Carnegie Corporation and Adult Education
Carnegie Corporation sees its vision in promotion and spreading knowledge worldwide. The founders believed that it was reasonable to build “ladders” on which people could climb to success. Different programs and initiatives developed education, especially life-long education.
The story goes back to the 1920s when the corporation decided to invest in adult education. The colleges seemed to be overpopulated, but the industries experienced a lack of highly qualified professionals. So, the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) was established in order to promote positive change, and Andrew Carnegie’s libraries enabled life-long learning for every adult who wanted to study.
Today, the Association has twenty-nine interest groups that represent specific areas of study. The most active groups include adult development, adult education staff development, adult psychology, aging educational issues, community colleges, and colleges and universities. The AAACE publishes a journal called Adult Learning. It contains information for adult educators who teach, research, and create programs for life-long adult education.
Adult development special interest group (SIG) focuses on designing an internal network of urgent studying issues related to adult development. The capabilities and perspectives people have change throughout their lives, and they have to face the problems and learn the ways they can be solved.
Military SIG instructors work with the military community. They address educational, training, and employment issues. One of the most important program directions is to help former military members get useful professions and actively participate in the social life of a community.
Another SIG worth mentioning is a sustainability and environmental adult education. Though environmental education has become a part of school learning in the 21st century, adults also need to gain solid understandings of the most prominent environmental issues. They have to study different levels of sustainability and be able to implement its principles in everyday life.
Every year, Carnegie Corporation gathers talented educators in the United States where they can share their visions of adult education’s future and how it can make a difference. The corporation has sponsored the publication of Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education. This authoritative overview can be helpful for educators and professionals from all over the world.
So, Carnegie Corporation does a lot to promote and support adult education; e.g. creation of numerous interest groups, hiring a team of instructors and scientists ready to help, publication of the journal, and the Handbook. Many learners and teachers from the U.S., as well as from developing countries, benefit from the free educational and consulting services provided by the AAACE.
