The four moments in education namely standardized education, authentic education, democratic citizenship education, and systemic sustainability form the basis for understanding research in education (Davis, Sumara & Luce-Kapler, 2015). The aforementioned moments are applicable in virtually all fields of education with one or more of those useful in demystifying aspects of education such as special needs education or adult education. It suffices to mention that each of the four moments are unique in history and context in which they were developed, the method through which they approach knowledge and learning and strategies associated with teaching practices as informed by the four moments. Consequently, the focus on this term has in a major part focused of dissecting the four moments of education which culminates in the writing of this summary paper. In order to critically analyze the four moments, an overarching theme of adult education has been focused upon throughout the paper. As such, adult education is grounded on the tenets of the four moments of education as evidence by the critical analysis of relevant academic literature.
Moment One: Standardized Education
Tighe, E., Barnes, A., Connor, C. & Steadman, S. (2013) Defining Success in Adult Basic Education Settings: Multiple Stakeholders, Multiple Perspectives Reading Research Quarterly , 48(4) pp. 415–435 | doi:10.1002/rrq.57
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The above- cited article by Tighe and colleagues provides an essential understanding of the objective of adult education from the perspective of the standardized education moment. According to Davis et al. (2015), Standardized education succinctly refers the approaches to schooling that have features such as common programs of study, age-based grade levels, and uniform performance outcomes as the cornerstone for its practice. The aspect of uniform performance outcome of standardized education is demonstrable in the field of adult education. Tighe and colleagues in the study of “Defining Success in Adult Basic Education Settings: Multiple Stakeholders, Multiple Perspectives” (Appendix A), ought to investigate the universal acceptable outcome as a determinant of success in adult basic education. From the study, uniform outcome measures have been the yardstick upon which funding agencies for adult basic education such as the state have based their support. As a result, numerous uniform performance outcomes have been used for assessment of learners in adult education. For instance, Tighe and colleagues assert that the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) is a widely applicable outcome-measure for students in adult basic education. Notably, TABE provides a uniform standard of assessment to learners in adult education through assessment of reading, math, language, mechanics, vocabulary, and spelling skills at five difficulty levels (TIghe et al., 2013). As such, the test provides an universal way of assessment of the initial level of literacy and follow-up through the education levels, a characteristic feature of standardized education. Also, Tighe and colleagues noted that in the geographical context of Florida in which their study was conducted, Literacy Completion Points (LCPs) was yet another standardized outcome based measure that applicable to adult education programs. LCPs were used as a uniform way of measuring the success and progress of leaners in adult education and they are earned when a leaner moves from one level of adult education to the next. Clearly, adult education employs the principles of standardized education based on the uniformity of performance outcomes and measurements of success for learners.
Common programs of study and age-based grade levels are features of standardized education that are demonstrable in adult education. According to Davis et al. (2015), teaching in standardized education is understood to occur through self-contained chunks called “lessons” and is delivered under the framework of a standard curriculum. Tighe and colleagues noted that the learning in adult education is delivered in a myriad of settings including schools, community centers, workplaces, correctional institutions and development centers. Moreover, the learners in adult education programs exhibit heterogeneity in terms of initial level of education, race, age, language development and prevalence of learning disability. Owing to the above features, the standardization of delivery of lessons in all adult education programs is widely varied although similar programs have similar objectives. However, Tighe and colleagues noted that the all programs in adult basic education have a feature of engaging leaners in standardized instructions and course work. This culminates in the attainment of high school degree or award of a general equivalency diploma for all the learners that successfully complete the program and meet the threshold for the award of the various accolades (Tighe et al., 2013). In this regard, a standardized way of delivering course work to leaners is a particular class is made use of in adult education – a characteristic feature of standardized education. Moreover, Tighe and colleagues noted that although adult education classes exhibit heterogeneity in terms of the age of the learners, adult education is offered only to people of age 16 and older. This brings out the age-based level aspect of education that is characteristic of standardized education. Evidently, the two features of standardized education namely common programs of education and age-based level are applicable in adult education programs.
Moment Two: Authentic Education
Wang, C. (2016) Comparisons of adult learners’ self-regulated learning literacy, learning preferences, and adaptive teaching in formal, non-formal, and informal education institutions International Journal of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning 8(2); 47-66
The research article by Wang (2016) demonstrates salient principles that are grounded in the moment of authentic education. To reiterate, Davis et al. (2015) posit that the moment of authentic education denotes the approaches to schooling whose foundation is based on human sciences. Moreover, the moment lays emphasis on personal engagement, learner difference, developmental stages, and personalized learning aligned with individual curiosities and goals. As such, classroom approaches in authentic education are based in reality, focused on understanding, and rich with inquiry (Davis et al., 2015). The research by Wang (2016), demonstrates a myriad of such tenets as applicable to adult education. The objective of the study as seen in Appendix B was to compare the self-regulated learning literacy, learning preferences, and adaptive teaching in different set up of learning. This concept is in line with the principle of teaching that occurs in authentic education. Unlike in standardized education where teaching occurs through teacher-centred classrooms, teaching in authentic education happens in leaner-centred teachings. The aim is to focus on the individual development of each learner’s potential through guiding and facilitating. Wang (2016) noted that the strategy of self-regulated learning literacy (SRLL) is the key competency that assists adult learners to attain effectiveness. This was observable in all the three contexts of institutions namely formal, non-formal and informal where the researcher conducted his study. Moreover, Wang (2016) noted from his study that since learners in adult education manifest a broad range of learning characteristics and therefore individualized teaching is required for them. Further, the study demonstrates that the learning characteristics were influenced by each learner’s learning preference which necessitates the development of individualized teaching methods. These findings are congruent to the holding principles of authentic education which emphasizes treating each learner uniquely in order for them to achieve competencies.
The article demonstrates the need for adaptive teaching process in adult education in line with the moment of authentic education. Wang (2016) defines adaptive teaching as teaching based on learners’ individual differences in interest, ability, and need to deal with teaching design and strategies. Using an Adult’s Adaptive Teaching Scale, the researcher noted a variation in teaching requirements for learners of different ages, level of education and nature of institution. In essence, older subjects demonstrated a higher need for adaptive teaching compared to their younger counterparts. At the same time, participants with a lower level of education preferred more hearing-learning oriented learning with higher needs for adaptive teaching methods as compared to participants who had a higher level of education. In terms of occupation, Wang (2016) noted that house managers in adult education were more hearing learning-oriented as compared to laborers. In this regard, it is clear that each learner demonstrated unique learning requirements necessitating an individualized approach to teaching. This is in line with authentic education which holds the driving sensibility that it is ridiculous to think that two learners – much less each person in a class of 30 learners– will be at the same developmental stages in terms of conceptual, emotional, and physical development. As such, the adaptive teaching process that has been demonstrated by Wang (2016) correlates with the principles of authentic education, that asserts that a schooling that is structured around assumptions of normal development, normal ability, and so on, then, is decidedly inauthentic.
Moment Three: Democratic Citizenship Education
Aberg, P. (2016) Nonformal learning and well-being among older adults: Links between participation in Swedish study circles, feelings of well-being and social aspects of learning Educational Gerontology 42(6); 411-422
The research article cited above epitomizes the application of the moment of Democratic Citizenship Education in the field of adult education. Davis et al. (2015) describe the concept of Democratic Citizenship Education to be approaches to schooling that lay emphasis on the collective process and cultural inequities. The moment, which is informed mainly by the social sciences, has its principal aims of promoting social justice and productive collective action. This is achieved partly through recognizing and where appropriate subverting hegemonic structures (Davis et al., 2015). Throughout the study, the author demonstrates the cooperation between the learners in the adult education program. As seen in Appendix C, the study demonstrates the use of study circles, which were brought together learners and involved them collectively in the learning process. According to Aberg (2016), the study circle environment is characterized by equality and learning is understood to be a collective effort where the experiences of the participants hold a central position. This also implies that study circles to a large extent are to be directed by the participants themselves as a group irrespective of cultural, racial, class among other sociodemographic differences. This is in line with the moment of Democratic Citizen Education that aims to achieve productive collective action partly through the breaking of hegemonic structures.
The study by Aberg (2016) demonstrates the concept of participation that is inherent in of Democratic Citizenship Education. According to Davis (2015) proponents of this moment of education are reluctant in prescribing curriculum content and teaching methods but instead are interested in emphasizing the concepts of participation and conscientization. The participatory culture and its impact on adult education is shown in the article by Aberg (2016). The objective of the study was to show the links between participation in collective study circles during adult learning and the corresponding effect of wellbeing and social aspect of learning. The researcher found that there were positive effects in education of the adult learners from their participation in learning activities. The positive effect was notably registered by the adult learners with regards to increase in their knowledge and skills. In addition to these direct effect on knowledge and skills, the learners in the adult education program registered a positive effect in the social dimension of participating in non-formal learning activities. The researcher noted that the fellowship that was created in the study circles in which the learning occurred, was crucial to the development of the intent to participate. It was also an outcome of having participated in the program. These findings correlate with the precepts of Democratic Citizenship Education such as hive mind and crowdsourcing, which advocates for collectivism. This also borders on the concept of diversity which is an equally vital ingredient in most of public education systems. Although it is arguable that not all diversities are valuable to a collective action, in the study by Aberg (2016), it has shown to produce collective benefit in not only enhancing the acquisition of knowledge and skills of the learners, but also aiding in the improvement of social dimension of the learners. Evidently, the discourse of Democratic Citizenship Education thus reframes the role of the school in adult education. Long seen as an institution designed to perpetuate cultural needs and social values, this movement has helped to reveal how the school actually participates in the creation of values and possibilities such as those demonstrated in the above study.
Moment Four: Systemic Sustainability Education
Hawkins, B., Stegall, J., Weber, M. & Ryan, J. (2012) The influence of a yoga exercise program for young adults with intellectual disabilities International Journal of Yoga , (5)2;151-156
The above cited article shows a myriad of precepts relating to what is referred to by Davis et al. (2015) as falling under the moment of Systemic Sustainability Education. According to Davis et al. (2015), Systemic Sustainability Education gathers a range of emerging discourses on complexity, framed by the conviction that discussions of formal schooling have been too narrow. The article by Hawkins and colleagues (2012) as seen in Appendix D demonstrates a number of precepts found in Systemic Sustainability Education with regard to working with young adults with intellectual disabilities. The study focuses on yoga as an intervention offered in post-secondary adult education setting in influencing young adults with intellectual disability. The outcome of interest in the study was the amount of exercise behavior and perception of physical exertion when compared to non-structured exercise sessions between two young adults with intellectual disability in a post-secondary adult education setting. For methodology, the study employed a single subject using two adults who were having a mild form of intellectual disability The findings of the research indicated that there was an exponential increase in the percentage of exercise behavior and perceived exertion levels during yoga group exercise as compared to sessions with non-structured exercise sessions. Correlating the results of this study with the moment of Systemic Sustainability Education demonstrate that people are indeed embodied beings who need to care for their mental, physical, and emotional health in order to effectively perform in an educational set up such as education of adults with intellectual disability. I opine that the program is relatable to the systems theory as well, as the researchers evidently recognize that the learners in an adult education are complex systems characterized by intellectual, emotional, and behavioral components simultaneously, and that these domains all influence and work together to create optimal functioning.
Lessons presented through a systemic sustainability approach aim to encourage learners in adult education to consider their own as well as other’s perspectives in order to enlarge consciousness and enhance curriculum content. From the study, it was demonstrated in the intervention group that they exhibited significant improvements in self-confidence, communication, and classroom contributions following the completion of the intervention. This demonstrates a tenet of Systemic Sustainability Education that an individual’s degree of mental wellbeing are tightly coupled with determinants of education performance such as attention span, conscious aware-ness, ability to remember, emotional stability, and social intelligence (Davis et al., 2015). In addition, the subjects in the subjects who received the intervention were shown to have better listening skill, more reflective self-talk, better use of breathing techniques, and better attention span compared to the control subject. Since the challenge of intellectual disability can be considered a trans-phenomenal in a way, a multidisciplinary approach offers the best option for assisting leaners in adult education with intellectual disability. As a result, the intervention offered in the study addresses several areas of functioning increasing the likelihood that each learner will benefit from this program. This correlates with the Systemic Sustainability Education , which is not about replicating or perpetuating sensibilities rooted in assumptions of endless growth and human uniqueness. Rather, there is an evident need for creating something new through moments integrating the biological, cognitive, social, cultural, and ecological dimensions of life. It is an education that is realized in the possibilities that might arise when diversities are brought into conversation.
Conclusion
Throughout this summary, paper concepts relating to the four moments in education to current research and associated programs and assessment tools within the adult education sector have been presented. Founded on four research articles, it has been demonstrated that the four moments namely Standardized education, authentic education, democratic citizenship education, and systemic sustainability education are all very important moments that have shaped the educational system we see today. It is evident that these concepts are extremely important to be aware of, especially when analyzing information relating to research and education. Although this summary paper applies these concepts to the specific domain of adult education, this is simply just a glimpse of how these four moments can be applied to research articles, as they can evidently be used to investigate a plethora of other topics.
References
Aberg, P. (2016) Nonformal learning and well-being among older adults: Links between participation in Swedish study circles, feelings of well-being and social aspects of learning Educational Gerontology 42(6); 411-422
Davis, B., Sumara, D., & Luce-Kapler, R. (2015). Engaging minds: Cultures of education and practices of teaching (3rd Ed.). New York: Routledge.
Hawkins, B., Stegall, J., Weber, M. & Ryan, J. (2012) The influence of a yoga exercise program for young adults with intellectual disabilities International Journal of Yoga , (5)2;151-156
Tighe, E., Barnes, A., Connor, C. & Steadman, S. (2013) Defining Success in Adult Basic Education Settings: Multiple Stakeholders, Multiple Perspectives Reading Research Quarterly , 48(4) pp. 415–435 | doi:10.1002/rrq.57
Wang, C. (2016) Comparisons of adult learners’ self-regulated learning literacy, learning preferences, and adaptive teaching in formal, non-formal, and informal education institutions International Journal of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning 8(2); 47-66
Appendix A
Abstract for Tighe et al. (2013)
This study employed quantitative and qualitative research approaches to investigate what constitutes success in adult basic education (ABE) programs from the perspectives of multiple educational stakeholders: the state fund-ing agency, the teachers, and the students. Success was defined in multiple ways. In the quantitative section of the study, we computed classroom value-added scores (used as a metric of the state’s definition of success) to identify more and less effective ABE classrooms in two Florida counties. In the qualitative section of the study, we observed and conducted interviews with teachers and students in the selected classrooms to investigate how these stakeholders defined success in ABE. Iterative consideration of the qualitative data revealed three principal markers of success: (1) instructional strategies and teacher–student interactions, (2) views on standardized testing, and (3) student motivational actors. In general, classrooms with higher value-added scores were characterized by multiple instructional approaches, positive and collaborative teacher–student interactions, and students engaging in goal setting and citing motivational factors such as family and personal fulfillment. The implications for ABE programs are discussed.
Appendix B
Abstract for Wang (2016)
Self-regulated learning literacy (SRLL) is a specific strategy of self-learning (SL) and a key competency for engaging in lifelong learning. If a person’s learning literacy is limited in any dimensions, i.e. cognition, affection, and skills, he/she will experience difficulties that can impact upon the fulfilment of a vision of Education for All and the Learning Society. Therefore it has become crucial in adult education to understand adults’ lack of SRLL in order to enhance their competencies in SL. In terms of individualized instruction, a learner’s psychological characteristics include both learning preference (LP) and adaptive teaching (AT) and these need to be addressed to enrich individual learning effectiveness. For adults with comparatively stable psychological characteristics, it is important to understand the relationship between SRLL and LP and how to employ AT according to different SRLLs and LPs, and whether adult learners in formal, non-formal and informal education institutions show any difference in these three variables. This paper explores these issues based on empirical studies carried out via a questionnaire survey and individual and group discussions. Adult learners with lower SRLLs were sampled through norm comparisons and then their LPs and the corresponding ATs were formulated to improve the effectiveness of SL.
Appendix C
Abstract for Aberg (2016)
How does participation in nonformal learning influence the self-perceived well-being among older adults? This article looks into that issue through a study of people aged 65 years or older who have participated in Swedish study circles. The data analyzed consists of a nation-wide survey of study circle participants. The results show that there are beneficial effects from participating in study circles for the well-being of older adults. As could be expected, participants claim that their knowledge and skills have increased; but the main finding is the importance of the social dimension of participating in nonformal learning activities. The fellowship created in study circles is both an important motive for participation and an important outcome of having participated. This, however, is not at the expense of gaining new knowledge. Rather, the two dimensions may strengthen each other. Nonformal settings appear to provide an environment that has positive effects on the well-being of older adults. They do this by fosteringa sense of belonging and the opportunity to be part of a fellowship that may work as an aid in avoiding social isolation and loneliness.
Appendix D
Abstract for Hawkins et al. (2015)
Background: Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) have an increased risk of obesity and are significantly less likely to engage in physical activity compared to their nondisabled peers. A growing body of research supports the physical and mental health benefits of yoga. While the benefits of yoga have been studied across a host of populations with varying ages and physical disabilities, no studies could be identified investigating the benefits of yoga for young adults with ID. Aims: This study investigated the impact of participating in yoga classes on the amount of exercise behavior and perception of physical exertion when compared to non-structured exercise sessions between two young adults with ID in a post-secondary education setting. Materials and Methods: A single subject multiple baseline research design was implemented across two young adults with mild ID to determine the effects of a yoga exercise class on frequency of exercise behavior and perception of physical exertion when compared to non-structured exercise sessions. Partial interval recording, the Eston-Parfitt curvilinear rating of perceived exertion scale, and the physical activity enjoyment scale were implemented to collect data on dependent variables and consumer satisfaction during each non-structured exercise session and each yoga class. Results: indicated that percentage of exercise behavior and perceived exertion levels during yoga group exercise sharply increased with large effect sizes when compared to non-structured exercise sessions.
