As an educator of adult students, working with a diverse group of adult learners is a challenge only in the eyes of the perspective of the educator. In reality, the adult learners generally do not view their classmates as a diverse set of students being taught by one educator. The students are seeking leadership and knowledge from the instructor. Therefore, the use of Critical Social Theory to address the environmental link between the political (teacher) and economic (adult learner) is suggested. CST “it is a collection of theoretical perspectives, which represents an interdisciplinary school of thought that seeks to explore phenomena through examination of the contextual effects of power, knowledge, and values.” (Bevan et al, 2012) For example, in working with adult students, my goal on the first day is to address each student individual one-by-one across the room, as a class, and get to know each individual. This is the best way to assess each student and to identify whether to essentially teach in an explanatory manner or in a more expeditious manner relative to the perceived learning ability of some adult learners. By making it known that students must ask questions when there is a misunderstanding, the differentiation in the learning ability becomes mitigated.
Assumptions held on the first day of class that should be made aware of and mindful of include that each student is a paying customer and my presence as a teacher is only due to the presence of each student that has identifiable needs and goals for this course. I cannot forget that each student wants to walk away knowing the information that was suggested to be taught in the adult learning course, likely to be adult training for job and professional skills, which are economic in nature and therefore requires an industry level of understanding from each adult student in order to have any practical use in society.
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It is vital to challenge previous assumptions and beliefs when interacting with or instructing others different from myself because most assumptions and beliefs are sweeping generalizations that do not hold any real weight when seeking to define any one particular individual. Therefore in a class of adult learners, challenging the assumption that an overweight minority individual is not as swift of a learner as a thin, majority individual is an example of a learning stereotype and a sweeping generalization that occurs from the stereotype.
It is essential to critically examine issues related to race, class, and gender when working with adult learners because often these adult learners were previously subjected to discrimination based on race, class and/or gender. Therefore, being mindful to the fact that each person is an individual adult learner will keep the class on track with the goal of the course rather than focus on issues relating to politics and sociology. For example, if an African American woman in the class is unable to make the class one day of the week and is not able to afford the class text (if there is one), the issue of income inequality among female minorities becomes a critical issue that must be dealt with in an equitable manner that allows the individual to remain on par with the rest of the class, without reference to her income.
Some specific ways to use critical theory, postmodern, and feminist perspectives to reach the group of diverse learners is to. Identify the political and socioeconomic identifies of each individual in the class, and identify, postmodern and feminist perspectives, each gender specific identity in the class that best suits the sociological identity of the individual. For example, if a Hispanic female identifies herself as a PTA member her activity is a postmodern reflection of the feminist movement that brought political equality to the academic and socioeconomic forefront. Historically, the only condition allowing a female to intervene in the role of a child’s education is if there is not a husband present or if the female is in the role of an educator.
My understanding of these three theories informed my thinking as an adult learner and as an adult educator by enabling me to be on each side of the desk. CST, postmodern, and feminist perspectives provide a comprehensive understanding to the nature of the teaching role to adult learners and to the learning identity of each adult student, given the breadth and scope of each theory when taken together. For example, these three theories allow for me to identify what it is like to be any one of the diverse students in the room, and to critically evaluate my teaching based on the perceived opinion of their learning identity.
- Bevan, J., Senn-Reeves, J., Inventor, B., Greiner, S., Mayer, K., Rivard, M., & Hamilton, R. (2012). Critical social theory approach to disclosure of genomic incidental findings.Nursing Ethics, 19(6), 819-828
- Sel?uk, G. (2011). POSTMODERN S?YLEM VE POP?LER K?LT?R KAVRAMININ SEMANT?K D?N???M?. (Turkish). Journal Of Yasar University, 6(23), 3878-3889.
- Wolfe, S. M. (2012). Adopting a feminist perspective is not a linear process. Journal Of Community Psychology, 40(1), 93-111.
