Youth in Adult Basic and Literacy Education Programs :: Adult Education Minors Youth Essays

Youth in Adult Basic and Literacy Education Programs Wherever adult educators gather, whether at conferences, meetings, or in e-mail discussion groups, a topic on many minds is the challenge of increasing numbers of teenagers enrolled in adult education classes. (Smith 2002, p. 1). The increase in the number of youth under the age of 18 enrolling in federally funded adult basic and literacy education programs is a trend that is putting increasing pressures on programs designed to serve an adult population (Hayes 2000). A number of questions and issues surround this trend and administrators and teachers view it from different perspectives (ibid.; Smith 2002). After reviewing some of the trends and factors that are contributing to an increase in youth enrollment, this Digest provides an overview of how programs are responding to the challenge of serving young adults. Documenting the Trend Much of the evidence related to the trend of youth under the age of 18 enrolling in federally funded adult education programs is anecdotal in nature. Documenting the extent of the trend is difficult due to the way in which federal statistics on age of program participants have been compiled and variation in state policies (Hayes 2000). Fiscal Year 2000 was the first and most recent year that the number of participants aged 16-18 is shown as a separate category in the state statistics compiled by the Division of Adult Education and Literacy in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education; in that year, 16% of the total participants were in that category (http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/AdultEd/2000age.html). Prior to FY 2000, youth aged 16-18 were included in the category "ages 16-24"; in 1999, 35% of participants were in that category. In 2000, the number of participants aged 16-18 (16%) combined with the number aged 19-24 (25%) totaled 41%, indicating t hat, overall, the number of younger participants is on the increase, but it is not possible to tell if the increase is among youth aged 16-18. State policies regarding at what age individuals may take the General Educational Development (GED) test as well as who is eligible to be served by adult basic and literacy programs vary: some states have more liberal policies that allow 16-18 year-olds to enroll in programs as a way of preparing for the GED so that they can complete high school (Beckwith 2002; Hayes 2000; Smith 2002). Figures from the GED Testing Service reveal something about the number of youth who potentially may be enrolled in federally funded programs.