December 24, 2008

Strategies for Education and Training of Undereducated Adults in Hard
Economic Times

Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education

During these hard economic times there is clearly an urgent need for
undereducated adults to receive solid basic skills education in the context
 of training for well paying jobs and areas of entrepreneurship. Of
particular concern is the need for education and training of many  poorly
skilled women who are single and managing families on their own.

For several years I worked on and off with Wider Opportunities for Women
(WOW) located in Washington, DC, on adult literacy projects that followed
Functional Context Education  principles and integrated basic skills
education (reading, math) with job skills training for non-traditional,
well-paying jobs for women, and  business skills training. The last project
that I worked on with WOW was  its Six strategies for Family Economic
Self-Sufficiency project.

As part of the project, in 1999 I worked with a women’s organization in San
Francisco to illustrate how Functional Context Education (FCE) principles
could be followed in microenterprise trainng and development. This provides
a  good resource for adult basic skills and vocational/job skills education
providers. Here is a  little background about the Six Strategies project,
FCE, and Microenterprise Training and Development. Following are several
paragraphs  about the project that are taken from information available
from WOW online at  www.wowonline.org

Six Strategies for Family Economic Self-Sufficiency—Overview

For many families, especially those moving from welfare to work,
self-sufficiency cannot be achieved in a single step. It requires
strategies that create ladders out of poverty—strategies that provide the
assistance, guidance and time needed for families to become
self-sufficient. Recognizing this, Wider Opportunities for Women promotes
Six Strategies for Self-Sufficiency:

* The Self-Sufficiency Standard
* Targeting Higher-Wage Employment
* Nontraditional Employment for Women
* Functional Context Education
* Microenterprise Training and Development
* Individual Development Accounts

Why the Six Strategies?

* Because women currently earn 74¢ for every dollar men earn.
* Because 60% of all minimum wage workers are women.
* Because most welfare recipients leaving the rolls for work earn very low
wages.
* Because nearly one in three American households possesses zero or negative
assets.

These realities demonstrate the critical need for strategies that will help
families move out of poverty and into lasting economic security. The Six
Strategies are tools for individuals, community-based organizations, and
state- and local-level policymakers to use to truly help low-income families
move out of poverty and achieve long-term economic stability and
independence.

In today's policy environment—in which welfare and workforce legislation
have devolved power to states and localities—new and effective strategies
are urgently needed to aid low-income people:

Functional Context Education

* What it is and why it works
* Approaches
* State and federal legislation
* Resources pertaining to this strategy
------------------------------------------------------------------------

What it is and why it works

Functional Context Education (FCE) is an instructional strategy that
integrates the teaching of literacy skills and job content to move learners
more successfully and quickly toward their educational and employment goals.
Programs that use the FCE model are more effective than traditional programs
that teach basic skills and job skills in sequence because this innovative
approach teaches literacy and basic skills in the context in which the
learner will use them. Clients see clearly the role literacy skills play in
moving them toward their goals. This strategy promotes better retention,
encourages lifelong learning and supports the intergenerational transfer of
knowledge.

* For adults who have already experienced school failure, enrollment in
programs that use traditional approaches to teaching often reproduce that
failure. Functional context education programs address this problem by
using content related to adult goals to teach basic skills.

* Basic education and technical training must be relevant to the skills and
education required by jobs if low-income persons are going to succeed in
becoming economically self-sufficient. In addition, most adults do not have
time to spend years in basic education programs learning skills that may
seem unrelated to their educational and economic goals.

* Given welfare time limits and restrictions on education and training, it
is more important than ever that individuals master basic and job-specific
skills as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Microenterprise Training and Development

* What it is and why it works
* Approaches
* State and federal legislation
* Resources pertaining to this strategy

What it is and Why it Works

Microenterprise development is an income-generating strategy that helps
low-income people start or expand very small businesses. Generally, the
business is owned and operated by one person or family, has fewer than five
employees and can start up with a loan of less than $25,000. Microenterprise
is an attractive option for low-income women who may have lacked opportunity
but who are highly motivated and have skills in a particular craft or
service.

In the current weak economy,  unemployment and underemployment are high. The
lack of quality employment options—especially for low-income, low-skilled
women—makes microenterprise development a critical strategy for moving
families out of poverty.

* Low-income women entrepreneurs, especially those living in rural or
inner-city communities isolated from the economic mainstream, often lack
the contacts and networks needed for business success.

* Peer networks (such as lending circles and program alumnae groups) help
women learn to earn from each other, build self-esteem and organize around
policy advocacy.

* Linkages between microentrepreneurs and more established women business
owners provide program participants with role models, facilitate an ongoing
transfer of skills, and expand networks.

I hope that adult literacy and vocational/job training educators can work
together with business, industry and those desiring microenterprise or
entrepreneurship education to follow WOW’s six strategies for
self-sufficiency and develop effective programs that integrate basic skills
and vocational skills education. As Russ Tershy, the former Director of the
Center for Employment Training (CET) in San Jose, CA used to say, there is
only one piece of paper for undereducated adults more valuable than a GED
in times of need– a good paycheck!

This is the time to eschew literacy programs that are too often too
irrelevant to the critical life contexts of adults and to aim for strong,
intensive, meaningful basic skills/vocational skills education that can get
people on their economic feet quickly. Then that should be followed by
additional upskilling and further education. But first folks need a way to
make a good living!

Thomas G. Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education
2062 Valley View Blvd.
El Cajon, CA 92019-2059
Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
Email: tsticht at aznet.net