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Descriptors:
Workplace Literacy; Unions; Numeracy; Foreign Countries; Barriers; Educational Practices; Labor Education; Vocational Education; Institutional Role; Educational Needs; Educational Opportunities; Industrial Training; Change Strategies

Abstract:
This paper first examines the current literacy and numeracy "crisis" in Australian workplaces where loss of productivity, lack of take-up in training, and skills shortages are being blamed on workers' lack of literacy and numeracy skills. Literacy and numeracy in workplaces are more complex and require alternative understandings of literacy and numeracy as well as the perspectives of workers themselves. Secondly, this paper discusses the opportunity for unions to demonstrate their stake in the education and training of workers. We ask what possibilities are there for this to happen; and what models exist from which Australian trade unions can draw? In the UK the Trade Union Congress (TUC) successfully negotiated with the Labour Government, to establish a Union Learning Fund (ULF) and give recognition to union learning representatives (ULRs), to facilitate learning for workers. The paper considers what new directions Australian unions might explore in the emerging VET policy environment. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Action Research; Unions; Autobiographies; Working Class; Labor Education; Union Members; Social Justice; Racial Bias; Activism; Indigenous Populations; Interviews; Cultural Pluralism; Foreign Countries; Adult Education; Adult Educators

Abstract:
Purpose: This paper aims to report on the author's recent research examining the meaning and practices of educating for solidarity, specifically from anti-racism and decolonizing perspective. The research is part of the critical exploration on new educational approaches on solidarity building among workers and trade union members in the broader political and economic context of neoliberalism. Design/methodology/approach: Utilizing the research methodologies of participatory action research, arts-informed research and critical autobiography, the research draws on the words and visual images made by the participants who are labour educators and activists from Aboriginal and racialized communities. In-depth interview and the Aboriginal talking circle method were used to deepen the dialogue among this group of activists. By focusing on their authentic voices and lived experiences, the research is grounded in Dei's stance on the importance of the embodied knowledge as part of the necessary conditions for anti-racism education work and political action. Findings: The findings reveal a sense of profound gap between what participants experience as daily practices of solidarity and what they envisioned. Through the research process, the study explores and demonstrates the importance and potential of a more holistic and integrative critical labour education approach on anti-racism and decolonization. The study proposes a pedagogical framework on solidarity building with four interlinking components: rediscovering, restoring, reimagining and reclaiming: as a way to make whole. Research limitations/implications: A further research implication will be to explore the possibility and application of this proposed pedagogical framework with a group of trade union activists from racialized and non-racialized backgrounds. Social implications: The pedagogy of solidarity offers a transformative process for activists to engage in critical dialogue on how to build solidarity across constituencies. The solidarity circle dialogue process provides a space for critical reflection. Originality/value: This is an original research integrating Aboriginal worldview and arts-informed research, to explore the potential of a new pedagogy that is grounded in restoring people's spirit, recovering their voices so they can have the courage to reimagine; and reclaim in order to make whole. The value of the research lies in its hopefulness as a tool of countering the politics of division and fear. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Remedial Instruction; Job Training; Labor Education; Vocational Education; Community Colleges

Abstract:
The January 2012 issue of "Mind, Culture, and Activity" published the Invited Presidential Address "Rethinking Remedial Education and the Academic-Vocational Divide," given by Mike Rose at the 2011 meeting of the American Educational Research Association in New Orleans, along with responses and commentary by Sara Goldrick-Rab, Kris Gutierrez, and Norton Grubb. All four articles dealt with how the ineffective practices in remediation subvert the efforts of schools to prepare people for work. In order to write this response, the author went back and reread Mike Rose's (2004) wonderful book "The Mind at Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker". Mike Rose, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Kris Gutierrez, and Norton Grubb deplore the conventional practices of remediation and are looking for ways that school can play a role in preparation for work that does not dishonor the educational needs of people who have to earn a living as wage workers. The knowledge domain of labor education, along with its social practices, is an example of another possibility. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Higher Education; Educational Philosophy; Compulsory Education; Employment; Labor Education; Educational Innovation; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
The identity of the worker foregrounds the development of higher education rather than the other way around. It is developed in contrast to the lack of higher education innovation in the recent UK Government White Paper on Higher Education and in the educational philosophy of Tawney and the neo-pragmaticism of Rorty. The proposal is that higher learning, after capabilities have been nurtured in compulsory schooling, may be developed through communities of workers acting as agent for improvement of their communities; not in universities at all. This is a radical approach to higher education and employment and one that might bring true diversity to the higher education sector. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Activism; Labor Education; Social Change; Foreign Countries; Politics of Education; Vocational Education; Educational History; Evening Programs; Adult Education; Political Attitudes; Standards; Benchmarking

Abstract:
This study focuses on the transformation of pro-Beijing labour education in the socio-political context of Hong Kong. It explores the reasons that Hong Kong pro-Beijing educators initiated Workers' Night Schools for adults; the organisation of schools in many locales and the transformation of labour education that workers received in these educational settings. The history of the development of this organization is deeply intertwined with the politics of education and the social transformation of that period. That development provides an understanding of how the pro-Beijing educators constructed an alternative culture that opposed the colonial government and was later transformed to serve as a pro-hegemonic force in the post-1997 era. In addition, rapid and widespread changes were taking place throughout Hongkongese life. Labour education was once viewed as a radical project to enhance working-class's anti-hegemonic consciousness, socialist practices and political activism in the colonial Hong Kong. The introduction of international standards, global benchmarks for career and technical education and the transfer of sovereignty have created a new situation forcing these pro-Beijing educators to respond quickly. This article aims to see how the pro-Beijing educators related to international standard for vocational training and how the schools transforms itself to fit into the industrialized, market-oriented and globalized society of HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region). Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Productivity; Labor Education; Labor; Economic Factors; Labor Force Development; Role of Education; Government Role; Social Environment; Comparative Education; Educational Environment; Educational Development; Educational Policy; Economic Change; Educational History; Politics of Education; Social Change

Abstract:
Although there is a considerable body of research regarding the relationships between the sociopolitical and economic transition and its implications for the education system in South Korea, there is little known about how sociopolitical and economic factors affect labor education practice in South Korea. The premise of the study is that the development of labor education is driven not only by workers' needs but also by the state's policy to increase productivity while keeping the labor movement and political expression under control. Since many educators often overlook the importance of labor education by excluding it from adult education, very few studies have been conducted to identify the relationship between sociopolitical and economic factors and labor education in South Korea. The purpose of the study is thus to examine the effect of particular combinations of social, political, and economic forces on the development and expansion of labor education in South Korea during the period between the 1960s and the 1990s. The results of the study can be compared with studies of other countries that underwent a similar pattern of political and economic transformation. (Contains 2 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Democracy; Adult Education; Migrant Workers; Unions; Immigration; Refugees; Higher Education; College Role; Social Justice; Educational Philosophy; Role of Education; Educational History; Educational Practices; International Education; School Community Relationship; Political Issues; Political Attitudes; Labor Education; Church Role; Interviews; Activism; Social Action; Social Theories; Popular Education; Politics of Education

Abstract:
The article is based on activist research working in an anti-deportation social movement, and on sixteen interviews with both experienced and less experienced activists between 2009 and 2011. The anti deportation social movement made up of a range of organisations, is identified as a left social movement situated in an historic producer proletarian culture of manual work in coal and steel. South Yorkshire, a heartland of twentieth century social democracy, developed a tradition of workers' popular adult education integrated with a range of left social movements. Popular adult education institutions emerged post 1945 which "educated" a wide range of labour movement organisers--politicians, union officers and leaders. The institutions were often formed out of popular adult education initiatives by students of past programmes and staff who were themselves politicians, trade union advisers and activists in left social movements. South Yorkshire was de-industrialised in the 1980s and 1990s and since 2000 has become a destination for refugees, and migrant workers from Central Europe. The anti-deportation social movement is based on experienced activists drawing on the experience and values of a "society of purpose" in South Yorkshire and expressing a "politics of outrage". The organisations within the social movement exploit what remains of the popular adult education traditions but also deploy a range of antiracist and political education methods. Asylum seekers and refugee activists involved in the movement pursue "really useful knowledge" for personal, political and collective liberation. The article sheds light on the interrelationships between organising and educating, and the importance of re-historicising and politicising social movement theories. (Contains 6 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Workplace Learning; Labor Education; Unions; Adult Learning; Participation; Foreign Countries; Interviews

Abstract:
The initiative by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and affiliated trade unions in the UK to appoint trade union learning representatives (ULRs), to promote learning among their members, is a significant development in adult learning. Understandably, the initiative has attracted the attention of academic researchers, but primarily from the discipline of industrial relations, or human resource specialists with a focus on the institutions and practice of relations between the employee, their trade union and the employer. This paper, instead, addresses the role of learning advocates in promoting participation in formal workplace learning and draws on a wide selection of data and surveys to consider the contribution of ULRs to access and participation in learning by employees. In addition it is informed by an interview with the trade union founders of the Barnsley and Doncaster TUC/TEC Bargaining for Skills project (BDTUC/TEC, 2010). (Contains 4 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Labor Education; Adult Education; Career Development; Adult Educators; Administrators; Teacher Attitudes; Administrator Attitudes

Abstract:
This article looks at how administrators and teachers who consider themselves adult educators but who find themselves in a union environment come to think about their role and their context. This article is based on research conducted with administrators and teachers working in a joint union-employer sponsored program. Joint programs were developed in the steel industry to help steelworkers with the transition out of the steel industry. These career development programs (CDPs) grew out of the devastating retrenchment and downsizing of the steel industry beginning in the 1980s. Funded by both the unions and employers, they provided career and technical educational opportunities, classes to brush up on basic skills, and other classes that were more recreational. In addition, they made agreements with local colleges to offer on-site college programs and, in at least one case, a graduate degree. In short, these CDPs combined elements of a continuing education program with the career function of a career services program. These programs used a wide variety of teachers from many disciplines. They also utilized some full-time teachers and administrators who had an overview of the needs of the students and of the program. However, the CDPs tend to defy a straightforward characterization in part due to their funding structure (combination of company and worker contribution), how each center is managed and operated, highly individualized approaches to assessing and advising the steelworker clients, and the many types of educational programs they offer. This article is a result of the authors' broader study of these CDPs. Over several years, they have interviewed a number of teachers in the CDPs, observed classes, talked with steelworkers, attended the annual conferences of the CDPs, and participated in several action research projects to gain a nuanced understanding of the identity development of adult educators in the CDPs; and their views on the varied purposes of adult education. In this article, the authors look more closely at adult educators' views of the steelworkers as members of a union and as workers. (Contains 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Labor Education; Lifelong Learning; Labor Force Development; Models; Program Effectiveness

Abstract:
Throughout the 1970's and 80's, rapidly advancing technologies, mergers and acquisitions, industry deregulation, emergence of new capital markets, and the shift to an increasingly competitive, global marketplace sparked new training needs for workers. In aerospace, auto, health care, steel, telecommunications and transportation industries, unions used the collective bargaining process to negotiate worker training and education programs consistent with those changing needs. In this dynamic environment, companies and unions jointly sponsored education and training programs to prepare workers for a lifetime of learning through three types of strategies: (1) Training and education programs to help downsized and displaced workers transition to other jobs, within the existing company or elsewhere, depending on the needs of the individual and the opportunities in the marketplace; (2) Ongoing skill/knowledge development opportunities for personal growth and career enhancement; and (3) Meeting worker and workplace needs through a dual training focus. Today, joint programs flourish in a range of workplaces, not only in the aforementioned industries, but also in education, state, and local government. They have been sustained and expanded due to the observable and measurable benefits they provide, and have fostered a combination of shared vision and trust that have led to innovative labor/management tactical and strategic initiatives. With the current economy affected by structural shifts and high unemployment, the concepts underlying joint programs provide a framework that yields positive results for individuals, the companies that employ them, the unions that serve them, and the communities in which they live and work. This article describes through a simple input-output model the overall structure of Joint Labor-Management Educational Programs and discusses the essential components of the model. This article also presents some examples of joint partnerships noted in the New York State/CSEA Partnership & Association of Joint Labor/Management Educational Programs. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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