective adult education can contribute to the common good of the humanity, since the benefits enjoyed by the individual learners ultimately result to the benefit for the entire society, adult education is therefore ethical regardless of the perspective. Read More