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The study of adult education at UBC, 1957-1985

In 1957, The University of British Columbia launched Canada's first degree-granting
program in adult education. It subsequently grew to be one of the largest departments in the
Faculty of Education, and recognized internationally for its work. As it grew, however, the
program lost its initial administrative privilege. This study asks why UBC had the honour of
this Canadian "first," and how the program flowed and ebbed. It shows the relations between the
department's administrative and intellectual activities, and how the program fit British
Columbia's social development more generally. The study concludes that the successes were
largely opportunistic, as the program profited from the changing face of higher education more
generally and privileges secured under an early administrative regime. The program's failure was
that it did not create a stable identity independent of these opportunities: it failed to gain
recognition from academic outsiders as the home of distinct adult education research and
knowledge, and it failed to become the gatekeeper of a controlled profession. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/11050
Date11 1900
CreatorsDamer, Eric John
Source SetsUniversity of British Columbia
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, Thesis/Dissertation
Format12187457 bytes, application/pdf
RightsFor non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

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