Unique Adult and Community Education Programs

Commented on groups:
Joseph Morris: I commented on the research papers of Group 3 & 5
Ross Reynolds: Group 2 and Group 5
Janice Miller:
Frances Robinson:

Unique Adult Education Programs

Roles:

Joseph Morris:  Vincennes University -
history, organization, implications and proofreading

Ross Reynolds:  Vincennes University -
locations, educational purposes, and learners

Janice Miller:  ABCD (Assets Based Community
Development) - locations, educational
purposes, educational perspectives, learners,
organization, comparison, and implications

Frances Robinson:  summary table

Unique Adult and Community Education Programs

Janice Miller, Joseph Morris, Ross Reynolds, and Frances Robinson

Ball State University

EDAC 631 – Group 1

October 26, 2014

Introduction

          For this project, we compared two programs that come from different perspectives.  We focused on Vincennes University’s Adult Programs as a form of adult education in a formal setting and Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) as a form of community education in an informal setting.  The two programs that have different motives, yet they strive to make an impact on their citizens.  

Vincennes University

To understand how Adult Education programs became organized it’s helpful to first understand that few people today realize that Vincennes University is located in Indiana’s oldest town (Vincennes, IN) and it is also Indiana’s oldest institution of higher education.  “Organized in 1801 by William Henry Harrison and founded in 1807, it is one of only two U.S. colleges founded by a President of the United States.  The other is the University of Virginia founded by Thomas Jefferson.”   (New York Times, 1878). 

There are three different adult education programs that are notable at Vincennes as thus:  the Advanced Manufacturing Programs of the Haas Technical Education Center (HTEC), the Adult Basic Education program, and the Senior Scholars program.  

          Vincennes University meets the demand to produce skilled workers for large-scale employers in Southwest Indiana.  The biggest manufacturing employer in the area is Toyota Motor Corporation.  One way the University readies the workforce and contributes to the employment and education of adults is through North America's first HTEC teacher training and certification center.  “The Haas Technical Education Center Network is an industry & education led initiative that enables manufacturing technology educators and their schools to acquire the latest Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tools and related CNC ancillary equipment, software and educational materials. The goals are to provide students with a relevant, high tech and hands-on educational experience.” (Vincennes University, 2014).  It also provides training opportunities for incumbent workers, veterans and other adult learners.

          Vincennes offers free Adult Basic Education classes to adults in the southwestern counties of Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, Sullivan and Pike.  The University’s program allows the learner to set their own goals, and work at their own pace. Adults gain skills, which enable them to prepare to enter college, take the new High School Equivalency Exam (replacing the GED exam), improve skills to maintain employment, and improve skills for employment advancement.  Indiana has done a good job of attracting new businesses to start up and/or expand statewide over the past decade.  However, the state lags behind in the human capital necessary for sustained manufacturing and high-tech business expansion.   “This reality should worry anyone who believes -- as many economists do -- that America's long-term prosperity rests in substantial part on its store of human capital. The relatively high pay of American workers will start to erode as more jobs are exposed to harsh competition in global labor markets.” (Carey, Kevin, 2014).

          “The Senior Scholars Program allows citizens who are Indiana residents at least 60 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED, are retired from their primary vocation, and are not employed full-time to take credit courses at no cost.” (Vincennes, 2014).  Senior learners may take classes for personal enrichment or to pursue a credential.  They may also begin the process of matriculation for a degree through the program.  In addition to the classes taught on the Vincennes campus, classes are also offered in Jasper and Indianapolis.  Some classes are offered in community learning centers, libraries, or high schools in Greene, Sullivan, Daviess, and Gibson Counties.  The Senior Scholars program applies to credit-courses only, and classes must be taken for a letter grade. 

Assets Based Community Development (ABCD)

Assets Based Community Development (ABCD) is an alternative approach to the needs-based model of community development.  ABCD was developed by John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University after they conducted a comprehensive study of successful community initiatives.  In 1993, their co-authored book, Building Communities from the Inside Out, was released and was instrumental in development of assets based approaches. This process empowers communities to “assemble their strengths into new combinations, new structures of opportunity, new sources of income and control, and new possibilities for production." (McKnight, Kretzmann 1993)

Northwestern University changed their community studies program to develop the Asset-Based Community Development Institute in 1995.  The Institute has three full-time staff and utilizes a faculty of 35 practitioners who have served to increase the use of this approach through consultation, training, development of workshop materials and speaking on the assets based approach.

ABCD is a capacity-based approach that maps a community’s assets instead of community needs.  One similarity to The Highlander approach is the emphasis on community participant’s involvement in decision-making. According to McKnight & Kretzmann “significant community development takes place only when local community people are committed to investing themselves and their resources.” (McKnight, Kretzmann 1993)

The primary focus of learning takes place in workshops and training sessions that are conducted by Northwestern faculty, ABCD consultants, and those have participated in “train the trainer” programs.  One leading practitioner in the field is Mike Green, who is a full time consultant in “ABCD in Action.”  In this evolving field, Green has developed workshop materials and co-authored ABCD in Action: When People Care Enough To Act, which provides not only theory, but practical materials to implement the ABCD approach. 

Although this is not a traditional adult education institute, it is one that has grown to provide training to communities in the United States as well as in international development programs.   This approach has been utilized in a variety of settings including school-community partnerships, health initiatives, community development, and reproductive health initiatives.

A few active examples of ABCD in Action include:  1) The Café Institute, a Canadian non-profit that works to bring parents, schools and the community together to support learning; 2) Broadway United Methodist Church, an inner city church in Indianapolis that serves community as well as spiritual needs.  Pastor Mike Mathis is an ABCD practitioner and trainer who utilizes these principles in the church’s mission; 3) The Greater Rochester Health Foundation Neighborhood Health Status Improvement Program partners with the ABCD institute and focuses on working to improve the health status of the residents of the community.

Comparison

          There are many similarities between Vincennes University’s adult programs and Asset Based Community Development.    

          First, the students in both programs have similar demographic and educational backgrounds.  Both programs serve adults of all ages; they even serve individuals who are retired and want to continue their education and make an impact in their communities.  Second, both programs have multiple campuses which enhance educational outreach and economic impact. Finally, both programs strive to help adults in their greater communities through job advancement and personal enrichment.     

          Conversely, the two programs do have some major differences.  At Vincennes University, the students have a schedule, a class, and are awarded grades or assessments associated with the class.  Adults can earn an Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree.  Asset Based Community Development operates differently.  ABCD operates through case-based methods, as programs and projects vary in length and scope depending on the assets of the community.  There are no grades or degrees awarded.  Vincennes University offers programming that is designed to remediate adults, particularly in math and reading so that they can improve their standard of living through better employment opportunities.  ABCD helps learners focus on the skills that they have which are strong.  The goal is to map these strengths into other areas of learning and employment.   

Implications

Vincennes University

The HTEC/CNC Operator Program

          Near the University, Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Princeton, Indiana, employs approximately 4500 people.  “The cottage industry of the local economy employs thousands more across Indiana.  Toyota’s $4.1 billion investment in the state of Indiana gives it the capacity to build nearly 300,000 vehicles a year.” (Toyota, 2014)

 Vincennes University Adult Basic Education Programs

Vincennes Adult Education programming is focused heavily in the manufacturing sector.  When Joe Morris (member of the group) attended the Conexus Indiana State of Manufacturing and Logistics Seminar on June 11, 2014, The 2014 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card was released to the public at this event. The news was favorable for the Hoosier economy overall.   The report card measured “the health of manufacturing and logistics industries, the state of human capital, the cost of worker benefits, diversification of the industries, state-level productivity and innovation, expected fiscal liability, the state tax climate, and global reach.” (CBER, 2014).   Indiana got A’s in Manufacturing Industry Health, Logistics Industry Health, Tax Climate, and Global Reach.  It received a C- in Human Capital; and that was up from a D+ the year before. 

          It is logical to assume that the free Adult Basic Education classes taught through the University help adult learners attain their educational goals, which in turn helps Indiana grow its economy and thus raises the standard of living for its citizens.  For some perspective, the 2010 U.S. Census indicated 39 million adults (18%) aged 16 and older, lack a high school credential and are not enrolled in any sort of educational program.  “In 2012, the target population (Adults Without a High School Credential) in Indiana was 786, 020, and 14,635 candidates sat for the exam (roughly 1.9% of the target population).  The 19-24 age group was the largest subset of testing candidates at 37.2%, followed by the 16-18 age group at 26.5%.  Of the 14,635 Hoosiers that took the exam, 10,759, or 74.5% were awarded an equivalency credential.” (GED, 2013).  Well over 50% of testing candidates indicated that they planned to further their education beyond the high school level.  Many of the young adults that passed the exam wish to have a higher standard of living and they know that building skills through education is the key to success.

Vincennes University Senior Scholars Program

          Testimonials from Senior Scholars on the University website indicate that many seniors begin second careers as a result of a degree or credential they earn through the program.  Some senior students returned to school to complete a degree, as they have newly-found time since retirement.  

Assets Based Community Development (ABCD)

Assets-based approaches have become increasingly utilized.  According to The ABCD Institute, “The last decade has seen real community innovations and policy reforms at foundations, community organizations, local governments, schools and universities, faith-based communities, and service and health agencies. The new approaches have profoundly affected the ways in which public, private, and non-profit leaders now attack the development challenge.” faith-based communities and service and health agencies (Ford Foundation, 2002)

One of the largest global grants making institutions, The Ford Foundation, has adopted assets based approaches as a guide to its global funding initiatives. During the last few years, the Foundation has made grants to help build assets in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States.  The assets Ford outlines include:  1) Financial holdings of low-income people; 2) Natural resources; and 3) Social bonds and community relations.

There has also been increasing global research of the assets based model.  In Reducing Global Poverty: The Case for Asset Accumulation, Carol Moser and a group of experts with on-the-ground experience provide a set of case studies of asset-building projects around the globe.  The foundation of this book was developed at a Brookings Institution-Ford Foundation workshop on “Assets Based Approaches to Poverty Reduction in a Globalized Context” in June of 2006 who was led by Carol Moser and co-hosted by The Ford Foundation.

Another example of globalization are networks launched by the ABCD Institute.  These include: 1) ABCD in Action Network, ABCD Europe Network, and Asia Pacific ABCD Network.  These online “community of practice” networks provide global discussions on ABCD.

          In descending sequence, here are quotes from Geeta Rao Guptai, and Bill and Melinda Gates: “To empower people and strengthen their political voice, we need to help them gain access to the sources of power in any society. Typically those include assets such as skills that are marketable, economic resources, and social supports. This is essential if we are to make a difference.”  (Ford Foundation, 2002)

“For community builders who are focused on assets, rebuilding local relationships offers the most promising route toward successful community development and underlines the necessity of basing those relationships always upon the strengths of the parties involved, never on their weaknesses and needs”.  (McKnight, Kretzmann 1993)

 Summary of Unique Adult Education Programs

	Vincennes University Formal Education Institution – Adult Education	Assets Based Community Development (ABCD) Informal Community Education
Locations	Vincennes, Indiana	Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Educational Purposes	-         Provide Adult Education -         Program to Adult Learners -         Provide degree pathways	-         Provide primary learning that consists of workshops and training to the community
Educational Perspectives	-         Meet the needs of skilled workers -         Teacher training and certification center	-         Meet the needs of school-community partnerships, health initiatives, community development and reproductive health initiatives
Learners	-         Adults	-         Needs-based model community development
How the program is organized?	-         Organized in 1801 by William Henry Harrison and founded in 1807	-         Organized by John McKnight and Jody Kretzman at the Institute for Policy Research
Why they were organized the same or differently?	-         Organized similarly, as they both have a focus on adult learning and raising the standard of living for its learners -         Main focus is on motivating and educating adults within a greater community area	-         Organized differently, as adults are educated through divergent methods -         Vincennes tries to build adult skills in weak areas -         ABCD focuses on the adult learners strengths and attempts to develop growth in that area
Implications	-         Has very successful HTEC/CNC Operator program – many graduates employed with Toyota Motor Co. -         Adult Ed. classes and Seniors Program help learners attain educational goals and the raise standard of living	-         Ford Foundation has provided a grant and there has been global research of the asset-based mode -         Foundations, community organizations, local governments, schools, faith-based communities, and health agencies have increased their impact on communities because of ABDC programming

References

Carey, Kevin. (2014, June 29). New York Times. Who Has the World's Best Colleges? , p. 3.

CBER, B. S. (2014). 2014 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card. Indianapolis: Conexus Indiana.

Ford Foundation (2002) Building assets to reduce poverty and injustice. S.I.. Ford Foundation

GED. (2013). GED Testing Service. Retrieved from GED Testing Service: www.gedtestingservice.com

Green, M., & Brien, J. (2006). When people care enough to act: ABCD in action. Toronto: Inclusion Press.

Kretzmann, J., McKnight, J., & Evanston, I. (1993). Building communities from the inside out: A path toward finding and mobilizing a community's assets. Evanston, Ill.: The Asset-Based Community Development Institute, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University;.

Moser, C. (2007). Reducing global poverty the case for asset accumulation. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.

New York Times. (1878, May 15). Laying of the Corner-Stone of a New Building in Indiana - Interesting Reminiscences. The New York Times .

Toyota. (2014, October). Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana. Retrieved from Tour Toyota Indiana: www.tourtoyotaindiana.com

Vincennes University. (2014, October). Vincennes University HTEC. Retrieved from Vincennes University: www.vuhtec.org/about.cfm

Vincennes, U. (2014, October). Vincennes University Senior Scholars. Retrieved from Vincennes University: www.vinu.edu/content/senior-scholars