2013 survey of ABE students

This 2013 survey of ABE and ESL students  in Development Programs in Post-Secondary Institutions concluded that :

“Respondents’ educational aspirations and achievements align not only with their reasons for enrolling but also the development-based purpose of ABE studies. ABE course completion lays the needed groundwork for success in post-secondary education and labour market attachment.” [Emphasis added]. (Government of British Columbia, 2013, p. 46).

So why the rush to cut ABE and ESL courses? Among the many interesting findings in this survey, 70% of ABE and ESL students pursued further studies in post-secondary institutions following their completion of ABE and ESL courses, leading to certificates, diplomas and degrees. 95% said that ABE had prepared them academically to succeed in these courses and almost all respondents intended to pursue further education.

The majority of respondents also said that their ABE courses did help them in their work lives even though this was not their original intention in enrolling. How will overall PSI enrolment be affected by the inevitable decline in ABE and ESL student participation that will result from the recently announced cuts?

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Students Caught in BC ABE Funding Crisis

Further to Trevor Flynn’s moving experience of a student caught in the BC ABE tuition fee crisis (The Tyee, January 15, 2015, and posted earlier in this blog), students who face multiple barriers to education are well represented in BC’s post-secondary ABE programs. Read a sampling of Vancouver Community College, Basic Education Department (Fundamental Level ABE) student profiles excerpted from Re-Framing the Conversation: Respecting Adult Basic Education in BC.

ABE Learner Profiles, pp. 7-8

In BC post-secondary, Fundamental Level ABE students have access to stable, quality programming tailored to their unique needs. Upon completion of Basic Education at VCC, students also have access to further upgrading, up to and including high school graduation, training programs, practicums, and better employment prospects.

Click below to access the full document.

Re-Framing the Conversation – Respecting Adult Basic Education in BC (Dec 2014)

New report on ABE

Lynn Horvat, an adult educator at VCC, has just completed her study, Re-Framing the Conversation: Respecting Adult Basic Education in BC (2014), on ABE policy in BC. Her report is an excellent source of accessible information on adult education policies in BC and in Canada, neoliberal effects on access to education, policy rules, portraits of adult basic education students, statistics on public funding for adult education  and even an inclusion of the implications of the recently announced tuition fee policy for ABE students.  Lynn’s work adds more weight to the view shared by many in in the ABE and ESL fields that what is happening in these sectors today offers a glimpse into what may be in store for our publicly funded K – 12 education system:

https://adultlearningmatters.files.wordpress.com/…/re-framing-the-conversation…dec-2014.pdf

ABE in BC fact sheet

This fact sheet produced by the Canadian Federation of Students is designed as an advocacy and information tool. It offers excellent information about the history of ABE policy in BC and the role of ABE in personal lives, family life, economic participation and socio-economic equality.