Analytical review of remedial educational programs for socially and economically disadvantaged adults

The principal concern of this thesis was to examine the role of education in altering the personal and social characteristics of the disadvantaged adult, and to select Information of functional value to program design for those educators or agencies contemplating remedial educational programs with disadvantaged adults. The sources of data for this descriptive study were limited to research reports on special retraining and remedial educational programs for the disadvantaged. Descriptive data on poverty and characteristics of the disadvantaged were also used selectively. As a group, the disadvantaged have the lowest Income, the poorest education, the largest families, the most Inadequate housing, the highest Incidence of III health, and the least hope or promise of a better future. In addition to such socio-economic handicaps, the disadvantaged are hampered by certain psychological disabilities including a lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem and a high degree of dependency. Because of a limited perception of the value of education, the disadvantaged display neither the aspiration nor the motivation to achieve educational goals. They are further handicapped by a lack of verbal facility which limits their communication with society. The research provides a depressing picture of the relationship between the disadvantaged and society. Largely because of discrimination, the poverty sub-culture has been compelled to evolve its own operational way of life. The customary associationaI contacts of the middle-class society are not functional to the disadvantaged and they participate instead through casual, close, and often intimate primary group relationships. Remedial programs are characterized by: programs of lengthy duration with a distinct preference for the classroom method; Instructional agents with little or no specialized training for the clientele; use of a limited number of Instructional techniques; heavy reliance on Instructional devices and materials; extensive use of pre-adult tests for both placement and evaluation; and a preponderant number of descriptive and subjective evaluations. Because of the scarcity of substantial research, specific details of educational planning for the disadvantaged cannot be stated with assurance. The rejection of the Institutionalized patterns of education by the disadvantaged Is Indicative of the need to discover new patterns which will be acceptable to them. The present pattern of remedial educational programs offers little hope of answering the needs of the disadvantaged.Education, Faculty ofEducational Studies (EDST), Department ofGraduat