Envisioning CPE

Dan Royer

EDAC 655

Continuing Education for Professionals

  

                Since I chose to investigate the CPE (Continuing Professional Education) knowledge base for my project, I began working with an approach which did not necessarily find a solid fit in the historical comparison with the present.  The seeds for the work were present in the Literature Review paper, however, it was not completely developed and elements of that paper departed from the focus of what I wished to do.   In my CPE Investigation paper, I focused on the two periods which seemed the most distinct from each other for adult education, and for African Americans in particular.  The first period was the antebellum period which was the era leading up to the civil war, and the second was the postmodern period of which we are a part.  In my investigation of these two periods disparities were obvious, although not as complete as I might have hoped.  My experience has painfully pointed out the truth that racism has not been removed as we might have thought and that African Americans and other minorities still struggle for equal access to education.  Therefore, my envisioning CPE paper will springboard from this comparison between where we used to be to where we are now to envision CPE of the future.

                As I concluded my CPE investigation paper, I noted that while it would seem that a great deal of progress has been made on the front of culturally diverse education, there is a great deal lacking.  As Donna Amstutz pointed out, “the central problem is how adult educators can adjust instruction to provide meaningful learning experiences for all learners.  Increasing the congruence between learning preferences and needs based on the cultural backgrounds of learner and approaches to teaching and learning employed by adult educators is crucial.” (Amstutz, 1999)  I couldn’t agree more.  As a Caucasian, I cannot understand, comprehend or completely appreciate the difficulties that another ethnic group experiences when attempting to obtain an education.  As a descendant of a Western European settler who entered the United States in the early 1700’s, my experience and heritage is connected to the dominant culture.  In order to fully develop CPE that is effective in the future, we must be willing to step away from a dominant position and recognize what we can learn from other diverse culture groups while we are attempting to assist them to learn.

                In the CPE Adult Education of the future educators are willing to understand the differences between learners and learner groups.  The first effort to provide this diverse experience is to instill this value in individuals who become CPE educators.  Representation from all respective ethnic groups should be trained and prepared to become effective educators.  Ideally, these educators would become a part of a larger group which in its entirety is trained to work in cross cultural contexts, meaning they possess the ability to teach in ethnic and cultural situations beyond their native one.  It must be stated that these instructors are able and capable to teach in this context while maintaining respect for learners and refusing to impose prejudicial ideas or biases on the students (Guy, Culturally Relevant Adult Education: Key Themes and Common Purposes, 1999).

                Not only in the CPE of the future are educators more culturally aware and sensitive, but they are also are connected with the lives of their students.  These educators know the culture, spending time in the communities which may be different culturally and ethnically from their own (Guy, Culture as Context for Adult Education: The Need for Culturally Relevant Adult Education, 1999).  This bridging of the cultural gap occurs because these teachers are ‘teaching with love’, which means that to be a good educator one must teach with commitment and caring, while remaining patient with learners who are unaware of their racist, sexist, and ethnocentric beliefs (Amstutz, 1999).

                In my own personal experience, this began during my teenage years, and I believed opened my mind to understand that my limited cultural perspective was inadequate to consider the experience of other people, particularly people of color.  During one particular church summer camp, an African Methodist Episcopal church arranged for a group of young white, middle class teenagers to stay with different families in the community.  For a week we lived with these families.  It was my first experience with many things, but I will never forget my host who was a kind and gentle African American woman with a great deal of patience.  This experience taught me that my own perspective could not be considered the standard against which all others were measured.

                Teaching with love does not imply an emotional or even romantic attachment, but it transcends being an educator of the mind only, and demonstrates a healthy concern and interest in students in order to see them develop to their full potential.  It recognizes that through education, a great deal of power is available and provided to learners.  As suggested by Nicoll and Fejes in a postmodern move, the locus of power moves from learning to knowledge (Katherine Nicoll, Andreas Fejes, 2011).  The CPE of the future will acknowledge this fact, and as a result restrictions to equal access based on racial and ethnic identity will be removed.  Power of the dominant group will not be sustained by restricting access to the same quality of knowledge for all people.  The focus of these educators will be to facilitate the development of each individual’s unique potential.  This means that educators must locate, develop and reinforce positive traits and abilities of their students, and voice these in a positive and respectful fashion.

It has been recognized that:  “Learner self-image—seeing oneself in a positive light and being supported in that self-perception by other learners and educational officials—is a crucial aspect of culturally relevant education.” (Guy, Culturally Relevant Adult Education: Key Themes and Common Purposes, 1999)  On the flip side of the same coin, “. . . learners who retain internalized negative or passive images of themselves are marginalized by the dominant culture.” (Guy, Culturally Relevant Adult Education: Key Themes and Common Purposes, 1999)  Therefore educators who serve students from these diverse cultures will focus on building the confidence and ability of these students who are already suffering from negative images.

In this CPE future, educators will become aware of the difference between the attempt to deal with racism through changes on macro level and the need to bring about change on a micro level.  Change on the macro level is the equivalent of changing laws in order to produce civil rights and guarantees for people of color.  The change on the macro level is needed, because without it, many of the southern states in the 1950’s and 1960’s would not have enforced state laws equally.  For example, in the Congressional Digest of 1948 presents a discussion of the agenda items of the Truman administration agenda including a civil rights proposal that included a federal anti-lynching law (Congress, 1948).  It is also interesting to note that included in the opposition to this law was Senator Lyndon Johnson from Texas.   It does make one ask how sincerely he supported the Civil Rights Act when he signed it.

This shift from the macro-narrative to the micro-narrative is an indication of a postmodern shift needed to address the issue on a more personal level and to bring about a more comprehensive change.  This would best be accomplished through applying critical race theory. 

As noted by Peterson, critical race theorists assert that racism cannot be eliminated by judicial and legislative processes, but that it requires sweeping changes (Peterson, 1999).  In the CPE of the future, these changes will come through changes in curriculum, instructional methods, and assessments designed to remove the cultural and racial barriers which are inherent in the assumptions of the dominant culture (Peterson, 1999).  

“To conceive of a future that is unitary and universal, that does not recognize the needs of diverse learners, is untenable.  The answer is complex because the world of adult education is changing (Zepke, 2006).”  The future of CPE must be willing to adapt to an understanding rooted in the humanist tradition, which embraces transformative, experiential and self-directed learning (Zepke, 2006).  This understanding means that there must be an intentional effort to bring about cross cultural education.

In order to implement this future, educators will begin by being prepared for the cross cultural educational experience, by undergoing a cross cultural experience in which they spend time in a culture other than their own.  This experience will do two things.  The first will be to develop an understanding of a culture other than their individual culture of origin.  Additionally this experience will serve to break down any biases and stereotypes be engaging the future educators in an immersive environment which allows them to learn and make friendships across cultural boundaries.  This includes providing opportunities for transformational learning to take place which challenge engage individuals in developing new ways to understand these differences.  Furthermore, this will allow educators to connect with learners and identify with different cultural experiences.

Secondly, a concerted effort would be made to develop a culturally diverse group of future educators.  It would be necessary to initiate this continuing education with a variety of educators who may be primarily from a more culturally homogeneous group.   In order to be successful, this development of educators which are more representational of different cultural and ethnic groups must be undertaken.  This means that opportunities and support must be offered to encourage a diverse group of future educators are developed.  This would provide for the development of different perspectives and approaches in adult education.

Thirdly, a conscious effort must be made to examine and develop curriculum and lesson plans to ensure potential bias has been removed.  Traditional curriculum that attempts to steer adult education in the direction of adopting the dominant cultural view must be challenged.   Curriculum cannot be devoted to a particular cultural point of view, and must be developed to be broad enough to avoid the trap of building in traditional values.  Rather this vision is based on a curriculum which is rooted in humanism and pragmatism, and promotes placing value on each learner. 

It is equally important to evaluate the development of lesson plans and assessments to ensure that cultural biases are eliminated, or that alternative cultural viewpoints are valued (Peterson, 1999).  This examination, reevaluation and development must occur in order to reduce the risk of inherently accepting curriculum with underlying racist or ethnically isolating values and concepts.

Finally, it is important to develop connections with community resources which currently exist, and to work in partnership with these institutions.  It is critical that the institutions which are highly regarded and trusted in these culturally diverse communities also be engaged in the effort.  This means that it will be expected that in order to participate in adult education in different cultural and ethnic contexts, the primary need is to establish credibility and trust.  Partnering with trusted institutions allows for the impact of adult education to expand into these communities.

                An example of this occurs in the Martindale Brightwood neighborhood as Martin University (a four year institution for Higher Education).  This university builds credibility by being present in the community, but also through its many connections with institutions which are highly regarded in the African American community.  Marin University has established a sense of credibility in the Martindale Brightwood neighborhood and the African American community through its connections with trusted institutions and community groups.

                In conclusion this future has successfully removed the barriers present in education which are presented to people outside of the dominant cultural barriers through embracing concepts which treat each individual with respect and dignity.  It also accomplishes this by developing adult educators who are sensitive to cultural values and differences because they have been immersed in these differing cultures.  Further it seeks to develop and recruit new adult educators by intentionally providing these opportunities to individuals who are representative of the diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds which are served.  Finally, connections are established with the culturally respected institutions which the adult educators seek to serve.

References Cited

Amstutz, D. M. (1999). Adult Learning: Moving Toward More Inclusive Theories and Practices. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 19-32.

Congress, U. S. (1948). The Outlook for 1949. Congressional Digest,27 (12), 291-292.

Guy, T. C. (1999). Culturally Relevant Adult Education: Key Themes and Common Purposes. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 82, 93-98.

Guy, T. C. (1999). Culture as Context for Adult Education: The Need for Culturally Relevant Adult Education. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 82, 5-16.

Katherine Nicoll, Andreas Fejes. (2011). Lifelong learning: a pacification of 'know how'. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 30(4), 403-417.

Peterson, E. A. (1999). Creating a Culturally Relevant Dialogue for African American Adult Educators. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 82, 79-91.

Zepke, N. (2006). Diversity, adult education and the future: a tentative exploration. International Journal of Lifelong Learning,24(2), 165-178.