Developing an Adult Basic Education Licensure Process for Massachusetts
The Certification Update is published by the ESE (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) in coordination with SABES (System for Adult Basic Education Support) in an effort to keep practitioners and interested parties apprised of the status of the ABE Certification. This, our first issue, is in conjunction with the October 15th release of an Interim Report to David Driscoll, Commissioner of Education. Our hope is to open the lines of communication and to encourage feedback from the field. Your voice will be heard.
The First report to Commissioner Driscoll is out!
Recent progress made by the statewide Certification Advisory Committee has been compiled in a report to Commissioner Driscoll. The Commissioner's response was both quick and positive. The report has been mass-mailed to programs and organizations across the Commonwealth and is also available on the ACLS Website, www.doe.mass.edu/acls. (The document is available in MS Word and in PDF format for use with Adobe reader.) A listing of the Certification Advisory Committee is included in this document. The Committee is comprised of representatives from adult basic education programs, unions, higher education, and professional organizations.
The report includes a draft of the practitioners' competency list that integrates common teacher competencies from ESE's Regulations for the Certification of Educational Personnel in Massachusetts with additional competencies that reflect the special knowledge and skills needed to serve adult learners. In producing this list, the Advisory Committee drew from the work of past Massachusetts task forces and committees and from dozens of current lists devised by other states and countries (such as Kentucky and Ontario, Canada) and several professional organizations (such as the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and Pelavin Research Institute).
The report also outlines the first attempts to group competencies by content areas, looking toward establishing a foundation level of skills and knowledge as well as those needed for particular specializations in our field. At the same time, a great deal of thought has been given to aligning ABE certification levels with those of ESE's pre-K - 12 certifications (Provisional, Provisional with Advanced Standing, and Standard). In this regard and in all others, the Commissioner has signaled that latitude exists to insure that the ABE certification system reflects the nature and needs of the ABE field.
The work ahead…
In the months ahead, the Advisory Committee will be turning its attention to ways that practitioners can indicate proficiency and ways that needed skills and knowledge can be acquired. A great deal of attention will be given to (a) assessing and documenting prior learning and experience (because so many of our practitioners have acquired these skills through experience) and (b) providing resources to help practitioners acquire new skills and knowledge.
Prior learning and experience. Many of our practitioners have been teaching, managing programs, or counseling adult learners for years. Many already possess a pre-K-12 certification. We need ways to give credit for, and document those competencies at which practitioners have already become proficient. At the same time, we need to make sure that true proficiency exists-beyond, say, the seat time indicated by a passing grade in an academic course.
One method for capturing and documenting prior learning and experience that we will be examining is the portfolio. The portfolio allows a great deal of flexibility to show proficiency; typically, a portfolio will contain transcripts, lesson plans, evaluations, learners' work, and personal statements, among many other kinds of documentation. The use of portfolios has long been accepted by the ESE Office of Certification as an alternative route for applicants who do not meet the requirements in the standard way. We are considering whether this avenue for certification might be useful and relevant for experienced Massachusetts adult education practitioners.
We will also be considering:
- What would be "the equivalent" to a bachelor's or master's degree?
- What kinds of practicum or field experience will be required?
Providing resources. With demands for excellence must come support. What's more, so many, if not most, of our practitioners have limited time and income to apply to certification requirements. And, there are few academic offerings in the Commonwealth for ABE practitioners. Given these realities, how will ESE and SABES guide and support the efforts of practitioners to meet certification requirements? Among the ideas to be considered have been, and will continue to be:
- providing SABES trainings, such as the recently piloted courses in adult learning theory, reading, learning disabilities, ESOL, and numeracy (this last to be offered soon)
- exploring distance learning opportunities, such as the many on-line programs offered over the Internet and tele-learning
- constructing reading lists around particular competencies
- designing self-directed learning projects
- providing trainings for mentors and coaches
- engaging with colleges and universities, and
- designing orientations to provide certification candidates with information and guidance.
Your feedback is critical!
All work done to date are drafts. After you read the Interim Report and this Certification Update, take the time to give us your reactions. They will help to shape the course of discussions within the Certification Advisory Committee. Send your responses via letter, fax, or email to:
Mary Jayne Fay
ABE Certification Specialist
Adult and Community Learning Services
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
email: MJFAY@doe.mass.edu
FAX: 781-338-3394
last updated: October 1, 1999
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