Dear Professional Development Colleagues:

 

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) recommends that the
Transition Team add $500 million to the economic stimulus package for
adult education: "Funding should be directed at programs that integrate
basic skills, English language and occupational training and focus on
transition to postsecondary education and job training in order to
ensure that lower-skilled people are not left behind in this labor
market." http://www.clasp.org/publications/claspbeyondstimulus.pdf 

 

The National Coalition for Literacy (NCL) and the National Council of
State Directors of Adult Education (NCSDAE) support this request.
Congress hopes to have the stimulus package ready when Obama is sworn in
as President on January 20th.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g-fho3A_PJJqcnUtiO_ns
DH_Hd1Q 

 

If $500 million were included in the stimulus for adult education and we
had 27 months to spend it, what should be spent on professional
development in order to help lower-skilled adults go to work and
experience career success?

 

For example, adult educators will need to help adult learners upgrade
their skills and transition to work without losing sight on those
learners that are hardest to serve. Adults transitioning to work might
also follow different career pathways: 

 

*	Traditional, sequential, linear pathway: Adults enroll first in
adult education then into postsecondary once the adult learner raises
his or her basic skills. For example, earning a GED then enrolling into
postsecondary.

 

*	Dual or concurrent enrollment pathways: Adults dually or
concurrently enroll in basic skills and postsecondary education and
training. For example, taking welding and math courses, learning the
welding trade while improving math skills needed for the profession.

 

In these (and other) situations, adult educators will need to teach in
ways that integrate basic skills and postsecondary education and
training content in the adult education classroom; for example,
co-teaching with an occupational skills trainer. Tom Sticht recently
posted two related examples here: Functional Context Education (FCE) and
Microenterprise Training and Development. See "Learning for Work in Hard
Times"
http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/professionaldevelopment/2008/002738.html 

 

So, a few questions:

 

*	What are the considerations for professional development if the
$500 million stimulus for adult education became an immediate reality?
*	What additional models already exist that we can learn from?
*	How would we get up and running as quickly as possible?

 

Thanks for your thoughts, and here's to 2009!

 

Best wishes...Jackie

 

 

 

Jackie Taylor, Online Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Adult Literacy Professional Development

 

Adult Literacy and Language Learning Communities of Practice

http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html

National Institute for Literacy www.nifl.gov <http://www.nifl.gov/>  

 

 

 

 

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