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Preface
Etymologically the word adult
is derived from the Latin verb
adolescere, meaning to come
to maturity, and is a form of the past participle
adultus;
it denotes that which has matured, is no longer growing and
developing. Thus the root of the word suggests why scholars and others were
for years content to define adulthood merely as
the stage between adolescence and old age, as a time of no change between
periods of growth and decline. Indeed, for the past half century educators
of adults have often believed that very few others were interested in the
adult, since too frequently people have believed that the adult has already
acquired all the knowledge and habits he is going to have. People have therefore
been reluctant to explore that mysterious "black box" known as
adulthood.
Recently, however, a dramatic reversal has occurred. Suddenly
adult educators are not alone in considering adulthood the most significant,
as well as the longest, stage of life. An important reason for this change
is the demographic shift in the American population: soon the majority of
this country's citizens will be thirty years of age or older. Whatever the
other causes-and we will not go into them here-it is true that in an increasing
number of professional and occupational fields, interest in the adult
has become almost a fascination; it is as if science had discovered a new
human
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species. And
study of the new species is attracting people from a wide spectrum, in medicine,
the social services, in government, foundations, and education. Although
the authors of this book frequently use the term adult education to
refer to a specific field of research interest, the book is not limited to
adult educators or to adult education. We believe that students and professionals
from a variety of occupations can benefit from what we as adult educators
have learned about the study of adults in the past fifty
years.
This book, then, is about the study of adults primarily as conducted
and perceived by some adult educators. As is pointed out in Chapter One,
research has been a continuing topic of interest among adult educators. But
heretofore, adult education research has been discussed in a variety of unrelated
publications, an article here and one there, appearing over a period of years.
Thus this publication is different in that it contains a number of
chapters written by a variety of authors at about the same time. It may represent
an evolutionary step in the study of the adult.
As the only handbook devoted exclusively to research in the present
series, it must treat a wide range of topics from fairly general to rather
specific. Two of our objectives were to provide constructive comment on the
status of research in the field and to contribute to an improved conception
of adult education by creating a better understanding of some of the more
popular research methods employed by adult educators, as well as some
appropriate methods that perhaps should be used more extensively. We chose
the general review as the best means of achieving those goals. The book,
thus, was not planned to provide an in-depth treatment of research methodology,
designs, statistics, and similar topics. And, of necessity, it reflects the
uneven use of different research methods among the hundreds of investigations
annually conducted by adult educators and other researchers in various related
fields. Neither was the book designed to interpret the variety of adult education
research by topic and results, as did Brunner and others' classic work (1959).
But even though we do not attempt to provide answers to specific methodological
questions, general guidelines to correct some common, frequent, and
customary errors are provided throughout. The emphasis is on the practice
and philosophy of adult education research and what may be considered
its distinctive aspects. Support-
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ing illustrations and examples from adult
research are provided whenever appropriate.
Occasional overlaps among authors were permitted because of the
significance of the topics discussed and the nature of each author's assignment.
While there is a certain risk in the pluralistic discussion of selected topics,
we determined that restricted and controlled duplication was preferable to
requiring the reader to move back and forth among the chapters frequently
or to depend heavily on recall.
The nine chapters take up the major areas of interest in the conduct
of research on adult subjects. Four chapters examine specific research
methods: the two on survey research and grounded theory reflect the prevalence
of descriptive research; the other two discuss experimental research and
historical research. The following definitions of research methods used by
DeCrow (1967), Grabowski (1973), and Grabowski and Loague (1970) are employed
in this publication:
1.
Experimental
research is based on a design that is primarily used to test hypotheses concerned
with cause and effect, or a design that includes control groups, randomization
procedures, and manipulation of independent variables to control pertinent
factors as much as possible. Such variables are quantitatively
described.
2.
Descriptive
research is based on designs that require survey and descriptive activity
to establish the status of the selected phenomenon or to assess the
characteristics of a population. Such activity usually focuses on people,
vital facts about their beliefs, opinions, attitudes, motivations, and
behavior.
3.
Historical
research is based on critical investigation of events, developments, and
experiences of the past, the careful weighing of evidence of the validity
of information sources, and the interpretation of the
evidence.
Each chapter analyzes and discusses the application of a
particular research method, compares the use of selected methods within
adult education, or examines trends and problems in the selection and use
of various methods by specific groups.
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In Chapter One Huey B. Long provides a brief look at some of the
incentives for conducting research concerning adult phenomena. Long suggests
that the expansion and elaboration of programs designed to serve adults
has helped to focus attention and interest on adult research questions. He
then presents a working definition of adult education research before reviewing
what has been written about it. Three kinds of literature are explicated:
literature that deals with the role of research in academic programs,
bibliographic literature, and, most important, the descriptive and analytical
literature.
Chapter Two has a more practical task: to assist the novice researcher
with planning, practicing, and reporting research. Huey B. Long and Roger
Hiemstra describe how to organize and pursue a research question for a thesis
or dissertation. Some common characteristics in the practice of research
in graduate programs are also discussed. These commonalities include the
needs of the adult educator as they relate to research, the needs of
the field as they are addressed by graduate research, the approach to research,
and the preparation of a research proposal and a
dissertation.
Robert A. Carlson, in the third chapter, says that a philosophical
or humanistic history will challenge assumptions upon which the profession
is based, and because of its potential for challenging basic assumptions,
this type of research may offer a unique opportunity to those involved in
the study of adult education. Writers of humanistic historical research are
reminded that they have concomitant responsibilities for careful
investigation and for high-quality literary scholarship. The literary scholarship
and thesis development are best accomplished, according to Carlson, through
a "playwright historian" concept whereby the writer rings up the curtain
on the time he chooses, selects the lead characters and bit players, and
develops the plot by selection and arrangement of the
facts.
Chapter Four, by Gary Dickinson and Adrian Blunt, describes the role
of the survey method, identifies its strengths and weaknesses, and discusses
the flow of activities, together with the problems typically encountered
in planning and conducting surveys. Since 1851 the survey has been employed
to study a variety of topics, including personnel and staffing, adults' learning
needs and interests, program activities, finance, and participation. And
the authors believe the
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survey will
probably continue to be the chosen method in most studies of adult
education.
"Field Research and Grounded Theory" by Gordon G. Darkenwald is basic
and practical, as it is addressed primarily to researchers who may be interested
in, but unfamiliar with, grounded theory. Darkenwald believes grounded-theory
research is probably more difficult than the typical descriptive or experimental
study. The difficulty arises from several sources, including the absence
of easily understood, codified rules for the collection and analysis of data
and the construction of theory. Darkenwald gives several examples of both
successful and unsuccessful applications of grounded theory in adult
education.
In Chapter Six, Huey B. Long discusses several topics pertaining
to experimental research: basic logic, hypotheses, designs, the handling
of critical elements of the experimental design in adult education research,
and the reasons why experimental research is not done more often and why
it should be. Long suggests that an understanding of basic logic and Mill's
canons should be helpful to the individual designing an experimental research
project. He also predicts that the experimental method will be used more
frequently as the fund of knowledge derived from descriptive research expands;
the experimental method will be required to test explanations for important
phenomena in the field.
Robert D. Boyd then tackles the following aspects of methodology:
conjecture and its relation to the theoretical framework, to falsifiability,
and to null hypotheses; the connection between concepts and method;
reliability and validity; objectivity and
intersubjectivity; categorization; and instrument
development and testing. Boyd points out several common errors found in adult
education research, such as the mismatching of methods and hypotheses
and the failure to understand how concepts are inescapably imbedded in a
theoretical framework.
In Chapter Eight Stanley M. Grabowski presents trends in graduate
research since 1935. The data for his analysis were provided by the former
ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult Education at
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several analyses
of portions of the adult education literature. He also cites improvements
in research design that strengthen internal and external validity and an
improved theoretical structure as elements that contribute to the qualitative
improvements.
Past, present, and future aspects of investigation into the education
of adults are discussed by Hiemstra and Long in
the Epilogue. In this brief chapter they summarize the research heritage,
discuss emerging theories, and make some observations concerning future
directions. As they see it, the expected changes in adult education
research will not be radical. They predict that the field will benefit from
the research activity of specialists in other areas, such as biology, chemistry,
computer science, gerontology, and physiology. In addition, a kind of detente
between the quantitatively oriented and qualitatively oriented researchers
may be reached. Increased use of intensive experimental designs and path-analysis
techniques is also noted as a possibility. The Epilogue is admittedly optimistic
about the future results of adult education research.
February
1980
HUEY B. LONG
ROGER HIEMSTRA
January, 2005
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