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Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:1087] X-POST from NLA list
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FYI, a posting from the NLA List:
>From 1997 - 1999, more than 30 adult learners (ESOL, beginning literacy, ABE, GED, and transition to college) from five Adult Basic Education
programs in western Massachusetts conducted a participatory action research project focused on the impact of welfare reform, immigration reform and the changing nature of work on 620 of their fellow adult
learners. The work of the Changes Project, as it is called, paints a picture of the impact of these three issues on the lives of adult learners at these five programs. Researchers make recommendations for ABE programs, fellow learners, legislators and policy makers. The Changes Project was a project of the Western Regional Resource Center of
the Massachusetts SABES System at Holyoke Community College and was funded by the Field Initiated Grant Studies Program of the Office for
Educational Research and Improvement at US DOE.
The full research report is available on line at
http://www.sabeswest.org/changes.html
The experience and expertise of the participating learners described in the report serves as a basis for further discussion about the ways in which social policies and trends intersect with adult learners'
achievement of their education goals. The findings and recommendations bring focus to areas of challenge for learners, educators and policy
makers and highlight avenues for reshaping policy and practice.
In addition to the report, the project developed two booklets: Voices Making Change (1997) based on early data gathered, and Out on a Limb (2000) focusing specifically on the impact of welfare reform. The project also produced a video on the process used in conducting group analysis with adult learner researchers which is available for a cost of $5.00.
The video and limited hard copies of the report are available from SABES at Holyoke Community College. For more information about ordering, you
can send an email to Alex Risley Schroeder
arisley-schroeder@hcc.mass.edu. Out on a Limb is available on-line in pdf format at: http://members.aol.com/lacocina2000/limb.pdf
Further, and Lengthier, Information on the Changes Project:
The Changes Project's work is significant for four reasons:
1. Through the use of participatory action research it brings the knowledge of adult learners into the national conversation about welfare
reform, immigration reform and the changing nature of work. National conversations about welfare reform, immigration issues and the way work is changing rarely include the voices of those most
directly affected by these changes. This report brings the insight and experience of 620 adult learners into focus, including current and
former welfare recipients, refugees, immigrants and migrants, workers and displaced workers ranging in age from 18 - 82 years. With clear and strong voices, these learners describe the impact they experience and offer recommendations to shape education and social policy.
2. By developing a model for understanding the complexity of the lives of adult learners affected by the issues, it broadens the discussion of the impact of these three issues. Through this project, we've developed a conceptual model of a "web of support" to illustrate the ways adult learners bring together the diverse resources available to them to pursue their education and life goals. This network includes practical supports, inner resources,
personal supports and institutional supports. We saw that we could not understand how these three issues affect learners without also examining the complex networks of support in which individuals pursue their education and life goals. Those who shape policies and classroom practice must understand how their actions affect the strands within an individual's web -- how policies and practices intersect with, reshape, add to or eliminate a learner's supports. "One-size-fits-all" policies do not fit because learners are not all one size -- they have different contexts, needs, strengths and supports that make up their web, the unique landscapes of their lives.
3. The report describes the ways in which adult learners are resilient and proactive in the face of often difficult and challenging circumstances; this in turn helps dispel misconceptions about these
adults and their peers. Most striking to us, the webs of support revealed in the Changes Project contain strands that are not about having, getting or receiving support from an individual or institution, but about giving support to others. Giving support helps to strengthen the recipient's web but can
also strengthen the giver's. Most of the people we talked to spoke of their desire to be independent so that they can provide for, care for and inspire
themselves and others. They were working hard to achieve this through a combination of their own efforts as learners and workers and by making
use of supports available to them from public assistance, immigration agencies, their workplaces, families, and communities. This determination and resiliency is evident in the face of the impact of welfare reform, immigration reform and the changing nature of work.
The Impact of Welfare Reform
The specific policies learners talk about most --those that have the greatest impact--are the two-year time limit on benefits; the work requirement, which requires people with school-aged children to perform either volunteer or paid work for twenty hours a week; and the Family Cap Law, which denies welfare benefits to any children born after the two-year time limit has been applied to their parent's case.
The majority of the adult learners we talked to say welfare reform makes it difficult for them to remain in school. Many learners report missing classes and dropping out of school in order to comply with
welfare regulations. Without more schooling, many learners on welfare will struggle desperately to support themselves and their families once
their benefits end. To make matters worse, learners report that important information about welfare policy and regulations is often unavailable, not known to the caseworker, or not made available to
recipients who need English language translation or who lack the ability to read and write.
The resilience of many of those we heard from has been greatly challenged by welfare reform. Despite this, people continue to find ways to strive toward their goals, care for their families, and keep their dreams of a better future alive.
The Impact of Immigration Reform
Our findings indicate that immigrants and other newcomers are confused about or unaware of how the changing immigration laws and regulations affect them. As with welfare, accurate and accessible information is difficult to get about changing visa status, applying for a Green Card or becoming a U.S. citizen. In addition, immigrants are
confused about the public benefits they are legally eligible to receive and concerned about how receiving benefits will impact their immigration
status. Some students have incorrect information, others wrongly believe that they are completely ineligible for public benefits.
The immigrants and refugees told us how important they believe education is to getting a better future. They also told us about some of
the barriers they face in pursuing an education, many of which are related to their immigration status. It is clear that immigrants and refugees need support to learn English and to understand how various U.S. systems, like health care, education, employment and immigration, work.
The Impact of the Changing Workplace
Our findings on the impact of the changing nature of work describe the tensions between jobs and education and the impact of technology. They present a picture of how workers view their treatment in the workplace as well as the desire for change engendered by these experiences. They also detail personal and institutional barriers that
workers face both as they enter the workplace and as they seek to advance in the workplace.
While work is in some instances changing for some of those we heard from, for others it remains the same. Nonetheless, in both these groups
respect is a dominant theme in the data, and what is abundantly clear is the desire to seek jobs or move into jobs that offer more respect, pay, or a different kind of challenge.
4.. The Changes Project can serve as a guide for learners and practitioners to learn and teach about issues of importance in their lives and their communities, and find ways to shape policies that affect them.
The Changes Project report is for you -- learner, teacher, funder, researcher -- everyone who cares about what's happening in adult literacy and education. We invite you to read the full report, and as you do, keep in mind that this project was shaped by the people for whom these issues have the greatest resonance; they are also at the greatest risk from the impact of welfare reform, immigration reform and the changing nature of work.
In addition to the findings, the report includes profiles of researchers and information on methodology and instruments.
Alex Risley Schroeder
SABES
Holyoke Community College
303 Homestead Avenue
Holyoke, MA 01040
arisley-schroeder@hcc.mass.edu
413-552-2066 phone
413-552-2067 fax
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