AERC 2004 Adventures in Victoria, BC

I just returned from the Adult Education Research Conference in Victoria, BC, Canada. What a trip! I took a plane from Chicago to Seattle and a ferry from Seattle to Victoria. The water was a bit rough but I made it.

Since the conference was in Canada and was co-sponsored by the Canadian Adult Education Conference organization (and it was in Canada), most of the attendees were Canadian. Approximately 80 papers were presented on a variety of topics from critical literacy, to learning and fashion to labor movements and adult education. There were several symposia and roundtables. There were many presentations on social justice.

Next Year's conference is in Athens GA at the University of Georgia. The submission deadline for papers is September 30th, 2004. Start thinking about a topic and submit something! Stayed tuned for updates.

Questions to ask yourself before you engage in a qualitative research study

Students sometimes chose to engage in a qualitative research project for the wrong reasons:1. They are afraid of statistics and think qual is "easier."2. They think the use of a qualitative methodology will get them through the thesis/dissertation process sooner.

Qual is not "easier." Data collection and analysis are much more time consuming than most quantitative studies.

Being afraid of statistics is no reason to default to qual.

THE METHODOLOGY USED FOR YOUR THESIS/DISSERTATION SHOULD BE DETERMINED BY THE PURPOSE OF YOUR STUDY/RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Are you investigating a process? Is the process more important than the outcome? (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998).

2. Are you wanting to delve more deeply into participants' experiences that involve collecting rich, thick descriptive data?

3. Are you willing to use an inductive research strategy where there are no formal hypotheses to confirm? In qualitative research, the concepts and hypotheses emerge from the data (Patton, 1990).

4. Does the question you are investigating require a more flexible paradigm?

If so, a qualitative methodology may be for you.

A good book that gives you a quick overview of qualitative research, data collection and analysis is:

Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education (Rev ed.) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

It's in paperback. You may be able to obtain a used copy from amazon.com or some other online book store.

Link to NIU Counseling Adult and Higher Ed Webpage

It seems to me that people don't utilize the NIU Counseling, Adult and Higher Ed webpage enough.Check it out.

http://www.cedu.niu.edu/cahe/index.html

Conferences for Adult Educators

Oftentimes graduate students and those in the field of adult education are not aware that there are organizations for adult educators, there are conferences for adult educators, and there are opportunities to meet adult educators and discuss issues.

This post will be updated periodically to include current conference websites. Graduate students, professors and others are welcome to submit proposals to these conferences.

Upcoming 2004 Conferences

The Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference is a favorite of many in the field. It's too late to submit proposals, but for those in the Midwest, it will be a good one to attend. Alan Knox is the featured speaker.

http://www.iupui.edu/~adulted/mwr2p/

The AAACE Conference Proposals are due 5/31/04 and the conference is in early November.

http://www.aaace.org

The Adult Education Research Conference for 2005 will be at the University of Georgia in early June 2005. Stay tuned for updates.

Here is a link to Florida State's Website which lists other current conferences and professional organizations within the field of adult education

http://www.fsu.edu/~elps/ae/about_us/links_conferences.html

Sources to Learn More about Adult Education

Here are some resource pages to assist you in learning more about the field of Adult Education

American Association for Adult and Continuing Education is a large national organization for adult educators in the US.

http://www.aaace.org/

A comparable organization in Canada can be found at this link:

http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/CASAE/maineng.html

This page has a myriad of resources on careers in Adult Education, info on Adult Learners etc.

http://adulted.about.com/?once=true&
Check out our master's program and doctoral program at Northern Illinois University

http://www.cedu.niu.edu/cahe/programs.htm

What is adult education?

I have a doctorate in Adult Education from the University of Georgia. I've spent that last eight years trying to explain Adult Education and what it is I do. (I'm sure some of you can relate to this experience.) I spent three years at SUNY Buffalo State College teaching master's students the history, philosophy and social issues in adult education, trends and issues in adult education, adult development, and research methods. I'm currently at Northern Illinois University and have taught Adult Education in Social Context and Adult Learning to master's and doctoral students.

For those unfamiliar with the field here's my take on it:

Who is an adult educator? Anyone teaching adults in a variety of settings including corporate trainers in business, community college instructors, community leaders in grassroots movements, any one teaching adults a skill...the list long.

Why get a degree in Adult Education? I wanted to learn how to teach adults more effectively. Initally, I thought I'd be teaching psychology courses at a community college since my background is in psychology and counseling psychology.

A master's or doctorate degree gives a person a foundation in adult learning, adult development, the history, philosophy, and social issues in adult education, program planning and administration. Quite often, students can develop an area of specialization within adult education including but not limited to Community Development, Human Resource Development, Gerontology, or any other area of interest.