University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 7-13-2005 African American Adult Education Professors: Perceptions of Graduate Studies in Adult Education Sharon Gatling Waldrum University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Waldrum, Sharon Gatling, "African American Adult Education Professors: Perceptions of Graduate Studies in Adult Education" (2005). Graduate Theses and Dissertations.edu/etd/900 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact scholarcommons@usf.
AFRICAN AMERICAN ADULT EDUCATION PROFESSORS: PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN ADULT EDUCATION by Sharon Gatling Waldrum A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Adult, Career, and Higher Education College of Education University of South Florida Major Professor: Waynne B. Date of Approval: July 13, 2005 Keywords: African American Professors, Adult Educators, Minority ©Copyright 2005, Sharon G. Waldrum DEDICATION I dedicate this work to Sharia, my Angel Girl, who is the vision of my past, the joy of the present, and my hope for the future. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge all of the members of my committee: Dr.
Arthur Shapiro for his encouragement throughout my doctoral studies, Dr. William Young for steering me towards an area of research that would engulf me and become my own, Dr. Robert Dedrick for patiently keeping me on task, and, lastly, Dr. James, my major professor, who effortlessly pulled me from within myself and planted me firmly within my research.
I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Jim King, the outside chair, whose demeanor, insightfulness, and skill made the final defense almost a pleasant experience. To my peers, Dr. Mary Bendickson, and Dr.
Patricia Maher, I thank you for being supportive throughout this process. I give many thanks to Dr. Diane Buck Briscoe who is my role model, my sister, and my mentor, on whose shoulders I firmly stand. My heartfelt appreciation goes to my family, and to my parents for believing in me and giving me the courage to strive for the desires of my heart.
Shug, I thank you for the sacrifices you made in a foreign land that enabled me to be where I am today. For my daughters, Sahnye’ and Shyvonne, who continue to inspire me to be my best, I thank you for being all that you are and all that you aspire to be., I thank you for being my number one cheerleader. You are my constant source of encouragement and support; to you I will be eternally grateful. To God be the glory for the great things He has done.
Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES .v CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION.1 Statement of the Problem .5 Purpose of the Study.5 Sample Size and Selection .11 Significance of the Study .14 Organization of the Study .15 CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.16 Colonial Adult Education.23 Northern Philanthropy and African-American Higher Education.24 African-American Adult Education Forefathers .26 Adult Education Programs of Negro Colleges and Universities .36 Problems of the Adult Education Programs in the Negro Colleges .39 Growth of the Adult Education Programs in the Negro Colleges .39 Histories of Institutions and Organizations.44 CHAPTER THREE METHODS.48 Final Interview Group.52 Processes of Data Collection .52 Contact And Informed Consent .54 Verification and Documentation Patterns .63 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS AND FINDINGS .64 Making a Personal Connection.65 The African-American Adult Educator Connection.71 The Research Questions.72 Research Question 1: Early Adult Education Careers .72 Research Question 2: The Appeal of Adult Education .73 Research Question 3: Major Professors and Dissertation Committees.74 Divergence From Major Professor's Influences .78 Authors and Publications of Influence .82 Research Question 4: Changes in the Field of Adult Education .85 Research Question 4: Human Resource Development, Adult Basic Education/Literacy/General Educational Development, and Community College Education.90 Human Resource Development .91 Adult Basic Education/General Educational Development.93 Community College Education.93 Jobs, Research, and Visibility of the Field.96 Adult Education Research Conference .97 Visibility of the Field .98 Commission of Professors, Adult Education Graduate Programs, and Legislation.99 Commission of Professors of Adult Education .99 Adult Education Graduate Programs .101 Problems of Graduate Programs .103 Research Question 3: Change of Philosophical Perspectives.103 Accomplishments and Disappointments .104 Research Question 5: Career Shaping Experiences .107 Research Question 6: The Future.108 Summary of Findings.109 ii CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 114 Summary of Methods. 118 Recommendations for Further Research. 129 Appendix A Names of Presidents of the American Association for Adult Education.
130 Appendix B Occupational Distribution of AEA Membership in 1952, 1956, and 1958 131 Appendix C Informed Consent. 132 Appendix D Conversaitons with Experts in Adult Education. 135 Appendix E Conversations with African-American Adult Educators. 139 ABOUT THE AUTHOR.
End page iii List of Tables Table 1 Number of Potential and Actual Participants by Number of Years Experience in Adult Education 51 Table 2 Forms of Supplemental Documentation by Interview Participant Number 56 iv AFRICAN AMERICAN ADULT EDUCATION PROFESSORS: PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN ADULT EDUCATION Sharon Gatling Waldrum ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to provide historical and philosophical information regarding the field of Adult Education from the perspective of 15 African Americans. This study’s design utilized the findings from African-American Adult Educators (A- AAE) to add to the depth and breadth of information about Adult Education by engaging participants in reflective dialogue regarding the field and their experiences. This qualitative design used semi-structured interviews to obtain information about the relationships among and influences of major professors and dissertation committees. The study included influences, direct and indirect, as well as influential authors, books, and publications.
Adult Education was analyzed by examining the ideological nature and function of African-American modes of thought about the field. Discussion included divergence from ideologies and values of major professors by the A-AAE and the basis for that divergence. Themes emerged from discussions of the accomplishments and disappointments of each participant. Individuals spoke freely about changes and trends in adult education during their careers.
Most found influences in communities of their origin, rather than in the academic communities of major professors or dissertation committees. The majority v modestly discussed their accomplishments, regretting not having published more. A few discussed global views in the future tense, while most discussed application of Adult Education theory in the present. Without exception, A-AAE spoke both of changes towards diversity and of the long way the field has to go in this direction.
Many felt being marginalized provided a different perspective. Major changes included decreased numbers of graduate programs presenting fewer job opportunities and a shift from a male to a female predominated professorate. All valued national organizations, but most felt that they must increase visibility to meet the field’s ever-growing needs in the global political arena. The newest professors must be activists of social change through politics and scholarly research from the platform of the Adult Education professorate.
African- American professors are dealing with issues of discrimination in the field of Adult Education by replacing the gatekeepers, and developing more collaborative research, by providing opportunities for people of color to participate in scholarly activities. vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Throughout history there have been numerous examples of adults being educated, yet the field of Adult Education has existed formally in the United States since 1926 (Knowles, 1977). The education of adults of African decent has existed in this country since they were first brought to this country as adult slaves (Whiteaker, 1990). Caplow and McGee (1958) barely recognized that African-American scholars existed in higher education.
Hodgkinson’s 1971 study of American higher education made no reference at all to the African-American scholar. There were no articles referencing African Americans until 1989 when the Adult and Continuing Education Handbook included Stubblefield and Keane’s “History of Adult and Continuing Education” and Briscoe and Ross’s “Racial and Ethnic Minorities and Adult Education” (Neufeldt & McGee, 1990). To have discourse regarding African-American Adult Educators, or critical race theory in the field of Adult Education (Delgado 1995), the liminal perspective of African Africans in graduate school is essential. The research paradigm of critical race theory in Adult Education discusses what has transpired since the Civil Rights movement in America.
Critical theory involves the investigation of power relationships within a culture where forms of oppression exist. Beginning in the 1920s, critical theory evolved into critical race theory during the 1970s (Gall, Borg, & Gall, 1996). This racialized discourse was not born in Adult Education; its origin was rooted in anthropology, sociology, history, philosophy, and politics. However the writings of proponents like W.
Du Bois and Max Weber have been included among the critical race theorists as well as Adult Educators. This discourse begins with African Americans in higher education. A junior college student when discussing the key assumptions of a workshop speaker in the 70’s said “Send an African-American student to an all-White college; it is good for the student. Send a White student to an all-African-American college; it is good for the school” (Moore & Wagstaff, 1974, p.
This did not change when the focus of the discussion changed from students to faculty. Moore and Wagstaff continued, When John Munro left Harvard University to join the staff at Miles College, a small, predominantly African-American institution in the South, his actions made newspaper headlines, and national magazines carried the story. Someone at Miles College later remarked that they were never allowed to forget how fortunate they were to have him and how much he would offer the college. There was no doubt about his competence and ability.
None of the media or Harvard colleagues mentioned the possibility that Miles College may have had something to offer Dr. 130) Historically, as African Americans joined the faculty of predominantly white colleges, many were isolated personally and professionally. They were treated as if they came only to be enriched without enriching the institution. According to Franklin (1963), The world of the Negro scholar is indescribably lonely, and he [she] must, somehow, pursue truth down the lonely path, while at the same time making certain that his [her] conclusions are sanctioned by universal standards developed and maintained by those who frequently do not even recognize him [her].
131) The existence of African-American scholars in higher education was recognized by the Caplow-McGee study released in 1958. The 1971 Hodgkinson’s study in American higher education relied on data from the U. Office of Education, and makes no reference at all to the African-American scholar. This book about change in American higher education attempted to state which changes had taken place, where they occurred, how they took place and what they meant for the future of higher education.
This omission by Hodgkinson (1971) of the increased presence of African-American scholars 2 in predominantly White institutions affirms that the African-American scholar was not viewed as a major change in American higher education (Moore & Wagstaff, 1974). According to Maher (2002), the field of Adult Education, and the histories of specific institutions and organizations have been studied from several perspectives. Several historical perspectives were available from the published literature in Adult Education (Merriam & Brockett, 1997). Although the history of Adult Education has been documented through a variety of lenses, those lenses have not included the lens of African-American Adult Educators or African Americans in Higher Education in general.
A small minority of African-American professionals are presently being published. African-American educators have indicated that while they see the need for research, teaching should have greater priority. In the past some African-American educators described articles as pointless, witless, irrelevant, and without academic or intellectual value to warrant the time, effort, and cost for their production and dissemination (Moore & Wagstaff, 1974). This accounts for, to some degree, the lack of literature by African-Americans including those in Adult Education.