Driving
Forces
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
The first driving force of the program is the philosophy of
education. This philosophy differs from the standard American
educational philosophy; it is European in orientation with an
English philosophical alliance. Some technique is borrowed from
the German seminar approach and some from the Oxbridge tutorial
system. It is designed to give time back to the student and
eliminate all unnecessary activity. The European concept of
education is a structured plan of study based on the ultimate
objective of competency. This is sometimes called a Critical
Path Method (CPM).
The American system is a series of individual courses, based on
a Performance Evaluation Review Technique (PERT). The CPM system
is based on the life goals of the student. The PERT system is
based on an institutional assessment of what the student needs
to qualify for certification. The student is dependent on the
institution to organize and manage the educational process. It
could be described as starting on a trip without a map and
deciding at each fork in the road which way to go. Without a
specific destination, the student often does not know when they
have arrived; consequently, people end up with multiple majors,
multiple degrees and still seek the guidance of a graduate
program to assist with obtaining some elusive prize. The present
American system is not adequate for older adults. What was
needed was a combination CPM and PERT model which met the needs
of mature adults.
The Oxford/ACRSS educational process utilizes the Critical Path
Method (CPM). This is the method used in construction or
manufacturing. What is the objective? What is the end product?
When must it be completed? What has to be done in the process?
When the finished product is understood, then one works
backwards to plan the sequence and schedule of activities. The
Oxford/ACRSS program has the CPM system combined with the
American PERT to establish the Performance Evaluation Review
Technique. The program is both CPM, looking forward, and PERT
with a view of the past, present, and future as one proceeds
through the course of study.
Oxford Graduate School is a research institution that provides a
synergetic educational environment combining a European approach
to academic research with distinctives drawn for American
educational models. Although American graduate education is
normally developed on a modified Heidelberg model, the Oxbridge
tutorial model was selected as an alternate delivery system for
mature graduate students. Oxford/ACRSS assumes that any two
adults (ages 30-60) are brighter than any one professor, because
older adult students are more experienced and knowledgeable;
consequently, Oxford has developed an educational philosophy
that is andragogical, or adult oriented.
The accessibility of traditional educational delivery systems in
the United States has caused some institutions to be less
concerned for older adults. Some fifty million adults are served
by existing institutions, but what about the adults who must
keep their jobs? More adults are entering the educational system
because of the demands of the technological society and the
complexities of modern life. Many of these older professional
adults seek forms of learning other than the traditional system.
The process of adult education is considered to be more focused
than adult learning because the activities include the direct
involvement of faculty in teaching and feedback. Most adults
give job-related reasons for taking graduate courses. The pace
of change in the work place is ever-increasing. Since most
adults seek to prepare for, upgrade, or change careers, graduate
education should take these facts into account in structuring
graduate opportunities.
Although adults constantly learn on their own, many need the
guidance and structure a formal educational system can provide.
Adults need the framework, as well as advice and feedback from
faculty, while retaining the advantages of self-directed,
self-planned learning experience. The current ideas and
attitudes about learning opportunities for adults are
inadequate. Adults often feel out of place among the younger
students or are segregated to an extension department or an
alternative schedule. Adults must feel they are a central part
of institutional educational philosophy; not just an adjunct,
auxiliary or off-campus program. Any graduate education for
adults should include the aspect of life enrichment, social
service, justice, morality, ethics, self-esteem and emotional
well-being. No adult can effectively participate in an
educational experience without these qualities.
All education requires a quasi-separation of teacher and
learner. Most of the learning takes place in the process of
solitary study. Adult education simply builds on this
foundational framework for learning. The influence of an
educational organization, including the provision for
supervision and evaluation is essential to an adult education.
Technology and educational media which provide two-way
communication between faculty and learner as well as
relationship with an educational institution can enhance both
the cognitive and the affective aspects of education.
Essential in dealing with older adults is an integration of
educational communication with the instructional process. The
face-to-face aspects of instruction must be concentrated both in
a time frame and in content. Only the essential elements of the
course of study are presented by the faculty. The syllabus,
extended assignments, and competency assessment projects must
work together with other aspects of educational communication to
enhance the process and facilitate completion/application of the
content.
The older student will not remember all that is "said" in class.
The essential elements of the course and the specific
assignments must be written and available for constant referral.
This is needed to assure older adults that they are adequately
fulfilling the expectations of the faculty. Naturally,
evaluation feed-back becomes a vital part of this process.
Faculty/student contact-hours are of little value without
faculty directed educational communication to guide and
facilitate course completion.
When the adult learner is involved in the planning of the
instructional process and participates based on a learning
contract, this becomes part of the faculty/student
contact-hours. This participation does not relieve the faculty
of supervision or evaluation essential to maintaining both
academic integrity and adult well-being in the educational
process. Adult participation should include advanced preparation
for the course, participation in the formal instruction and
performance /competency evaluation by the faculty.
Adult education at the graduate level must not be done in the
leisure time of the student. It should represent a significant
commitment of time and energy and become a factor in both
personal and professional life. Normally, it would be career
related and would be an effort to enhance both personal and
professional competence in an area of specialization. Adults
must have an arena for application of content. A
career/professional specialization becomes a laboratory for
content contextualization and application. Adults must be
allowed to pursue their education with limited disruption to
their family and career. Such education must enhance their
career opportunities and improve competence and quality of
performance in a professional specialization. |
