History of Adult Education the 1970s

Your name	Commented On
Darla Harrington	Bob Phelps Will Cooper Jackie Davis Shane Webster Hagan Lawson Nathan Stoll

Darla Kay Harrington

Ball State University

EDAC 631 Adult and Community Education

September 14, 2019

The 1970s was an interesting time period.  It was an exciting time for everyone socially as well as educationally.  We watch social issues explode into protests.  The colored TV made things happening around the world occur in our living rooms. New ideas sparked innovative legislation that changed the future of United States education policies. 

Social Background

There was a lot of turbulence in 1970.  There was a war, a fight for equal rights, a resignation of a President, along with an energy crisis.  All of these factors helped spark change.

At the start of the 1970s, President Nixon was two years into his first term after running on a campaign promise he would get America out of the Vietnam War (Editors, 2009).  The American citizens started to wonder if this was going to occur.  On May 4, 1970 a protest at Kent State University turned deadly with killing 4 and wounding 9 students (Lewis, 1998).  Americans were in two camps, either you supported the war or you were against it.

A new magazine came out in 1971.  The magazine was named Ms.  The magazine was the first to write articles about women’s issues.  The magazine gave a voice to women and encouraged them to apply for jobs that had been typically for men.  Now women began hearing they can have careers in any field they want. (Seamone, 2014)

Along came 1973s oil embargo by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) which led the United States into an energy crisis (Editors, Energy Crisis (1970s), 2010).  This caused extremely long lines at the gas stations, thermostats were turned down everywhere including schools.  Instead of buying American made cars, we started buying fuel efficient Japanese vehicles which hurt American manufacturing jobs.

On August 9, 1974, President Nixon resigned (Kilpatrick, 1974).  Education for lawyers now includes professional responsibility (Staff, 2017).  The new President, Gerald Ford, gets the United States out of the war.

Significant Events

            It is important to start with a conference that was held in December of 1969 because it shaped changes in adult education.  The conference was the Galaxy Conference which made a list of “Imperatives for Action.” (Education, 2013)  To make sure action occurred, the National Advisory Council on Adult Education was formed.  Reports on the actions were made 31 times over a period of 18 years. (Education, 2013)

            In 1972, important legislation was passed for women.  The act is referred to as Title IX.  The act states, “Protects students from discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs that receive federal financial assistance.” (Madigan, 2009)  This act opened all sorts of doors for women.  Until this legislation occurred, they were not encouraged to do math, science, or athletics. (Madigan, 2009)

            Additional changes to adult education occurred in 1974.  It started with provisions for the handicapped.  It added federal funding for adult secondary education and bilingual adult education.  Once President Ford took office, the amount of federal aid increased.

            Once we elected President Carter, more educational amendments occurred.  President Carter made adult education’s purpose to relate to basic skills.  Grants were provided for research, and a focus on demonstration activities and program evaluations.  Special programs were introduced for Indochina refugees and adult immigrants (Education, 2013).  President Carter also raised funding for adult education by 24 percent (Education, 2013).

Influential Factors

            There are two different legal issues that were influential.  The first one is in 1972 supreme court case of Eisenstadt V. Baird that allowed single persons to use birth control (Legal History of Contraceptives, 2014).  The second one the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendment in 1972 (New Title IX Draft Regulations, 1975, p. 9). 

            Allowing birth control for non-married students opened the door for women to get an education beyond high school.  Enrollment of women in adult educations went from four percent in the 1960s to 14 Percent in the 1970s (Bristow, 2019, p. 222).  In 1970, women averaged one year out of high school to marry.  By 1979, women were postponing marriage on an average of 2.5 years (Francis, 2019).

            The passage of Title IX allowed women to apply for federal assistances and scholarships.  No longer were these limited to men.  Women were being recruited into math and science careers.  In 1976, women were being admitted into West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the Air Force Academy (Purpose, 2017).

Implications

            Before the 1970s, adult education for women consisted of homemaking skills, or becoming a secretary, teacher or a nurse.  The majority of the education came from sources other than higher education.  The 1970s changed the following:

·       Equal access for women to colleges

·       Non gender career education

·       Protection against pregnancy

·       Admittance for women to military schools

·       Access for women to scholarships

·       Bilingual education for immigrants

·       An advisory committee on adult education

·       Federal funding for adult education

All of these changes help set the future from implementing computer technology to who we see in the workforce.  I believe if it wasn’t for the 1970s, I would not have taught under three women principals and one woman superintendent. 

Areas	Summary
Social background	War, Women’s rights, energy crisis
Highlights	Galaxy Conference on adult education,  Title IX, Handicap laws, funding
Influential factors	Birth control legal for non-married people, Title IX
Implications	Women can become anything they want

REFERENCES

Bristow, J. (2019). Stop Mugging Grandma: The Generation Wars and Why Baby Boomer Blaming Won't Solve Anything. Padstow, Cornwall: Yale University Press.

Editors, H. (2009, November 13). Richard Nixon Elected President. Retrieved from History: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/richard-nixon-elected-president

Editors, H. (2010, August 30). Energy Crisis (1970s). Retrieved from History: https://www.history.com/topics/1970s/energy-crisis

Education, U. D. (2013). Federal Adult Education A legislative History 1964-2013. Washington D.C.: Office of Vocational and Adult Education.

Francis, D. (2019, September). Why Women Outnumber Men in College. Retrieved from The National Bureau of Economic Research: https://www.nber.org/digest/jan07/w12139.html

Kilpatrick, C. (1974, August 9). Nixon Resigns. Retrieved from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/articles/080974-3.htm?noredirect=on

Legal History of Contraceptives. (2014, January 28). Retrieved from The Jurist Legal News & Research: https://www.jurist.org/archives/feature/legal-history-of-contraceptives-in-the-us/

Lewis, J. M. (1998, Summer). The May 4 Shootings At Kent State University: The Search For Historical Accuracy. Retrieved from Kent.edu: https://www.kent.edu/may-4-historical-accuracy

Madigan, J. (2009). The Education of Girls and Women in the United States: A Historical Perspective. Retrieved from National Coalition of Girls' Schools: https://www.ncgs.org/research/database/the-education-of-girls-and-women-in-the-united-states-a-historical-perspective/

New Title IX Draft Regulations. (1975, Spring). Women's Studies Newsletter. New York, NY: The Feminist Press.

Purpose, T. a. (2017, March 8). TIMELINE: A History Of Women In The US Military. Retrieved from Task and Purpose: https://taskandpurpose.com/timeline-history-women-us-military

Seamone, E. (2014, July 30). Life And Work: What Was It Really Like For Women In The 1970s? Retrieved from womanworklife.com: http://www.womenworklife.com/2014/07/30/work-life-really-like-women-1970s/

Staff, N. (2017, August 8). The legacy of Watergate: Five ways life changed after the scandal. Retrieved from constitutioncenter.org: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-legacy-of-watergate-five-important-changes-after-the-scandal/