Adult Education

Adult Education

Introduction

The wave of baby boomers is nearing retirement, bringing with it not only increasing pressure on the United States' health care system, but also a fundamental social transformation. In 2000, there were 59 million people age 55 and above; in 2010 it is predicted that population will grow to 75 million and by 2020, to 97 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007b, p. 681). It cannot be ignored that individuals who are successfully will place less demands on the system. As this wave intensifies, policy must focus on increasing the incidence of successful aging. Even though Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs and policies are critical to addressing changes in the population structure and keeping the population healthy, it can be argued that lifelong learning, in the form of adult education activities, is a critical part of the policy discussion about successful aging.

Background of the Problem

Lifelong learning, or the idea that individuals continue to learn throughout their lifetime, has been viewed as an important phenomenon for decades. The topic of what individuals does after retirement is not new; however, as the number of older adults increases, that topic has been gaining new life. In the 1970s, lifelong learning emerged as a reform to the traditional view of adult education. At that time in the United States, lifelong learning was used as synonymous with adult education. The new term was viewed quite differently in other countries where it was seen as more of a framework. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted the term “lifelong education,” the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) “recurrent education,” and the Council of Europe used the term “permanent education,” all of which meant slightly different things (Stubblefield & Keane, 1994, p. 304). Senator Walter Mondale introduced the Lifelong Learning Act as an amendment to the 1976 Higher Education Act as part of the acknowledgment of shifting and expanding roles of education. Although the amendment was enacted, the act was so broad it was difficult to use as a means of developing specific action steps. There was no appropriation authorized and only a report requested from the Lifelong Learning Project the next year. The report proved only “suggestive,” but it identified those most in need of federal lifelong learning policies: “workers, urban youth, women, and older adults as groups with special needs” (Stubblefield & Keane, 1994, p. 305). Lifelong learning as well as adult education policies have faced criticism for not providing clear focus. For example, the 1976 Higher Education Act was criticized as promoting an esoteric agenda without specific actions steps and aims to meet too many varied and diverse needs (Stubblefield & Keane, 1994).

However, with renewed interest created by the rapid increase of an aging population and a focus on ensuring “successful aging,” adult education is poised to play a key role. Discussion about successful aging began several decades ago when it was established that succumbing to a disease is not synonymous with aging (Rowe, 1991). This work opened the ...