Important Adult Education Organizations

 Antonette Payne commented on: Group 4 & Group 5

Katie Ferguson commented on: Group 4 & Group 5

Group Duties:
Katie researched the two organizations wrote the introduction (mission and goals) and the roles and  responsibilities sections as well as completed those sections in the table.
Antonette did the discussion section (impact and implications) and the conclusion. She also added information on the impact and implications to the table.

Important Adult Education Organizations

Katie Ferguson and Antonette Payne

Ball State University

Introduction: Mission and Goals

Alpha Sigma Lambda (ASL)

            Alpha Sigma Lambda is an honor society founded in 1945-46 by the Dean at Northwestern University named Dr. Rollin B. Posey. Posey founded the organization because he felt it would be vitally important to recognize and honor adult student achievement and success.  Posey recognized that adults would have a multitude of responsibilities and challenges that may interfere with or impede educational pursuits. Posey valued adults who were dedicated to maintaining high scholastic achievement and pursuit of education. He in turn also realized that, “recognition accorded an evening student's scholastic achievement at an early stage of his/her program could provide the thrust of desire to achieve his/her educational objectives.” (Blew, 2014). ASL’s main goals are to provide recognition, advancement of scholarship, and encouragement or inspiration to adult learners, especially those who may be marginalized. Alpha Sigma Lambda is “not only the oldest, but also the largest chapter based society for full and part-time students” with over 300 chapters across the United States. (Blew, 2014).

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)

            The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning was founded in 1974 with the vision of providing “meaningful learning, credentials, and work for every adult” (CAEL, 2014). CAEL is a non-profit organization that works with both the public and private sector. CAEL’s mission is to connect adult learners to education and work opportunities. CAEL hopes to work with all adults, regardless of socio-economic status. Creative and innovative solutions are developed at CAEL to link businesses, educators, and adult learners. Some of these solutions and opportunities afforded to adult learners include but not limited to: college credit, learning assessments, competency-based education, advising, career paths, consulting, and convening. Experience in both work and daily life are valued as important tools to be used to enhance the educational experience. CAEL is also unique because the organization serves not only adult learners but also employers, colleges and universities, and workforce developers. The idea that education is the key to success and a higher quality of life is central to CAEL’s beliefs, mission, and vision.

Roles and Responsibilities

Alpha Sigma Lambda

            ASL plays a key role in motivating and inspiring adult learners across the United States. This is especially true since ASL often focuses on learners who may face adversity and challenge while still achieving high success in education. ASL provides learners with a community of similar people (or other members) that can help support one another. On the website, ASL releases each semester a publication called the “Midnight Oil” that provides members and non-members with information about new inductees, letters of congratulations, and other updates about the society. Also, ASL provides links to annual conferences that students can attend. ASL plays a fundamental role in adult education by recognizing hard work and achievement in adults. This recognition allows adult learners to feel valued and proud of their accomplishments as a student. ASL has created a community that inspires and encourages adult learners in the pursuit of new and challenging educational goals. (Blew, 2014).

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning

            CAEL plays a crucial role in aiding non-traditional students such as adults, military/veterans, low-income and unemployed, and older workers. These groups of workers/learners often face unique challenges when returning to educational settings. CAEL serves the bridge that helps these groups of learners overcome those challenges. For adults returning to college, CAEL helps identify adult-friendly settings, plan financially, and utilize prior experience (CAEL, 2014). In the case of Military and Veterans, CAEL counsels learners about finding the right civilian job as well as linking military experience to career. Low income and unemployed workers may find it extremely challenging to return to school due to lack of access to resources of funding. CAEL is there to counsel these learners to make good choices, find long-term meaningful employment, and unique innovative ways to access funding and resources. CAEL also helps older workers returning to the workforce select a new career. The major role that CAEL plays in adult education is capturing and encouraging non-traditional learners and helping those learners identify and overcome challenges. (CAEL, 2014).

Discussion: Impact and Implications

            Although CAEL and ASL serve the adult education population in different ways, they both are important organizations in the overall success of adult learners. Both organizations use the experience and unique challenges of adult learners to help them be successful. For example, ASL, grants scholarships to its members that allows them to continue their educational pursuits (Blew, 2014). Similarly, CAEL, provides students with resources to fund their education, as well as, provide students information on schools that will accept their life experiences as credit (CAEL, 2014).

These organizations work perfectly together and act as a continuum of one another. CAEL works before and after the adult student enters higher education. By providing adult students with resources about higher education programs and funding of that education, students who successful enter higher education programs can then seek to become members of ASL.  As an organization geared toward higher education, ASL assist new students coming into higher education and gives them motivation to succeed. “To the newcomer in higher education, Alpha Sigma Lambda stands as an inspiration to scholastic growth and an invitation to associate with similarly motivated students.” (Blew, 2014). CAEL also works after formal adult education programs end to offer employment resources. (CAEL, 2014). CAEL works with employers and government organizations in providing career training and resources.

In the article “Career Pathways for a Productive and Self-Reliant Workforce: A To-Do List for Adult Educators,” Jurmo (2011) discusses what adult educators should be doing to shift to the “Career Pathways” model of educating adults. Some of the suggestions include but are not limited to 1) Recognizing the importance of work-related basic skills; 2) Building effective partnerships; and 3) supporting opportunity for low-income and lower-skilled workers. CAEL does just these things with their work on helping unemployed and low-income workers with job training and partnering with employers to provide jobs and job-training to adult workers (CAEL, 2014).

            Another implication for these organizations is the reduction of barriers to adult education. Some of the barriers to adult education include socio-economic barriers, family obligations, geographical barriers, gender barriers, as well as, technological barriers (CAEL, 2014). CAEL helps to overcome these barriers through its research and best practices, testimony before legislators, and assistance to students. ASL also helps students to overcome barriers. By providing scholarships and giving students a community of support many barriers for entry and retention can be overcome (Blew, 2014).

Conclusion

            ASL and CAEL are adult education organizations that have provided adult learners with way to overcome barriers to entry and retention, provided scholarship and career assistance, and a system of support. These important organizations serve as an  example to adult educators and institutions on ways to support adult learners and achieve greater success in adult education.

Table 1. Summary of Important Adult Education Organizations       

	Alpha Sigma Lambda	Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
Year it was founded	1945-46	1974
Mission and Goals	·         To provide recognition, advancement of scholarship, and encouragement or inspiration to adult learners	·         To provide “meaningful learning, credentials, and work for every adult” by designing innovative solutions and opportunities for adult learners who may face challenges.
Roles and Responsibilities	·         Provide learners with a community of likeminded students ·         Encourage and inspire students to work hard for high scholastic achievement ·         Provide students with a sense of value and accomplishment	·         Links adult students and low-income or unemployed, and older workers returning to college with recognition for life and work experiences, and financial solutions. ·         Assists Military and Veterans to find civilian jobs and put prior experience to use. ·         Assist employers to train and utilize current employees to fill open positions.
Other Important Information	·         ASL is the largest and oldest honor society in the U.S.	·         Provides support for adult learners, employers, and workforce development.
Impact	·         Provides academic and peer support which assists students in staying in school.	·         Allows for adult learners to attend school and receive credit for experience increasing chances that they will complete their educational program.
Implications	·         By providing motivation and support, students are more likely to complete their academic programs. ·         Reduces barriers to education.	·         By providing a broad range of resources to students, the organization helps students to not only be successful in school but in their career as well. ·         Reduces barriers to education.

References

Blew, C. (2014). Alpha Sigma Lambda. Retrieved March 25, 2014 from www.alphasigmalambda.org/index.php

CAEL. (2014). About US. Retrieved April 1, 2014 from CAEL: http://www.cael.org.

Jurmo, P. (2011). Career Pathways for a Productive and Self-Reliant Workforce: A To-Do List for Adult Educators. Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal, 171-175.