Adult+Education

Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. This often happens in the workplace, through 'extension' or 'continuing education' courses at secondary schools, at a college or university. Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers. The practice is also often referred to as 'Training and Development'. It has also been referred to as //andragogy// (to distinguish it from //pedagogy//). A difference is made between vocational education, mostly undertaken in workplaces and frequently related to upskilling, and non-formal adult education including learning skills or learning for personal development.

Educating adults differs from educating children in several ways. One of the most important differences is that adults have accumulated knowledge and experience that can add to or hinder the learning experience. Another difference is that most adult education is voluntary, therefore, the participants are generally better motivated.

Adults frequently apply their knowledge in a practical fashion to learn effectively. They must have a reasonable expectation that the knowledge recently gained will help them further their goals. One example, common in the 1990s, was the proliferation of computer training courses in which adults (not children or adolescents), most of whom were office workers, could enroll. These courses would teach basic use of the operating system or specific application software. Because the abstractions governing the user's interactions with a PC were so new, many people who had been working white-collar jobs for ten years or more eventually took such training courses, either at their own whim (to gain computer skills and thus earn higher pay) or at the behest of their managers.

In the United States, a more general example is that of the high-school dropout who returns to school to complete general education requirements. Most upwardly-mobile positions require at the very least a high school diploma or equivalent. A working adult is unlikely to have the freedom to simply quit his or her job and go "back to school" full time. Public school systems and community colleges usually offer evening or weekend classes for this reason. In Europe this is often referred to as "second-chance", and many schools offer tailor-made courses and learning programs for these returning learners.

Those adults who read at the very lowest level get help from volunteer literacy programs. These national organization which provides training, tutor certification and accreditation for local volunteer programs. States often have state organizations such as Literacy Florida! Inc.which is affiliated with the international group [|ProLiteracy Worldwide] and provides field services for volunteer literacy programs. Programs provide one to one tutoring and small group sessions for adults at the 6th grade level or below. Public libraries, nonprofit organizations and school systems administer these programs across the country.

In the U.S.A., the equivalent of the high school diploma earned by an adult through these programs is to pass the [|General Education Development] (GED) test.

Another fast-growing sector of adult education is English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), also referred to as English as a Second Language (ESL) or English Language Learners (ELL). These courses are key in assisting immigrants with not only the acquisition of the English language, but the acclimation process to the culture of the United States.

Another form of adult education is that of the trade apprenticeship. Trade apprenticeships are different from the "vocational education" mentioned above. They are highly formalized in that they include traditional colllege level education in addition to trade training. They usually approximate the first two years of an engineering bachelors degree, and most of them can transfer that much college credit to engineering schools. The craft training is much more rigorous than the "upskilling" mentioned above implies. In fact most states' departments of labor control the definition, rigor, and verification of craft training. Those same departments of labor also test for and issue licensing to practice a trade.

In addition to formal learning such as the community college and workplace training examples listed above, adult learning and education occur in many informal settings. Many adults acquire extensive knowledge through their own explorations of topics they find of interest either for enjoyment (eg a hobby like animal behavior) or out of necessity due to a medical diagnosis (eg diabetes diagnosis). The knowledge gained is just as "real" as knowledge learned in a formal classroom and the skills used can be transferred to different settings.