The Clothes Line. Airing Equity Challenges for ACE.

Overview & Synopsis

Along with schooling, technical and further education, and higher education, adult and community education (ACE) forms part of the framework of lifelong education. It makes a major contribution to the social justice performance of postsecondary education by catering to adults who cannot gain access to or succeed in mainstream postsecondary education. Special populations that ACE reaches are as follows: women; people from non-English speaking backgrounds; prisoners; aboriginal people; people living in small, isolated, and remote communities; and people with disabilities. Policy issues that face ACE include the need for guaranteed and ongoing government funding and fair and reasonable wages for workers, predominantly women, in part-time employment. Equitable fee policies and clear guidelines about areas of ACE activity that are fee exempt must be developed. This policy must be developed within a framework of affordability as distinct from cost recovery. The area of articulation, accreditation, and credit transfer presents a huge challenge for ACE. Courses must be presented in a way that assists learners in getting recognition for their learning. Government policy is necessary to ensure availability of ACE opportunities to adults throughout Australia. Finally, adult educators must look after their own lifelong needs for professional development to make sure they provide a high quality service. (YLB)