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Recommendations for Improved Service DeliveryThe Significance of Location
Most Kentuckians are familiar with the complaints
of those who do not live in Central Kentucky of how the Bluegrass region
receives more than its share of political attention and economic resources.
It is important to understand that many rural residents who live outside
of county seats and larger towns feel a similar resentment toward their regional
centers. School consolidation has
caused many smaller communities to lose their sense of ownership over education.
Some of our respondents described moving to larger schools in larger
towns as part of their reason for leaving school.
Having to drive to “town” to participate in adult education may
revive old feelings of discomfort and displacement.
Recent efforts to avoid duplication of services
have resulted in the centralization of adult education programs administratively
and, sometimes, geographically (in terms of class location).
This approach may estrange individuals who resent the location of
programs in municipal areas, sometimes more than thirty minutes away.
Our informal phone survey of providers in the state indicates that most
adult education students travel no further than ten minutes from their homes to
class.
Some of the providers with whom we spoke mourned
the failure of outreach projects intended to lessen some of these distances.
Their failure to attract and retain students, however, should not be
attributed to location or the attitudes of a particular region, but rather to
the complex issues and misconceptions regarding adult education described by
this report. Unfortunately,
resource constraints may make centralized services a continuing necessity;
however, recognition of the pride residents place on their own neighborhoods and
villages may help providers communicate with rural populations when advertising
programs. Determining the
appropriate location of adult education programs should include the input of
current and potential students.
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