TEXAS Adult & Family Literacy QUARTERLY

Professional Wisdom for Adult and Family Literacy

Professional Wisdom as a Cornerstone of Program Management

by Elizabeth B. Thompson, CFLE

The call for articles for this edition reminded us that evidence-based practice is “the integration of professional wisdom with the best available empirical evidence in making decisions about how to deliver instruction.”

It has been my observation that a body of professional wisdom develops out of necessity. Research follows necessity. The fields of adult education and family literacy are prime examples of this. The Even Start Family Literacy legislation was passed into law in 1989. The four-component family literacy program as we know it today is barely 20 years old. Professional wisdom exists, but a full body of research surrounding family literacy has yet to develop.

That puts administrators in a difficult position when asked to plan academic programs that are based on research. Administrators of family literacy and, to some extent, adult education, are blazing new paths. I entered the field in 1995, armed with degrees in family studies and a desire to work in a prevention program instead of an intervention program. There were few resources for family literacy administrators at that time. The National Center for Family Literacy had been created, but a professional organization for family literacy practitioners had yet to be formed. Research questions were not yet developed. The best source of knowledge at that time was previous experience and peers.

When blazing new paths, administrators take what they know, apply and adapt. Research follows to confirm what has been learned through experience. We took what we knew, adapted it to family literacy and learned as we went. There were mistakes, but soon the successes became apparent.

Thankfully, there have been some advancements in the research since 1995. The National Early Literacy Panel, National Assessment of Adult Literacy and The National Assessment of Education Progress have all made significant contributions to the body of research in adult education and family literacy.

These studies and others support several strategies for program improvement that confirm current professional wisdom:

Recruitment and Retention: Every family that is most-in-need is not prepared for the time commitment that is required to participate in Even Start. This supports the need for local programs to screen for most-in-need and families that have the ability to participate fully. The concept of screening is now getting more serious consideration in adult education circles as well. Screening for students who are academically in need of services and able to participate fully in the services offered sets the stage for a higher degree of student success and program success. Wlodkowski addressed this aspect of student motivation in his work, Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn: A Comprehensive Guide for Teaching All Adults.

Staff Development. There is no substitute for a well-trained staff. Since few staff come to adult education and family literacy with academic backgrounds in those fields, local programs bear the burden of staff development. Investments in training pay off in quality of instruction, implementation of procedures such as orientation, proper assessment at the appropriate times and student outcomes. Administrators have learned this through experience. Research now shows correlations between effective professional development and school success. The bonus for administrators is that well-prepared teachers report higher levels of teacher satisfaction.

Instruction. Parents from low-literate or non-literate backgrounds must be directly taught how to incorporate literacy activities into the home. Thus, teaching techniques such as dialogic reading and conversation between generations have become standard fare in family literacy programs. Edmund Burke Huey had already identified the concept that spoken language is a precursor to reading as “professional wisdom” as early as 1908 in his publication, the Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading. Today, a synthesis of research by the National Early Literacy Panel has confirmed a correlation between oral language and reading success.

Professional wisdom is created when teachers or administrators successfully test a hypothesis in a real-life setting. Taking the “well that didn’t work” result, then identifying ideas that might work better is, in effect, creating a hypothesis. Testing the hypothesis by applying it in daily program operations will prove it or disprove it. Teachers and administrators do this every day. In fact, this may sound amazingly familiar to action research aficionados.

Professional wisdom and evidence-based education and empirical evidence and educational theory are all needed for sound program management. Readers are encouraged to remember that we work in a young field. It is not possible to find a research basis for all you do in program management. Your evidence-based ideas about program improvement may be the precursor to future research. Professional wisdom has a place in program management, a place that can only be enhanced as the body of research grows to support it. Your professional wisdom, gleaned from peer interaction and experience, are cornerstones in program improvement.

References

Byrd, M., Chlup, D.T., Appelt, K., Smith, H.V. (2005). Research, theory, and professional wisdom and their relationship to Texas indicators of program quality (IPQs) for curriculum and instructional practices in adult educa tion and literacy programs. Retrieved 2-9-09 from www-tcall.tamu.edu/research/rtpipq05/rtpipq12-05.html.

Hart, B., Risley, T. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young american children. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Huey, E.B. (1908). The psychology and pedagogy of reading. The Macmillan Co., New York, New York.

Lonigan, T., Shanahan, T. (2008). Executive summary, developing early literacy report of the national early literacy panel. Retrieved 2-09-2009 from www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications/pdf/NELPSummary.pdf.

Professional develoment, education week 9-21-2004. Retrieved 2-10-09 from www.edweek.org/rc/issues/ professional-development.

Reading and talking together. Seminar presentation, U.S. Department of Education (2006). Washington, DC: Education Development Center, Inc.

Wlodkowski, R. J. (1999) Enhancing adult motivation to learn: A comprehensive guide for teaching all adults. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers.

About the Author

Elizabeth “Beth” Thompson is an Assistant Director at Texas LEARNS where her primary responsibility is to serve as the State Coordinator of Even Start and Family Literacy. She has a B.S. and an M.S. from Louisiana State University. Beth and her husband Jim have two children and reside in Katy, Texas.