A City College’s GED Students—Factors and Unanswered Questions

The goal of this study is to have a better understanding of today’s general education development (GED) students so proper services and support can be provided to meet their needs. Through students enrolled in GED programs in a health science career pathway–focused city college, the study learned the students’ employment status, career intention, and sources of finding the GED programs. It tracked academic year gaps between the students’ very first and current GED enrollment in the city college and found a mild correlation between student age and year gap. It also identified GED students’ unbalanced learning skills in math and reading.

Authoring Self: GED Students Transforming Their Identities in a Composition Makerspace

In this case study, I examine the ways adult learners improve skills and practices around communication, problem-solving, motivation, self-esteem, and technology through engagement in a makerspace curriculum focused on composition. A primary objective is to provide insight into the various ways that adult education environments can incorporate innovative practices of teaching and learning to prepare students for a standardized high school equivalency test and beyond. The patterns in the data revealed that makerspaces for the focal participants predominantly supported nonacademic skill development, particularly learning from mistakes, the importance of learning from each other, and identifying as a learner to aid in one’s learning.

G.E.D. in 3 Voices

In this piece, the author experiments with re-presenting particular stories through poetic texts that contextualize and honor difference in experience between GED students and instructors. These poetic re-presentations stem from an ongoing study that explores (a) adult basic education instructors’ perceptions of their pedagogy and interaction with their students, and (b) adult student experiences in GED classes as well as perceptions of their instructors. The poems are constructed entirely from the words of the participants to capture the tenor of self-disclosure and experience that was shared with the author and to draw the reader toward these experiences. The poems are written in three columns, representing three voices—two students and one instructor. The author hopes that as the reader moves along the text in a weaving pattern, one voice is not privileged over the others as similar and divergent views are expressed.