Abstract
There are major differences between teaching classes and managing a program of classes and teachers. Those, who find themselves with the responsibility of managing an adult educational program, will need to develop relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities. This is where Organization and Administration of Adult Education Programs: A Guide for Practitioners provides enormous value. It is a go-to guide that covers the tasks, responsibilities, and expectations for those charged with organizing and administering education programs for adults.
Schmidt and Yelich Biniecki are accomplished authors, university professors, and practitioners. Schmidt’s career spans business and adult education, and includes working for a Fortune 500 company. There, he organized and managed employee training and development programs. Yelich Biniecki has over 20 years of experience as a practitioner in the field of adult education. Her career includes working as an administrator, program planner, and adult educator. Yelich Biniecki worked in for-profit, nonprofit, and higher education settings. Both authors have doctorate degrees in urban education, from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
The book consists of 11 chapters. The first 10 chapters are informational, while Chapter 11 offers scenarios, role-plays, and activities for applying takeaways from the earlier chapters. Interwoven throughout Chapters 2 to 10 are real-world examples, questions to ponder, and numerous scenarios. This technique is used by the authors to stimulate readers’ curiosity and deepen reflection as they read.
The knowledge and skills for managing education programs are illuminated in the first chapter. Provided within this introductory chapter is the purpose for the guide and how practitioners can derive benefit from it. This chapter also provides information about Fayol’s (as cited in Fells, 2000) five functions of management, and managerial-type functions required to carry out the organization and administration of adult education programs.
The second chapter delves into the importance of program organization. In this chapter, the authors discuss various ways to organize adult education programs, including by division, product, customer, learner, segment, geography, or territory. Further guidance is given on how to organize according to demand, method, and function. Included in Chapter 2 is a decision-making model for determining how to organize programs within various organizational structures, such as hybrid and matrix.
Leadership and its relationship to administration is explicated in Chapter 3, which ties in neatly with Chapter 4 on budgeting. Expectations for those in administrative roles and responsibilities for managing a program budget are discussed in these chapters, respectively.
Chapter 5 on funding and support is especially critical nowadays, with budget cuts, fewer sources of available funding, and ever-increasing costs. Indeed, this chapter may provide the critical guidance needed to salvage an educational program. This chapter is chock-full of helpful advice on types of funding, proposal writing, and managing funds once received. When writing a proposal, practitioners will do well to review the subtopics, Proposal Writing and Structure, and Submitting Requests and Waiting for Responses.
In Chapter 6, the four P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) are discussed as they relate to adult education programs. Marketing is an area where new practitioners, without a background in the subject, are likely to be unfamiliar.
Human resources and strategic planning are two areas critical to any organization or institution and are addressed in Chapters 7 and 8. Both areas involve people, and short- and long-term planning.
In one way or another, adult educators, administrators, and organizers become familiar with evaluation techniques, creating reports, setting parameters, and administering assessments. Thus, the 18 pages dedicated to Chapter 9, Program Evaluation, serve to build upon or supplement existing knowledge. Chapter 10 consists of 28 pages on legal and ethical issues. The authors caution that the intent of this chapter is not to give legal advice but to provide guidance on the types of legal and ethical issues administrators of adult education programs may face. Legal issues are defined, as are the various levels for legal consideration. Several types of legal issues are explained, such as those related to hiring, evaluating performance, suspensions and terminations, privacy, and accommodations. For clarity in discerning ethical issues, the authors provide not only written guidance, but a visual depiction as well. Ethical decision making is also discussed within this chapter.
As a value added, Chapters 2 to 10 conclude with summaries and additional questions for discussion. Given that the questions are designed to stimulate reflection and critical thinking, Organization and Administration of Adult Education Programs: A Guide for Practitioners is suitable as a classroom text, self-study text, and a desk reference for just-in-time help on specific managerial aspects.