The Worsening Political Divide: Adult Education as Part of the Cure

The US is experiencing extreme social and political polarization not seen since the Civil War. This divisiveness is causing civil unrest and governmental dysfunction which threatens the stability of the nation. Four major causes of the current state are party realignment, the deregulation of news broadcasting, algorithmic personalization of electronic information, and an unknowing public. Adult education can and should be part of the remedy reducing or eliminating harmful polarization. Knowledge of authoritative systems is key to the solution. To promote such knowledge, adult educators can create practical and theoretical learning experiences about authoritative systems and incorporate such knowledge into existing courses and programs. Breadth of the field should produce myriad ways to do so particular to each educator's practice. [For the complete volume, "American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Inaugural 2020 Conference Proceedings (Online, October 27-30, 2020)," see ED611534.]