2002 Conference (Dekalb, Ill : Northern Illinois University)

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ACTION RESEARCH FOR NURSE EDUCATORS:A MORE NOURISHING ALTERNATIVE TO EATING OUR YOUNG
(2005-12-15T18:48:20Z) Berent, Georgine R
Poster Session- Since Florence Nightengale began professional schools of nursing, socialization in the nursing curriculum has been viewed from multiple perspectives. University-based nursing programs include a professional nursing course at the beginning of students’ studies. This begins the professional development of students. A thorough overview examining the history and evolution of nursing demonstrates a gap in the socialization process and faculty’s influence. In this proposed study, the researcher will examine ways in which the nursing faculty communicates with the student nurses. The question to be explored using action research is: What are the implicit and explicit behaviors nursing faculty integrate into the nursing curriculum that socialize students? This research proposal asserts that Participatory Research (PR) methods impacting the curriculum will support and empower students in this important process. Gajanayake (2001) outlined an eight-phase cycle. This will be used as a flexible template for redesigning the early professional development nursing courses. Collaboration between students and faculty will stimulate the PR method. PR will provide the structure for joint faculty and student exploration of the problem. This methodology includes: 1.Identification of a problem or need: Fewer students are choosing a career in nursing. Many nurses are leaving the profession for various reasons. Many students and nurses verbalize the lack of support throughout nursing education. 2. Reflection: Faculty members and students will be invited through focus groups and interviews to identify the impact of the socialization process. 3. Investigation: Participants will explore historical influences that have changed the face of nursing. 4. Analysis: Data gathered in the investigation phase will be used to identify the major problems and suggest possible solutions. 5. Integration: With the analysis information, participants will stimulate curriculum change by sharing and publishing this research. 6. Action Planning: In this phase, we will engage in grant writing, obtaining administrative support, and coordinating faculty input. As a result, changes in the curriculum will be created. 7. Implementation: The curriculum changes will be evaluated and analyzed. 8. Transformation: The goal of these curriculum changes is an improvement in self-confidence and self-worth in the students and the faculty. This phase will only be able to be evaluated over a period of time. What is advocated here, then, is not merely a PR project but a curriculum “revisioning” with PR as the central pedogogical feature. As a new framework outside the traditional research conducted by nurse researchers, I am aware of possible resistance. I am hopeful that this beginning work will help to reshape and rejuvenate nursing curriculum.
AN ACTION SCIENCE APPROACH TO CREATING AND SUSTAINING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES AS A VEHICLE FOR COMPREHENSIVE SOCIAL REFORM
(2005-11-21T18:22:55Z) Folkman, Daniel V
Public education in the United States is in crisis. Far too many children are failing to achieve minimal standards in reading, writing and mathematics. New federal legislation seeks to correct this situation by legislative fiat that is backed with severe sanctions for schools and districts that fail to improve. This situation offers a unique opportunity for adult educators to play a critical role in helping public schools meet this challenge. The strategy is to focus on the learning and professional development of the adults within the system—principals, teachers, staff, parents and community partners. This paper summarizes an action research/intervention project with several Milwaukee public schools that are attempting comprehensive school reform. The research strategy employs action science theory and tools of inquiry to document interpersonal dynamics at the individual, group and organizational level that either inhibit or promote the creation of a learning culture within the school. The intervention strategy is to organize and facilitate a series of participatory action research (PAR) initiatives aimed at implementing the components of the school’s reform initiative. The combined action research/intervention project explores whether action learning technologies like PAR coupled with action science inquiry can make a significant contribution to transforming schools into learning organizations that are capable of embracing all children.
ADULT ARTS EDUCATION: A DELPHI STUDY FORECASTING THE ROLE OF THE ARTS IN A LIFELONG LEARNING SOCIETY
(2005-12-16T14:29:28Z) Laffery, Sue-Anne
Poster Session-As we deal with a rapidly aging population, the arts education and arts policy community needs to take an active role in providing insight into policies that address adult choices. This includes defining the role of the arts beyond K-12 education, intergenerational opportunities, and identifying connections with ‘general well-being’ age-based policies from leisure, recreation, and aging in the United States. The Delphi Technique Method was used to identify what actions need to be taken to serve older adults and forecast the role of adult lifelong learning in the arts, as well as address the attitudes to such programming on the national, state, and local policy level. The anonymous Delphi – a qualitative forecasting method that is a structured group process that outlines the pros and cons of an issue, with the goal of identifying priorities of personal values and social goals – was sent to national stakeholders in arts policy, arts education policy, and gerontology. The stakeholders were chosen due to experience in their field, an exhaustive literature review, and recommendation from their colleagues. The data collected from this group identifies an overview of the attitudes, beliefs, knowledge of, and objectives and goals in serving the needs of adults and older adults in and through the arts. This research will provide insight into the characteristics and identify, if any, future predictions of local, state, and national initiatives of adult arts education. Using the Delphi method, it was possible to develop a theoretical framework based on experts’ vision, multiple perspectives, and comprehensive insight to address the role of the arts in a lifelong learning society. As we enter the twenty-first century, we are engaged in a wide-ranging process of redefining the character of the arts’ common purpose. The door is open for the arts to become an important ingredient in the public purpose by involving the many adult learners of the twenty-first century. In order to take advantage of this opportunity and to accommodate the changing aging demographics, lifelong learning in the arts beyond K-12 education must be redefined.
ADULT DEVELOPMENT FROM THE INSIDE OUT:CONSTRUCTING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH LIFE HISTORY WRITING
(2005-10-14T19:07:20Z) Lawrence, Randee Lipson
Learning occurs through exploring the authentic lived experience of the individual learner. When experience is shared and analyzed in groups, new knowledge is constructed about adult development and learning that transcends existing theory. An inductive approach to teaching adult development and learning through life history is discussed in the paper. Life history is an inductive approach to adult learning and development that starts with the experiences of the learner. Learners not only compose their life histories; they share and discuss them with faculty and peers from a developmental perspective. This approach helps them to gain further insights into their own experiences and at the same time creates a text for others to view adult development and learning from diverse perspectives. Adult Development and Learning is a foundational course in most adult education graduate programs. This course is typically taught by exposing learners to various theoretical perspectives on adult development (psychological, cognitive, sociological, moral) and adult learning (self-directed, transformative, emancipatory). While these theories are valuable sources of knowledge, they often do not take into account the social and cultural context of the learner and his or her experiences. For example, the age and stage theories often assume predictable patterns of development that adults experience. This assumption becomes problematic when we consider the wide discrepancy concerning the onset of adulthood. One individual may become a parent and/or live on one’s own at the age of 16 whereas another may live with her parents into her 30’s and another may become a first time parent at age 42. Adult development cannot be reduced to a series of stages. One’s cultural background and family circumstances vary too widely to generalize development according to a particular age or stage. Many researchers value narrative interviewing as a rich source of data. Participants are given the opportunity to tell their stories in their own voices. In interviewing women researchers, Neumann and Peterson (1997) found that that roles of educator, and researcher were inextricably linked to their personal lives. Baumgartner and Merriam (2000) collected the life stories of a culturally diverse group of adults. Identity, work, intimacy, family life cycle, physical development and learning are themes that emerged from their study of adult development through life story. This paper describes a life history approach that has been developed and facilitated in both introductory graduate adult education courses and in courses in a doctoral program emphasizing critical reflection on practice. The importance of adults’ life histories as vehicles for collaborative knowledge construction is emphasized.
ADULT EDUCATION IN THE POST 9/11 WORLD: REFLECTIONS ONE YEAR LATER
(2005-12-15T18:51:42Z) Tolliver, Denise E; Tisdell, Elizabeth J
Poster Session-What is our place in the global community? For many, the tragedies of September 11, 2001 have elevated this question to a level of seriousness that goes well beyond a simple intellectual exercise. Issues of politics, power, and power relations have reached a heightened sense of saliency among adult educators and learners alike. A sense of interconnectedness with others in the world seems to be increasing. At the same time, some of the anger, suffering, and pain experienced in the wake of 9/11 has resulted in calls for retaliation against targeted groups and increased expressions of intolerance for diversity, different beliefs and different voices. Indeed, there have been many public responses to the events of 9/11 from the leaders of prominent organizations of higher education. They all speak to the important role that adult educators and learners have to contribute to a greater understanding of our collective place in the global community. Yet, it is important to ask how has 9/11 shown up in the classroom and other learning environments. Has it been like the elephant in the living room that no one wants to mention because feelings of loss and grief are too intense? Is it so present that it has to be included as part of the process, regardless of the content of a course? Has the nature of learning changed? Has the impact shifted as time has passed? It would make sense that the range of responses varies greatly. Little has been published to date, whether as anecdotal accounts or planned research, about how 9/11 has affected the day-to-day practice of adult educators. This poster presentation will contribute to this area by exploring the impact that the events and aftermath of September 11, 2001 have had on the work of the authors, both of whom are adult educators. We have reflected on how the actual events, our learners' and our own responses to the 9/11 tragedies have affected our specific educational practices. In this poster presentation, we will share the questions that have emerged for us, while identifying dilemmas and issues that we have encountered as we support student learning. We, the authors, hope to foster dialogue about how to utilize the emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and other types of responses to 9/11as a catalyst for learning larger lessons that can support transformative educational practice.
ADULT LEARNING ON THE INTERNET: ENGAGING THE eBAY AUCTION PROCESS
(2005-11-21T18:26:58Z) Ghost Bear, Anne A; Conti, Gary J
The current revolution of the Information Age is rapidly changing the complexion of many personal and corporate societies. This revolution is changing the methods people use to communicate with each other, research new information, solve problems, and transact business. The purpose of this study was to describe the learning strategies that adults use in learning to engage in the eBay auction process. The study used the following research questions: (a) what are the identified learning strategy preferences of adult learners using eBay, (b) how do the learning strategy preferences of eBay users compare to the norms for ATLAS, and (c) how do eBay users describe their learning processes related to getting started on eBay, participating in eBay activities,communicating on eBay, learning through eBay, and experiencing eBay? This study used a descriptive design along with the information and data gathering advantages of the Internet to collect data about how adults learn using the Internet. An online questionnaire which featured 19 qualitative questions and 11 quantitative Likert scale items was used to determine the perceptions of eBay participants. Assessing The Learning Strategies of AdultS (ATLAS) instrument was imbedded within the online questionnaire to determine the preferred strategies of eBay users. The study involved a representative sample of 380 eBay users which was identified by electronically downloading the e-mail addresses of participants in completed auctions. The sample was stratified by the 13 categories of items listed on eBay. Within each of these categories, high-volume completed auctions were selected in which the final sale price was under $10, between $11 and $100, and over $100.
THE BALANCING ACT:RESEARCHER ROLES IN FAMILY AND COMMUNITY HISTORY PROJECTS
(2005-11-21T18:43:38Z) Donoho, Bette; Pfeiffer, Beth
The purpose of this paper is to explore research methods and practices that foreground the authentic needs, experiences, and contributions of adult learners. We will discuss balancing our roles as researchers with those of community members seeking to connect with their family and /or local histories. Two research projects will be highlighted as case examples of these issues. We will address the interwoven learning themes around personal issues of nonformal learning,identity, transformation, as well as social issues of co-learning, structure, and balance of power.
BRIDGING THE GAP IN ADULT CONTINUING EDUCATION FROM MARGIN TO CENTER
(2005-12-15T18:50:48Z) Ham Garth, Phyllis
Poster Session-Much of the adult education graduate curricula fail to include both content and practice relative to the intersection of race, class, gender and sexual orientation. This research seeks to conduct a critical examination of the underlying assumptions and perspectives shaping adult education graduate curriculum content (selection) and instructional practice (delivery). This critique will proceed from an Africentric feminist approach. Africentric Feminism is an ancestrally historically based paradigm that reflects the lived experiences, struggles and shared history of women from the Afrikan Diaspora. An Africentric feminist approach is embedded in a consciousness that espouses the affirmation of all people, female and male alike. It is imperative that there is a shift from the dominant (traditional) approach to organizing content around the lived experiences/worldviews of those marginalized or non mainstream, bringing their experiences and “voice” from the margin to the center of the analysis. This research consisted of an analysis of a foundational graduate course in adult education, a course in the history and philosophy of adult education that was taught in a traditional manner utilizing a dominant approach, and one that was subsequently taught from an Africentric feminist paradigm. The incorporation of Africentric tools such as historically ethnic appropriate material, the philosophical perspectives of Africentric/Latina(o)/First Nation scholars, the voice of Afrikana womanists, the struggles of Queer Nation provide selfethnic reflectors (Colin,1994) for various marginalized groups. By doing so, it exemplified the lived experiences and “voice” of “others” resulting in a more inclusive process. Diversity in the course content provides space that enables changes in instructional practice as well: insisting that power relationships are diffused as much as possible, encouraging co-learning, establishing norms for encouraging women to speak out, precluding more assertive students from monopolizing their voice in the classroom. Thus, students are afforded an opportunity to have a different classroom experience because they are directly involved in the discourse and the content is their story. This type of experience leads to the potential for an emancipatory learning experience. It allows those in the margin to be located in the center, and to feel centered. Being centered is very close to feelings of power because it is related to identity, this is when education becomes exciting. Conversely, students of the dominant group who have taken privilege for granted can have the experience of deconstructing that privilege. This type of teaching is one that can become exhilarating for both adult educators and learners.
CLAIMING A SACRED FACE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF THE ROLE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE IN CLAIMING A POSITIVE CULTURAL IDENTITY
(2005-09-27T17:44:53Z) Tisdell, Elizabeth J.
This paper discusses the results of a qualitative study where the purpose was to examine the role of spirituality in developing a positive cultural identity among a multicultural group of 31 adult educators, and then considers what the finding suggest for the further development of culturally relevant teaching practices within adult and higher education settings. In recent years, there has been much discussion about dealing with culture, race, gender, class, sexual orientation in teaching for social change and greater equity in society (Guy, 1999; Hayes & Colin, 1994; Hayes & Flannery, 2000; Johnson-Bailey, 2001). There has also been some discussion of the role of spirituality in adult development and learning (English & Gillen, 2000; Tisdell, 2000), and some limited discussion on the connection between spirituality and teaching for social justice related to cultural issues ( Hart & Holton, 1993; Tisdell, Tolliver, and Villa, 2001; Tolliver & Tisdell, 2002). Most of these discussions have been conceptual in nature, and there has been only limited discussion of the role of spirituality in developing a positive cultural identity from a data-based research perspective. Thus, the purpose of this paper is (1) to discuss the results of a qualitative study where the purpose was to examine the role of spirituality in developing a positive cultural identity among a multicultural group of 31 adult educators; and (2) to discuss the implications the findings of the study have for the further development of culturally relevant teaching practices within adult and higher education settings.
CREATION OF THE YELLOW PERIL: A STUDY OF AMERICA’S EARLY CHINESE IMMIGRANTS
(2005-12-15T18:51:08Z) Leong Kappel, Patricia
Poster Session-Lured to Gum San (“The Gold Mountain”) by the discovery of gold in California in 1848, thousands of Chinese men left their families and a homeland, wrought with drought, floods, famine, and rebellion. Unlike most European immigrants before them, the early Chinese had no intention of building a new life in America; instead, they were intent upon securing their fortunes and returning home to their families. However, racism, nativism, and exclusion distinguished the experience of these Chinese immigrants from that of their European counterparts, and altered the course of their lives. Competition for gold was only one reason why the welcome extended the Chinese was short-lived. As the flow of Chinese immigrants increased, their numbers magnified their racial and cultural differences in a society grown increasingly intolerant and suspicious of foreigners. Their non-assimilation into a non-receptive culture fueled xenophobic fears that were exacerbated by the "contrary" presence exhibited by the Chinese in their appearance, dress, speech, and customs. In the Chinatowns, opium dens and prostitution flourished from the trade of the majority male population, whose bachelor life was imposed by restrictive, discriminatory immigration practices that kept wives and families from entering the United States. However, the White perception of Chinese immorality and criminality was ignited, and it intensified the collusive work of nativists and U.S. labor to take action against the influx of these “wage-busting” immigrants. As a result, educational, economic, social, and political barriers were erected, many by U.S. legislation, which included the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, naming the Chinese as the only people in United States history to be specifically barred from American emigration. This societal banishment of the Chinese created insulated and isolated communities. In these Chinatowns, the Chinese found refuge from murder and persecution through benevolent associations, similar to those formed around clans in China. With help from outside groups like the Methodist Mission House and the YWCA, the Six Companies, later known as the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA), provided a link to homeland and eventually to the White culture. The CCBA became a social, economic, and political force, which strengthened and established stability in this Confucian-based culture. Through the efforts of the CCBA and the assistance of sympathetic outside supporters, the Chinese survived the oppression of a hostile host culture and transitioned into American society to become a "model minority." Though both voluntary and involuntary isolation inhibited the assimilation and acculturation of the Chinese into the American mainstream, in time, education facilitated mutual acceptance. Formal educational institutions had shunned the Chinese, but they acquired the key to assimilation---language---from service organizations like the YMCA, the church, and their own Chinese benevolent societies. How the early American Chinese responded to and survived racism and discrimination is a study that merits greater illumination in our nation’s history. Moreover, the study of the Chinese experience unveils the important role of education in this people’s American history, a role largely absent from the literature on adult education. This omission in the history of adult education deprives practitioners of a perspective that could inform practice that serves ethnic and cultural minorities. Therefore, the American experiences of cultures like the Chinese mandate closer examination by adult education for their potential contributions to the understanding and knowledge of the education and learning of diverse peoples.

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