Adult and Community Educators

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Research of Adult and Community Educators

Booker T. Washington and Malcolm Knowles

Group 2

Kyndra Haggard, Ray Harmon, Daniel Simons, Mariatu Swayne, and Abigail Vannatta

Ball State University

EDAC 631

March 1, 2015

Booker T. Washington

Background

            During the lifetime of Booker T. Washington, the nation was in great flux politically, economically and educationally. During Washington’s early childhood, the country erupted into the most devastating war in its history. The Civil War rose out of the injustice and immorality of slavery and a nation divided. It began in 1861 soon after the inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln who later issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared all slaves to be freed. The Union’s efforts to thwart slavery in the south continued until 1865 (National Museum of American History, 2002).

            Following the end of the Civil War and assassination of President Lincoln, the nation remained divided even though all slave had been freed. Racial prejudice persisted long after the battles had been fought. The southern states passed legislation known as the “black codes” in order to assert white supremacy and keep freed African Americans in a low paying, poorly educated labor market. Following backlash from the union, the southern states were divided under the control of the national government in 1867 under the Reconstruction Act in order to ensure racial equality. In addition, the 15^th Amendment was passed that granted equal voting rights to African Americans. These radical legislative acts eventually led to the formation of white supremacy groups such as the Klu Klux Klan spawning the era of segregation. This was especially evident in the inferior education that African American were receiving during this time. If not for the efforts of Booker T. Washington and others like him, the improvements made in the quality of education for African Americans from the time of Reconstruction to the passing of the Civil Right Act in the 1960s may not have come to pass (Biography, 2015; A & E Television Networks, 2015).

Profile

Booker T. Washington was born into an era of great change in the United States. During his childhood in the late 1850s, Washington lived as a slave on a plantation in Virginia with his mother, Jane, who worked as a kitchen slave.  During his time in slavery, Washington observed white students going to school and was intrigued by the idea of learning. At this time in the nation’s history it was illegal to teach a slave to read and write. Therefore, Washington was not afforded the opportunity to attend school as a young child. The majority of his time was spent carrying 100-pound bags of grain to the plantation’s mill. It was also during this time that the division of the nation’s beliefs regarding the practice of slavery erupted into civil war. Following the end of the Civil War, Washington’s mother married his namesake, Washington Ferguson, and moved him away from the plantation (Biography, 2015).

It was not until after the Emancipation Proclamation issued on January 1, 1863 that Washington was free to begin the pursuit of becoming an educated free man. In 1866, while working as a houseboy servant for the wealthy coal miner’s wife, Viola Ruffner, Washington began attending school for one hour per day. Eventually, he left his new home to pursue an even higher level of education. After walking 500 miles, Washington took a job as a janitor for Hampton Normal Agricultural Institute where he attended classes. Due his high level of academic performance, he was awarded a scholarship and graduated in 1875. While working as teacher in his childhood schoolhouse, he continued his education at Wayland Seminary College (Biography, 2015; National Archives & Records Administration, 2015).

Washington continued his passion for education making a career for himself as a teacher. In 1879, Washington was offered a teaching position at his alma mater, Hampton where he worked until resigning to pursue a career at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama. (Biography, 2015).

The success of Tuskegee was due in large part to the perseverance and determination of Washington who in the early years traveled the country to promote the school and raise money for its operation. He continued his advocacy of the institution in the face of resistance from the southern white community. He met this adversity with ensuring that the institution would not threaten the prosperity of whites in the community (Biography, 2015).

            Washington’s beliefs and convictions regarding the education of African Americans were held in contrast to the prevalent views of black community and civil rights activists of the time. He argued that gaining an education and working towards being held as capable individuals even if it was in separate institutions was the best way to foster racial equality. He also argued that American Americans were best suited to vocational training. This stance was not popular among his peers such W.E.B. Du Bois who openly disagreed with Washington (Biography, 2015).

Perspective

Booker T Washington took a humanistic approach to adult education. In his time, most African American people were enslaved or just freed after the Civil War. African American citizens weren’t able to vote at this time either. He felt the first need of the African American was to find safety and then take care of themselves. “Booker T. placed the personal needs of the learners first; learning for personal change was a secondary but essential characteristic of adult education.” (Rowland 2000) Self-preservation was the goal and economic and political growth was a by-product of self-preservation. Booker T. taught the poor and he taught them "how to improve their lives by cleanliness, industry, thrift, diversified farming, painting and mending, family budgeting, and better planning" (Toppin 1971, 139). Booker T. cared for the African American community.

Contributions

According to blackpast.org (n.d.), at the age of 16, Washington began college at the Hampton Normal and Agriculture Institute in Hampton, Virginia. He also attended Wayland Seminary from 1878 to 1879 before returning to teach at Hampton. As a result of a recommendation from Hampton officials, he became the first principal of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University), which opened on July 4, 1881; he remained in this capacity until his death in 1915.

As the principal of Tuskegee Institute, Washington advocated that African Americans could attain their constitutional rights through their own economic and moral advancement by becoming efficient at practical skills such as farming, carpentry, and masonry rather than pursuing legal and political means for collective advancement.

Washington’s contributions to African American advancement, such as his programs for rural extension work and his help in the development of the National Negro Business League, are numerous and so too are his accolades. 

Tobin (1971) states that teaching African Americans to use education to promote economic progress was a key issue in the late nineteenth century. Booker T. Washington taught many people who came from destitute backgrounds "how to improve their lives by cleanliness, industry, thrift, diversified farming, painting and mending, family budgeting, and better planning.

According to Frantz (1997), the most visible contribution of Booker T. Washington was the establishment and development of the Tuskegee Institute for the education of African Americans. It served as a laboratory school for Washington's philosophy of education. His contributions, however, extended well beyond his work with formal educational institutions. When Washington went to Tuskegee, he readily recognized the deteriorating condition of agriculture in the area. While attempting to address the problem, he realized that the farmers would need specific forms of assistance. To address this need, he developed two forms of education that exist and thrive today. These two concepts are adult and extension education. In serving the adults of the area, Washington developed programs that addressed the needs of the local farmer, increasing the production of food and fiber. He procured a wagon, outfitted it with tools and information, and delivered information to farmers at their home locations. Through this system of extending on-campus programs to adults, he extended the Tuskegee idea and helped make the farmers self-sufficient and productive contributors to society.

Impact

Washington was a pioneer in vocational education for African-Americans.  By providing thousands with a skill or trade, this allowed a new generation of African-Americans which included former slaves to be trained to join the workforce. 

According to Tobin (1971), Washington’s ideals set forth many practical concepts that helped the African American community to move from slavery toward integration in the greater society's economic system. His founding of Tuskegee Institute as a leading college for African Americans further solidified the role of vocational training or vocational education for the underclass.

As the founder of Tuskegee Institute, many adults received additional education.  According to Denton (1993), Washington believed that to compete for justice, people must be trained and their training must be determined by the job market. He refined this idea at Tuskegee, pioneering national and international programs in agriculture, industry, education, health, housing, and politics. Placing high value on the "uncommon good sense" of the older population, his new movement extended education to masses of rural adults, bringing the school to them when they could not come to Tuskegee.

Implications

Booker T. Washington wanted to affect change and he felt the way to do this was by education. Booker T founded the Tuskegee Institute. “The Tuskegee Institute was a leading college for African Americans to further solidified the role of vocational training or vocational education for the underclass.” (Reeser) Booker T. then hired George Washington Carver to run the Tuskegee Institute. Booker T. gained support from many for his institute after he wrote his book, Up from Slavery. Two key supporters were Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. “Denton describes how Booker T. Washington's philosophy of adult education led the way for the mainstream white American writer Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs.” (Rowland 2000)

 Malcolm Knowles

                                                                                                                            Background

Malcolm Shepard Knowles (1913-1997) is an American educator who used the term Andragogy frequently. Knowles is a central figure in the field of adult education in the 1950s to 1990s. He wrote several books on the subject of informal adult education. He and his wife attended summer sessions of the National Training Laboratories and were influenced by its founders. Knowles co-wrote books with his wife Hulda on leadership and group dynamics. He can be considered the “central” figure of adult education in the U.S. for the latter half of the 20^th Century (Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy).  He was also the first in the U.S. to write about adult education history and informal education. We chose to research Malcolm Knowles because of his major impact on adult education. Through our weekly article readings he has been a prominent character that has stick with all of us as a greater influencer on adult education.

Profile

Malcolm Shepherd Knowles was born on August 24, 1913 in Montana. Knowles is known to of had a happy childhood. He spent lots of days traveling around with his dad a veterinarian. His dad had a way of talking to him that made Knowles feel as an equal, not a child. They engaged in deep discussions on various topics. Knowles described his mother as “tender, loving and caring” which is what brought about his later works on “positive self-concept.” Knowles also credits his years as a boy scout to his learned leadership skills; at one point in life he stated “the knowledge and skills I gained in the process of learning over fifty merit badges and performing a leadership role were as important in my development as everything I learned in my high school courses” (Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy). His family moved to Florida and after high school in Palm Beach, he attended Harvard University. He graduated in 1934 with a Bachelors of Arts. In 1940 he became the Director of Adult Education at the Boston YMCA. He then served in the US Navy from 1943 to 1946. In 1946 he took the position of Director of Adult Education in Chicago at the YMCA. He earned his MA at Chicago University in 1949. In 1951 he was named the Executive Director of the Adult Education Association of the US. He earned his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1960. He taught at Boston University and North Carolina State before retiring. He continued to teach after his retirement and passed away from a stroke in 1997. (Malcolm Knowles)

Perspectives

As mentioned, Knowles focused on andragogy, which is the techniques or methods used to teach adults (dictionary.com). This term originated in Germany in 1833 by German educator Alexander Kapp. Knowles stated that andragogy is the art and science of adult learning, so anything to do with adult learning is andragogy. Knowles came up with 5 assumptions of adult learners. They are:

1.      Self-concept
As a person matures his/her self-concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being.

2.      Adult Learner Experience
As a person matures he/she accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning.

3.      Readiness to Learn
As a person matures his/her readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of his/her social roles.

4.      Orientation to Learning
As a person matures his/her time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his/her orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject- centeredness to one of problem centeredness.

5.      Motivation to Learn
As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal (The Adult Learning Theory - Andragogy - of Malcolm Knowles.)

Knowles later change this into 4 assumptions:

1.      As they mature, adults tend to prefer self-direction.

2.      Adults’ experiences are a rich resource for learning.

3.      Adults are aware of specific learning needs generated by real life events.

4.      Adults are competency-based learners.

Knowles also studied informal education. He focused on it being ‘friendly and informal’. His three outlooks were the flexibility of the process, the use of the experience and the enthusiasm and commitment of the participants (Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy).  He explained that informal education is better for refining a topic and is usually a group or forum type setting.

Contributions

            Knowles paid much contribution to adult education in the 1950’s and forward.  He is considered the “Father of Andragogy”.  He wanted to be known as a “facilitator of learning” and not a teacher. His assumptions of adult education have been put in practice through other educators.  Below is a chart of Andragogy in Practice. The other educators add their learning aspects to make it modern with a fresh aspect.

             

Another contribution of Malcolm Knowles is his “self-directed learning” concept (Bates). He explains this as opposite of a ‘normal’ classroom setting where a teacher stands in front of the class and speak while the students sit and listen. The self-directed learning is a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating their learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes "   (Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy).

Impact

Knowles largest impact was his continued force of putting the focus on the learner. Some questioned exactly what he has teaching. Knowles continued with his research of andragogy that created guidelines that facilitators still use today. His study of self-directed learning made a huge change in how we learn today. He put more focus on showing us that learning does not have to be a “normal” classroom setting but more a discussion setting where everyone is on equal ground, like he felt when he would have conversations with his father has a young child (Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy). He also wrote many articles and books on adult education history, informal adult education, modern practices, andragogy, self-directed learning and more that are still used widely today.

Here is a list of some of his works:

1.      Knowles, M. S. (1950) Informal Adult Education, New York: Association Press

2.      Knowles, M. S. (1962) A History of the Adult Education Movement in the USA, New York: Krieger.

3.      Knowles, M. S. (1970, 1980) The Modern Practice of Adult Education. Andragogy versus pedagogy, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall/Cambridge.

4.      Knowles, M. S. (1973; 1990) The Adult Learner. A neglected species (4e), Houston: Gulf Publishing.

Implications

            Currently many of use Knowles studies on self-directed learning in our classes. A class one of us is currently taking is a discussion format. The class sits around a table and discusses topics where the facilitator will ask questions and keeps the class on topic rather than just teaching while we all listen. The learners learn from each other.  His breakdown of andragogy helps us (facilitators) put together a program of study or class. We think through the steps of what do they need to know, how we plan to facilitate, what do they already know, how willing to learn are the learners, what type of learning do we expect to take place and what is the motivation of the learners.

Table 1. Summary of Adult Educators

	Booker T. Washington  (1856-1915)		Malcolm Knowles (1913-1997)
Time period		Largest contribution was between 1890 and 1915.	Largest contribution was the 1950’s to the early 1990’s
Background		Born into slavery Walked 500 miles to attend college	Central figure of adult education Father of Andragogy
Profile			Born in Montana Influenced by both his parents – his father treated him as an equal and engaged in conversation with him while his mother was tender and loving which contributed to his positive perspective. Influenced by his many years as a boy scout Earned BA from Harvard University The Director of Adult Education at Boston YMCA Earned MA from Chicago University
Perspectives		Humanistic approach to adult education Washington placed the personal needs of the learners first; learning for personal change was a secondary but essential characteristic of adult education.” Washington taught the poor and he taught them "how to improve their lives.	Focused on andragogy Came up with the 5 assumptions of learners Studied informal learning Studied self-directed learning
Contributions		Programs for rural extension work Assisted in the development of the National Negro Business League Developed two forms of education that exist and thrive today:  Adult Education & Extension Education.	Andragogy in Practice http://richardswanson.com/publications/Swanson(2001)Androgogyinpr.pdf Self-Directed learning implementation in classrooms Numerous educational books on adult education
Impact		Allowed a new generation of African-Americans which included former slaves to be trained to join the workforce.  Pioneered national and international programs in agriculture, industry, education, health, housing, and politics	The way facilitators now hold classes His books are still used in the study of adult education
Implications		Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute “Washington's philosophy of adult education led the way for the mainstream white American writer Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs.”	Current class setting we are currently in utilizes self-directed learning How we prepare to facilitate a class or program uses “Andragogy in Practice” thought process.

References

A & E Television Networks. (2015). Reconstruction. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/ topics/American-civil-war/reconstruction

Andragogy. (2015). Retrieved February 20, 2015, from 

              http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/andragogy

Bates, C. (2009, January 1). Malcolm Knowles (1913 - 1997). Retrieved February 21, 2015,

from http://web.utk.edu/~start6/knowles/malcolm_knowles.html

Biography. (2015). Booker T. Washington. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/booker-t-washington-9524663#death-and-legacy

Denton, V. L. (1993). Booker T. Washington and the adult education movement. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.

Frantz, N.R. (1997). The contributions of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois in the development of vocational education.  Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 34: 4.

Holton, E.F., Swanson. A., & Naquin, S. (2001). Andragogy in practice: Clarifying the 

anagogical model of adult learning. Performance Improvement Quarterly. 14(1) 118-143

Malcom Knowles. Retrieved February 20, 2015 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Knowles

National Archives & Records Administration. (2015). The emancipation proclamation. Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/

National Museum of American History. (2002). CivilWar@Smithsonian. Retrieved from http://www.civilwar.si.edu/timeline.html

Reeser, D. (n.d.). Learning to Give, Philanthropy education resources that teach giving and civic

engagement. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from http://learningtogive.org/papers/paper133.html

Rowland, M., & Adult, C. (2000). African Americans and self-help education the missing link in adult education. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, Center on Education and Training for Employment, College of Education, the Ohio State University.

Smith, M. K. (2002) ‘Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and

andragogy’, the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm

The Adult Learning Theory - Andragogy - of Malcolm Knowles. Retrieved February 20, 2015      from http:///www.elearningindustry.com

Toppin, E. A. (1971). A biographical history of blacks in America since 1958. New York: David McKay Company.http://www.blackpast.org/aah/washington-booker-t-1856-1915

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