2019 Annual Conference

CPAE CoConference: Research & Theory

CPAE CoConference Only: Professional Development Workshop (90 minutes)

We live in an era of “wicked problems.” Although “wicked problems” have been discussed since the 1970s, there seems to be growing anxiety globally about their intractable nature and the dire consequences. This session explores the potentially crucial role of program planning—both theory and practice—in addressing wicked problems.

This session should be of interest to faculty who teach program planning and to practitioners whose work involves developing programs. It should be of particular interest to those who believe we are facing serious global crises and that our collective responses as adult educators have so far been largely inadequate. Those who harbor anxiety over the current state of the world might find solace in discussing with adult education colleagues ways of increasing the relevance and effectiveness of our programs.

Participants will come away from this sessions with:
• Greater clarity on what constitutes “wicked problems” and why they appear to be intractable.
• An approach to understanding the learning potential embedded within wicked problems.
• An understanding of the limitations of current ways of thinking about and engaging in program planning that limit our potential to address wicked problems.
• Reduced sense of anxiety about the current state of the world and frustration about what to do about it.
• A more hopeful perspective on program planning and the crucial role it can play in addressing wicked problems.

We live in an era of “wicked problems.” Although “wicked problems” have been discussed in the literature since the 1970s, there seems to be growing anxiety globally about their intractable nature and the dire consequences of not making more progress on solutions. A growing number of adult education scholars are expressing this anxiety which sometimes borders on hopelessness.  Recent titles that illustrate this include Adult Learning and Education in Times of Climate Crisis (Walters, 2018) and Adult Education in an Unsustainable Era (Wolff, 2016). This session explores the potentially crucial role of program planning—both theory and practice—in addressing wicked problems. It begins by defining and providing examples of wicked problems. This will be followed by a critique of current program planning theory—and its philosophical underpinnings—as inadequate to address wicked problems. Several examples will be provided to illustrate the argument that current ways of thinking about and engaging in planning are not up to the challenges posed by wicked problems. The session concludes with a proposal for ways of teaching about—and changing our orientation to—program planning so that it is more likely to play a crucial in addressing the learning challenges posed by wicked problems.

The primary format will be presentation and interactive discussion. The session begins with brainstorming about the most serious “wicked problems” currently faced by humanity. One or two of these will be selected as reference points to discuss the current role that adult education plays in addressing them. We will then discuss current planning theory—and its philosophical foundations—and the respects in which it prevents adult educators from fully engaging with wicked problems.  The session concludes with a discussion of alternative ways of thinking about and engaging in planning that might lead to more effective engagement with wicked problems.