[ProfessionalDevelopment 2698] Learning for Work in Hard Timeststicht at znet.com tsticht at znet.comWed Dec 24 13:26:28 EST 2008
December 24, 2008 Strategies for Education and Training of Undereducated Adults in Hard Economic Times Tom Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education During these hard economic times there is clearly an urgent need for undereducated adults to receive solid basic skills education in the context of training for well paying jobs and areas of entrepreneurship. Of particular concern is the need for education and training of many poorly skilled women who are single and managing families on their own. For several years I worked on and off with Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) located in Washington, DC, on adult literacy projects that followed Functional Context Education principles and integrated basic skills education (reading, math) with job skills training for non-traditional, well-paying jobs for women, and business skills training. The last project that I worked on with WOW was its Six strategies for Family Economic Self-Sufficiency project. As part of the project, in 1999 I worked with a womens organization in San Francisco to illustrate how Functional Context Education (FCE) principles could be followed in microenterprise trainng and development. This provides a good resource for adult basic skills and vocational/job skills education providers. Here is a little background about the Six Strategies project, FCE, and Microenterprise Training and Development. Following are several paragraphs about the project that are taken from information available from WOW online at www.wowonline.org Six Strategies for Family Economic Self-SufficiencyOverview For many families, especially those moving from welfare to work, self-sufficiency cannot be achieved in a single step. It requires strategies that create ladders out of povertystrategies that provide the assistance, guidance and time needed for families to become self-sufficient. Recognizing this, Wider Opportunities for Women promotes Six Strategies for Self-Sufficiency: * The Self-Sufficiency Standard * Targeting Higher-Wage Employment * Nontraditional Employment for Women * Functional Context Education * Microenterprise Training and Development * Individual Development Accounts Why the Six Strategies? * Because women currently earn 74¢ for every dollar men earn. * Because 60% of all minimum wage workers are women. * Because most welfare recipients leaving the rolls for work earn very low wages. * Because nearly one in three American households possesses zero or negative assets. These realities demonstrate the critical need for strategies that will help families move out of poverty and into lasting economic security. The Six Strategies are tools for individuals, community-based organizations, and state- and local-level policymakers to use to truly help low-income families move out of poverty and achieve long-term economic stability and independence. In today's policy environmentin which welfare and workforce legislation have devolved power to states and localitiesnew and effective strategies are urgently needed to aid low-income people: Functional Context Education * What it is and why it works * Approaches * State and federal legislation * Resources pertaining to this strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What it is and why it works Functional Context Education (FCE) is an instructional strategy that integrates the teaching of literacy skills and job content to move learners more successfully and quickly toward their educational and employment goals. Programs that use the FCE model are more effective than traditional programs that teach basic skills and job skills in sequence because this innovative approach teaches literacy and basic skills in the context in which the learner will use them. Clients see clearly the role literacy skills play in moving them toward their goals. This strategy promotes better retention, encourages lifelong learning and supports the intergenerational transfer of knowledge. * For adults who have already experienced school failure, enrollment in programs that use traditional approaches to teaching often reproduce that failure. Functional context education programs address this problem by using content related to adult goals to teach basic skills. * Basic education and technical training must be relevant to the skills and education required by jobs if low-income persons are going to succeed in becoming economically self-sufficient. In addition, most adults do not have time to spend years in basic education programs learning skills that may seem unrelated to their educational and economic goals. * Given welfare time limits and restrictions on education and training, it is more important than ever that individuals master basic and job-specific skills as quickly and efficiently as possible. Microenterprise Training and Development * What it is and why it works * Approaches * State and federal legislation * Resources pertaining to this strategy What it is and Why it Works Microenterprise development is an income-generating strategy that helps low-income people start or expand very small businesses. Generally, the business is owned and operated by one person or family, has fewer than five employees and can start up with a loan of less than $25,000. Microenterprise is an attractive option for low-income women who may have lacked opportunity but who are highly motivated and have skills in a particular craft or service. In the current weak economy, unemployment and underemployment are high. The lack of quality employment optionsespecially for low-income, low-skilled womenmakes microenterprise development a critical strategy for moving families out of poverty. * Low-income women entrepreneurs, especially those living in rural or inner-city communities isolated from the economic mainstream, often lack the contacts and networks needed for business success. * Peer networks (such as lending circles and program alumnae groups) help women learn to earn from each other, build self-esteem and organize around policy advocacy. * Linkages between microentrepreneurs and more established women business owners provide program participants with role models, facilitate an ongoing transfer of skills, and expand networks. I hope that adult literacy and vocational/job training educators can work together with business, industry and those desiring microenterprise or entrepreneurship education to follow WOWs six strategies for self-sufficiency and develop effective programs that integrate basic skills and vocational skills education. As Russ Tershy, the former Director of the Center for Employment Training (CET) in San Jose, CA used to say, there is only one piece of paper for undereducated adults more valuable than a GED in times of need a good paycheck! This is the time to eschew literacy programs that are too often too irrelevant to the critical life contexts of adults and to aim for strong, intensive, meaningful basic skills/vocational skills education that can get people on their economic feet quickly. Then that should be followed by additional upskilling and further education. But first folks need a way to make a good living! Thomas G. Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education 2062 Valley View Blvd. El Cajon, CA 92019-2059 Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133 Email: tsticht at aznet.net
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