Adverse Baggage in the Learning Environment

(V.L. Mike Mahoney)

Chapter Six in

Creating Environments for Effective Adult Learning

Roger Hiemstra (Editor)

New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education

Number 50, Summer 1991

Ralph B. Brockett, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Alan B. Knox, University of Wisconsin, Madison, CONSULTING EDITOR

JOSSEY-BASS INC. PUBLISHERS, San Francisco

Maxwell Macmillan International Publishing Group

New York - Oxford - Singapore - Sydney - Toronto

© 1991 by Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers. All rights reserved.

No part of this issue may be reproduced in any form--except for a brief quotation (not to exceed 500 words) in a review or professional work--without permission in writing from the publishers.

Microfilm copies of issues and articles are available in 16mm and 35mm, as well as microfiche in 105 mm, through University Microfilms Inc., 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106

LC 85-644750 ISSN 0195-2242 ISBN 1-55542-784-7

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION is part of the Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series and is published quarterly by Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, California 94104-1310 (publication number USPS 493-930). Second-class postage paid at San Francisco, California, and at additional mailing offices.

Subscriptions for 1991 cost $45.00 for individuals and $60.00 for institutions, agencies, and libraries.

Editorial Correspondence should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief, Ralph G. Brockett, Dept. of Technological and Adult Education, University of Tennessee, 402 Claxton Addition, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-3400.

As this book is now out of print, permission to reproduce this sourcebook on this web site for use by Elmira College graduate students was granted via a letter dated April 27, 2001, reference #: 4809 ee. This material is used by permission of Jossey-Bass, Inc., a subsidiary of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

ISBN 1-55542-255-1

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Page 51 (page numbers as shown in the hard copy version of the book)

Adults can carry into a learning environment external and internal "baggage" that adversely affects their abilities to engage in learning experiences.

Adverse Baggage in the Learning Environment

V.L. Mike Mahoney

Adult participation in learning activities can be inhibited for various reasons. Cross (1981) categorizes three types of barriers to learning based on a national survey by the Commission on Non-Traditional Study. Of the three--situational, institutional, and dispositional barriers--the latter ranked relatively low in significance and difficulty. The survey, however, examined reasons for nonparticipation from a primarily scholastic point of view, as indicated by the instruction "Circle all those [items listed] that you feel are important in keeping you from learning what you want to learn" (Cross, 1981, p. 99).

As many readers of this volume recognize, reasons for nonparticipation exist below the surface of declared responses. These reasons can be traced to the environmental factors to which adults are exposed at home, at work, and in the community. As extracurricular influences, these factors are in effect "baggage," brought into every learning situation, whether basic education or university graduate study, by their adult "carriers." For the teaching-learning transaction to be most successful, teachers of adults must approach any learning environment with a holistic concern about the everyday problems adults face, some generated by the culture, some by academic conditions, and some by family pressures. This adverse environmental baggage is generally of two types: (1) external, reflecting situations in which individuals find themselves at work, at home, or in the community and (2) internal, referring to an individual's health, interpersonal conflicts, and attitudes toward a problem or situation.

To illustrate these obstructions, several true vignettes are presented here that typify the kinds of situations faced by teachers who have been

Page 52

challenged to find better ways to facilitate adult learning. In some cases, the eventual resolutions of the problems confronted are reported. In other cases, the resolutions, if any, are not known, but the circumstances reported still highlight the need to consider very carefully what can be done to improve learning environments. Names have been changed in all of the vignettes to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

External Baggage

Externally generated baggage can take many different forms and come from at least three sources: family obligations, job duties, and community responsibilities. The first includes the time required or desired for interaction with one's spouse, child rearing, family recreation, and assistance with education of the young. The second pertains to work hours, loyalty to organization, and ethical relationships among employees. The third ranges from helping a neighbor repair a fence, to attending religious services, to serving on a church or service club board. In meeting these responsibilities adult learners are pulled away from learning activity requiring them to seek ways to effectively balance time for learning with time for fulfilling other, extracurricular commitments.

In the following situations the baggage constitutes barriers beyond the individuals' control, given their knowledge and resources. In the first vignette the adult education system in place was inadequate in helping the person overcome the barrier. In the second situation, in contrast, a network of people made it possible for the adult learner to succeed by helping her reduce the load of environmental baggage. Each vignette describes the baggage of the situation and concludes with a description of how the problem was resolved, if at all, and the roles that others played in helping the individual.

Robert, a building custodian, was working two jobs. His first was as a permanent, full-time maintenance supervisor, the second was running a cleaning service for commercial offices. Both jobs were required to support two children and a sister, who was working in a low-paying job. In his self-employed status Robert worked four hours a day, six days a week. Robert's schedule allowed no time to attend a basic education center in order to prepare for the general equivalency diploma (GED) test. The only help available was from a college teacher who loaned Robert some workbooks on preparing for the exam. Even though he worked in a large city, no learning center was open on Saturday afternoons or Sundays, before 8:00 A.M. and after 9:30 P.M. on weekdays. Robert never attended a GED program because none were available during his free time. It is not known whether he ever received a GED certificate.

Page 53

Susan was the number-two employee in leadership in a large work unit. Official company policy was to support education and training so that employees could move into higher-level jobs whenever an opportunity was present. For some programs the company reimbursed tuition and book expenses. Although the work unit supervisor outwardly supported the policy for all subordinates, he treated Susan differently. Each term, when Susan applied for company educational assistance, her after-hours work load suddenly increased. Susan soon realized the supervisor was assigning her late rush work only on class days, thus causing her to miss or be late for class. The subliminal message from the supervisor was clear: "Don't challenge me! After complaining about this interference several times, but not seeing corrective action being taken, Susan attacked the problem in a different way. She discussed it with an instructor and some other students who suggested that she wait until the term was well along before applying for educational assistance. By not voluntarily sharing class schedules with the supervisor, Susan protected herself and was able to attend every class the next term.

The first vignette illustrates the predicament of an energetic building custodian who sought a better way of life but had no apparent services available to meet his needs. Susan's scenario demonstrates resourcefulness in handling the baggage manufactured by a defensive supervisor. Most of us have no doubt encountered similar or other scenarios where external baggage in some way hampered an adult's efforts to learn.

Internal Baggage

Internally generated baggage can be an even greater burden. This burden may stem from an unwillingness to deal with a problem, from not recognizing a need, from a desire for privacy to protect oneself against discrimination, or from an inner commitment to self and family. In each of the following vignettes the environmental baggage is very personal. In one instance learning to read was not a high priority until misfortune happened. Health problems faced by another family member are a factor in the other situation, which could have led to personal health problems for the adult learner had she continued to drive herself too hard. In each instance, the issues were resolved through the efforts of a teacher or network of people who helped create a better learning environment.

Joe, a forty-five-year-old carpenter, lived in a semirural community. Family economic difficulties forced Joe to drop out of school in the second grade. With hard work, he had developed a reputation as a skilled carpenter and was in high demand to remodel homes and make fine cabinets. People admired his skill of quickly making numerical calcula-

Page 54

tions, especially in his head. One day, though, when preparing an estimate on a prospective remodeling job, his pick-up truck, parked on a neighboring lot, disappeared. When Joe learned his truck was gone, he called the police, who told him that he had parked it illegally, all because he could not read the "Tow Away Zone" sign. That was when Joe began a reading program, determined to learn to read as quickly as possible. For many years Joe had been a "rock hound," and he and a close friend had collected dozens of excellent mineral specimens. All were mounted and properly identified on a beautiful display board that Joe's friend had labeled with both common and scientific names. Joe had memorized the names and properties of each mineral. His reading teacher capitalized on Joe's great interest in mineralogy by using learning materials specifically oriented to the sciences. In only five months Joe advanced several grade levels in his reading skills.

Christina was a thirty-eight-year-old Hispanic doctoral student from south Texas. She was the first of several children in the family to enter graduate school and the first to pursue a doctorate. For four successive terms she commuted eight hundred miles every weekend, determined to finish a doctorate before her father died of a terminal illness. The financial drain as well as her commitment to pursuing the degree weighed heavily on Christina. Her dedication quickly became evident to faculty and students alike. As faculty learned of her need to complete the degree work within a short but realistic time frame, informal counseling was provided to reassure and encourage her. Other adjustments were made so that she could meet unscheduled, weekend family obligations. After three and a half years, Christina received the degree, while her mother and father (then in very poor health) and many other family members from towns hundreds of miles away witnessed the event.

These stories describe two more adult learners and the internal baggage controlling each. In the first, Joe was shocked into learning to read when his truck was taken, and a teacher subsequently capitalized on Joe's interest in science. Christina carried the baggage of family honor and poor health of her father, but she was still determined to demonstrate that she could compete successfully in a different culture, especially when others began helping her cope with the situation.

Thermometer for Measuring Personal Baggage

Can internal and external environmental baggage, such as that described in the above vignettes, be measured in terms of potential interference with teaching and learning transactions? Can a teacher of adults discern the implications of any baggage? Obviously, some baggage is more of a burden

Page 55

than is other baggage. Thus in-depth examination of the impact of various constraints on adult learning would be quite useful to the concerns addressed here.

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Holmes and Rahe, 1967) has potential for measuring personal baggage. It was developed to assess the impact of various external stressors, based on assigned values (for example, 100 points maximum for death of a spouse), on a person's well-being. The list of stressor events constitutes a reference scale for checking off those events in a person's life that have occurred in the preceding six to twelve months. Total point values of the checked items indicate the probability level that stress-related illness will occur during the following year: the higher the total points, the greater the probability.

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale does not explicitly take into account age or cultural differences. It also does not account for temporal factors such as death of a spouse after one year of marriage versus after twenty years, or for areas of everyday experience that are difficult to quantify such as the level of marital satisfaction. Furthermore, it does not necessarily take into account the diversity of social norms that exists across culturally and economically distinct types of communities. Nonetheless, the scale identifies more than forty factors and life events that can affect the efforts of people pursuing learning activities. In short, the scale provides an initial point for considering the impact of various factors on adults' readiness to learn.

Based on the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, I have developed a "thermometer" or guide for evaluating the impact of various internal and external life events on an individual's ability to engage in the learning process (see Table 1). The thermometer is not a rating scale, however. Rather, the "temperature values" are useful in accounting for the varying degrees of impact that events can have on participation in adult education programs. Just as a person's body temperature can vary from morning to night, so too can the thermometer's factors exert greater or lesser impact on the adult learner within relatively short time frames.

For example, a forced relocation to a new city because the husband was transferred typically produces immediate trauma (external baggage) for the husband, wife, and children. For the husband, though, an immediate immersion in the job usually results in new friends, increasing feelings of value to the organization, and growing knowledge of the community. However, the wife and children may take many months before appropriate adjustments (often internal baggage in nature) are made. Consequently, for one person the move may be a burden for many weeks or months, thus interfering with learning efforts. But for another person it may generate only limited interference with work or learning.

Table 1 lists thirty-seven events (including the marital separation categories) that can adversely affect the learning process. This is only a prelimi-

Page 56

Table 1. "Temperature" Changes Due to Significant Life Events, by Time Interval Since Event Occurrence

[The numbers under the "Months" columns represent a degree rise in "Temperature"]

Event	0-3 Months	3-6 Months	6-12 Months
Death of spouse: married 20+ years	5	4	5
Death of spouse: married 0-1 year	5	4	3
Death of an adult child	6	5	4
Death of an infant child	4	4	3
Death of a parent	4	3	2
Lawsuit: custody or guardianship	4	4	4
Divorce: married more than 20 yearsª	4	4	4
Divorce: married 10-20 yearsª	4	4	3
Divorce: married less than 2 yearsª	4	3	2
Job lost: company merger	4	3	3
Out of work	3	4	5
Out of work: accident	3	3	3
Terminal illness: self or spouse	5	4	4
Terminal illness: family member	4	4	4
Loss of family home	5	4	4
Substance abuse in family	5	4	4
Denied promotion or job reassigned	5	4	3
Personal conflict: between spouses	4	3	2
Personal conflict: with neighbors	3	1	1
Personal conflict: with co-worker(s)	3	1	1
Loss of one-third or more of family income	4	3	2
New job: good match to qualifications	2	2	1
New job: underemployed for qualifications	3	3	2
Death of close friend	2	1	0
Pregnancy: unwanted and unexpected	5	4	2
Pregnancy: delayed and desired	4	2	2
Family member in military conflict or danger	4	3	3
Lawsuit as plaintiff or defendant	5	3	1
Loss of family/personal friendships	3	1	0
Recognition for personal achievement	l	0	0
Forced relocation to a new city	4	3	1
Work schedule change not acceptable	3	2	1
Child severely disciplined at school	2	1	0
Child charged with felony crime	4	2	2

ª For marital separation, deduct 2 degrees from the divorce scores, per each category.

Page 57

nary effort to develop a measuring device. Clearly, additional research is needed to refine and validate the event categories and values of impact. For example, the events are not exhaustive; many more can be added. The suggested values are based primarily on personal observations of how most of these events have, at one time or another, affected adult learning commitments and interest over the time periods shown. The table also identifies events that cause people to turn to a learning activity ("loss of job") and those that hamper a learning effort.

The "temperature" values should be thought of as indices of the amount of interference a learner may experience at stated time periods after an event. Extending the thermometer metaphor and using body temperature as a reference point, addition of the suggested values shown in the table to a baseline 98.6 degrees for a given event can help a teacher understand how that event affects the learner at that moment. In addition, the teacher can examine the nature of the interference in order to devise strategies to minimize the event's impact on learning, that is, to "lower" the temperature.

Using the figures in the table, for example, it is suggested that the death of an adult child raises one's temperature 6 degrees in the first three months. The resulting temperature of 104.6 degrees indicates that the learner is under considerable stress, which is likely to interfere with any learning activity. If the learning effort is channeled toward resolution of stress, such as a death and illness support group, the learner might experience at least some relief. Directed toward other purposes (such as job training), the effort may accomplish little. In evaluation of the impact of an event, a person's age, gender, and cultural background can be highly significant in terms of the amount of temperature increase resulting from the event.

Constraints on Learning and Teacher Assistance

If a teacher of adults can identify some of the internal and external baggage or some of the "temperature" changes due to significant life events that have potential for affecting learners, what can then be done? As illustrations of both internal and external baggage, this section describes six common constraints with which adult learners must contend. Several actions that a teacher can take in identifying these constraints and helping learners to make adjustments are briefly detailed to suggest some of the possibilities for problem resolution.

Family Responsibilities. These constraints stem from a self-imposed commitment to family. Their significance in terms of impact depends on an adult learner's economic level, educational or financial level, and associated cultural or ethnic background. For some adults the experience of taking children to the mall, the movies, or the park may be very important in maintaining family life. For others, the activities of supporting the family

Page 58

through Little League coaching or baking cakes or making chili for church suppers may be the best way of preserving family connections and building strong family ties.

When a teacher acknowledges and shows respect for these activities, adult learners build a corresponding respect for learning activities and assignments. The process of getting to know adult learners in an informal way, such as by hosting a potluck supper for class members, offers countless benefits to the teacher in the form of increased understanding of each learner's culture, needs, and interests.

Job Requirements. Job requirements and expectations also can constrain an adult's learning effort. Company owners and managers may emphasize the importance of education or training so that their companies can compete successfully in the marketplace. But this support often translates into "You better get with it, because you may not have a job if the company goes under." The learner then may perceive various kinds of pressures. "If I don't keep up, I may lose my job." "Others are eager and pushing me from below." "I resent having to give up my personal time when I should be with my family."

By being alert to job-related constraints, the teacher can better understand learners' attitudes toward learning, their desire to leapfrog basic material, or their impatience with learning. To create a more positive attitude, the teacher should select and use material that helps a learner better understand the work environment in terms of economic problems, a company's ability to compete in the marketplace, or changing knowledge requirements associated with constantly changing technology. This approach enables the learner to share at work what has been gained in class, often generating increased respect from the employer who will see direct benefits from company-sponsored education.

Community Commitments. A third external source of constraints relates to a variety of community-based obligations, such as church commitments, associations with neighborhood groups, and membership in service clubs. Taken together these constraints are particularly problematic because the community groups involved support many worthwhile projects and reflect interests in family and society to which an adult has committed skills, talents, and time. Thus, the learner often must adjust personal schedules in order to benefit fully from a learning activity, which generates a sense of loss for learners who see themselves as separated from active participation in community life.

To offset feelings of loss such as these, the teacher can identify or develop learning materials related to programs that various interest groups support. Some learning experiences could involve visits to or study of community agencies. To help learners further develop writing, speaking, or presentational skills, they can be asked to describe information about the community programs or activities in which they have participated.

Page 59

Self-Expectations. Adults also often have internal or personal constraints that affect their learning efforts. For example, self-expectations sometimes have little to do with what is required in a learning activity. For some learners there are self-expectations of unnecessarily high performance; for others there is dissatisfaction with not receiving the highest possible grade on an assignment. Another discouraging self-expectation is the notion that "I've been away from school too long and there is no way I can keep up with younger people."

Through informal one-to-one talks and careful observations during group and class activities, teachers can identify such adverse baggage or constraints. One way to help such students is to point to others' success, saying, "If they can do it, so can you!" Another way is to use pretests and posttests of subject matter, skills, or concepts such as are commonly found in diagnostic tests for basic education, English as a second language, and high school equivalency programs. Such testing can provide reinforcement to perfectionists and can reassure those learners who may doubt their learning abilities.

Health Problems. Everyone is susceptible to different types of health problems during adult life, and certain illnesses or disabilities are commonly associated with specific stages of human development. A broken bone may be discomforting and a nuisance for a young adult but can be a major handicap for a senior citizen.

The teacher needs to be alert to health-related constraints and the stresses they may impose on the learner. Some learners can be counseled to join support groups. Extra time and help can be given to assist any learner with a particular disability in coping with learning requirements. In some instances, a particular health problem can even have curriculum building potential, such as teaching about coping skills or the new learning acquired through study of a disease or illness.

Feelings of Self-Worth. At one time or other, every person hears that he or she "should" do such and such. We grow up hearing these words, and as long as parents are around we will continue to hear "You ought to do that!" These judgments also surface in adult life, for example, when an adult student tells the company bowling team that the course schedule precludes bowling on Thursday nights and the response comes forth that "you're letting down the team." This type of constraint also is part of the environmental baggage, the human part buried deep in our psyches that we bring to the learning situation. Spoken or limited, various messages come through from well-meaning friends, relatives, and others that affect our feelings of self-worth.

Such challenges to adults who want to pursue their learning activities require special attention and consideration from teachers if the barriers are to be overcome. Sensitivity, inventiveness, and creativity are needed if teachers are to help learners attain their goals. Teachers often must provide

Page 60

positive reinforcement, facilitating learners by working with them in small groups on various activities while they build up confidence and learning skills.

Conclusion

Educators of adults have many opportunities and options to enhance the learning experience and help learners overcome constraints generated by various environmental factors. The externally generated and the internally generated baggage discussed here involves only limited aspects of the relevant issues. To these can be added circadian rhythm (Brown, Hastings, and Palmer, 1970), the mechanism that dictates when we are at our best time of day or night to engage in different tasks, an area little explored relative to its impact on adult learning. Cranton (1989), while taking into account learning styles and ways to manipulate the environment to enhance adult learning, cites ways to match methods to domain and level of learning. The influence of the personal environment of the learner needs to be further addressed in that context.

References

Brown, F. A., Jr., Hastings, J. W., and Palmer, J. D. The Biological Clock: Two Views. Orlando, Fla.: Academic Press, 1970.

Cranton, P. Planning Instruction for Adult Learners. Toronto: Wall & Thompson, 1989.

Cross, K. P. Adults as Learners: Increasing Participation and Facilitating Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1981.

Holmes, T. H., and Rahe, R. H. "The Social Readjustment Rating Scale." Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1967, 11, 213-218.

______________________________

V. L. Mike Mahoney is associate professor in the Department of Secondary and Higher Education at East Texas State University, Commerce. He coordinates the graduate program in adult and continuing education at the university and researches and teaches about environmental issues in adult education.

July, 2001

-- Return to Roger Hiemstra's opening page

-- Return to the Creating Environments for Effective Adult Learning Contents page

-- Go to Editor's Notes, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, or The Index.