Adult Education and Adult Learners

As I look around to see who might be considered an Adult Learner in my areas of influences I see potentially thousands of field workers who are trying to learn about safety and skills that they might use on the job in the petrochemical and oil refining industry. 

The learning community I support helps introduce and to develop the safety and skills of technicians and operators in this industry. However, according to Lindemann's quote on page 3 of the text, these thousands might not be classified as adult learners as his definition states "adult education more accurately defined begins where vocational education leaves off. Its purpose is to put meaning into the whole of life." a large majority of the training we provide is clearly linked to the vocational. There are some classes we provide on Leadership and on Safety Supervisor which might transcend this "vocational" status, but that Lindemann definition is a limiter for me.



I prefer the Rachal definition found on page 9, whereby he organized the purposes of Adult Education into the following categories 1) Liberal, 2) Occupational, 3) Self-Help, 4) Remedial, and 5) Scholastic. This view more accurately aligns with my own views and how I categorize adult education. In this schema then my own learning community occupies the occupational side of things as well as the remedial, and self-help, and potentially the scholastic as well.



In terms of the Liberal category, if we think of this category as advancing society and developing and promoting equality, I think we see that in this industry and community as well. Technology is commonly seen as an overwhelming and positive advancement in many parts of society. Many times people will show how technology has changed the industry by remarking on how much has changed due to technological advances. In our industry, the same thing can be said of "safety training." If you look at the environmental impact, the safe work practices, the behavior-based safety systems that are commonly promoted now, compared to refinery environments of the past, an observer would be shocked to see the differences. A tour of a modern-day, western refinery compared to a third-world or less advanced would show drastic differences in safety, environmental awareness, and respect and care for the worker. This shift has taken place in our industry already and we are further developing it every day with each training we provide.



When seen through the prism of Rachal's categories for the purpose of Adult Education I look around daily and see thousands of eager and willing adult learners all with varying reasons for coming to our organization and all leaving with at the very least some soupçon of advancement in their adult education resumes.



These past two weeks have had a heavy dose of definitions, I wonder are others in our class are having a hard time fitting these definitions into their own pre-conceived definitions of Adult Education?



How have you been able to square things with your past notions of what Adult Education is and what these new definitions are telling us?



Ross-Gordon, J.M., Rose, A.D., & Kasworm, C.E (2017). Foundations of adult and continuing education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.