The purpose of the this blog is to encourage more adults to pursue some courses of studies with the help and advice from ICARE – use the contact form to contact us!
Adult Education (AE). What is it?
As the name (Adult Education) implies, AE is simply a schooling for adults which, starts from the age of 19 to infinity; I say ‘infinity’ (as far as your strength allows) because I have taught 60 – 75-year-olds at college, while at the same time, I have read from different sources whereby some 90 year olds have graduated from various institutions including Harvard University; ‘ (I salute them all’ since they are great inspirations not only to their families but to the world at large).
One may then wonder if our 18-year-olds who continue their schooling till their early or late twenties are in adult education? No, is the answer! They might be adults by the time they finish higher education, but since they had continuous education, they are still pursuing a course of standard uninterrupted education.
However, not all adult education learners are dropouts; many go back to education for various reasons. Nonetheless, the central factor that motivates adults to come back to education is the ‘importance of education’.
Not all adults that return to education are from the lower income group, some are from the middle-class group who own small scale businesses but with an aim that their businesses could be better off if they have qualification in either English or Maths.
Others come with the idea of pursuing a vocational or academic qualification that would land them in a business of their own or in higher education.
Categories of Adult Education Courses:
- Academic/Access courses leading to Higher Education
- Remedial Courses (Core Subjects) – Functional skills and GCSE (English and Maths), and ESOL
- Vocational, Technical, and Professional courses
Some challenges
Adult education learners might have one or two interruptions that caused them to drop out of school, college, or even higher education. Some of the underlying factors below could be the cause of their dropouts, or not being able to achieve their goals at the right time.
- Personal and behavioural problems
- Broken home
- Socio-Economic needs
- Teenage pregnancies
- Disengagement and academic difficulties
- Truancy and many others
Since this page has given you a glimpse of what adult education is, you might be able to decide if AE is for you; which would be the focus of our next sub-heading: ‘Adult Education – is it for me?’ (Always contact ICARE for advice and guidance).
Adult Education – is it for me?
When it comes to beginning a new life in education especially for those whose background stems from the developing countries, many adults think schooling is never for them. In many instances, they might be right for various reasons that stem back from their countries of origin. Most of the reasons could be any of the following below:
- Completely out of school
- school dropout
- academic failure
- health reasons
- financial reasons
- teenage pregnancy
- death of parent/carer
- parents or teachers abuse
- peer influence
The good news is that either in the United Kingdom (UK) or in the United States of America (USA), there is the motivation and support to start a new beginning in education to become whatever you want to become no matter your educational background or age. The only thing you need is the ‘determination’ to start a new life. ICARE will provide you with all the motivation, support and guidance you need. Visit our contact page for further communication.
Finally, as to the question whether adult education is for you or not, the answer is ‘Yes’, it is for you. You could become a nurse within some few years without prior educational background from your country of origin.
ICARE Education Consultants 