Resistance and Repair: Using Critical Policy Analysis to Explore How Adult Educators Implement Federal Policy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Adult Learners: Policy and Practice (Table 2)

Abstract

The current federal adult basic education policy, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) has narrowed the performance accountability system toward economic outcomes. Yet there is limited awareness of how adult educators have navigated these accountability policies. Therefore, this critical policy analysis synthesizes findings from two qualitative studies to examine the tension between “the problem” and purpose of adult education stated in WIOA and the experiences of local providers working within structural constraints. The paper seeks not only to critique how WIOA’s increased accountability measures narrow who is served by federal policy, but also engage in conversation on how adult education providers can repair and build community beyond the limitations of federal policy.

Authors

• Diana Brace, University of Iowa

• Alexis Cherewka, World Education/JSI