[ProfessionalDevelopment 2701] Economic Stimulus and Professional DevelopmentJackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.netSat Dec 27 15:05:31 EST 2008
Dear Professional Development Colleagues: The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) recommends that the Transition Team add $500 million to the economic stimulus package for adult education: "Funding should be directed at programs that integrate basic skills, English language and occupational training and focus on transition to postsecondary education and job training in order to ensure that lower-skilled people are not left behind in this labor market." http://www.clasp.org/publications/claspbeyondstimulus.pdf The National Coalition for Literacy (NCL) and the National Council of State Directors of Adult Education (NCSDAE) support this request. Congress hopes to have the stimulus package ready when Obama is sworn in as President on January 20th. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g-fho3A_PJJqcnUtiO_ns DH_Hd1Q If $500 million were included in the stimulus for adult education and we had 27 months to spend it, what should be spent on professional development in order to help lower-skilled adults go to work and experience career success? For example, adult educators will need to help adult learners upgrade their skills and transition to work without losing sight on those learners that are hardest to serve. Adults transitioning to work might also follow different career pathways: * Traditional, sequential, linear pathway: Adults enroll first in adult education then into postsecondary once the adult learner raises his or her basic skills. For example, earning a GED then enrolling into postsecondary. * Dual or concurrent enrollment pathways: Adults dually or concurrently enroll in basic skills and postsecondary education and training. For example, taking welding and math courses, learning the welding trade while improving math skills needed for the profession. In these (and other) situations, adult educators will need to teach in ways that integrate basic skills and postsecondary education and training content in the adult education classroom; for example, co-teaching with an occupational skills trainer. Tom Sticht recently posted two related examples here: Functional Context Education (FCE) and Microenterprise Training and Development. See "Learning for Work in Hard Times" http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/professionaldevelopment/2008/002738.html So, a few questions: * What are the considerations for professional development if the $500 million stimulus for adult education became an immediate reality? * What additional models already exist that we can learn from? * How would we get up and running as quickly as possible? Thanks for your thoughts, and here's to 2009! Best wishes...Jackie Jackie Taylor, Online Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net Adult Literacy Professional Development Adult Literacy and Language Learning Communities of Practice http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html National Institute for Literacy www.nifl.gov <http://www.nifl.gov/> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/professionaldevelopment/attachments/20081227/c104d9f4/attachment.html
More information about the ProfessionalDevelopment mailing list |