Lifelong Education Administration and Policy

Adult Education

Mission Statement

The mission of the Program of Adult Education mirrors the three-fold mission of the University of Georgia: to teach, to research, and to serve. What makes the department's mission unique is the central idea of adult education that conscious, systematic, purposeful learning should be a lifelong process for everyone. Considering the rapidly changing society in which adults live, the need for continuous learning is necessary both personally and professionally. Consequently, the three-fold mission of the department applies to both informal and formal learning experiences and to a wide variety of applied fields, including, but not limited to, higher continuing education, state and local government, business and industry, public and private health agencies, cooperative extension service, and the military. Three core areas essential to adult education provide the focus for the department's teaching and research mission: (1) The social context of adult education; (2) program development and management processes; and (3) teaching and learning processes.

The teaching mission of the program is to prepare teachers, program specialists, directors, supervisors, evaluators, and researchers in the three core areas to be able to design, conduct, and interpret research that reflects original scholarship and ideas for direct practical application in these areas. An equal part of the department's instructional mission is to assist its students in acquiring concepts and theories and in drawing inferences from such reflection.

The research mission of the program is to make significant contributions toward the development of theory and practice in adult education through faculty and student investigations and publications in the three core areas. Such topics are investigated in a wide range of settings (e.g., schools, the work place) and for a wide range of subject matters (e.g., basic literacy, continuing professional education).

The service mission of the program is to make available and to apply the department's resources toward Georgia and in this country and around the world. Conferences, consultations, curriculum development, alternative degree arrangements, and credit and non-credit courses represent the variety of departmental outreach activities.

Although described individually, the three components of the program's mission are interdependent in the sense that instruction depends on and is enhanced by research findings; research findings are disseminated through instruction and service; and service depends on instruction and research for appropriate delivery modes and subject matter. The integration of instruction, research and services provides for a holistic response to the needs of individuals, groups, and communities.