Week 14

Conversations on Adult Education …. Ford Motor Company, E.D.A.P. and Making Experience Count.

#AdultConversations #52weeks52speaks

Week 14

Elizabeth Draper

Recently I was listening to the debate on the ‘Centenary Commission on Adult Education’ webinar (10/3/21) , the discussion was based around the question: ‘‘Is the government getting it wrong on adult education?’. Alan Tuckett, pioneer and illustrious figure in all worlds Adult Community Education, currently Professor of Education at the University of Wolverhampton, of course made many salient points. He spoke of how, since 2003, education has become a ‘subdivision of the treasury’ with education becoming about ‘reinforcing economic outcomes.’ He then outlined the impetus behind Adult Education: ‘economic productivity, community engagement, social cohesion and citizenship and supporting personal fulfilment…: To make you a better human being’. He spoke of the continuing and, as yet unresolved, tensions between the ‘instrumental’ and the ‘expressive’ in education; the purpose of extra-mural departments being ‘to learn about anything, just go along’ and thus, as those of us with experience of Adult Education know, encouraging and sustaining curiosity, adventure, ambition and so much else involved in the learning process within the context of an invaluable learning ‘community’. This debate covered all sorts, not least of which were issues of funding (underinvestment- only 2% of current spending on education is on adult education), frameworks, national strategies, the skills agenda, the influence of automation and the devastating impact of the withdrawal of maintenance grants. There appeared to be unanimous agreement that there needed to be ‘far reaching, long term changes in Adult Community Learning’ (Robert Halfon), not least of which is in a guaranteed sustainable funding model. Alison Wolf noted that ‘all the pressure seems to be on skills’ but ‘should we be thinking about education more specifically?’ She recalled the ‘thick books that listed all available courses’ in Adult Education, that could be excitedly leafed through, I remember well such excitement usually come September time. I also remember enjoying being a tutor whose courses were listed in these very ‘books’, offering Adult Community Creative Writing and themed Literature courses in local community centres. But there has been a massive diminishing of such things over the years. John Bercow’s closing comment summed it all up when he spoke of the need for education to be available for ‘human enrichment from cradle to grave.’

In the midst of this debate, Alan Tuckett took me back to an experience of Adult Education that I was lucky to have when working as an Adult Community Tutor for the W.E.A. Tuckett spoke of the forging of ‘learning links’ in communities and with employers. He recalled the successful model introduced at Ford Motor Company. I taught on this very ‘Employee Development and Assistance Programme' (E.D.A.P.) at Ford Motor Company that he was speaking of. E.D.A.P. was born out of an agreement forged between the trade union and management to provide learning opportunities ‘for the purposes of personal development, advancement and progression.’ Its ethos was embedded in the idea of ‘lifelong learning’ - to promote educational opportunities for the workforce. In my early years of teaching - which I reflect on as my 'apprenticeship’ - I worked as a tutor on this scheme, in the 90’s. It was extraordinary.

'Making Experience Count' was a course run as a joint venture between the W.E.A. and Ford Motor Company. An important ’learning- link’ and collaboration. I worked at Ford Motor Company, in Dagenham, Essex, as a tutor on the E.D.A.P. scheme. It was fascinating to me, to be at such an ‘iconic’ manufacturing site. I ran the 'Making Experience Count’ course in a room above the famous 'shop floor'. The purpose of the course was to give students/employees the opportunity to reflect on their life experience and from this create a ‘Portfolio’ of ‘evidence ' that showed aspects of this experience that they decided to focus on. Through this 'guided’, ‘facilitated’ and ‘crafted’ process, they could identify areas of interest they might like to pursue and/or reignite e.g.

in Further Education, H.E., Open university degree, career moves and so on. The course provided a rich, purposeful, and reflective life experience for all of us, as is often the case in teaching.

The ‘Me’ exercise: – This particular 'task' was set for students to visually capture the various influences orbiting around them in their current lives and -from this - to consider the positives (negatives intruded, they can’t be denied but rather ‘guided’ away) around them. A powerful exercise. ‘Difficult stuff’ came up as realisation of sometimes painful aspects of lives were brought out. Fragile ground was uncovered, vulnerabilities bravely shared and at times re-discovered ambitions unleashed. Careful steering was required to harness constructive possibilities, within realistic frameworks and with responsible advice and guidance made available.

This was a pioneering course, as is often the case in Adult Community Education and where positive working relations can be forged with other agencies. There were quite unique ‘teaching and learning’ opportunities. Important space was created for reflection; important space was there in which to explore and learn from experience. The portfolio process allowed for personal validation and for the transition from informal life-learning as it is brought into a more formal learning context. A visible recognition of experience that had more often than not been hidden, forgotten, side-lined: experience was made to count. One student's 'portfolio' consisted of a trumpet. It had been put away and 'forgotten' about for years. Through this course the student rediscovered it, re-learned some old favourites and recorded himself playing them. This was his portfolio, brilliantly uplifting. Portfolios came in all shapes and sizes. Attics were raided, old letters and photographs found, long forgotten memories brought out, reinvigorating, and inspiring the 'finder and keeper'.

Personal learning experience can become invisible or forgotten, this course served to highlight how a wealth of personal learning experience can get ‘shelved’ ; it can be useful therefore to provide people with the time and space to be able to reconsider and reconnect to it. There is huge value to be found in acknowledging such experience. It can build confidence and further self-belief in the ’finding’ and ‘retrieving’ process. To see that ‘informal learning’ becoming more 'formalised'- in a portfolio - is gratifying; as is 'naming ' and recording that learning; just as much as it is to recognise and acknowledge that such ‘learning experiences’ can prove to be unsettling and challenging.

Portfolio creation provided opportunities for all my ‘tutees’ at Ford. There were rich and fascinating seams of experience from which they drew and from which lives were ‘repositioned’ through this experience of making experience count. Careers became redirected , other opportunities were ‘seen’ and taken , creative developments in working lives followed : employee energy and enthusiasms were sustained – all good for Ford Motor Company.

For myself, I learned a lot. I took aspects of this course throughout my teaching life, especially when teaching on Access programmes. The Portfolio idea really helped adult students as they began to think about and prepare for the next steps after the Access course, including preparations for UCAS personal statements or for employment ventures ahead. Yes, enrichment was indeed enabled for adults in the work- place and beyond. The strong links forged between employers and Adult Community Education are hugely beneficial - as clearly remembered and commended by Alan Tuckett and experienced by me directly.

Elizabeth Draper : English curriculum (post-16) advisor, advocate, researcher, writer

Twitter @DraperEl