Robert Hamilton

Did the dream end there? Adult education and Resurrection City 1968

Abstract This article considers the role played by adult education in a temporary community called Resurrection City in 1968. It draws on primary source documents and oral testimonies from three archives. Social movement theory and the ideas of Freire and Gramsci provide a conceptual framework. In May 1968 around 6,000 poor people from across the United States converged on Washington D.C. to dramatise poverty. They established their own city among the Washington monuments and determined to remain until their demands to end poverty were met. The city lasted six weeks before being closed down. Resurrection City has been largely regarded as a failure in the historiography of the civil rights movement. This neglects the impact on participants of the adult education activities which characterised daily life in the space made possible by the initiative. Adult education, including a Poor Peoples University at Resurrection City, brought together the poor from different racial, cultural and educational backgrounds to discuss, reflect on and engage with the issue of poverty. Resurrection City provided a template for other social movements which followed; participants found common ground which transcended their differences in background and developed a deeper understanding of how to advance their struggle for economic justice.

More than expected? Psychological outcomes from first-stage training in counselling

This study considers psychological outcomes of first-stage counselling training for nine annual student cohorts. A self-report questionnaire, with both open-ended and closed questions, was employed to investigate initial course expectations, what had been learned about self, and any perceived changes in attributes and skills and in relationships with family, friends and others. Eighty-six out of a total of 148 students returned questionnaires, a response rate of 58%. Students reported having learned more about counselling theories and skills, as they had expected initially, but results show that other important outcomes had been largely unanticipated. Many, for example, felt that, as a consequence of course participation, they had a deeper understanding, and greater acceptance, of self and that a range of attributes and skills, such as sensitivity to others and communication skills, had been enhanced. For many, these outcomes had led to improved relationships with family and friends, and also, for some, with work colleagues. It is concluded that, in this example of introductory counselling training, the course experience had led students to discover more about self and had also impacted on different facets of their lives.

Hegel in Glasgow: Idealists and the emergence of adult education in the West of Scotland, 1866–1927

Abstract This paper considers how Hegels philosophical idealism influenced the thinking and practical activities of four successive holders of the Chair of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow between 1866 and 1927. It argues that their activities were shaped by Hegelian concepts of citizenship, which engendered a commitment to encouraging the organisation and development of liberal adult education. It considers how their support for social movements promoting new educational opportunities, notably university extension, the WEA and social settlement houses, had a substantial and lasting impact on the evolution of adult education during the twentieth century.

The Mule Train – Adult learning and the Poor People’s Campaign 1968

Abstract This article examines the neglected role of adult learning in the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) through a case study of a low-income group from Marks in Mississippi, regarded as the poorest town in America. Social movement theory and both Gramsci and Freire provide a conceptual framework for the study. Over 100 people travelled in May 1968 from Marks to Washington DC where they set up camp with thousands of others to campaign against poverty. Part of their journey was completed on wagons pulled by mules on what was known as the Mule Train. Before departure for Washington and on route, the Marks contingent, the majority of whom had little or no formal education, learned together in workshops, meetings and demonstrations. How and what they learned both individually and collectively provides fresh and unique insights into the impact and enduring legacy of the PPC. The article draws on primary source material including documents and interviews, and secondary sources. It is argued that those on the Mule Train were radicalised by what they learned together as poor people and that their presence also educated America. Further, the lost legacy of the Mule Train also has relevance for 21st century anti-poverty campaigners.

Social Settlement Houses

Urban squalor in Britain and America fostered the reform impulses that led to the introduction in slum areas of social settlement houses during the progressive period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.1 With roots in England, the settlement movement spread throughout the British Empire and across the Atlantic to rapidly expanding cities including New York, Boston, and Chicago. All settlements shared certain characteristics, yet although some were never more than early examples of neighborhood centers, others became significant players in the reform effort. Among the most influential were those British and American settlements that afforded opportunities for educated women to make their own unique contributions to reform. Between 1889 and 1910, female students and graduates used the space within their own settlement houses to engage in a range of endeavors that had a significant effect on the transatlantic world.

Profiling Regional Engagement and Lifelong Learning in Higher Education: Closing the Engagement Gap

This article explores the engagement profiles of higher education institutions (heIs) and highlights issues that add value to their espoused ‘closeness’ to regional government, business and communities.. It reveals those domains where there is a mis-match in current engagement practice, referred to here as the engagement gap. It is argued that regional authorities should be encouraged to ‘reach in’ to demand more of the heIs in their localities, steering them to fulfil their responsibilities to be lifelong learning organisations.