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Program overlapOther Education Programs
In addition to their contact with social service
programs, a number of study participants also reported other education
experiences. Several respondents
had formerly participated in the PACE program. I took my oldest one to PACE with me. So, me and her went to school. My baby stayed over in the preschool and I went to a separate class to do my GED. I think I done the PACE for about six months at least. PACE emphasizes family literacy and includes services for
both parents and children. Participants frequently cited the childcare program
as a crucial component. Most former
PACE participants believed their children had enjoyed the classes and benefited
from PACE involvement. Many
subsequently enrolled later children in PACE classes.
Study participants, however, often reported
frustration with their own progress. I quit that PACE one day, one year, but I just got tired of it. I was aggravated and I just quit it ‘cause I didn’t feel like I was gettin’ anywhere. And the teacher got on to me--”You need to get back and get your GED,” and all that. And I went back and tried to get it, but it just didn’t work. Other respondents felt like the time they spent directly
working toward educational goals was inadequate.
As discussed earlier in the context of social service program overlap,
respondents often felt they were spending time on other activities rather than
working toward educational goals. You have to have your hours in. They put you in PACE [and] you have to clean up around the school, you know, do whatever job they got you in until one, and then at one, you got an hour to work on your GED and class is over at two. So it really is no help. While it is beyond the scope of this study to determine the
content of PACE programs, the importance of these comments lies in the fact that
former participants were frustrated by their lack of progress and ultimately
dropped out of the programs before reaching their goals.
Study participants had frustrating experiences with vocational education
programs as well. A few respondents
were currently attending vocational programs.
One participant talked at length about the electrical classes he was
enrolled in as part of a retraining program for displaced miners. I’m goin’ to vocational school for electrician’s classes. But I’m goin’ to quit it because you got to take classes and I just went to the eight grade and they are into this technical math and stuff. You can learn it one day and forget it the next. It’s for the laid-off coal miners. They give you the classes and then you can take a test for the GED any time you want to. If you want to work on gettin’ your GED, that’s what it’s set up for. These classes were taught through the local vocational
school and included plumbing and air conditioning courses as well as the
electrical classes this participant was enrolled in.
There was no coordination with local adult education instructors to
assist with remedial tutoring. His
comments, however, suggest that the classes were too difficult for many
participants who consequently dropped out of the program.
He continued: Some of ‘em wouldn’t even take the basic math. Some of ‘em dropped out when they had to start takin’ classes. It was takin’ a lot of their time tryin’ to do the work at home. They’re droppin’ out. While many participants in the study indicated the need for
hands-on training that would translate readily to employment opportunities,
these comments reinforce the importance of carefully matching programs with the
abilities and needs of clients. While
the goal of retraining workers is an appropriate one, the displaced miners who
were participating in this program were clearly frustrated by classes that were
beyond their current academic skills. Worse,
for many of these men, their transitional retraining grant is limited by time.
In a situation like this, it might be possible to coordinate vocational
retraining programs with adult education services designed to prepare students
for more challenging classes that demand skills they do not yet possess. Adequate preparation would make it more likely that students
could succeed when they reached more difficult and demanding academic classes.
The programmatic issues discussed here have
important implications for adult education service provision.
While lack of success in adult education programs is frequently blamed on
students, it is also important to thoughtfully critique programmatic
responsibility. This study indicates the need for a more client-centered
approach to adult education services. Furthermore,
this study demonstrates the importance of carefully coordinating adult education
services with other social and educational programs.
These and other implications of the study are discussed in the final
section of this report.
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