ERIC Number: ED212333
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1982-Jan-28
Pages: 17
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Business of Adult Education: Open Season in the Marketplace.
Landsburg, David L.
The role of colleges in adult education is considered in light of the increased demand for adult education, the growing competition among providers of adult education, and the likelihood that the level of competition will be reduced in the future. In addressing the expanded magnitude of demand for adult education, four main determinants are highlighted: demographic factors, particularly the post-war baby boom; the increased educational level of the main consumers of adult education, that is, those aged 25 to 34; the greater demand by women for adult education; and heightened levels of job dissatisfaction. Next, the paper discusses the intensified competition engendered by higher levels of educational demand. The four main competing providers of adult education are identified as the community colleges, proprietary business and trade schools, the corporate world, and the private training consultant, and their roles and the nature of the competition among these agencies are specified. Looking to the future, the paper then argues that competition in adult education is likely to diminish, though not necessarily in a direction favorable to community colleges. The paper points to the unwillingness of taxpayers to finance publicly supported adult education at earlier levels. It urges community colleges to address the question of why and in what areas they should be allowed to provide adult education, and then, having answered this question, to secure appropriate funding to achieve this purpose. (HB)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Conference of the Arizona Adult Education Association (Tucson, AZ, November 13, 1981).