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A survey of the present status of adult education in the United States.

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A survey of the present status of adult education in the United States.

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Content A SURVEY OP THE PRESENT STATUS OP ADULT
• *,?
EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES ' '
&cL
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
by
Sui Pong Lee
June 1933
UMI Number: EP57178
All rights reserved
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UMI EP57178
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This thesis, written under the direction of the
Chairman of the candidate’s Guidance Committee
and approved by all members of the Committee,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education in partial fulfillm ent
of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Education.
, o ° n c
<^5
Guidance C om m ittee
W. G-. Campbell
C hairm an
T» L. Scholtz
W. S. Ford
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE PROBLEM 1
Importance of the problem • •..••••• 1
Recognition of related investigations . . . 8
Scope of the investigation ..••.••• 13
Sources of data and method of procedure • . 14
Organization of the study • •.•••••• 14
II. HISTORY AND GENERAL VIEW OF THE ADULT
EDUCATION MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES * . 16
Meaning and significance of adult education 17
History of the adult education movement • . 24
Means through which adult education
is carried on • 26
Status of public education of adults in
the years 1924-1926 • .,.••••• •• 46
Summary • ••••••. ................... 61
III. SURVEY OF THE AIMS OF ADULT EDUCATION IN
THE UNITED STATES ..... ............. . 63
Aims taken from the literature ...••• 64
Aims set up in state and city courses
of study • .......... 66
Aims of adult education in California . . . 70
Significant differences between education
for adults and for juveniles ...... 75
iii
CHAPTER PAGE
Principles of adult education essential
in establishing aims • 76
Summary • • • • • • • • • • • 80
IV. PRACTICES IN ADULT EDUCATION IN THE UNITED
STATES . ....................... 82
Practices in national. professional
organizations • ••••••• ..... 84
practices in tax-supported adult education
agencies......................... 89
Practices in California in adult education . 93
Significant practices in representative
systems .•••••••• 103
Summary «••••••••••• • «.••• 121
V* SPECIAL FEATURES IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF
ADULT EDUCATION . . . ............ 123
Night school fees and deposits.... 123
Credit granted for night school courses . • 128
Size of classes....................... 132
Nurseries and meals .............. * . 133
Summary ................. • • ••••••• 133
VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....... 134
Conclusions • • • • ..................... 136
Recommendations ................... 139
BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................... . 142
LIST OP TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I. Percentage of Illiteracy in the United
States and in Twenty European Countries* • • 28
II* Evening School Attendance in the United
States, 1918-1926 *••• ••• «,•••• 38
III* State Activities in Adult Education • . . ♦ • 52
IV. Organization and Distribution of Adult
Education Activities According to Type
of Service Rendered in 1931-1932 .....* 104
V* Pacts Regarding Distribution and Reduction
of Adult Illiteracy in Delaware, as Shown
by the 1930 Census •••••••*••••• 106
VI* Delaware1s Reduction in Percentage of
Illiterate Population Between 1920-1930,
Compared with that of all other States . * • 107
VII* Delaware1s Reduction in Percentage of
Population Illiterate Between 1920 and
1930, Compared with States having Similar
Population Characteristics and Industrial
Interests •••••••••••*••*.. 108
VIII* Comparison of Cost Per Unit of Net Enrollment
for Adult Education in Delaware over a
Five-year Period ......... • 109
V
TABLE PAGE
IX. Condensed Data Regarding Night Classes . . . 125
X. Exhibit B Holding Power Free Instruction • • 127
XI. Small Deposit . ....................... 129
XII. Small F e e ................................. 130
XIII. Large Fee . .................. 131
LIST OP FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
1* Approximate number of Illiterates Grouped in
Three Divisions, and the Increase or Decrease
of each Group during the Period from
1800 to 1980 ............ 30
2. Total Illiteracy of the Twenty-two States
Ranking Highest in Number of Illiterates,
Age Group Ten Years and Over . . ... 31
3. Foreign-born White Illiteracy for Those States
having more than 10,000 Illiterates, Age
Group Ten Years and Over . 32
4. Native White Illiteracy for Those States of
the United States having More than 10,000
Illiterates, Age Group Ten Years and Over * 33
5. Negro Illiteracy for Those States of the
United States having more than 5,000
Illiterates, Age Group, Ten Years and Over . 35
6* Showing Data of Establishing Evening Schools
in 42 Cities ....................... 37
7. Showing Years in which Buffalo Organizations
Began Adult Education Programs ....... 114
8. Showing Yearly Enrollment of Adults in
Evening Publis Schools of Buffalo and
34 other Cities . . . . . . . . 116
vii
FIGURE PAGE
9. Showing Number of Evening Students Per 100
Day Students in Buffalo and in 41
Other Cities ......................... 117
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
One of the new and important phases of education
is that which caters to the needs of adults# For centuries
past, the schools of all countries have catered to the
needs of children; only recently have they begun to offer
work for mature individuals*
Purpose of the study* It was the purpose of this
investigation to make a survey of the present status of
adult education throughout the United States, It was pro
posed to determine, from the presentation of a survey of the
historical development and general view of the adult educa
tion movement in the United States, an insight into the
meaning and significance of the work, and the means through
which it is carried on; the aims and objectives for which
educational activities for adults are being conducted; the
practices in adult education being carried on at present in
the United States for which various typical agencies are
organized; and the special features of administration of
adult education activities,
I, IMPORTANCE OF THE PROBLEM
A survey of the activities carried on in the United
States in the field of adult education is important at this
time* because (l) al though adult a ducat ion is a comparative
ly new field of educational endeavor, it is one which is
rapidly increasing in extent and Importance; (8) and in
creasing numbers of books and articles dealing with the
subject are appearing, expressing varied phases of the
field; (3) the current practices in adult education are ex
tremely diversified and lack unified organization; and (4)
very little scientific research has been done in an endeavor
to show the present status of the adult educational program
as a whole throughout the United States* Such a piece of
research should give a picture of the actual progress that
the adult-education movement is making in this country*
Increasing extent and importance of adult education,
fhe adult education movement is comparatively recent in its
development, having attracted the special interest of educat
ors and the public since the World War* 2?o be sure, various
opportunities for adults to secure more education have be en
available for many years* fhe first evening high school in
the United States was organized in Providence, Bhode Island,
in 1810, and the first trade school in America was organized
1
privately in Hew York: City, in 1881* However, true adult
1
25* P* Oubberly, Introduction to the Study of
Education (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Go*, 1925), P* SB’ S.
education is largely the product of the past decade* The
World War revealed the fact that America was made up of a
number of natiDualities that had never become assimilated,
that the percentage of illiterates among the native born was
high, and that the mass of Americans were unprepared to
mahe successful adjustments to the rapidly changing environ-
2
ment of their lives#
In May* 1924, the United States Commissioner of
Education called a national conference on home education,
which met in Minneapolis, Minnesota* In the same year the
department of immigrant education of the National Education
Association was changed to the department of adult education*
In 1925, a specialist on adult education was added to the
United States Bureau of Education, and in the following
year the American Association for Adult Education was foraa d.
In spite of the recency of the adult-education move
ment, its growth has been tremendous* A survey of the
growth of correspondence schools, which conduct one type of
adult education, showed that in 1391, one hundred fifteen
were enrolled in this type of institution, whereas in 1923
£
1# B* Alderman, Adult Education Activities, Bulletin
No# 23, (Washington B* 0* : Department of Interior, 1929),
I* R*~Alderman, Public Education of Adults in the
Years 1924-1926, Bulletin Ho# 18 (Washington D* C. ;
Department of Interior, 1927), p# 1*
the enrollment had increased to 8,580*382. Today there are
over three hundred correspondence schools in the United
States, enrolling over 2,000,000 new students each year, the
4
majority of whom are adult s.
Another phase of adult education, that of evening
school instruction, has shown an increase of thirty-six per
cent since 1917# In 1918, the enrollment was 797; by 1926,
it was 585,413. The growth of adult education is also shown
by the increasing amount of legislation dealing with this
field, Thirty states recently have enacted laws promoting
adult education in some form. Twenty-four states report
that they give financial aid to school districts that pro
vide classes for adults. Fourteen states report that they
reimburse local districts to the amount of one’ -half the
5
instructional costs of such classes#
Another evidence of increased interest in adult edu
cation is shown by the statistics in the field of agricul
ture and home economics, which was stimulated by the federal
6
Smith-lever Extension Act of 1914. The following data are
Alonzo G. Grace, "Thinking through in the school."
Journal of Adult Education, 1: 271, June, 1929.
B
Department of Superintendence, Seventh Yearbook:,
February, 1929, p. 488.
6
John D. Willard, A Preliminary Inquiry Into Rural
Adult Education Bulletin of the American Association for '
Adult Education. (Hew York;: 1926), pp. 7-9.
5
for the year 1928: communities in counties with service,
87,097; communities with organized programs* 58,601; and
total attendance at all meetings, 81,951,517,
Increasing number of books and articles on the subr
jeot of adult education, A second reason why a survey of
the character and organization of adult education in the
United States is important at this time is that a vast
amount of literature is being published on the subject# A
study of the bibliography pertaining to adult education re~
veals the fact that there is an immense amount of material
dealing with various phases of the movement, most of which
has been published since 1924, It should be of value to
present a picture of conditions as they actually exist in
some American cities, in order to contrast and compare
current practices insadult education with the theories of
educators,
Diversity of current practices in adult education#
An analysis of the table in Alderman’s survey of adult
7
education in the United States shows that as late as 1988,
Iowa, Missouri, Washington, Maryland, Kansas, and Utah had
made no state provision for this work, but local communities
were permitted to conduct some classes for adults.
£• B, Alderman, o£, oft,, p, 4*
6
In Connecticut, adult education has “ been planned
mainly for the education of non-English speaking adults in
reading, speaking, and writing English, and in civics.
Delaware has put stress on rural adult education, as well
as the education of the immigrant and illiterate, while
Pennsylvania has a much more extended program, fhe chief
8
concern of the south has been the removal of illiteracy.
Some communities have an elaborate and well^organiaed
system of adult education broad in scope and planned to
serve a variety of needs and interests. Cleveland, Buffalo,
and Los Angeles are outstanding examples of cities that are
leading in this field* fheir work will be discussed in
detail later.
Scarcity of scientific surveys dealing with adult
education as a whole. A fourth reason why an investigation
of this type is important is that very little scientific
research has been done relating to the present status of
adult education in the United States as a whole. Some
very fine community surveys have been made, as for ex-
9 10
ample in the following large cities: Cleveland, Buffalo,
8
Ibid., pp. 5-13
9 Report of Committee on Adult Education (Cleveland,
Ohio: Cleveland Conference for Educational Cooperation, 1928),
70
C. S. March, Adult Education in a Community (Buffal 0,
Uew York: Ame ri can Ass oo i at ion for AduIT Education, 192 6},
192 pp.
and Los Angeles* A state survey has also been made in
12
Massachusetts*
©he American Association for Adult Education conduct
ed an extensive survey in 1925, as a basis for further
development of their work* ©hey divided the work into five
departments, and each department reported its findings in
separate volumes as follows:
Hew Schools for Older Students, by Uathaniel Beffer.
Educational Opportunities for Young Workers, by John
S. Hoffsinger*
©he University Afield, by Alfred L. Hall-Quest.
Libraries and Adult Education, by the Commission on
the Library and Adult Education*
Practically nothing has been done, however, to inte
grate the data coming from these various sources and dealing
with the different phases of the subject* In this study
information from a number of sources will be united so as to
show the general trend and present status of adult education
in the United States*
IX
B* Alderman, Public Evening Schools for Adults
Bulletin/Ho* 21 (Washington D* Q. : Department ~o£ Irfc erior,
192?}, pp. 10-12
Payson Smith, A Survey of Adult Alien Education in
Massachusetts (Boston, Mass*: Division of University Ex-
tension, 1927), pp* 8-10*
8
II. BEOOGHIflQET OF BEMTE2) IHVESf IGAf IONS
Since adult education has grows amazingly and has
attracted widespread interest among educators within the
last decade, a variety of surveys and research studies has
hean made concerning various phases of the subject. Several
investigations have been made relating to the organization
and content of the curriculum of a single school system
offering education to adults, while others have catered in
a general way the whole field of adult education in the
United States, but no detailed study has been made of the
curricular organization and content of adult education,
as it is conducted in a large number of school systems.
Survey of curriculums of evening schools. Wellemeyer
made a survey of the curriculum of the public evening
15
schools of Quincy* Illinois* in 1924. He considered this
a typical evening high school, representative of many other
night schools throughout the United States. He found that
the courses of study offered there covered a wide variety
of subjects,ranging from the purely vocational subjects,
such as wood worhing or stenography, to such cultural subr
jects as art, music, and French. Glasses were also given
15
W. V. Wellemeyer, "typical Public Evening Sohoolfn
School Beview, 52 : 500-508, April, 1924.
in the fundamental processes of reading* arithmetic, and
penmanship. Opportunities were provided to enable students
to mafce up woffc in academic high school subjects, such as
algebra, geometry, Bnglish, and Spanish# She purpose of
the curriculum was definitely to meet the needs of the
students who attended.
Surveys of adult education in the United States,
1924^1928. Alderman, in 192? and again in 1929, made more
general surveys of the organization and scope of adult
education in the United States during the periods 1924-
— 14 15
1926, and 1926-1928# He based his analysis upon the
replies to questionnaires which he sent out dealing with
the three following questions:
1, What have state departments of education been
doing to promote elementary education of both native illi
terates and foreign born residents who are practically
illiterate in the English language?
2, What have city school systems done to provide
educational opportunities for their citizens who did not
attend the regular day schools?
_ _
It, B. Alderman, Public Education of Adults in the
years 1924-1926, op. cit., pp# 285-28?•
15
I t m B. Alderman, Adult Education Activities During
the Biennium 1926-1928, op. pit.# pp. 1-&#
5* What have collegea and universities done to give
opportunities to those who for any reason do not go to these
institutions?
He found that, hy 1926, more than sixty per oenfc of
the states had enacted legislation to encourage adult ed
ucation; twenty-one states were giving financial aid for
adult education; and thirteen states had full-time super
visors of elementary instruction for adults*
Relative to the second question, as to what the
cities are doing to promote adult education, he found that
out of 1666 schools studied* §20 were conducting evening
schools; Three hundred seventy-six reported that the en
rollment was increasing, one hundred fifteen reported that
they were not growing* The two cities which made the most
promising showings were Gary, Indiana, and Buffalo, Hew
Yorh* Gary reported having sixteen and two-thirds per cent
of its entire adult population in evening and afternoon
classes^ Buffalo, Hew Yorfc, reported having seven per cent
of its grown-up population attending evening schools#
Alderman found that the types of individuals who
attended the classes for Adult Education were extremely
varied* Their ages ranged from sixteen to eighty years, but
the majority were between the ages of twenty-one and fifty;
their previous education ranged from none whatever to
university graduation; and they represented almost every
XI
occupation# In order to satisfy this heterogeneous group
it was necessary to offer a diversified curriculum, from
elementary reading to vocational training and the more cul
tural subjects. Most of the communities reporting empha
sized the fact that they were fitting the curriculum to the
needs and desires of those who were attending the classes*
Survey of adult education for the Buffalo Eduoational
Council. March made a most comprehensive survey of adult
education in a single locality, for the Buffalo Educational
16
Council in 1926* The report of this investigation is made
in two parts. Part I of the hook is a study of the insti
tutions in Buffalo that were contributing to adult education,
and an analysis of the manner and extent to which they were
serving the community. Part II is a study of the adult
student enrolled in formal classes, based on facts supplied
by the student himself.
It was found that there were five fields of adult
education: fine arts, collegiate, professional, trade and
vocational, and miscellaneous, fhe last named included
citizenship training, home making, and high-school and
elementary subjects* fwenty-nine institutions were studied,
and the results showed that a multitude of courses was
G, S, March, ffhe Cosmopolitan Evening School
(Bew York: fhe Century Company, 1929), pp.
12
offered in about 200 departments, in snob widely diversified
fields as accounting, Americanization, astronomy, aufco re
pair, biology, calculus, carpentry, contracts, dramatics,
dressmaking, ethics, gymnasium, Latin, life drawing, music,
philosophy, plumbing, real estate, sociology, and so on
through the list*
Approximately 36,095 students were taught in formal
classes, and, in addition, 11,398 were enrolled in informal
discussion groups having a regular program of study serious
ly carried out* Based on the total number, 47,493 who were
enrolled either in classes of formal discussion groups with
regular meetings and sustained programs of study, it was
estimated that one in eight of the adults of Buffalo were
actually enrolled for study end discussion during the year
1935-26* About 1300 instructors were engaged in teaching
this group.
Report on adult education to the American Vocational
Association* The Committee Report on Adult Education, which
was presented to the American Vocational Association, in
1927, at Los Angeles, is another survey of the field of
adult education, based partly on an analysis of conditions
as they were found and partly on the subjective opinions
17
of experts in this field of work* The report covers
Charles A* Prosser, Adult Education (Hew York:
The Century Co., 1927), 390 pp.
13
five main lie actings;
1. fhe present status of adult education
2. Some fundamental principles
3# Agencies, methods, and devices
4# Becommendations and summary
Summary of related investigations* Phe investiga
tions reviewed in this section have furnished statistical
data on special phrases and in particular localities of
great value to the present study, which has for its purpose
the malting of a survey of the present status of adult edu
cation in the United States*
III. SCOPE Of IWm&TI&ATKffl
Since the field of adult education is so extensive,
the scope of this thesis must neoessarily he limited. This
investigation will include only formal adult educational
activities, for which definite classes of instruction have
been organised, and for which curricula have been developed#
It will be limited t© such schools as day evening
schools for adults or part-time schools under public auspices,
such as university extension work and the like.
14
IV. SOURCES OF DATA AHD METHOD OF PROCEDURE
This investigation is an analysis and an organization
of data gathered from reports and surveys made by various
organizations and institutions engaged in adult education
work throughout the United States. The data were analysed
and classified in order to show the scope, the objectives,
and the organization of adult education practices as it is
at present conducted in the United States*
V. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
In order to present a background against which to
view the results of this study, a chapter will be devoted to
a brief historical outline of the development, and a gen
eral view of adult education movement in the United States.
The three following chapters will be devoted to: Cl) a dis
cussion of the aims and objectives of adult education, both
from the point of view of educators and of authorities as
expressed in professional literature and in courses of
study of states and of city systems; (2) a presentation of
the practices in adult education being carried on at pres
ent in the United States: and (3) a discussion of some
special features of the administration of adult education
which are worthy of attention. The final chapter of this
thesis will be devoted to a summary and a list of conclusions
X5
and recommendations. A selected bibliography of fifty-two
titles is appended at the end of the study*
CHAPTER II
HISTORY AND GENERAX. VIEW OF THE ADUDT
EDUCATION MOVEMENT IM THE UNITED STATES
In a thesis depicting the present status of a move
ment such as the one under discussion, it ia necessary to
trace the events that have contributed to its development
over a period of time. Such an historical survey enables
one to view the present scope and system of organization
of adult education in its proper perspective and assures
the making of a more accurate evaluation of those activities
that are found to be in practice now#
It is the purpose pf the present chapter to present
a general view of the adult education movement in the United
States, by means of a historical account of the beginnings
of the movement and by reviews of recent,comprehensive sur
veys of the present status of adult education in this coun
try# The first section of the chapter will be devoted to a
discussion of the meaning and significance of adult educa
tion and to the history of the movement in the United States#
The next section will contain a discussion of the various
means through which adult education is carried out, such as
the classes for adult illiterates, the evening-sehool classes.,
for adults* and university extension facilities. The status
of public education of adults as brought out by the survey
17
carried out by the Ifni ted States Bureau of Education cover
ing the years 1924 to 1926 is reviewed in conclusion in
order to portray adult education activities in more specif
ic detail*
I. MEATOG AUD SIGHIFICAHCB OF ADULT EDUCATION
From consideration of a selection of outstanding
definitions of the meaning and significance of adult educa
tion, a broad and adequate conception of the movement may
best be achieved. In the paragraphs immediately following
will be presented a group of the best expressions found
available in the course of the making of the present study.
Definitions. In a report made by the Commission on
Library and Adult Education, the following definition and
purpose of adult education is found:
Essentially, adult education is a spiritual ideal,
taking fora in a practical purpose. It is based on
that inherent urge forward which distinguishes the
human spirit. It must be voluntary. It is based on
the recognition that education is a life long process,
and that the university graduate as well as the man of
little schooling is in constant neelof further train
ing, inspiration, and mental growth.*
J. E. Bussell, President of the American Association
for Adult Education, believes that the purpose of adult
education is:
Tl
American Library Association, Libraries and Adult
Education (Chicago: The American Library Association, 1926),
pp. 13-19.
To inspire grown-ups to be something more than they
are now, and to do their work better than they do now.
Its beginning is where one finds oneself; it ends only
when ambition ceases to function. At its beet, it
leads to constantly increasing richness of life, better
appreciation of what life offers, greater satisfaction
in the use of mind and body, and better understanding
of the rights and duties of one's fellowmen*2
Everett Bean Martin contends that "The aim of adult
education is the cultivated amateur*Els opinion is
that it should be selective, and its aim is not to provides
a slight increase of information and a few noble
sentiments for the rank and file, but to select out of
the undifferentiated mass those who are naturally ^
capable of becoming something more than automatons.
The Commission on Co-ordination in Adult Education,
of the Department of Adult Education of the lational Ed
ucation Association, which reported at Seattle, Wellington,
July, 1987, suggested the following definition of terms:
Adult Education refers to education under public
auspices for persons of maturity who, being engaged for
a raa^Jor portion of their time in other occupations,
are devoting some time to educational pursuits.^
8
J. B. Bussell, w A help to self-realiaation,n
Survey, 54 : 544, February,"TL926.'
3
Everett Dean Martin, The Meaning of a Liberal
Education (Dew York: lew York Publishing Company, 1986),
p. 509.
4 Ibia.. p. 31V.
5
Department of Superintendence, Seventh Yearbook,
1989, p. 480.
19
3?o some writers and educators the main purpose of
adult education is training the immigrant for citizenship
and the removal of illiteracy. Shis is an older conception
of the movement, and is more or less covered "by the term
"Americanization." To others, trade extension and training
for greater occupational efficiency should be the prime
con si deration.
Nathaniel Peffer, on the other hand, holds f^ite a
different view. He says:
Adult education is the effort of grasn persons to
go on learning while earning a living. It is not
related elementary education. It is not training
for a 3oh.6
fhis sampling of opinions as to what "adult educa
tion" really means presents a variety of views ranging from
the ideal to the practical, from the general to the specific.
Some think the aim should he cultural and inspirational;
others would have it he vocational. Some would stress the
worthy use of leisure; others emphasize the development of
personal skill. All seem to agree, however, that adult
education must he voluntary and individual.
3?he significance of adult education. After a digest
of specific definitions of the subject, consideration of
6
Hathaniel Peffer, Hew Schools for Older Students
(Hew York: 3?he Macmillan Company, 1926), p. 250'.
20
the general siginfloanee of the movement should round out
an insight into the general concept.
So far* in educational endeavor, the United States
has succeeded merely in formalizing and mechanizing educa
tional processes. America has become habituated to a
method of achievement whereby results are measured quantita
tively* fhe outstanding characteristic of the present period
in educational development, however* is the stir after at
tainment of the new education with its initial assumption
of the affirmation that education is life, not a mere prepar
ation for an unknown kind of future living. Consequently,
all static concepts of education that relegate the learning
process to the period of youth alone must be outgrom*
Education can have no endings, since the whole of life is
learning, fhe venture into the field of carrying out this
conception is called adult education— ‘ ‘not because it is
confined to adults but because adulthood, maturity, definds
its limits.1 *1 ^ fhe remark that no one, probably, needs adult
education so much as the college graduate, for it is he to
makes the most doubtful assumptions concerning the function
S
of learning, most aptly illustrates the true significance
of this field of education*
7
Edward S. hinderman, ffh® Meaning of Adult Education
(Hew York: New Hepublio, Inc., 1926), p. 5.
8
Ibid*, p^ 7.
21
A primary realization necessary to the conception of
9
education as "a process coterminous with life” is that such
education must revolve about non-vocational ideals. As a
recent writer puts it:
Education conceived as a process coterminous with
life revolves about non-vocational ideals. In this
world of specialists every one will of necessary learn
to do his work, and if education of any variety can
assist in this and in the further end of helping the
worker to see the meaning of his labor, it will be
education of a high order* But adult education more
accurately defined begins where vocational education
leaves off. Its purpose is to put meaning into the
whole of life. Workers, those who perform essential
services, will naturally discover more values in con
tinuing education than will those for whom all know
ledge is merely decorative or conversational. The
possibilities of enriching the activities of labor it
self grow less for all workers who manipulate automatic
machines. If the good life, the life interfused with
meaning and with joy, is to come to these, opportunities
for expressing more of the total personality than is
called forth by machines will be needed. 3?heir lives
will be quickened into creative activities in propor
tion as they learn to make fruitful use of leisure.^
In the matter of conception of methods in adult edu
cation it must be strongly impressed that the approach to
adult education must be made along the route of situations,
not subjects. In conventional education the student is re
quired to adjust himself to an established curriculum; in
adult education the curriculum must be built around the
student’s needs and interests. Every adult person finds
9
Edward G. Linde man, loc. cit.
10
Ibid., p. 8.
22
himself in specific situations with respect to his work, his
recreation, his family life* his community life — situations
that call for adjustments* Adult education begins at this
point. Subject-matter is brought into the situation, is f>ut
to work, when needed, fhe "situation approach" to eduction
means that the learning process is at the outset given a
setting of reality. Intelligence performs its functions in
11
relation to actualities, not abstractions.
It must be recognized, therefore, in completing a true
conception of adult education that authoritative teaching
and rigid pedagogical formulae have no place in adult edu-
12
cation. "Friends educating each other," says Yeaxlee, and
perhaps Walt Whitman saw accurately with his fervent demo
cratic vision what the new educational experiment implied
when he wrote: "£earn from the simple-*-teach the wise."
Small groups of aspiring adults who desire to keep their
minds fresh and vigorous; who begin to learn by confronting
pertinent situations; who dig down into the reservoirs of
their experience before resorting to texts and secondary
facts; who are led in the discussion by teachers who are al
so searchers after wisdom and not oracles; this constitutes
the setting for adult education, the modern quest for life's
IMd*» P* 9*
12
B. A. Yeaxlee, Spiritual Values in Adult Edue at ion
(2 Volumes, Oxford, England; Oxfo r d University Press, 1926),
Vol. I, p^ vii.
23
13
meaning*
Adult education presents a challenge to static con^-
oepts of intelligence and to standardized limitations of
conventional facilities* Adult education must he conceived
as an attempt to discover a new method and create a new in
centive for learning; "its implications are qualitative,, not
14
quantitative**1 Finally, then, the realization that adult
learners are least lihely to he aroused hy the rigid, un
compromising requirements of authoritative, conventional
ized institutions of learning must he constantly held in
mind in the forefront of the concept, fhree directions for
carrying out academic education experiments particularly
pertinent for achieving the real significance of adult edu
cation may he quoted as follows:
X* Required orientation or survey courses which are
designed to give the student a hroad and comprehensive ac
quaintance with world history, the evolution of civilization,
the growth of ideas, the span of social and political pro
gress, the march of science, the requirements of citizen
ship, et cetera*
2* Curriculum adjustments which provide for a limit
ed amount of specialization within a context of hroad
fundamental training*
3* Restriction of undergraduate study to so-called
liberal subjects and reserving intensive specialization
n*
Edward £• Mnderman, op* oft*, p* 25*
14
Ibid*, p* 27.
24
15
for post-graduates*
II* HI S31 OH Y OH THE ADULT EDUCATION MOYBfEiJT
The history of adult education reveals the fact that
the adult education movement is world-wide in scope, involv
ing most of the civilized countries* Interest in this m ove
ment is increasing; each country has developed that phase of
adult education best suited to the interests of the people.
The roots of adult education lie deeply embedded in
the life of the English colonies of Horth America, extend
ing as far bach as the Hew England town meeting of the
seventeenth century* The Puritans’ precious right to
"speak out in meeting” found a natural expression later
through the lyceums, the first of which was formed in Mass
achusetts, in 182 6. It was a voluntary association of farm
ers and mechanics "for the purpose of self-culture, commun
ity instruction, and mutual discussion of common pit) lie
16
interests*” ®ke town lyceums grew rapidly, and in 1839,
more than three thousand were in existence. As the years
passed, these groups assumed an educational leadership*
15
Adolph Meyer, "Modernising the college*" American
Review, 4:546-57, 1926,
16
Morse A* Cartwright, International Handbook of
Adult Education, 1929, p. 436*
25
a© great names in American letters are found among those
who lent prestige to the lyceurn movement— Emerson, lowell,
fhoreau, and Holmes.
It was the example of the lyceum which led Bishop
John H. Vincent and his colleagues, in 1874, to expand a
Sunday School Association into a general adult education
venture. 5he Chautauqua Institution resulted, and in its
train, numerous imitators, the most recent of which are the
17
commercial Chautauqua and Xyeeum circuits#
3?he last quarter of the nineteenth century saw tie:
beginning of the university extension movement in America,
and with the turn of the twentieth century Andrew Carnegie’s
large benefactions to public libraries gave impetus to the
development of a train of thought and activity among for-
ward-loohing librarians which has resulted in the public
library’s occupying a position of unique and strategic im
portance in the adult education movement.
An inquiry into adult education needs and possibili
ties in England and Scotland, made as a part of the British
Ministry of Heconstruction Report of 1919, resulted in an
expansion of adult educational activity in the British
movement. Observance of a considerable American interest in
various forms of continuing education led to an inquiry into
7 Ibid., p. 43V
American conditions in 1924, This inquiry was instituted
by the Carnegie Corporation of Hew York:, a foundation dedicat
ed to the advancement of civilization and the diffusion of
knowledge and understanding among the people of the United
18
States* An historical account of the movement in the
United States may well he terminated at this point, since
the status of the adult education movement reveald by the
findings of this survey represent the most practical recs nt
picture of the present status available, and as such is re<-
viewed in detail in concluding the contribution of the study
in this chapter*
III* MEANS THROUGH WHICH ADULT EDUCATION 18 CARRIED ON
At the present time the main lines of endeavor in the
adult education movement as carried out in the United States
are classes for adult illiterates, evening school claves for
adults, university extension work, correspondence schools,
and library extension courses*
The problem of adult illiteracy in the United States.
A very important educational problem in the United States is
that of adult illiteracy* Provision of adult education is
essential to the removal of this problem. Its importance
may well be portrayed by the following citation:
18
Ibid*, p* 458
27
One of the greatest problems before American educa
tion is the removal of illiteracy* The record of our
country in literacy is such that school executives
cannot ignore this problem, The education of children
is not enough when we have adult citizens who cannot
read and write. According to the Census of 1920 we
had 5,000,000 adult citizens who were unable to read
and write. During the War, the Army called a man
illiterate if he were unable to read and understand a
newspaper, and to write letters. She Army records in
dicated approximately 15,000,000 illiterates. At the
present time, the following countries of Burope are
far ahead of the United States in this matter of liter
acy: Bngland, Scotland, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands,
Sweden, and Switzerland.33
fable I presents the data on this point.
The work for removal of adult illiteracy, The World
War brought forcibly to the attention of the American je ople
the fact that they had for long been very lax in the matter
of citizenship education. While doing good work in pro
viding schooling for children of the foreign-born people,
both parents and those children beyond compulsory school
20
age had been entirely neglected. from that time on,
activity in this line has been one of the outstanding move
ments in adult education, The facts of the situation and
the work being carried forward are described in the follow
ing paragraphs.
19
"Articulation in the field of Adult Education."
National Educational Association, Department of superintend-
ence Seventh Yearbook, 1929, p. 475
20
I. li. Ban dell, Educational Yearbook, 1927 (Bureau
of Publications, Teachers'* CollegeColumbia University,
1928), p. 446.
28
TABItE I
EERCEETAGE OB IiilTBRACY IN THE UNITED
STATES AND IN TWENTY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES8 ,
Country
Percent of
population
illiterates
Country
Percent of
population
illiterates
German Empire .05 France 14* 1
Sweden .2 Hungary 33.3
Denmark *2 Italy 37.
Switzerland .3 Greece 57.2
Scotland .8 Spain 58.7
Netherlands 1.6 Rumania 60.6
England & Wales 1*8 Bulgaria 65*5
Ireland 6. Russia 69.
United States 9.2 Serbia 78,9
Belgium 12.7
Austria 13.7
a
Otto Hubner, Geographische-Statistesohe gate lien (Yienna,
Austria: X. W, Seidel and Son, "1926), cite d in ’ ’ the Rational
Education Association Department of Superintendence Seventh
Yearbook, 1929, p. 476*
29
It has been shown by Gubberly that in 1880, there
were about three and one-fourth million illiterate negroees
in the United States, while in 1920, there were fewer than
two million* There were about three-fourths of a million
foreign born illiterates in 1880, and nearly two millions
in 1920* About two and one-fourth millions constitute the
native white illiterate population in 1880, whioh decreased
to a little over one million in 1920. These facts are shown
graphically in Figure I*
The United States Census of 1920 showed that of the
total 4,031,905 illiterates of the United States, 2,631,581,
or over fifty-three per cent, were found in nine states,
namely, Few York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Texas,
Alabama, Worth Carolina, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
Figure II, page 31, gives a graphic presentation of these
data.
Figure 3, page 32, which presents the distribution
of foreign-born white illiterates for those states having
more than 10,000 illiterates, shows that Mew York, Pennsyl
vania, and Massachusetts lead in this class of illiteracy.
When the states are ranked according to the amount
of native white illiteracy, it is found that this class
of illiterate is most frequent in the southern states,
namely, Kentucky, Morth Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana
and Texas, as is shown in Figure 4, page 33*
< D f c f O H* H H H ’g t * W
30
4
3
2
1
0
192 0 1880 1890 1900
Figure 1
Approximate number of illiterates grouped in
three divisions, and the inerease or decrease
of eaeh group during the period from 1880 to
1980.
A* Oubberley, Sllwood P*, An Introduction To
the Study of Bdaeation and ffo feaohing,(Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company 1925) Pa* 329*
Number of Illiterates
Thousands
STATS )0 200 00 400
NSW YORK
GEORGIA
PENNSYLVANIA
LOUISAHA
TEXAS
AJ^ARAMA
NORTH CAROLINA
HISSIISIPPI
SOUTH CAROLINA
VIRGINIA
=1
TENNESSEE
ILLINOIS
KENTUCKY
MASSACHUSETTS
OHIO
HBBVT JERSEY
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA
MICHIGAN
MISSOURI
FLORIDA
WEST VIRGINIA
Figure 2
Total Illiteracy of the Twenty-Two States Ranking
Highest in Number of Illiterates, Age Group Ten YearB
and Over*
A* Illiteracy, Non-English Speaking and Allen
Problems of Pennsylvania, Dept* of frubiio Instruction
Bui* No# H7 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1927 Page 16*
Number of Illiterates
Thousands
STATS 100 200 300 400
HEW YORK
1
PENNSYLVANIA
1
MASSACHUSETTS
1
ILLINOIS
1
TEXAS
1
NEW JERSEY
]
OHIO
1
MICHIGAN
— 1
CALIFORNIA
“i
CONNECTICUT
I
WISCONSIN
m
RHODE ISLAND
□
MINNESOTA
M
ARIZONA
3
MISSOURI
INDIANA
WEST VIRGINIA
COLORADO
SEW HAMPSHIRE
MARYLAND
WASHINGTON
MAINE
KANSAS
IOWA
Figure 3
Foreign- Bom White Illiteracy1 for Those States Having
More Than 10,000 Illiterates, Age Group Ten Years and
Over*
A* Illiteracy, Non-English Speaking and Alien Problems
of Pa., Dept# of Pub* Instruction, Bui. 2 Harrisburg,Pa. P22
Humber of Illiterates
Thousands
S 2M M ____________
m m m i________
NORTH CAROLINA
0 GO
TRNNR SSBB
inuiSANA
«PftYAS
.VIRGINIA
GEORGIA
AT, A RAMA
MISSOURI
WEST VIRGINIA
ARKANSAS
PENNSYLVANIA
SOUTH CAROLINA
OHIO
ILLINOIS
OKLAHOMA
NBW YORK
INDIANA
NSW MEXICO
MISSISSIPPI
MARYLAND
MICHIGAN
FLORIDA
WISCONSIN
Figure 4 Native White Illiteracy for Those States of the
United States Hairing More Than 10,000 illiterates, age
Group Ten Years and Over.
A* Illiteracy, Hon-Bnglish Spaafcing and Alien Problems
of V1 vaula* Dept« of Public instruction, Bui. No. £
larrisburg; Pennsylvania, 192V, Pa. 25.
34
Figure 3, page 35, depicts graphically the total
number of negro illiterates of the United States by states
having more than 5,000 illiterates, the majority of whom
are found in five southern states, namely; Georgia, Alabama,
Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina*
Since the majority of illiterates is found in a com
paratively few states, it is natural that the removal of
illiteracy should become an important part of adult educa
tion in these states* Kentucky in 1914, was the first
state to authorise an illiteracy commission; Alabama followed
in 1915; Mississippi, in 1916; Arkansas, in 1917; and Georgia,
El
in 1919. In the beginning, illiteracy commissions were
appointed to investigate the problem and attempt its solu
tion without the aid of state appropriations* In 1916,
Kentucky appropriated |5,00G annually for two years for the
illiteracy commission and to provide for a census: of adult
illiterates. In 1917, Horth Carolina and, in 1918, Kentucky
authorized appropriations of §25,000 for the removal of illi
teracy. In 1919, Korth Carolina took the next forward step.
In its act authorizing the establishment of evening schools
for adult illiterates it provided that such schools when
established should be supported as other schools of the state
are supported.
—
Frank V. Thompson, Schooling of the Immigrant
(Hew York: Harper and Brothers, l9S
struction at places and hours most convenient to the illiter
ate and non-English-speaking people for whose bem fit the
law was primarily enacted*
Oregon, fhe law provides a department of Amer
icanization for the education and Americanization of adult
immigrants, fhis department is a part of the public-sohool
system and subject to the supervision of the state depart
ment of education. 3?he department of Americanization con
sists of five commissioners who are authorized to propose a
course of study in citizenship and to promote the work of
Americanization in conjunction with the publicrschool system
7. Bennsylvania. The State legislature has enacted
a law whereby any school district may provide courses for
adult education and must do so upon the written application
of 20 or more residents above 16 years of age who are net
in attendance at any day school, fhe courses of study to
be given at such evening schools are left mainly to the
discretion of the district school board. She extension
school, when established* becomes a part of the system and
is subject to the same standards. When its standards are
approved, credits earned in such schools are acceptable for
graduation in the regular day school*
8* Rhode Island. The law revises that one or more
public evening schools be established in every town, for
the purpose of teaching the English language where 20 or
more persons between 18 and 21 years of age may be found
who are unable to speak, read, and write that language#
It authorizes the establishment of free day continuation
schools or evening schools to teach English and American
citizenship to those who are not within compulsory attendance
ages# All persons between the ages of 16 and 21 years vh o
cannot meet the standards in the use of English as estab
lished by the state board of education are required to
attend day or evening schools.
South Carolina, fhe legislature has for a number
of years made appropriations providing school opportunities
for illiterates, fhere is a state supervisor giving full
time to this work.
3-0* South Dakota. Attendance at day or evening
schools is required of persons between 16 and 21 years of
age, inclusive, who do not speak, read, or write the
English language equivalent to the requirements of the fifth
grade in the public school. The county superintendent shall
51
by examination, determine who are subject to the attendance
f
law. The state superintendent may require any school dis
trict to maintain, as a part of the public schools, evening
classes in English, the United States constitution, American
history, and other subjects for which there may exist a
sufficient demand# One-half the cost of maintaining evening
schools shall be met by the state, provided such school has
state approval#
3?enneasee. The law authorizes county and city
boards of education to maintain night schools for persons
16 years of age or over#
State supervision and support, The consideration of
the status of state supervision and support is a fundamental
one# To make a state system of elementary adult-educat ion
effective there should be state supervision# It is shown
in fable III that 34 states are giving supervision to such
work. Thirteen states have full-time supervisors of element
ary instruction of adults.
Twenty-one states report that they are giving finan
cial aid for adult education. Just how much aid is given
in some cases is not revealed by the table. In general, 50
per cent support is provided by the state and 50 per cent by
the local district. Just what the percentage should be is a
question of great importance# In any discussion of this
TABLE III
State Activities In Adult Education
52
Has state Does Does What %No*localAdult ilNo*stateHas
enacted state state of coercommuniliteratesinstitustate
legislationdept*oigive fiprovities witband for tions an il
STATE promoting educatnancial ded bjclasses eign borrtraing liter
adult olas-ion aid to state for forenrolled teachersacy
es in Eng super- local oo- eign or in adult for com
lish and rise admunities native classes
adult mis
Citizenshipult dtaae illiter Glasses sion?
a t e
Yes No Yes No Yes No / 9 3 t - i r Ha.v-C / 93 N 'T
Yes No
AT.A7UMA
X X 5 0 L 7 3 1 7 2
b'fS 'V 1 /9 3
0 X
ARIZONA X X X 0 0 X
ARKANSAS X X X 1 8 0
2 9 2 9
2 X
CALIFORNIA X
X
X 5 0 3 X
COLORADO X X X 0 2 5 3 5
H L & H 9 9 3 C3
X
CONNECTICUT X X X 1 5 4 2 4 3
*5-3.2 99*7
2 X
DELAWARE X X X 8 3 6 1
liT h f 2 % 0 f
X
DIST# C0LUMB* X X X 9 0 1 1
f i t 3 /* * *
3 X
FLORIDA X X X
GEORGIA X X X 0 1 X
IDAHO X X X 0 5 1
ILLINOIS X X X 0 X
INDIANA X X X 0 X
IOWA X X
KANSAS X X X 4 0 4 0
7oo 700
X
KENTUCKY X x
MAINE X X X &(,%
0
1 8 1 8
* 7*12.
1 X
MARYLAND X X X 1 1
yst>? ?
2 X
MASSACHSBTfS X X X 5 0 1 2 7 1 2 9
77769 5 776 f
2 X
MICHIGAN X X X 0
MINNESOTA X X X 5 0 4 1 3 9
9AtC 92**
1 X
MISSISSIPPI X X 2 2
2 6
X
MISSOURI . X X X X
MONTANA X X X X
NEVADA X X 5 0 0 0 X
NEW HAMPSHIRE X X .X 0 1 3 1 4
n t r * a.90-0
0 X
NEW JERSEY X X 50 4 5 5 0
$r0 oo %0oo
0 X
NEW MEXICO X X X 0
7&V23 ’ 76~0*.?
0 X
NEW YORK
NORTH CAROL* X X X 0 1 1
(,7 2 <>72
0 X
NORTH DAKOTA X X X 5 0
S & 9 7 77
f i - a j j j ^ f 3
0 X
OHIO X X X 0 0
3 3 J 2 6
tf6 X > Ct* * °
0 X
OKLAHOMA X X X 0
2 o °°
X
OREGON X X X 0 30 X
PENNSYLVANIA X X X 5 0 3 5 6 5
760 0 0 2.0 00*
4
*
TABUS III CONTINUED
53
RB. ISLAND x X X 16 17 1 X
SO* CAROLINA z X X 50 345 329
/oy 72 f /CjUt
2 X
SO# DAKOTA X X X 50 6 6
vaf H,t> ■
TSNNE3SSS X X X 40 20 40
2*0 ^oo
0 X
TEXAS X X X
0 X
UTAH X X X 25 3 2
J7? Vo
2 X
VERMONT X X X
0 X
VIRGINIA X X X 66^6 5 5 X
WASHINGTON X X X 50 IT 16
3 ,1 0 7 l,7°C
2 X
WISCONSIN X X X 50 41 41
23
> 3 X
WYOMING X X X 50 28 38
«T 7/ 7ST
X
CONTINENTAL
-
UNITED STATES SO IS 24 20 21 20 1323 128V 44 12 31
OUTLYING
POSSBSSIONS
ALASKA X X X 100 10 11
3H% 30%
0 X
CANAL SONS X X X X
HAWAII X X X 0 0 X
PORTO RICO X X X 0
i*oo
0 X
SAMOA X X X 0 0 0
o o
X
VIRGIN ISLS. X X X 100 1 1
3~t 6/
0 X
5 5 3 3 2 4 11 12 0 1 5
a.
L# R# Alderman, Public Education of Adults in the
Years 1924-1926, Department of the Interior Bueau of
Education, Bullitin, 1927, TFo. 18, p.4.
54
question the following facts might well he considered:
1. If one of the strongest arguments for the justi
fication of public support for education is that it is
for the protection of the state, what reason could he
given for teaching a hoy of 1G years of age to read and
write the English language and not providing that privi
lege for a man of 21 years of age?
2* As literate workers produce more than illiterate
workers, money spent on evening schools is a most ex
cellent investment.
5. Aliens are found in groups, and their education
hy local school districts is a great burden upon some
districts. In many cases where the work was undertaken,
it was either curtailed or discontinued.^
Teacher training. It is hecoming more and more fully
recognized that a teacher of adult classes should have
special training for this work* Erom fable III, page 52,
it may he seen that 27 states reported 45 institutions that
offered special training for teachers of adult classes dur
ing the biennium 1924-1926. This is a recent development and
has in it much promise for the future. Through this train
ing, teachers of aliens are given a better approach to their
students, as well as improved methods of teaching. The time
of the adult student is valuable and should not be wasted
by poor teaching.
50
1. R. Alderman, Public Education of Adults in the
Years 1924^ - 1926, Bulletin ^o. 18, 1927, pp.T-S;
Outstanding example of extent of state support of
adult education activities. Outstanding activities in
adult education work being conducted by various state de
partments as illustrating the wide extent of certain state
support of such programs are noted in the following para
graphs.
1, California, In 1924-25, there were organized
1,000 classes for illiterates and those needing elementary
subjects# fhe work was offered in 51 cities and in 100
rural and semi-rural communities# It has been variously
estimated that there are from 10,000 to 40,000 families on
wheels who move northward in the state for the purpose of
harvesting the crops. Plans have been worked out so that
the county attendance officer is waiting for the children
when they move into a county, and they are put into school
at the earliest possible moment, fhey are also doing every
thing they can to increase the attendance of illiterates in
their evening schools, teachers are offered special in
struction at the University of California, both at Berkeley
and at the southern branch, during the summer session; m d,
in addition, the university supplies a specialist in teacher
training in this field who can be sent to any community in
the state throughout the school year. Here she trains the
teachers while they are working and gives them special help
56
31
with their elasses*
2* Connecticut* Daring 1924^1926, the following
phases of adult education must he noticed as of outstand
ing interest in Connecticut:
Much higher type of pupil was in school, presumably
the result of the immigration law*
A slowly rising registration due to obvious advan
tages of education; desire to gain citizenship for
immigrant quota exemptions; better teaching; pressure
of public opinion*
Higher average attendance due to better teaching.
A great need to establish supplementary and co
ordinated studies for those completing Americanization
classes*
Complete acceptance by public as to place of adu3t
elementary education in the publie-school curriculum*
Recognition by educators that there must be modern
ized curriculum, socialized recitation, and humanized
instruction* 2
Bel&ware. Delaware has had a St ate-supported pro
gram of adult education for a number of years* This program
provides for a specialist in adult education in the state
department of public instruction, trained teachers, mater
ials and methods of instruction adapted to the interests,
abilities, and needs of adult students, classes arranged at
times and places suited to the living and working conditions
of mature people. The work is sponsored by a state committee
~ 31
Ibid., p* 7.
32
Ibid., p* 8.
of re pro sent at It© citizens and officials who meet once each
month for the purpose of hearing reports on the progress of
the work and to make recommendations for its improvement♦
fhis work is also greatly aided hy the Delaware state par-
ent-teacher organization* Since Delaware's largest and
most immediate adult education problem was among its 20,000
foreign^born residents, the state program during the first
years of its operation was devoted to immigrant education,
with the result that about 40 per cent of the foreign-horn
residents of the state have been helped to prepare for in
telligent oitizenship and participation in the life of the
community* About 700 of the foreign-born men and women in
cluded in this number were totally illiterate, that is,
unable to read or write in any language when they first
applied for instruction* During the year 1925-1926, this
program of adult education was extended to the native-born
illiterates, of whom Delaware has 2,500 white and 4,200
colored* Glasses were organized in 56 school districts of
the state, for 1,158 persons, fhey were in session two
nights a week for 10 weeks*
District of Columbia. In the so-called "American
ization* work in the Washington, D. 0. schools, two features
should be noted:
_
L. R, Alderman, loo* eit.
58
First, there is a building devoted almost exclusively
to this work. A part of the building has been equipped very
largely by the students, so that it is used as a club* The
place is made most attractive. A good library has been
assembled. Glasses are held during the day as well as in
the evening.
Secondly, considerable use is made of motion pictures.
A local motion-picture company gives the use of a room and
furnishes an operator. Educational films are loaned for the
use of the class. During the showing of the film the
students are requested to talk in English. After the film
is shown the students discuss the film, and very lively disr
oussions take place. The instructors claim that the films
insure better attendance than would be had otherwise, but
that the main advantage of the pictures is that the film has
given all members of the class an interesting topic of con
versation. The students write about what they see in tbs
picture.^
5. Massachusetts. The outstanding developments in
the field of adult education in Massachusetts during the
past two years have been the increase in the number of classes
for immigrant women and the increase in the enrollment in
the intermediate and advanced classes. This latter develop
ment is very significant, because it shows that ambitious
I * . H. Alderman, loo, cit.
59
foreign-born men and women will come "back to school dob r two
35
or three years when the teaching is good.
Borth Dakota. During the biennium 1924-1926 the
program of adult education has been stressed in Borth Dakota.
The campaign against illiteracy has been continued until the
percentage of illiteracy has been reduced to two-tenths of
one per cent, fhe statistics for th& se data were f urn is he d
by the county superintendents at the end of the school year,
June 30, 1926. She number of illiterates in the state, in
cluding Indiana, has been reduced to 2,935, fhe stst isties
show that one county of the state has no illiterates, and
that 17 of the 53 counties have fewer than 10* Splendid
work has been done by all school officials in the program of
adult education, fhey have also had the co-operation of
many fraternal organizations and splendid co-operation with
the parent-teacher associations in many rural communities.
It is the goal of the parent-teacher associations to have
organizations in 50 per cent of the schools of the state by
the end of this school year . In many rural communitje s
members of the parent-teacher associations have stated that
since Joining this organization they have understood for the
first time the problem of the public-school system and it s
program, The state program of adult eduoation has been
35
Ibid,, p, 9.
60
36
emphasised in all of their meetings#
Oklahoma. Oklahoma has an adult education
commission*. Great stress is being laid to secure as marly
perfect attendance as possible. Some schools are reporting
98 and 99 per cent attendance. Iheir adult pupils have un
doubtedly profited by their school contacts ana by the actual
scholastic knowledge gained. It is probable that the commun
ities in which adult schools have been successfully conducted
have actually profited more than the pupils have. The teach
ers report that their adult pupils were influenced to send
their own children more regularly to day school; that the
adult pupils helped carry a bond election for the erection
of a teacherage; that the adult pupils participated in a
great workday, during which trees were planted on the school
ground; that the adult pupils helped in an entertainment
held for the purpose of securing funds for a school library;
37
and so on*
8* Pennsylvania* Outstanding activities during the
biennium 1924-1926 were:
First, provision by the state council of education
for special certification of teachers of adult classes; and
Secondly, the setting up of a state program of home
_
Ibid*, p* 9•
37
j&* H. Alderman, loc* cit.
classes for immigrant mothers* The initial step in this
program was tafcen in June, 1925, and the reports indie ate
that more than 100 cities and "boroughs have either appointed
full-time class teachers or have planned to make provision
38
for this worfc in the "budget for the coming year*
9. Virginia* So far as illiterates under 20 years
of age are concerned, the number was reduced in the five-
year period from 1920 to 1925 from over 28,000 to approx
imately 14,000, or about 50 per cent, "We have attempted to
meet the problem of rural illiteracy largely through evening
sessions and vacation schools, and in a few institutions a
39
tremendous service has been performed*"
V* SUMMARY
In this chapter, after a presentation of the meaning
and significance of adult education as an individual ex
perience coter minous with life itself, the historical sur
vey of the general development of adult education from its
origins deeply imbedded in the life of the English colonies
of America in the 17th century was traced through the lyceum
development of the 19th century to the 20th century expansion
into definite nation-wide programs under the influence of the
_
Ibid., p. 10.
39
Ii* R* Alderman, loo* cit.
68
work of the Carnegie Foundation.
fhe main lines of educational endeavour, by means of
which adult education is carried on in the United States,
have been shown to be classes for adult illiterates, evening-
sehool classes for adults, university extension work,
correspondence schools, and library extension work* fhe
status in 1984-1986 as revealed by governmental survey of
state support and examples of extent of state programs out-r
standing for the scope of the work undertaken were noted in
conclusion, showing that recent legislation promoting work
in this respect has been enacted in practically all states.
Individual states have undertaken special programs to pro
vide for local problems in the removal of illiteracy and
extension of the opportunities of education to those past
"school age", as for example, California1 s program to pro
vide training for the floating population that follows the
seasonal harvesting of crops.
CHAPTER III
63
SURVEY OF TEE AIMS OF ADULT BLUCATIQH IH
THE UHITBIT STATES
Although the adult e due at ion movement is one of the
youngest of out social enterprises, it is, nevertheless,
big; big in numbers concerned, big in extent of program,
big in achievement, and big in promise* There are ap
proximately twenty million people in the United States
over twenty-one years of age at least half of whom
oould be educated further in some organised way*3-
It is the purpose of the present chapter to review the
aims set up for adult education in the United States. The
aims studied are those set up by the educational authorities
and specialists in the field, and the aims set up in par
ticular state and city courses of study* The third section
of this chapter is devoted to the alms of adult education in
the state of California and the principles upon which the
aims are based and the concepts embodie d in the movement* A
further section is given to consideration of the differences
between adult and juvenile education that must be taken ac
count of in the setting up of educational aims* Finally,
consideration is taken of the principles that are essential
to a successful and durable program for adult education,
which must serve as guides in the formulation of aims* A
summary of the findings closes the chapter*
John F* Friese, The Cosmopolitan Evening School
(Hew York: Century Company, 1939)V p* 3i0.
64
I. AIMS TAKER PROM THE LITERATURE
What one says or does about adult education will de
pend on his social, political, and educational points of
view# The literature upon the subject presents a wide
variety of opinions of what should constitute the aims and
objectives of an adult-©dueation program# The following
citations are offered to illustrate some of the aims that
are recognized by leaders in this field*
Aims set up by the Committee on Adult Education.
The Committee on Adult Education, in 1929, reported that the
purposes of adult education should be:
1* The removal of illiteracy.
2* The enlightening of public opinion.
3* The promotion of world peace and international
good will.
4# The worthy use of leisure time.
5# The capitalization of the learning ability of
adult s**
A similar statement is given by Alonzo G> Crace, of
the Cleveland Board of Education and Western Reserve Univers
ity, who suggested as the aims of adult education:
g
Department of Superintendence, Seventh Yearbook,
1929, p. 479.
65
Adult education should mean, therefore, (1) education
for constructive citizenship; {Z) education for wise use
of leisure time; (3) education for health; (4) education
in the fundamental shills and tools, aga (6) education
for parenthood and parental education**5
Aims expressed by experts in immigration education,
fhe administrators and supervisors of immigrant education
have made a more minute and definite exposition of the pur
poses of that field of adult education. Caroline Whipple,
Supervisor of Immigrant Education in Hew York says:
fhe general aims in immigrant education are idedb ical
with those in other fields: to help pupils adjust them
selves most happily and effectively in their environ
ment; to emphasize the necessity of cooperation and
service; and to develop the best in each individual, fhe
specific aim is to help these adult pupils gain a work
ing knowledge of the English language. !The pupils must
acquire the ability to get the thought of others ex
pressed in oral English; and to express their thoughts
in written English; to communicate their own thoughts
in intelligible oral English; a secondary aim, almost as
vital, is to give the instruction leading to this various
language ability in a useful and practical content. The
chief need of the average foreign-born pupil is a good
working knowledge of English, a knowledge sufficient to
help him in making his way in an English speaking
community.^5
3
Alonzo G. Grace, "Educating Adults" School and
Society, 31: 674, May, 1930.
4
Caroline A. Whipple, Course of Study for Hon-English
Speaking Adults (University of the Sta3fe of Hew York, 19s7J,
p. 6.
II* AIMS SET UP Iff STATE A HD CITY C0UB3E3 OP STUDY
Aims of the Opportunity School of Denver* Colorado*
Adult eduoation in Denver is eon ducted in the Opportunity
School, which was founded in 1916* This has been an inter
esting and successful experiment* It is the purpose of the
school to make it easy for the youth or for the adult, who
for any reason wants to learn anything, to have an oppor
tunity to learn that thing* The aims of the founders were;
1* To provide the fundamentals of an education for
those persons who had heen deprived of school advantage
in youth.
2* To provide a working knowledge of many of the
trades and industries.
6. To offer opportunities to men and women already
in mechanical and industrial pursuits who had the am-
hit ion to become more efficient workers*
4. To give boys and girls another chance, who for
various reasons did not fit well in the regular public
schools.
6* To give people born in other countries a chance
to learn English and also to prepare them for natural
ization and citizenship**
Aims of the Minnesota State Bulletin* Adult educa
tion in Minnesota has emphasized primarily the preparation
of students to become citizens or to develop themselves as
better citizens. This work has been carried on in the
5
Denver Public Schools, The Opportunity School,
Course of Study (Denver, Golorado, 1926), p* 9*
67
elementary grades. fhe general aims as stated in the bullet
in are:
!• fo teach students to understand spoken English
and to speak, read and write English.
2. To assist students to gain an understanding of
the essentials in an elementary-school course.
3* fo give information and training which will aid
petitioners for United States citizenship to pass the
examination which is required.
4# fo assist students to gain an understanding and
appreciation of local, state, and nations! government
for the purpose of securing a better social, economic
and civic adjustment.
5. fo interpret our country to those who come from
other countries and to create a mutual understanding
between the native and the foreign-born.
6. To prepare students for worthy home membership,
to develop ethical character, to teach how to secure
better health, how to perform the duties and obligations
of citizenship, and how to provide for the proper use of
leisure time.®
Aims of the State Bulletin of South Carolina. In the
state bulletin of South Carolina, where the removal of illi
teracy is the chief purpose of adult education, the object
ives are definitely stated as follows:
1. Xiove of good reading implanted.
2. Ability to speak intelligently and infcerestingly
for three minutes on a given subject.
3. Ability to write correctly an original paragraph
of six or eight sentences on a subject within range of
pupil's experience or interest.
6
Department of Education, State of Minnesota
Syllabus for Elementary Evening Schools,~T924, p. 5.
68
4* Ability to write correct personal and business
letters,
5. Correct spelling and correct use of capitals and
simple punctuation,
6* Use of alphabetical list and dictionary.
7. fhe arithmetic needed for everyday problems.
8. Closer contact with national, state, county and
local agencies*
9* Higher standards in six essentials of a noimal,
happy home life.
10# fheory and practice in making normal, happy home
environment.
11. Sense pf civic responsibility increased in theory
and practice.”
Survey of aims of Buffalo (Hew York) City schools.
C. S. Marsh, who has made a survey of adult education in
Buffalo, has compiled interesting statistics pertaining to
objectives which the adults themselves have who attended
evening classes. He found that 4.43 per cent attended sole
ly for past-time; 3.3 per cent attended to secure advance
ment in their own vocation; 1*88 per cent attended to secure
credit toward some degree or diploma; 8.45 per cent gave no
reason for attending adult schools; and 81.13 per cent stated
that they attended for "further education." "Further educa
tion" covers a multitude of desiree and reasons among which
7
J. H. Hope and Wil Lou Cray, light and Adult Schools,
(Course of Study of the Adult Be partme n t o f E due at i on, South
Carolina, 1930), p. 12.
69
the following may he mentioned:
1* Real desire for further education along general
or technical lines,
2. Cultural development.
3* Desire for greater economic power interpreted in
terms of education.
8
4^ Desire for social prestige, and the like*
Summary of aims in city and state courses of study.
3!his resume of aims and objectives that have been found in
various state and city courses of study shows what men and
women actually engaged in administration of adult education
set forth as the aims and objectives. Study of these courses
of study which do not definitely state aims and objectives
lead one to infer that the same purposes were in the mind of
those who compiled these bulletins and pamphlets.
In general, it may be said that the aim of adult
education is to give service to the adult who desires to con
tinue his e ducat ion. Q?he courses of study are for the most
part planned to fit local needs and to cater to the wishes
and interests of those people who desire to attend the
classes*
0. s* Marsh, "Adult Education in a Community,"
American Association for Adult Education (Rew York, 1926),
p. 138*
70
III* AIMS OF ADULT EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA
With wisdom that time has proved, Superintendent Wood,
of California, saw Americanization in terms of education
rather than in terms of propaganda. He approached the
problem of schooling for the foreign-born in terms of the
finest kind of development of citizenship, a citizenship
that neglected nothing which the individuals themselves had
to contribute, and which make available to our foreign popu-
9
lation all that America has to offer for self-development.
First of all, this training would be education for
freedom. There is no freedom without intelligent under
standing. The mob and the crowd are as tyrannical as the
most unscrupulous monarch. ELato and Aristotle, in the time
of the Creek republic, understood this, Aristotle said thsfc
the aim of education is the training of men to be free, and
men cannot be free even when they are the elected rulers of
a democracy when they themselves are controlled by desire
and prejudice.
Purposes of present-day adult education in California.
As the State Department of Education in California grew in
its effort to interpret the post-war world in terms of school
9
California State Department of Education Biennial
Beport for 1950, Fart I, p, 67*
practices, it so033 became evident that the evening high
schools were, at the best, archaic* In the first place* all
that the old evening high school did must be done and done
more effectively; those who lost opportunities in their
youth must be given a chance in later life; those who had
found themselves misfits in their vocations should be given
opportunity to change* These, however, no longer constitute
the great responsibility of adult education in the public
schools. Those who have suffered educational handicaps in
mature life probably will not represent the leaders of
thought in a democracy; and those who are seeking vocational
training must ultimately become a charge upon the industry
into which they go where the best and most direct training
can be given* It is the great task of the public schools to
do their part to make the experiment of democracy a success,
and this can be done only when educational opportunity is
given, as long as human beings are capable of growth, to all
those citizens in the community who will avail themselves of
10
the opportunity*
Terms and concepts underlying the aims of adult edu
cation* At the very outset of making the report of the
California State Committee on Adult Education, the Sub
committee realized that some of the terms and concepts em
ployed needed to be explained in order that the reader might
10 Ibid.. p. 68.
72
not be confused* The following paragraphs contribute a
paraphrase of the essential concepts concerned:
1. The Committee used the term adult education in
its widest sense*
2. Educational experience is taken to mean any ex
perience which affects the abilities or attitudes of
human beings.
g* That experience may be first hand, as when a
person gains a knowledge of some country by visiting
it* or learns to draw by drawing, or thinks his way
through some idea he adopts*
4* It may be second-hand as when one acquires in
formation from others by reading or picks up an idea
from somebody*
5, The test is whether what has happened has affect
ed him in some way.
6* Education is anything that makes you different
because you know more, or can do more* or think differ
ently, or have a changed attitude*
7* This is what adult education is rapidly doing
for the citizens of this country.
8* It is making them different and, on the whole,
developing them for the better*3.1
Analysis of the demands of democracy on the citizen.
Assuming that the primary purpose of education in a democracy
is to assist in equipping the citizen for the better perform
ance of his social Job, for meeting the demands made upon him
as a citizen, the Committee took the stand that there is no
11
Adult Education, A Special Report, Adopted by
The American Voc at ional Association at its Annual Convention
in Los Angeles, California, December, 1927, p* 10.
73
escape from the logic of the declaration that adult education
should first of all serve this purpose, This heing granted,
it then followed that any democratic program of educational
service to adults made hy the state should start with and
should first of all find the requirements which the citizen
is expected to satisfy and that the program should he based
on the findings of such an analysis. The following general
analyses of the demands of the democracy on all normal
citizens is given as it was determined by the committee:
1, Citizens are required to meet many and varied
demands for which they need help.
2, All citizens are expected to meet a reasonable
standard in all the demands made on them. In this there
is no discrimination.
3* All citizens face a constantly changing environ
ment and constantly changing demands.
a, Occupations are constantly changing in their
demands and opportunities.
b* Mew occupations are constantly arising, mahing
new demands.
c. Civic demands are constantly changing and new
civic demands are constantly arising.
d. The interests and opportunities of citizens are
constantly changing as they advance in life.
e. Most of the pressing demands of life fall upon
adults%
4. Constantly changing conditions and standards re
quire the continuous assistance of all citizens in
meeting them.
5. The stratification of citizens is vertical and
every avenue is open to every man.
74
6. All levels of intelligence play their part in all
matters and, therefore, need help*
7* State protects and stimulated the widest opportun
ity for the expression of individual differences in
interest,
i
8* Economic efficiency requires the occupational
training of all groups and individuals as needed.
9. Civic efficiency requires the civic training of
all citizens.
10. The social efficiency of every citizen requires
that he keep himself physically fit.
11. Citizens must solve the concrete problem of real
life ,
a* Citizens must solve problems of our own country.
b. . Citizens must solve every current problems.
c. Citizens must be able to get the important facts
necessary to handle real problems.
d. Citizens must be able to think with fac ts so as
to make intelligent decisions about real problems.
12. Democracy is least concerned with individual
success and most concerned with economic and civic
efficiency.
IS. This country needs in every citizen a high sense
of responsibility for service to others.
14. This country expects every man to improve himself -
to realize the possibilities of his aptitudes, abilities,
and talents.
15. This country wants, if it does not expect, every
man to be happy-to get in any and every legitimate way
the fullest satisfaction and fullest enjoyment from
life.^
12
Ibid., p. 11,
75
IV. SIGJTIFICAM? DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EDUCATION
FOR ADULTS A M FOR JUVENILES
Adult education cannot be the same as juvenile educa
tion* In all the attempts to provide educational service fb r
mature citizens, particularly through the schools, there is
danger of the attempt to v&e the policies and methods which
have customarily been employed with young people. Most of
these will not work, because the adult differs from children
and youth in so many essential respects* To these, many
kinds of educational service for the former should be adapt
ed, and which may be illustrated by the following:
!• The adult has greater maturity of experience.
g. The adult is much more uncontrollable.
3* Adults are working, but juveniles usually are not.
4* Adults have wider interests than juveniles*
5* Adults have a wider range of responsibilities,
both as a group and usually, also, as individuals, than
juveniles.
6. Adults have wider needs.
7* Wider ranges of ability.
8* Greater power to get what they want*
9. Wider range as to previous education.
1G. Wider range as to objectives and ambitions.
11. Wider range as to financial ability to get more
education.
76
12. Wider range of ideas as to what constitutes
eduoation.
13* Wider use of other educational agencies than
the school.
14* Wider range of response to the appeal of
different methods and different agencies.
15* Greater maturity of intelligence (adult as a
man, not as a child.)
16* Adults are less interested than juveniles in
learning things just to learn them as an accomplishment
or to win approval.
17. The adult has greater ability to discriminate
between values in educational service.
V. millGl’ BmS OF ADULT EDUCATION
ESSENTIAL IK ESTABLISHING AIMS
First of all* in establishing principles that are
essential for a successful and durable program of adult
education, and which must serve as guides in the formulation
of aims that underlie such a program, consideration must be
tateen of the fundamental facts now accepted as basic to the
concept of adult education. The concepts embodied by the
principles contributed for study in the latter part of this
section are listed in the paragraphs immediately following,
as given by George F. Smith, Deputy Superintendent of Schools,
TS
Adapted from.Adult Education, A Special Report,
Adopted by The American Vocational Association at Its
Annual Convention in Los Angeles, California, December,
1927, p. 32.
77
of Buffalo, Bew York.
1# The ability to learn does not atop with maturity.
2# Proper outlet for leisure time has become a
national problem.(Bight schools provide part of the
answer.)
3. the average citizen uses a small percentage of
his native ability of hand and mind. It is time the
latent abilities were developed.
4. When a tree stops growing it is ripe and ready
for the axe. frees and men are alike in this respect.
But a man can be kept growing and should be.
5. Adult education will make the individual produce
more while he lives and keep him living longer*
6# Bew and wider interests, new skills, new eon?-
tacts are essential to pleasure and grewth. Adult
education provides these.
7. Much of failure in life eomes through poor ad
justment of the individual. It is the business of
adult education to make better adjustments.
8. Adult education particularly "home making,"
promotes thrift, makes happier families, the home is
the unit of our civic and national life. Its welfare
is of great importance.
9* It kindles ambition and nourishes the flame.
10. Adult education through vocational guidance and
training safe-guards labor from the evils of modern
productive methods.
11. through its many differentiated features, adult
education is arousing "civic consciousness.”
12. Ambitions adults can claim equal rights with
children so far as education is concerned.
13. Valuable community use should be made of
14
educational plants and equipment*
Principles essential to a durable program. The follow
ing principles are contributed as essential to a successful
and durable program:
1. Adult education is not something separate and
apart from the whole educational program, btfc an integral
part of it*
2* There is no method of instruction especially
identified with adult education that is not equally important
in other fields of educational effort.
3. Quality in education must be the objective, not
mass production.
4. An educational system or the force that predeter
mines an educational program is not justified in creating
false educational tastes nor is it justified in creating
unsatisfiable social wants. The adult education program
must be built upon genuine interests, needs, and abilities
of the adults who constitute the potential program.
5* Every educational effort to be of significance
and to justify itself must reflect its desirability in the
behavior of the participants and the social change wrought
in the hehavioristic pattern of the community.
George E. Smith, Deputy Superintendent of Schools,
H. E. A. Proceedings, 1929, p. 292.
79
6* Ho educational program is durable that does not
take into account the abilities, the character, the needs,
and the interests of the participants.
7# There are in reality two general fields of adult
education. Formal adult education is that type in which the
participant seeks some tangible reward for his efforts. In
formal adult education is, on the other hand, the same 1h ing
without the reward for his efforts. It is perhaps, as some
prefer it, education incognito. The formality or informality
of adult education, however, is vested more in the objectives
of the participant than in the organization of the movement.
For those who need some tangible reward in the form of a
certificate or diploma, the program becomes formal. For
those who anticipate no reward other than the satisfaction of
self-improvement, the program becomes informal.
8# Public funds expended on any phase of the edu
cational program not prescribed by statute are justifiably
expended only when the whole social order benefits from the
change in the behavioristic pattern of the individual or
group of individuals upon whom the expenditure is made. From
the standpoint of adult education this means that no expan
sion of program should be made unless those in charge of
budget making are able to prove that the investment will
yield a profitable return in the form of new outlooks, new
interests, new possibilities in leadership or followership,
80
individual self-improvement and social change in adult life.
9. fhe tendency in many fields of the whole education
al program is to encourage the individual to participate in
the program by reason of monetary return which m education
insures.
10. Individual members of society are entitled to as
much education as they are capable of assimilating. fhus
far is education an individual right. Beyond this point the
process becomes one of schooling, and it is this process
that is expensive. Welfare work should not be confused with
education, nor should education be interpreted in the light
of "uplift." She school includes within its curricula, as
subsequently stated, that which society demands, requests,
or thrusts upon it* Adult educations have retaian d long be
yond the period of usefulness certain aspects of the curric
ulum that might profitably have been discontinued long ago.
3?o be able to drop off the dead timber from a program is a
15
task difficult for many.
VI. SDMMAHY
Study of the aims for adult education as set up by
educational authorities, both in the professional literature
in the field and in state and city courses of study, reveal
that what is said or done about adult education depends upon
I g
Ibid., p. 293.
81
the social, political* and economic points of view of the
promulgators of the aims and those responsible for specific
adult education programs* In general, however, the under
lying aim of all variants existing so far is to give service
to the adult desiring to continue his education* Specific
programs are for the most part adapted to local needs and
planned to provide for the needs and interests of those
adults seeking instruction.
In California, the aims, purposes, and programs carried
out in the various particular fields of the adult education
activities are set up in terras of the finest development of
citizenship and based upon an analysis of the needs of the
citizen in meeting the demands of democracy*
In any promulgation of aims for adult education work,
the significant differences between adults and juveniles
must be provided for, as difference in maturity of experience
and different interest fields*
Certain principles essential to establishing a dur
able program for adult education must be taken as guides in
the formulation of aims. Especially essential among these
principles must be the recognition that adult education is
not separate from the whole educational program but is an
integral part of it, and adult education must be built upon
genuine interests, needs, and abilities of adults who con
stitute the potential participants*
82
CHAPTER IY
PRACTICES IE ATOM 1OTOATI0H IE
THE OTITED STATES
Adult education, expressed and visualised in the
United States today as a "movement,n represents new tenden
cies and developments not only in educational theory hut
especially in educational practices. It emphasizes need and
desire, not age, as fundamental in education, and seeks to
impress upon public consciousness the basic idea of continu
ous mind expansion and adjustment as necessary for personal
growth and social progress.
It is the purpose of the present chapter to give a
picture of the representative and significant practices in
adult education in the United States, by means of a concrete
aummary of the agenoies at work and the types of education
instruction provided. The chapter study is based upon the
reference materials available in the field which co nsist of
survey reports, statistical compilations of authorities in
the movement, and the like. In order to present a compre
hensive picture, first of all the practices of the national
and state official professional orgainzations developed in
the United States for carrying on adult education are
described. A concrete summary of the practices in carrying
on tax-support eel adult education is given, "by means of
description of the agencies at work with their various types
of education, for the purpose of visualising the program#
The third section is devoted to a detailed presentation of
the practices in adult education in the state of California,
and in the remaining section is given a description of four
other significant and representative systems and programs
carried on in various other sections of the country.
Before taking up the sections of the chapter concerning
practices in adult education, the reader should take note of
the following consideration: In attempting to visualize
adult education practices in the United States today, it is
important to note that much of what is classified as adult
education in Europe was a familiar and accepted fast in the
United States long before the term came into general use#
The equipment of men and women with the instruments of learn
ing, which occupies so much of the attention of adult educat
ors and adult education movements in Europe, is not embraced
within the scope of adult education in the United States. It
is part of the public educational system# This system is of
older establishment in the United States than in Europe; it.
has also been more extensive over a longer period of time#
The public schools, night schools, trade schools, and numer
ous privately controlled but highly organized enterprises
for vocational and technical education leave the adult
84
a duo at ion movement in the United States unencumbered by
the tasks which have complicated the movement elsewhere*
On the other hand, adult education for cultural enhancemert
or social understanding is a more recent growth in the
United States than in Europe, less highly developed and less
extensive* An indication of present practices in the move
ment in the United States is valuable in revealing the
developments in this regard attained so far in this country*
I* PRACTICES IH HAT I OH All PROEESSlOMh ORGANIZATIONS
Activity in the field of adult education has resulted
in the United States in the formation of national organiza
tions* A national conference on home education was called
by John J. Tigert, the United States Commissioner of Educa
tion, in May, 1984, and met in Minneapolis, Minnesota*
Thirty-three states were represented by librarians, members
of state parent-teacher associations, and university exten
sion officials. The object of the conference being to
promote home reading, a committee of seven was appointed at
its close to formulab e plans to promote reading in the home*
As a result of its recommendations, a number of state
committees have been appointed and are at work upon this
project.
In the year 1928, the United States Bureau of Educa
tion added to its list of specialists one in adult education,
85
whose business it is to oolleet and distribute data on all
1
phases of the work*
fhe Department of Immigrant Education of the Uationsl
Education Association, the youngest department of the
2
association, established in 1921, was changed, in 1924, to
3
the Department of Adult Education. fhis department has
grown in numbers and now has on its list of members the
workers in the field of adult elementary education in many
states.
Regional meetings were held during 1925-1926, in var
ious parts of the Unifeed States, to determine what support
there would be for a national organization to promote adult
education. As a result, the American Association for Adult
Education was formed in 1926, with the object set forth in
Article II of its constitution as follows:
Its object shall be to promote the development and
improvement of adult eduoation in the United States and
Canada* It shall undertake to provide for the gather
ing and dissimination of information concerning adult
education aims and methods of work; to cooperate with
organisations and individuals engaged in educational
work of this nature in the task of securing books and
instructors; to conduct a continued study of work being
done in this field and to publish from time to time the
Biennial Survey of Education 1924-1926 (Department
of the Interior Bureau o £~due at ion feulle t in Uo. 25, 1928),
p* 286.
2
Secretary* s Minutes of Department of Immigration
Education National Eduoation Association Addresses and Pro
ceedings in 1924, p. 565*
3
Ibid*, p* 566.
86
results of such study; to respond to public interest
in adult education and to cooperate in the formation of
study groups whether within or without regular education
al institutions; to keep its members informed of the
achievements and problems of adult education in other
countries; to conduct schools and conferences for the
instruction and training of those engaged in the work of
adult education and to serve in such other ways as may
be deemed advisable#4
During the past years there has been marked activit y
on the part of these two national organizations whiGh have
as their main objective the promotion of adult education#
The department of adult education of the National Education
Association gives in its reports pictures of the practices
now being carried on in the elementary education of adults,
these valuable contributions being published in the magazine
entitled Adult Education, the official organ of the depart
ment, The American Association for Adult Education sponsors
lines of research and fosters the publication of valuable
studies in this field of education* The most outstanding
event during the last years was the publicsfeion of Adult
5
Learning, by E# 1# Thorndike.
An outstanding practice of national organizations is
that being carried on by the cooperation of four national
4
Biennial Survey of Education 1924-1986, Department
of the Interior Bureau of Education Bulletin ¥6# 25, 1928,
p# 286.
5
E# 1# Thorndike, and others, Adult Learning (Hew
York: Macmillan Oo# 1928), 335 pp#
88
educational organisations, namely, the United States Bureau
of Eduoation, the American Library Association, the national
Congress of Parents and Peachers, and the national University
Extension Association in fostering a national program for
furthering home reading, Representatives from the four or-
6
ganizations met in April, 1988, in Washington, D. C., and
formulated a specific program for broadening and strengthen
ing home reading of worth-while books among the American
people, in the development of which each organization assumed
a definite part. The Bureau of Education and the American
Library Association, separately or jointly, prepare graded,
annotated reading courses on general and special subjects as
may be requested by organizations or even individuals, which
are printed and distributed within the limits of their
respective budget s. When data for the construction of these
courses is not at hand, they secure whatever help is nec
essary from outside specialists. Phe American Library
Association notifies the various library purchasing agencies
of the liability of a probable demand for books contained in
the reading courses when they have been prepared and dis
tributed. Phe Rational University Extension Association
6
L. B, Alderman, "Adult Eduoation Activities,"
Biennial Survey of Education 1986-1988, United States De
partment of the Interior, Office of Education Bulletin Ro.
16, 1920, p. 876.
provides these reading courses* and each of the universities
and colleges subscribing to this program issues on its own
behalf certificates of achievement to those persons satis
factorily completing the reading courses, The services of
the extension divisions are free, except for the small charge
necessary for service in examining summaries of books giving
suggestions,and issuing certificates, The National Congress
of Parents and Teachers actively promotes the use of these
courses by the formation of reading and study groups and
also devises plans for making available in interested commun
ities the books required for these courses. All other in-
17
terested organizations may co-operate in the project.
II. PRACTICES IS TAX-SUPPORTED AOTET EPUCATIOE AGENCIES
Academic agencies. A survey of present practices in
adult education in the United States may well begin with an
enumeration of the strictly academic agencies for guiding
youth through the transition period between the time of
leaving school at 14 or 15 and the time, less than 10 years
later, when they find themselves fairly definitely fixed in
the course they will follow throughout life, which are pro
vided for by public support through taxation. The most highly
organized of these agencies are the public free evening
schools, technical and vocational elementary and high schools,
7
£. H* Alderman, lqc# eit.
90
continuation schools and cor-pperative schools, with part
time spent in classes and part in the workshop.
The public library and adult education. As a non-
academic but publicly-supported agency of adult education,
the public library is seeking first of all to serve as a
guide to adult education opportunities already existing in
the community. The alert librarian acquaints himself, there
fore, with the work being given in adult education institu
tions of his city. He knows that a community church forum
is presenting a series of lectures on international relations,
that a labor union class is studying economic history, and
that a group of young women at the Y. W. C, A. is planning a
winter’s reading project in English Literature, and he will
send to each a compact selection of books on their respective
subjects, together with a list of additional references.
Adult eduoation through museums. A generally re
cognized and habitually employed practice in carrying on
adult education in the United States by tax supported means
is the use of tax supported municipal and other types of
public museums. Various programs for usage of this type of
agency have been developed* such as lectures based on the
various collections contained, furnishing of catalogs with
bibliographical suggestions, and the like. Increasing
advantage is being taken of the opportunities offered as is
93.
evidenced by the records of greater numbers of visitors,
gaining membership in and demands for lecture courses, and
developing interest in the establishment of such institutions.
University extension* It should be recalled by the
reader that university extension in the United States re
ceived its inspiration from England, fhe success -with which
Oxford and Cambridge established their extra-mural lecture
courses aroused first curiosity and then enthusiasm in the
United States, although after the first period of great en
thusiasm had passed, interest in this form of education waned
for a few years. It is a practice for carrying on adult
education that is being increasingly developed and extended.
In 1913, the University of California enrolled fewer
than 3,000 extension students, fen years later this number
had increased to 89,500. At present the total enrollment
or university extension student s in the United States, ex
clusive of agricultural extension, may conservatively be
estimated at 850,000. The university extension movement,
through lectures, visual education methods, home correspond
ence courses, exhibits, discussion groups, and the like,
easily reaches five times that number. She radio, the latest
medium of instruction in point of time, is adding thousands
92
more to the total*
Urban universities. Approximately one-sixth of the
colleges and universities in the United States are urban
universities, and approximately 40 per oent of the studert s
9
of college grade are enrolled in them* American urban
universities are older than their English counterparts* 3?hey
were diversified in origin and control, and growth has been
particularly rapid during the last two decades, fhe after
noon and evening classes at these universities are one of
the important practices in the carrying on of adult education
throughout the country* !£he curricula of the urban universi
ties reflect the demands of their surroundings, since the
university must give the men and women voters of the commun
ity instruction in the subjects in which they are interested*
fhe urban university reflects in its curriculum the occupa
tional tinge of the area it serves, fypical of American
practices, the urban universities of America have organized
10
an Association of Urban Universities*
8
L. Morse A. Cartwright, l , 2?he United States of
America,l t Internat ional Handbook of Adult Education, 1929*
pp* 437-456.
9
International Handbook of Adult Education (London:
World Association for Adult Education, H929), p. 446*
10 Ibid., p. 447,
93
Alumni education* A recent development, beginning in
1922, is extra-mural educational relationship with their own
alumni. In fulfilling the idea that education is a continu
ous process, the institutions offer annual educational con-
11
ferences on the campus— "a sort of intellectual homecoming"-
provide special departmental bull©ting containing discussions
by faculty and alumni, and prepare reading lists and radio
lectures. She American Alumni Council, representing an
organisation of approximately 80,000 alumni, has joined with
the American Association for Adult Education to consider the
questions of the responsibilities of colleges and universit
ies for the continued education of their graduates, and
12
methods for discharging these responsibilities.
III. 1EACTICES IN CALIFORNIA IN ABUL5? EDUCATION
What California is doing in adult education* As
might be expected from provisions for adult education so
liberal in their allowance of funds, of subjects that may be
studied, and in the hours during which instruction may be
given, great numbers of adults are found in the public
schools of California. In a single city, sixty-four thousand
attend the special day and evening classes for adults. Out-
_ -
loo* pit.,
12 loo. eit.
94
side the vocational list the subjects most -widely sought
are some forms of English— including literature, eomposition,
story or poetry writing* dramatics, and journalism--every
variety of homemaking study— from simple cooking and sewing
to dress making, millinery* and interior decoration*
lecture--discussion series are given under the pro
vision of the school law permitting employment by schools
of non-certifioated but qualified persons to instruct through
the lecture method provided that not more than four such
lectures be given during a single term. Fundamental truths
about economic and social questions that have to do with
success or failure of individuals are sought by means of
discussion of such topics as the following: how can the
distribution of food products be so conducted as to prevent
hunger when, coincident with the hunger of millions, vast
stores of food are being ruthlessly wasted? How can fair
prices be secured for the producer and reasonable costs to
13
the consumer?
Another director of adult education reported that
”fhe most popular course given this year was one called
1 4
’personality development* ’, f fhe subject was approached
’ 13
Susan M. Dorsey, "What California is doing in
adult education.” Abstract, National Education Association
Addresses and Proceedings 1931, 69:323-27.
14
Ibid*, p* 324.
from a different angle by each of six teaGhers as follows:
personality, personality growth, personality control, devel
opment of natural traits, acquiring of desired traits, elim
ination of undesirable traits#
Americ aniz at ion, fhree phases of adult education in
California call for more than a passing word: Americaniza
tion, citizenship, and parenthood classes# fhe first of
these, Americanization, under the provisions of a law that
was sponsored years ago by the Housing and Immigration
Commission, has prospered greatly through the services of the
home teacher, a name that is applied to an entirely different
type of teacher in other states* fhe home teacher in Cal
ifornia is employed to visit foreign women, make their ac
quaintance, try to interest them in joining a class Of adults
in the neighboring school where she teaches the English
language, other elementary subjects, and the ways of American
life# In the last twenty years in California, thousands of
foreign women, through the ministrations of the home teacher
have been redeemed from lives of ignorance and isolation and
have become understanding, enterprising, contented American
citizens#
Citjgenship education* The second type of adult edu
cation referred to above is that given in the citizenship or
naturalization class# fo these classes come those foreign^
porn who desire to become American citizens; their study is
sometimes quite extended, covering the history of the United
States, the larger details of federal, state, and municipal
government, and a study of the instutions of western civil
ization.*^
Parenthood classes. Bather recently, instruction fcr
parenthood, the third of the types referred to above, has
been given a place in the curriculum of adult education.
Many in the Americanization classes, through their associa
tion with teachers and their observation of teachers* ways
with children, have developed a sense of their own insuffi
ciency and a desire to learn a better way of child guidance,
so classes in which these mothers may discuss with teachers
or leaders, and with one and other, the problems of parent-
16
hood have been organized.
The evening high schools of Los Angeles. At the
request of the Superintendent of Schools a survey of the ’
evening high schools of Los Angeles was made during October
1930. The general purpose of the survey was to secure-
information in regard to four major points;
1. The educational status, age, occupation and basis
■ ■ "UL* " " ....
16
Susan M. Dorsey, loo, cit
16
Ibid,, p. 325.
97
of interest for each member of the student bodies of the
evening high schools.
2* fhe occupation and status of members of the edu
cational staff*
5* fhe courses offered, size of classes, and general
organization of the schools*
4* fhe cost and basis of financial support. Bata for
the study were secured from guestionnaires sent to the eve
ning high schools and filled out by teachers and students;
reports submitted by the evening-high-school principals,
I1
and records of the auditor* a office in regard to expenditures.
fhere were at the time of the survey 54 evening high
schools and 71 branches. A branch is established for various
reasons* as for example, some branches are located in neighr-
borhoods in which the demand justifies only a few classes; in
other cases, branches are established to take advantage of
equipment not found in the main school; in still other situa
tions, such as classes for policemen, it is advantageous to
take the work to the group at their regular place of duty.
In the case of the Pacific Electric Hailway Company, a
branch is established for the benefit and convenience of
employees, a large number of whom come from distances of
sixty-five miles or more* Special quarters have been pro
vided in the new four-story club-building adjoining the
^ Earl W* Hill, Evening High School (Teacher* s
Association, 6:19-20.
98
terminal* and transportation is furnished without cost by
the company to all employees, their families and dependents,
who wish to take advantage of these classes# There is an
enrollment of over six hundred students, with twenty-five
separate classes and fifteen teachers. The educational work
is conducted under the supervision of an educational director.
Branches of the trade school are found in shops and
industrial centers* and several high schools have branches
in elementary schools, in which the Americanization program
is carried on. It is interesting, perhaps, to note that out
of 64,363 students in attendance during the week of the
survey, only 3,234 were enrolled in the classes of American-
18
Ization and English for non-English speaking people.
Range of subjects offered^ The wide range of sub
jects offered in evening high school indicates that the
evening high school makes an appeal to individuals who vary
greatly in educational tastes, occupations, and educational
training. The following tabulation of the distribution of
occupations represented is given to show this variety:
OCCUPATION PER CENT
Salesmanship • 5*6
Stenography and or bookkeeping ..... 8.8
18
Earl W. Hill, The Evening High Schools of Eos
Angeles, California, Bulletin of Adult Edue ati on, ~¥o. 4,
P* 19*
99
OCCUPATION PEE CENT
Typing, calculating accounting or other
clerical machine operation • ••*•«•• 3.3
Switchboard or general office work in
a recognized trade .......... 15*8
Homemaking, including domestic service • 25.4
Laborer's work 4.7
Managerial work in commercial or in
dustrial concern • •,•*•«.,. . . . 2*0
Professional, technical or scientific
work . . • • .........., . • • . .........
Other types of work........... 15.8
Hot reporting .••••..••*,.. 6.4
There were 1*604 separate classes conducted and 652
subject names of courses offered. Ho charge for tuition is
made, hut a small deposit is required for text hooks which
is refunded to the student when the hooks are returned.
Approximately two-thirds of the students were between tbe
ages 21 and 40 years; forty-six per cent had reached the
twelfth grade, and sixteen per cent had some college train-
4 v . _ 20
ing*
Unemployment data. In view of the financial crisis
in the country at the time these data were gathered, the
information as to the amount of unemployment in the group
is of interest. From tabulations of the answers on the
students' questionnaire blanks, it was found that 54.4 per
cent of the evening high school students reported that they
were employed and receiving salary or wages; 16 per cent
19
Earl W, Hill, log, cit,
Loc. git.
100
were employed but not receiving salary or wages; XXi6 per
cent were unemployed and not seeding work, and 6.8 per cent
did not report on this item#
Pur poses in taking work. Apparently the evening high
school appeals to the individual who is dissatisfied with
his present status and is ambitious to better himself. The
results of the survey indicate a wholesome distribution of
ax
purposes.
PURPOSE PER CE3JT
Preparation for more advanced courses
of instruction .......... 14.5
preparation for a vocation other than
the one now followed ................ 11.8
Advancement in present vocation. • . • . • 22.5
Intellectual improvement ............ .. 14.6
Physical improvement • 12.0
Avocational training •#•«.•••••• 8.2
Ability to use the English language . . . 7.2
A knowledge of eitizenshi. ........ 1.5
A pleasant way in which to spend
evenings 5.9
3$ot reporting 1.8
Practice in certification of teachers. The teachers
of the evening high schools in the Eos Angeles Olty High
School District must have certificates of equal grade to
those of the teachers in the regular day high schools-^
they must hold secondary certificates of the general or
special type. Evening high school teachers are, therefore,
highly qualified from the standpoint of professional training.
21
Ibid., p. 20.
Academic staff provided. fhe evening high school
staff for the week ended October 24th, 1930, totaled 1,284;
this included 34 principals, 11 vice-principals, 1,148
teachers, including librarians* 5 secretaries, 32 clerks,
26 tool-rkeepers, and 28 pianists* Of the 1,228 members of
the staff who filled out questionnaires, 1,132 reported that
they were employed by day and 96 that they were not; 943
were teachers by profession, and 206 were engaged in other
occupations*
It is apparent that the evening high schools of Los
Angeles present one of the most outstanding projects in
adult education. For the year 1929-1930, 110,000 persons
were enrolled, fhe average amount of the expenditures for
one monthj including light, gas, power, and water, was
§87,017. fhe average number of pupil-hours for one month
was 545,336* fhe average total cost per pupil-hour was
§.16. As has previously been mentioned, the data collected
show that two-thirds of these students are between the ages
of 21 and 40 years, and that 46 per cent had reached the
twelfth grade, in the regular schools, fhe predominating
motives for attending evening high school are to attain a
higher level of general educational training*
102
Adult e duo at i on at the University of California,
fhe adult school, sponsored by the State Department of Edu
cation and the University of California, is under the
direction of Dr. Harry Allen Overstreet, Head of the Depart
ment of Philosophy of the College of the City of Hew York,
and is carrying out the maxim that "the object of education
is not to teach the tricks of .earning a living but to
22
learn how to learn living.”
As a result of the summer’s discussions, many ex
periments in adult education are undertaken throughout the
state by the evening school teachers who have attended.
Figures now show that there are more adult pupils in
California in the evening schools than there are in the day
high schools. Hearly 40,000 adults throughout California
sought to further their education during the past year
through enrollment in classes given by the Extension Division
for the fiscal year ending July, according to figures com
piled by Boyd B. Bakestraw, Assistant Director of the Div
ision. Of the total number--39,196^-the northern part of
the state showed the largest number of enrollments with
21,453 adults registered for class instruction, fhis is a
gain of more than 2,000 over the preceding year’s figures.
22
"Adult Education at the University of California*n
School and Society, 32:225, August 16, 1930.
103
PS
Enrollment in the southern part of the state reached 17,742.
IY. SIGNIFICANT ERA Of ICES IN BEFRESBNTATIYl SYSTEMS
Adult education in Delaware. Authorities in Delaware
hold that adult education is the term used to describe the
■various activities and processes by which continuous dev
elopment is accomplished. The fact that the Biennial Survey
of Education in the United States for 1928-1930 reports
that more than 1,000,000 of those interested in this form
of education were participating in activities conducted
under public-school auspices indicates how generally it is
now considered to he a part of the work: of the public school.
The scope of activities has been determined by the
needs and interests of the people whom it has been organized
to serve. Significant developments in the various fields of
service included in the Delaware program in 1931-1932 are
shown in fable III •
The following facts regarding the distribution and
reduction of illiteracy, by color and nativity in Delaware,
as contained in the 1930 Census, were reported to interested
community agencies in October. These results axe shown in
Table IV, page 104.
Doc, oit.
104
(TABLE IV
ORGANIZATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF ADULT EDUCATION
ACTIVITIES ACCORDING TO TYPE OF SERVICE
RENDERED IN 1931-1932
Instructional
service enroll- 7/ilmington
ment
Bural
New
castle
Nent Sussex Total
Americanization lfl£l 206 3 3 1,333
Negro education 122 199 268 264 833
General adult
education 832 777 1003 2,612
Instructors
employed 26 31 28 36 70
Class sessions held 4,349 727 636 688 6,290
Aggregate attendance 23,249 7,676 7,012 8,274 46,211
Districts reached 1 18 26 28 72
Community activities
Number held 63 18 4 2 88
People participating 7,636 2,949 1,116 1,008 12,709
Districts reached 1 16 12 10 39
105
Perpentage of reduction of illiteracy in last decade
compared with that of other states, Delaware’s reduction
in the percentage of illiterate population in the last ten
years was 1.9 per cent. How this reduction compares with
that of other states is shown in Table Y, page 106, and
Table VI, page 107.
Costs* Cost per unit of net enrollment was #7,59.
This is #2,00 less than it was for the previous year. It is
accounted for by an increase of 32 per cent in enrollment,
with little or no increase in administrative cost. Table
YII, page 108, gives the cost per unit of enrollment for
adult education in Delaware over a period of five years.
It shows that the increased volume of worh has been done
with comparatively little gain in expenditure.
Expenditures. Expenditures for adult education
activities directed by the Bureau of Adult Education during
the year 1950-1931 amounted to #35,320. Of this amount,
#32,500 was appropriated by the State Board of Education,
#1,020 by the Board of Public Education, in Wilmington,
for the salaries of teachers of elementary colored classes
and a portion of the salary of the Director, and #1,800 by
the Delaware Citizens1 Association for the salary of the
full-time instructor of art education. This covers all
X06
TABLE T
FACTS REGARDING DISTRIBUTION AND REDUCTION OF ADULT
ILLITERACY IN DELAWARE, AS SHOWN BY THE 1930
CENSUS
Number of
illiterates
Per oent of
population group
1930 1929
Ber cent
re duc-
tion
Wilmington
Native-Born 226 .3 .5 • 2
Foreign-born 1936 15.5 19.2 3.8
Negro 855 8.3 15.7 6.6
Other races 17 .3
Total
Wilmington 3034 3.4 5.5 2.1
Rural Delaware
Native-born 1670 2*0 3.2 1.1
Foreign-born 456 7.9 6.5 1.4
Negro 2641 16.8 20.8 4.0
Other raoes 4 2.5
Total
state 7085 4*0 5.9 1.9
a
In the Delaware
Report for 1931,
Department
p. 366*
of Public Instruction Adult
TABLE VI
DELAWARE’S REDUCTI0H IH PERC1HTAGE OS’ ILLITERATE
POFULATI ON BETWEEN 1920-1930, COMPARED
WITH THAT OP ALL OTHER STATES
I. Louisiana 8#4 26. District of Columbia 1.2
2* Georgia 5.9 27. Massachusetts 1.2
3. Ariz ona 4.2 28. Illinois 1.0
4. Mississippi 4.1 29. Michigan 1.0
5. Alabama 3.5 30. Oklahoma 1.0
6. S. Carolina 3.2 31. Vermont .8
7. H. Carolina 3.1 32. Utah .7
8. Tennessee 3.1 33. Missouri .7
9. Arkansas 2.6 34. Maine . 6
10. Virginia 2.5 35. Montana • 6
11.
Florida 2.5 36. Horth Dakota . 6
12. Hew Mexico 2.3 37. Washington • 6
13. Delaware 1.9 38. Kansas . 6
14. Maryland 1.8 39. Ohio .5
15. West Virginia 1.8 40. Iowa .5
16. Kentucky 1.8 41. Minnesota .5
17. Hew Hampshire 1.7 42. Wisconsin .5
18. Connecticut 1.7 43. Indiana .5
19. Rhode Island 1. 6 44. South Dakota .5
20. Nevada 1.5 45. Oregon .5
21. Pennsylvania 1.5 46. Colorado .5
22. Texas 1.5 47. Wyoming .5
23. Hew York 1.4 48. Idaho • 4
24. Hew Jersey 1.3 49. He braska .2
25. California 1.3
a
From the Delaware Department of Public Instruction Adult
Report, 1931, p. 367*
108
TABLE VII
DELAWARE1 S REDUCTION IN PERCENTAGE OP POPULATION
ILLITERATE BETWEEN 1920 and 1920, COMPARED
• WITH STATES HAVING SIMILAR POPULATION
CHARACTERISTICS AND INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS
1. Delaware 1.9 8. California 1.3
2. Maryland 1.8 9. New Jersey 1.3
3. West Virginia 1.8 10. District of Columbia 1.2
4. Connecticut 1.7 11. Mas s achus e 11 s 1. 2
5. Rhode Island 1.6 12. Illinois 1.0
6. Pennsylvania 1.5 13. Michigan 1.0
7. New York 1.4 14. Ohio .5
a
Prom the Delaware Department of Public Instruction Adult
Report, 1931, p. 367.
109
2ABES VIII
C0MPARISOR OF COST PER. UBIT OF HIT
1HR0LLMBHT FOE ADULT EDUCATION
IB DELAWARE OVER A FIVE-YEAH
PERIOD
Year
Jfet
Enrollment
j | c
Total
Expenditure
Cost per Unit
EnrolSment
1926-1927 2,692 | 30,408.96 f 11.73
1927-1928 3,518 32,605.83 12.94
1928-1929 2,860 32,550.35 11.38
1929-1930 3,608 33,905.89 9.39
1930-1931 4,780 35,320,00 7,39
* Includes appropriations "by State and City Boards of
Education and a contribution of $90 a year from the Delaware
Society of Colonial Dames for the year 1926-1927 to 1929-
1930, inclusive* It also includes $460 paid by the Dela
ware Citizens’ Association in 1929-1930 for the mileage of
instructors in rural centers, and §1800 paid by the same
organization in 1930-19.31 toward the salary of a full-time
teacher in art edxication*
a
In Delaware Department of Public Instruction Adult Report,
1931, p. 372.
110
costs except heat and light, which are included in the operat
ing cost of the entire school system and are not charged
against the adult-educat ion budget,
ffhe Department of Adult Education of the Ohio State
University, following up preliminary investigations made
in the field of "continued education” among the alumni, Ohio
State University has recently begun a more scientific effort
to get further information as to the possibilities in this
field. This new type of study has been undertaken by the
Department of Adult Education, with the aid of the Ohio State
University Association. It has been made possible by means
of a grant of $3,500 by the Carnegie Foundation, which has
been impressed by the early activity and interest shown her®,
She Alumni Education Day Sessions in the spring were
attended by several hundred people, including leaders of
local alumni associations, alumni and administrative
officials of other universities, fhe morning program was
devoted to round-table discussion of the movement. The after
noon was given over to a practical demonstration of "continued
education” in the form of lectures in history, philosophy,
and psychology by faculty authorities in each field, and
by visiting speakers from other universities.
Ill
The opportunity schools of South Carolina# fhe first
opportunity school in South Carolina was organized in 1921,
hy the State Supervisor of Adult Education. Its purpose
was to extend to illiterate and near-illiterate residents
the opportunity to secure continuous instruction for a
period of time in a stimulating environment and under con
ditions conducive to rapid learning. fhe school was held
during the month of August at famassee, South Carolina# in
the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains# It offered in
struction in reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, health
hahits, civics, good manners, domestic science, and arts
and craft work.
3?he combined registration in 1923, was 180. In 1924,
the girls and women met at lander College, and in 1925-27
at Anderson College. The boys and men in the meantime con
tinued their work at Erskine College# From 1928 to 1930,
the entire school met at Erskine College# fhe school was
transferred to Clemson College, in the summer of 1931# The
total enrollment for the eleven sears had reached 1797#
On September 27, 1931, the State of South Carolina pub
lished an article defining the current purpose and scope of
the work of the school in the following terms;
fhe purpose of the Opportunity School is to provide
a college vacation school for those over fourteen years
old who wish to learn to read, write, and figure for
practical benefit as well as to live better and more
112
satisfying lives* While stress is placed on the three
R's, the entire work is organized around the problems
of mating better citizens, The curriculum has expanded
through the eleventh grade and subjects are offered that
contribute most to the general ’livableness of life1 and
the training for home and community.24
Because of its broad purpose and wholesome, stimulating
effect on students, the opportunity school has risen during
recent years to a high place in public interest and has re
ceived the active support of citizens all over the state.
The State Department of Education organized and supervises
the school, secures housing accommodations, and furnishes
the staff of instructors. It is necessary, however, to in
vite local organizations and citizens to help locate students
who should attend, and to provide or secure scholarships for
those who cannot attend unassisted, These scholarships
amount to twenty dollars, which covers the entire expenses
excepting transportation of a student during a period of
four weeks. There has always been generous responses to
requests for cooperation and financial assistance.
Enclosed in each letter of invitation was an Opportun
ity School folder which set forth important details relating
to the school. Candidates for the Carnegie scholarships were
also sent application blanks asking the following questions:
24
William S. Gray, Wil Dou Gray, J. W. Tilton, The
Opportunity Schools of South Carolina (Hew York: American
Association for AdullT*Education, 1926), pp. 12-13.
113
lame __
Address
County
Age . . . . ______Married
If married, number of children Race
Months of schooling applicant has had
Can applicant write name?____________
Is applicant self-supporting?
Roes applicant assist in support of family?
How many _________________ ____________
When the applicant returned the blank he accompanied
it by a signed statement as follows:
I hereby certify that if I am given a scholarship I
will do my best and stay to the end.
Signed __________________________________________ __
He also included a recommendation from two sponsors.
I certify that
is a man (woman) of good moral character, has good
health, good habits, and is interested in self-improve
ment.
1 _____________ __________ _________________________________
Signed:
2
A questionnair was sent to all other prospective and
former students requesting the following information:
114
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
BUFFALO SOCIETY OF MATERIAL
SCIENCES
BUFFALO FINE ART ACADEMY
BUFFALO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
GROSVENOR LIBRARY
Y. W. C. A.
Y. M. C. A.
WELCOME HALL
WESTMINSTER COMMUNITY HOUSE
BUFFALO PUBLIC LIBRARY
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF BANKING
CITY FEDERATION OF WOMEN CLUBS
BUFFALO STATE NORMAL SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO
RED CROSS
BUFFALO HOME BUREAU
CANISIUS COLLEGE
BUFFALO MUSICAL FOUNDATION
CHARITY ORGANISATION SOCIETY
ERIC COUNTY LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
ERIC COUNTY SUNDAY SCHOOL COUNCIL
BUFFALO SYMPHONY SOCIETY
BUFFALO PLAYERS
ATELIER RECTAGON
NEIGHBEHHOOD HOUSES
Breaks In bar indicate lapses In program of adult education.
Figure V. Showing years in which Buffalo Organizations Began
Adult Education Programs.
kl C. S. Marsh* Adult Education in a Community* ^American
Association for Adult Education, 41 East 42 Street, New York,
1926, Page 6,
4
Opportunity School of South Carolina
Information Blank
Bate
Same of applicant _________ _______________________
Street address _____________Town ,
Is your father living? _____ Is your mother living?^
How many childred in your father’s family? ________
What is your age? ^ What is your church? _____
How much schooling have you had ? __________________
At what age did you begin to work for pay? ,
Are you married? If married, how many children?
What is your work? _________Weekly salary? ^_______
Are you able to pay your own way? ______________
Give names of two persons who would recommend you
Teacher
or ________
Minister Hame Address
Business man
Uame Address
115
Practices in Buffalo (Hew York) in offering adult
educational opportunities. Buffalo has these educational
institutions: Phe University of Buffalo, an endowed in
stitution containing divisions of medicine, pharmacy, law,
dentistry, arts and sciences, and offering an evening session
and a summer session; two Roman Catholic colleges and many
parochial schools; a state normal school; two public libraries;
an art gallery, in which an art school is conducted; a museum
of natural scienses; a historical society operating both a
library and museum; a public school system which includes
five general high schools, one technical school, four voca
tional schools, 76 elementary schools, and withal a compre
hensive building program under way. In addition, the city
contains private schools and academies, commercial schools,
and training classes operated by business concerns.
Characteristics of the Buffalo program. Of Buffalo1 s
population in 1920 (506,775 according to the fourteenth
census of the United States), marly thirty per cent were
foreign bom white, and an additional thirty per cent were
of foreign parentage. Poles and Italians together comprise
nearly forty per cent of the total foreign-born white
population.
116
600
City of
Btt£f$lo , 400
Hundreds
of 300
Students*
Other
200
Cities,
thousands
o f
Students*
100
1916 17 IS 19 20 21 22 23 24 ~ 25
Figure 8
Showing Yearly Bnrollment of Adults In Brening
Public Schools of Buffalo and 34 Other Cities*
A> AI C* S* Harsh, Adult Hduoatlon in a Community,
Amerioan Association for Adult Sducation, 41 Bast
42nd Street, Few York City, 1926, Pa* 9*
34 Other Cities
116
The Buffalo survey and its background* A survey of
adult e due at ion in the city of Buffalo was carried out be
cause vast numbers of adults were carrying on an e ducational
effort of one sort or another and because some who were en
gaged in the conduct of educational institutions thought it
time (1) that all so engaged become better acquainted; (2)
that each institution -make known its purposes and methods:
(3) that the complete program of all be assembled; (4) that
needless duplication of effort be relieved; (5) that the
lacks or gaps in the program be studied; and (6) that future
needs of the city be appraised.
Early stages of adult education in Buffalo* Adult
H M M m M W M W M M M M M V M M m W H M M M . M I M M a M M l M M M M a M H I W N M I M M l M M N I M H M W M
education began in the city of Buffalo as it began else
where, when the first adult undertook a program of self-
improvement* As the city grew, however, facilities for
study developed until they now have libraries, museums,
schools, colleges, and organizations nurturing the interests
of music, drama, art, literature, and civic progress,
It will be seen in Figure 7, page 117, that the
public school program for adults began in 1851, though, as
explained later, the Buffalo Public library is the successor
to the Tillage library, which was opened in 1816. To the
Department of Education, however, belongs the credit for
establishing the first formal classes for adults; and for
56
32
06
24
-
20
16
IB
other cities
1915 16 If 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 26
Figure 9
Showing Fumber of Bvening Students Per
100 Day Students In Buffalo sad In 41 Other
Cities
A. CU S# Marsh* Adult Bduoatlon In a
Community, American Association for Adult
Education, 41 Bast 42nd Street, Few Ycrlc
City, 1926, Pa# 10#
118
many years the evening public schools of the city of Buffalo
have carried on an extensive program for adults that has
attracted much attention in school circles.
Growth of evening public schools in Buffalo, fhat
Buffalo was among the first of what are today the largest
cities of the country to establish evening public schools
for adults in shown in Figure 8, page 119« The steady growth
of Buffalo’s evening public schools in the past ten years is
shown in Figure 9* page 120. During this decade the number
of enrollments has more than doubled. Except for the war
year, 1918-1919, there has been some increase annually.
During this same nine years, the growth for thirty-four other
cities, each of 100,000 population or over, has followed the
same general trend, except that in the two war years, 1918-
1919, and again in 1922-1923 and 1924-1925, the figures for
other cities showed a loss.
Some idea of the extent to which the Buffalo evening
public school program has gripped the interest of the com
munity may be gained from a comparison of the numbers of
evening students with the numbers of day students during
the regular September to June year. Figure 9, page 120,
shows the ratio of evening students to day students by
giving the number of evening students per one hundred day
students each year for the decade indicated. In this period
121
the number of evening students per one hundred day students
has increased from nearly 25 to nearly 25. During the same
decade the average for 41 other American cities of 100,000
population or over has increased from nearly 11 to nearly
12 evening students per one hundred day students. In other
words, the ratio of evening students to day students in
Buffalo has increased from about one in five to about one in
three; while for the 41 other cities shown in the figures* the
average ratio has increased only from about one in nine to
about one in eight. Of these forty-one other cities whose
superintendents provided the information in time for tabula
tion, not one had a ratio of evening students to day students
as high as that of Buffalo.
V. SUMMARY
In giving a picture of the representative and signi
ficant practices in adult education in the United States,
the practices of national and state official organizations
are described in regard to the development of? state-wide
committees, the appointment of a Specialist in Adult
Education, by the United States Bureau of Education, in
1925, the organization of such a department in the national
Education Association, the work of these national organiza
tions, with the American Bibrary Association, the National
Congress of Parents and feachers, and the National University
122
*
Extension Association in carrying put a national program
in home reading.
A concrete summary of the practices in the United
States in carrying on adult education was given hy means of
descriptions of museum programs, university extension work,
and of urban university and alumni education programs, in
the field of adult education. In finishing the presentation
of a comprehensive picture of practices in the work, more
detailed presentation of the practices in adult education as
carried out in the state of California and five other
representative programs being administered in various sec
tions of the country. California carries on adult education
in three lines, Americanizat ion,citizenship, and parenthood
classes. A survey of the evening high schools of the Los
Angeles city systems as to range of courses, enrollment, and
academic staff, and the adult education programs of the
University of California were also given, fhe Delaware
state work, the Ohio University extension work, the opportuni
ty schools of South Carolina, and the practices in adult
education programs in Buffalo (Ifew York) were also described.
cr&pteb v
SPECIAL PEATUBES IE TEE AH€IHISTBATIQEJ OP
ALUM ELUCA2IQH
Analysis of the courses of study of the various
schools and agencies offering adult education made for the
purposes of this study has revealed some interesting features
in the administration of adult education. It was found that
current practices in the administration of the adult educa
tion programs and agencies differ widely in the various
systems, and it is necessary* in order to present more fully
an accurate picture of the present status of adult education
in the United States, to discuss briefly some of the more
outstanding features. In the present chapter a comparison
of representative current practices will he made relative
to fees and deposits,, granting of credits, size of classes,
furnishing of evening meals, and maintenance of nurseries
in connection with adult education.
I. SIGH'D SCHOOL PEES A3STD LEPOSITS
"Pees and deposits" are dry material in the abstract,
hut considered in connection with systems of adult education
they become full of significance* As someone has implied
it needs no great effort of imagination to give the theme a
124
halo of Idealism. Actually, the night school fee or deposit
announces a policy— it reveals a philosophy--an attitude of
mind# As a factor in shaping a future, the fee or deposit
1
becomes vitally important.
The materials presented in this section are drawn from
the data furnished by a survey made of the 240 cities of the
United States with populations of 30*000 and upwards* For
convenience and to make closer comparisons, the cities re
porting were divided into three groups:
First: The fifteen cities with populations of
500.000 and above.
Second: Twenty-one cities with populations from
100.000 to 500,000.
Third: One hundred eleven cities with populations
of from 30,000 to 100,000*
Returns from these groups are classified and sum
marized in Table IX, given on page 125. As shown by items
"1” and "2”, population and enrollment, cities of the "I-
Group" have a total population of 21,250,000, with a night
school enrollment of 448,071, or one person in every forty-
eight.
The 71 cities of "11 Group” aggregate 13,757,589 in
population, and have 254,001 persons in night schools, or
one in every 54 of the population*
The "III-Group" cities total 6,690,931 in population,
^ Geo. E. Smith, "Adult Education," U. E* A* Journal,
6:6-13, July, 1930*
125
3 ? ABIE IX
G0NBENSED DATA REGARDING NIGHT GLASSES
Subject
15 cities
I Group
71 cities
II Group
111 cities
III Group
Remarks
l-Popula- 21,250,000 13,757,589 6,690,931
Total
41,698,520
tion
2-Enroll
ment
S’ -At ten c l
ang e
448,071 254,001
(1 in 48 Of (1 in 54 of
population) population)
245,122 109,388
(69$ of en- (58$ of en-*
rollment) rollment)
4-Aocept Yes
pupils 4
under 16
5-Instruot
day school
pupils
No
11
Yes
21
No
50
113,114 815,38 6
(1 in 59 of (1 in 51 of
population) population)
63,664 418,174
f 0 of en- (68.86%)
rollment)
Yes No Special case
23 88 accepted
generally
Only six cities report positively Special case
in affirmative accepted in
many in
stances.
126
with an enrollment of 113,114, or one in 59 of the popula
tion. Hew York Gity leads among the cities requiring no
fee with 80 per cent attendance. Without the help of its
large registration and attendance, the percentage of
attendance, in the fee cities listed, would drop to 60*9
per cent. Boston with its small returnable deposit leads
everywhere with the remarkable percentage of 99, as shown
in fable X.
Special discriminations and large fees. Baltimore
gives free instruction to all residents of the city, but
charges a fee of thirty dollars a year for non-resident
students enrolled in secondary evening school classes,
nineteen dollars for classes of junior-high-school level,
and fifteen dollars for elementary-school classes. Richmond,
Yirginia, also discriminates against non-residents, charging
them one dollar per month or five dollars per term for en
rollment in adult classes. St. houis likewise gives free
instruction to residents, but charges fifteen dollars per
year for non-residents.
Portland, Oregon, makes the heaviest assessment upon
all who register, since a fee of six dollars is charged in
some of the schools in the city, and four dollars in some
of the other schools. Salt Bake Oity is next, charging a
registration fee of five dollars per semester. Seattle,
127
TABIE X
EXHIBIT B
HOLDIHG POWER
FREE INSTRUCT I OH
Place Charge Enrollment Attendance Percent
Hew York Free 100,000 80,000 80
Washington
n
8,450 6,374 55
Baltimore
i t
27,600 15,000 54
Newark, H. J.
r t
12,000 8,000
plus
75
Cincinnati, 0.
n
12,000 7,000 60
Totals 160,050 116,574 ro
.
CD
Without Hew York City 60.9
a
Geo. E. Smith, "Adult Education", N. E. A. Y. 6 Ho. 2,
July 1930, p. 9.
128
Washington! charges three dollars and fifty cents for all
classes except physical education, for which the charge
is one dollar. San Jose and San Diego, both of California,
charge one dollar per term. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, charges
one dollar per course*
In some cases fees are collected more as a means of
stimulating regular attendance than as a method of collecting
funds, since the fee is returned if the student is present
a certain percentage of the class periods; the percentages
vary from seventy-five to ninety*
"Book" fee. Cities also vary as to the "book" fee
that is charged. Some cities furnish the books entirely free
of charge. Other cities charge a fee sufficient to cover the
cost of the book or books, which is refunded if the books
are returned in good condition.
II. CREDIT CHARTED FOR RIGHT SCHOOL COURSES
Practically all of the evening schools that offer
courses in academic subjects give credit toward high school
graduation, provided the standard of work has been comparable
to that of the secondaiy day schools. In order to receive
credit, the student must apply for it within a limited time
after registration.
129
TABLE XI
SMALL DEPOSIT
Place
\
Charge
Attend
ance
Enroll
ment
Per
cent
Boston •50-|1.00 13,502 13,637 99
Pittsburg 1.00- 2.00 11,830 13,000 91
Buffalo .50- 1.00 13,000 15,000 86
Rochester, H.Y. 1.00- 2.00 4,700 9,475 49
D&yt on, 0. 1.00 4,000 6,000 69
Syracuse
1.00 2,000 4,000 50
Lynn, Mass* 1.00 1,800 2,200 81
LaCrosse, Wis. 1*00 3,670 4,014 91
Total 54,502 67,326 80.9
a
Geo. E. Smith, Adult Education, 2J. E. A. ¥. 6 JTo. 2, July
1930,p. 9.
im
TABLE XII
SMALL FEE
Place Charge
Enroll
ment
Atten
dance
Per
cent
Detroit $1.00 per
sub3. per
term
34,827 21,228 60.9
Philadelphia 2*00 32,000 16,000 95
Toledo 1.00-2.00 5,278 2,116 40
Atlanta 1.00 5,000 3,000 60
Long Beach 1.00 8,000 5,000 62.5
Canton, 0. 1.50 semester 2,580 1,740 79
Fresno 2.00 w 4,000 2,000 50
Kalamazoo 1.00 1,790 1,185 66
Racine, Wis. 1*00 2,164 1,709 71
Total 95,639 53,978 56.4
a
Geo. E. Smith, Adult Education, N.E.A. ¥.6, Ho. 2, July
1930, p. 10*
131
TABES XIII
LARGE EEE
Place Charge
Enroll-
Ment
Attend
ance
Per
cent
Cleveland 3.00-5.00 17,665 14,896 84.3
Portland, G. 4.00-6.00 3,125 1,796 57.4
Columbus, 0. 4.00-10*00 2,000 1,800 90.0
Elint, Mich* 3.00-5.00 1,291 705 54.0
Ogden 5.00 . 425 335 95.0
Cioero-Berwyn 10.00 2,100 1,800 00
C J i
.
Beaumont, Texas 5.00 200 165 8 2.5
Totals 24,486 195,320 79.7
a
Geo. E# Smith, Adult Education, H. E. A* V.S Ho# 2, July
1930, p# 11#
132
III* SI2E OF GLASSES
The number required to establish or to eontirrae a
class also varies from city to oity. St. Paul, Minnesota,
has the lowest standard of requirements, since here a class
may continue even though the attendance has dropped as low
as six. Columbia, South Carolina, has almost the same stand
ard where the minimum attendance requirement is six if the
enrollment is twelve, or e ight if the enrollment is. ten.
The most frequent number required for organizing a class is
fifteen although twenty is sometimes taken as a minimum.
San Diego, California* requires twenty adult students in
general classes, and thirty for physical education classes
for opening. For closing and re-opening of classes, three
consecutive meetings of a class with an attendance below
fifteen regularly enrolled and registered adults, or below
ten for citizenship and immigrant education classes, or
below twenty for physical education classes, will close
class automatically. It is understood, however, that
teachers will close their classes and dismiss the students
from the course at the end of the third consecutive meeting
with an attendance below the required minimum. If the
teacher wishes to hold the class together in the hope of
bringing it up to the minimum for re-opening, he or she may
continue to meet with them, provided it is understood that
133
there will be no remuneration for the period during which
the attendance is below the required number*
IV* OTBS3RISS AHD MEALS
Three cities, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Long Beach, Cal
ifornia, and Washington, D* C., reported through their
courses of study the fact that they have a free nursery.
This nursery takes care of the small children between the
ages of three and six, while the parents attend their
regular classes. Denver reported that they gave a bowl of
soup to those students who were forced to come to class
directly from work* This is unique as far as any of the
other cities are concerned*
V. SUMMARY
In this survey it wfas found that there is a variance
in current practices in the administration of adult educa
tion. The most outstanding features in which the schools
differ are those pertaining to fees and deposits for night
schools, size of classes, and provisions for nurseries and
free evening meals*
OHA JETER VI
GOUOIUSIOMS AITD REGGMMETOATIOUS
Reoapitillation of purpose* In this thesis a survey
of the adult education movement in the United States has
been made in order to determine the historical origins and
trend of development and a general view of adult education,
the meaning and significance of the work, and the channels
through which it is being carried on; the aims and objectives
for which educational activities for adults are being con
ducted; the practices in adult education for which typical
agenoies have been organised and the ty£Des of educational
activities provided; and special features in the administra
tion of adult education*
Sources of data and method of procedure* The investiga-
tion has been an analysis and organization of data gathered
from reports and surveys made by various organizations and
institutions engaged in adult education work throughout the
United States*
The findings relative to the various phases of the
study are summarized under the respective headings pertain
ing to each phase as it was studied*
135
History of adult education movement, The adult
education movement is by no means limited to the United
States, nor did it originate here. It is world-wide in its
soope and is increasing in popularity as the doctrine of
democracy is spreading throughout the world. Each country
has endeavored to develop that phase of adult education
best suited to the interests of its people. In the United
States interest in adult education has been steadily in
creasing since the World War. At the present time it is
one of the most important departments in the field of edu
cation#
Means through which adult education is being carried
on# Adult education in the United States is conducted in a
variety of ways and reaches about one-tenth of the adult
population. The most important means of administrating
adult education are correspondence schools, extension courses,
art galleries, museums, reading circles, open forums, lecture
courses, and public schools# The public schools conduct
classes for adults in evening schools, day schools, and part-
time schools#
General aim of adult education. The general aim of
adult education seems to be assisting the adult who desires
to continue his education. The courses of study are for the
136
most part planned to fit local needs.
Practices in adult educational organizations and
agencies. National organizations have been developed which
carry on work nation wide in scope and co-operate with other
national educational agencies in various programs. Descrip
tions of the work of special agencies carrying on tax-support
ed adult educational activities have been given*. Special
work is organized and carried out to meet specific local
state and oity demands and problems.
It was found that the schools studied in this survey
vary in certain features of administration such as amount
of fees and deposits required, credit granted, size of
classes, and provisions for nurseries and free evening meals.
I. GONCIiUSIOJS
Prom the facts here recorded, the writer feels Justi
fied in drawing the following conclusions concerning the
present status of adult education in the public schools
throughout the United States:
1. She numbers profiting by instruction are com
paratively small and the facilities for education, in
comparison with possibilities, are limited; yet the scope
of the work included beginnings in all lines of develop
ment necessary for the needs of the individual and of
society.
137
2* The perfecting of plans for a state-wide program
might be accomplished by developing a consciousness of the
meaning, needs, and possibilities of adult education among
both leaders and people by an expansion of existing facilities;
by co-operation of agencies; and by a condition of effects
along the same line or in work of supplementary types. fhere
are evidences of attempts at co-operation, for instance,
among those agencies offering instruction in parenthood
education or child study.
3* fhe contribution that America is making to in
dustrial education by infusing cultural values and human
itarian methods into industrial processes is a very valuable
one, and it is in keeping with democratic ideals; yet Ameri
cans are accused of placing more emphasis on the products of
life than on living. While one national type, which is a
peculiar expression of national ideals and represents long
periods of slow development, cannot be transfrred from one
country to another, yet suggestions are welcome to the open
mind.
4. Adult education in the public schools is conducted
in special day and evening classes and part-time classes.
5. fhe aims and objectives, either expressed in the
courses of study or implied by the objectives of adult
education, are expressed by writers on this subject and
leaders in the field, fhe general aim is to assist the
138
adult to make a better adjustment to the environment in
which he finds himself.
6* The aims stated more specifically fall under the
general headings of:
a* Education for better citizenship.
b. Bemoval of illiteracy.
o* The worthy use of leisure time.
d. The training for occupations or increasing the
efficiency in one's trade.
e. Education for parenthood and home-making,
f* Education for individuals who have lacked
opportunity in their youth,and who wish to proceed
to higher educational levels.
7* Although classes in Americanization are offered in
the majority of the schools for adults, they constitute the
most important department of adult education in those commun
ities v/here there are large numbers of aliens, as in Hew
York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
8. The southern states have directed their attention
to the removal of illiteracy among the white and negro
population.
9. Schools of the west do not have any one outstand
ing objective, but offer courses in all fields of adult
education.
10. The movement of adult education has not become
159
standardized as to method, aims, or curriculum. The curri
cular content is the outgrowth of the individual needs of
each specific community.
11. Courses are offered similar to those offered in
the elementary and secondary day schools in addition to
courses of general community interest, the subjects of
which may he grouped according to frequency as Americaniza
tion, commercial, vocational, academic, household arts,
elementary, avocational and general oommunity-interest sub
jects.
12. There is a wide variation in current practices
relative to the assessment of fees, the distribution of
textbooks, and other special features of administration,
II. BECQMMEHMTIGNS
The education of adults is a field of educational
effort that requires the most careful thought on the part
of all those who are interested in the promotion of such a
program. Adult education has not yet become standardized,
and therein lies great hope for its future progress. But
its ultimate possibilities will never be achieved until
careful consideration and research have been devoted to the
problem of how to provide that type of educational opportuni
ty best suited to the needs of every adult.
140
Ihat men may have the right to take .advantage of a s
much of the educational process as they are capable of
assimilating and are able to use profitably regardless of
race, creed, or economic status, is the function of public
education as conceived in the United States, fhafc there may
be teachers who know human beings and who will minister to
their needs, interests, and abilities as fellow human beings
is one of the greatest needs of education, fhat men will
acquire the habit of living the complete life is the earnest
hope of adult education.
Adult education should be come an integral part of the
educational program of every community, but it should be
considered as a phase of the educational system completely
separated from the day school, and not just a minor extension
of day school activities, conducted by teachers and adminis
trators whose primary interest is the teaching of children.
Much research and study is necessary in order to develop the
adult educational program to the plane of the elementary and
secondary schools of the United States*
Educational policies that fit into any democratic
scheme of educational service to citizens should be followed,
fhere is a need for a public program of adult edtc ation
supported in part by public funds. 0?he necessity of local
interest, local participstion, local support, and local
responsibility must be more fully realized.
14!
In every American community there is a reed for an
educational agent or agency to assume the responsibility
for discovering and making articulate the educational needs
and wants of citizens; for providing or serving as an
educational clearing house; and for outlining and co
ordinating all available agencies and services local*
state, and national*
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alderman, L* R., Adult Education Activities, Bulletin Ho, £5,
Washington, P. 0.: Department of Interior, 19£9, 18 p*
Alderman, L. R., Public Education of Adults in the Years
19E4-19B6, Bulletin Ho. 18, Washington, D. 0., United
States Government Printing Office, 1927, £6 p.
Alderman, L, R., Public Evening Schools for Adults, Ho, 21,
Washington, D. C. United States Government Printing
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Alonzo, G. Grace, "Thinking Through in the School," Journal
of Adult Education, Vol. 1, June, 1929, 466 p.
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Keppel, Frederich Paul, Education for Adults and Other
Essays, Columbia University Press, 1926. 94 p.
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Century Go,, 1929. 388 p. ~
Fisher, Dorothy Canfield, Why Stop Learning, Harcout, Brace,
and Co., 1927. 301 p.
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Schools of South Carolina an Experimental Study, Dew
York, American Association for Adult Education, 1926,
141 p.
Hill Earl W., Chairman Organization Committee, Evening High
School Teacher1s Association, Vol. 6 Do. 4.
Illiteracy, Don-Bnglish Speaking and Alien Problems of
Pennsylvania, Department of Public Instruction, iBulletin
Do. 2, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1927.
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31: 674-677 May 17, 1930.
Klein, Arthur Jay, The Ohio State University Bulletin
Vol. XXXIV, Dinth Annual Session, 1929.
145
Keppel, Frederich P. "Town and Grown", The State University
of Virginia Record Extension Series, l9iTI
Kandell, I* L, , Educational Yearbook, Teachers* College *
Columbia University, 1928.
linderman, Edward G., The Meaning of Adult Education, lew
Republic, Inc., 1926, 222 p.
Loremer, Frank, The Making of Adult Minds in a Metropolitan
Area, Hew York, The Mac mi llan 0 o •, X93TT
March, C, S., The Cosmopolitan Evening School, Hew York,
The Century, 1929.
March, C. S., Education in a Community, Buffalo, Hew York,
American Assooiation“for Adult Eduoation, 1926, 192 p.
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Hew York, Publishing Co., 1926.
Miller, H, C. American Association for Adult Education
Incorporated.
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and Adult Education, a Symposium,” American Association
for Adult Education Incorporated* 1926. 65 p.
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Adult Eduo at ion in~TEe Phbl ic~“School s ~o f th e Unite#
States, Unpub. MasterrsThesis, University of Southern
Calif., Los Angeles, Calif., 1931.
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CO., 1927. 390 p.
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Macmillan Co., 1926, 250p.
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For Educational Cooperation, 1927. 70 p.
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? i
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1932.
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Ho. 5, 1928. 137 p.
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Co., 1928, 335 p.
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Asset Metadata

Creator Lee, Sui Fong (author)

Core Title A survey of the present status of adult education in the United States.

School School of Education

Degree Master of Science

Degree Program Education

Degree Conferral Date 1933-06

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, adult and continuing,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Campbell, W.G. (committee chair), Ford, W.S. (committee member), Scholtz, T.L. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c30-42530

Unique identifier UC11218979

Identifier usctheses-c30-42530 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier EP57178.pdf

Dmrecord 42530

Document Type Thesis

Rights Lee, Sui Fong

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA