nobody knows… until you tell them packaging your program’s outcomes to build respect and support...

Nobody Knows…

Until You Tell Them

Packaging Your Program’s Outcomes To Build Respect and SupportKathi Polis and Lennox McLendon, 2006

Polis and MeLendon, 2006 2

Out in the Cold

• Nobody knows…Nobody knows…– What we doWhat we do– How pervasive the How pervasive the needneed is is– How successful we areHow successful we are– How we contribute to so many other How we contribute to so many other

human service and social programshuman service and social programs– How limited our resources areHow limited our resources are


We don’t get no respect!

Adult Education


Rodney Understands


Rodney understands:

• I told my son, “One day you will have children of your own.”

• My son told me, “One day you will too.”


Rodney understands:

• I tell you, with my doctor, I don't get no respect.

• I told him, "I've swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills."

• He told me to have a few drinks and get some rest.


Rodney understands:

• With my dog I don't get no respect.

• He keeps barking at the front door.

• He don't want to go out. He wants me to leave.


Rodney understands:

• I asked my old man if I could go ice-skating on the lake.

• He told me, "Wait till it gets warmer."


We don’t get any respect

• Training ObjectivesTraining Objectives– Examine the reasons why adult

education gets no respect and support

– Explore strategies for moving adult ed from the margins to the mainstream

– Use program results to show our impact

– Design materials to document that impact


Come out of the Cold

• Get some respectGet some respect


Why Don’t We Get Respect?

• Activity # 1—Let’s ask Aretha– What Aretha Says– Questions 1 & 2- Whom do you

respect and why?– Questions 3 & 4—How do you earn

respect?– Question 5—Why is adult education

not respected?


What is respect?

Dimensions of respect:

– Cognitive: beliefs, judgments

– Affective: emotions, feelings

– Conative: motivations to act


Your message will have…

• Cognitive Elements– beliefs, judgments

• Affective Elements– emotions, feelings

• Conative Elements– motivations to act


Your message will have Cognitive Elements

• Beliefs Beliefs –they believe we are good

• AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements—they acknowledge we are good

• JudgmentsJudgments—they judge us as good

• DeliberationsDeliberations—they talk about how good we are

• CommitmentsCommitments—they commit to us


Your message will have Affective Elements

• EmotionsEmotions—our work evokes fulfilling response

• FeelingsFeelings—intuition tells them we are helping people -- they feel it

• Ways of experiencingWays of experiencing—knowledge acquired through senses rather than reasoning


Your message will have Conative Elements

• MotivationsMotivations—they have incentives to act on your behalf

• Dispositions to actDispositions to act—they have —they have the desire to act the desire to act


Your message will be…

• Cognitive– we do good work--and can help you

do good work

• Affective– we help people--the same people

you do

• Conative– we need your help -- to help both of

us do our job


What is respect?

• One mode of experiencing and acknowledging the value or significance of something.

• Appreciating the worth or importance


Adult Education

• Why are we important? – Showing the NEED

• What is our significance?– Proving our impact

• What is our worth or value?– Showing return on investment


Adult Education: the myths of marginality

• We get:– Limited federal funding

– Limited state funding in many cases

– Limited recognition from many of our host agencies


Adult Education: the myths of marginality

• And yet:– Our target population is greater than that

of K-12.– We provide immediate impact on the

nation’s workforce and families.– More adult education participants found

employment than those in Title I programs.– We meet a higher number of our

performance targets than Title I programs.– Adult education generates more money

than it spends.


Rodney understands:

• I get no respect.

• The way my luck is running, if I was a politician I would be honest.


Message to Target

1. Know the elements of your message.

2. Know the response you want it to have.

3. Identify the targets of the message.

4. Customize the elements of your message to get the response you want from each target.


Powerbrokers

• From whom do we need respect?

• Who are the powerbrokers?– State level

– Local level


Powerbrokers

• For each:– Cognitive—What would make them

believe and acknowledge our value?– Affective—What feelings or

emotions would we want to evoke in them?

– Conative—What would motivate them to act in our favor everyday?


Activity 2: Building the story

• Select one of your powerbrokers.

• What information do you have under the categories that would evoke one or more of the dimensions of respect?

• Briefly describe it in the appropriate column.


Rodney understands:

• I don’t get no respect.

• My father carries around the picture of the kid who came with his wallet.


Targeting your message

• Adult education impacts a variety of human service and social programs.– Health– Welfare– Workforce– Postsecondary– Corrections– Family Services


Targeting your message

• What are the greatest interests of your powerbrokers?

– What do they value? What is important to them?

– Build your message to reflect THAT.

– Show how adult education can help them be successful in what’s important to them!


Activity 3: What are you doing now?

• Share with your table partners any marketing efforts or materials you have developed that target particular needs or interests of your powerbrokers.


Putting your story together

• A look at the Michigan Impact Report templates

• Key components

• Customizing


Activity 3: How would you adapt?

• With your table partners, select and review three of the Impact Reports.

• What information do you have that you could include in it that is specific to your program?

• Are there changes you would make?


Communicating your story:Group Discussion

• Who could customize your impact reports?

• Do you have the funds to make quality copies? If not, what options are there?

• Could you ask one powerbroker to review them and make comments before widespread dissemination?


• Do you have other materials you would distribute with the report/s?

• How would you disseminate the reports and to whom?

Communicating your story:Group Discussion


Rodney understands:

• I was such an ugly kid ...

• when I played in the sandbox the cat kept covering me up.


Measuring the results

• What do you want to happen as a result of your respect initiative?

• How will you determine if it makes a difference?– Follow up interviews/conversations– Observable respect in the form of:

• Acknowledgement/Recognition• Appreciation• ACTION!!!

– Other?


Next Steps

• What do you have to do when you get home?

• What kind of timeline would help?

• Is this something MACAE might take on as a project?


Rodney understands:

• Its been a rough day.

• I got up this morning ... put on a shirt and a button fell off.

• I picked up my briefcase and the handle came off.

• I'm afraid to go to the bathroom.


Welcome to the Warm

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://dbs3670.tripod.com/palmtree.jpg&imgrefurl=http://dbs3670.tripod.com/&h=1704&w=2272&sz=937&tbnid=oN3ENw_nwn4J:&tbnh=112&tbnw=150&hl=en&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpalm%2Btree%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D&oi=imagesr&start=1


Always Willing to Help

• Kathi PolisKathi Polis

• [email protected]

• Lennox McLendonLennox McLendon

• [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


This project was developed by National This project was developed by National Human Resources Development, Inc. Human Resources Development, Inc.

(NHRD) and the National Adult (NHRD) and the National Adult Education Professional Development Education Professional Development Consortium in cooperation with the Consortium in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Labor and Michigan Department of Labor and

Economic Growth and funded through a Economic Growth and funded through a grant under Section 222(a)(2) State grant under Section 222(a)(2) State Leadership Activities of the Adult Leadership Activities of the Adult

Education and Family Literacy Act, Title Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Investment Act of II of the Workforce Investment Act of

1998, amended. 1998, amended.

For more information visit:For more information visit:http:www.maepd.orghttp:www.maepd.org

nobody knows… until you tell them packaging your program’s outcomes to build respect and support...

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dimensions of respect

supportkathi polis

importance polis

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adult educationpolis

adult educationwhy

rodney understandspolis

havecognitive elementsbeliefs