Possible limitations of ratio analysis

Answer

Fundamental differences exist between teaching in K-12 system and in adult education.  There are specific challenges facing the field of continuing education including: defining the major domain of skills, knowledge, and abilities in the field of adult education which does not give definition of any domain; applying assessment of performances for more than one purpose and in different audiences; acquiring the fiscal resources/funding necessary to carry out the planning, implementation and assessment of such a program while the state and federal monies are limited to such initiatives; having adequate time for assessment, training and learning exercises, while the participation and availability of adults is limited; and developing the much needed relevant expertise to spearhead the training, assessment development, maintenance and implementation of the program (Smith & Hofer, 2003).

These challenges have continued to disturb the success of the adult learning program, with more emphasis on the complexity of curriculum development that would bring the goals of students in multilevel classrooms, and to what extent the curriculum should bring forth the participation of adult students and how to balance basic skills with content. Developing the curriculum for adult students is a task which solely rests on the shoulders of the teachers, or is dictated by the policies which provide a standard plan for all institutions. Most teachers experience problems in creating a curriculum that is all-inclusive, multilingual, and with a broad cultural base (Sheared & Sissel, 2001). When not required to use the standard curriculum, challenges of incorporating students’ lives and backgrounds become hectic.

Organizing instructions in lifelong learning is also a major challenge, with most teachers grappling with the choice between class instruction and individualized instruction. The enrolment policies complicated this program, by giving liberty of entry and exit of students, hence planning by teachers on how to organize instructions becomes a nightmare (Sheared & Sissel, 2001). Thirdly, assessing skills and progress of students in continuing education also presents some challenges. Since the information for performance measures and standard intake used by this program has not been very helpful to teachers, they have been faced with the challenge of acquiring that information on their own (Smith & Hofer, 2003). This is hectic due to the incontinuity in the education of a particular adult. 

Apart from challenges facing the program in the classroom, fiscal issues have been a major setback to the success of the program. As mentioned before, funding for the performance assessment, training, implementation, and maintenance of adult education from the federal and state departments is not very stable. In fact, limited monies are being directed towards this initiative, which hinders the quality of the program (Smith & Hofer, 2003). There is great pressure from funders leveled against the teachers, which require them to attain a large number of learners. This implies that limited resources have to be thinly distributed, so as to allow for equal access by all individuals. This does not only affect the students, but the teachers as well, who receive less remuneration, benefits and professional development.

Political structures have a profound effect on lifelong learning, or so to speak, on the entire education system. Closely related to the above point, political structures dictate the dynamics of releasing funds to educational institutions. In addition, stability and peace are anchored on political aura, implying that adults will only be willing to enlist when there is peace and political stability in the region (Sheared & Sissel, 2001). It also dictates the number of immigrants, who, as has been found, constitute a major portion of the adult learning program.