他山之石：美國紐約市政府推行的成人繼續教育成功案例分析

Case Analysis of New York City's Adult Continuing Education Successes

紐約市為美國人口最多的城市。其多元族群背景所帶動產生的結果，對全球金融、商業、政治、媒體、教育、娛樂有極大的影響力。城市一年的預算為920億美金，其中就公共教育預算部分，多達210億美金，接受公共教育的對象人口為110萬人。就公共教育部分來說，以推展成人繼續教育最為成功。本文將檢討分析紐約市政府，如何在一個具有數百種族群和語言的複雜環境中，結合社會各種資源力量，善用現有的軟硬體，架構社會教育的藍圖，鼓勵成人參與學習。在這龐大的成人繼續教育學習計畫中，不僅讓失學者、移民或有志進修者可享有機會，培養他們的專業科目技能，提升他們的教育水準，加強他們進入就業市場的信心，並能貢獻所學，善盡其社會義務。普及的成人繼續教育，塑造了強烈的社區意識。所展現出來的成果，改變了整個城市。

New York City is the largest city in the U.S. Its multicultural background has created a tremendous impact on global economics, business operations, politics, media, entertainment and education. The city's annual budget is 92 billion dollars. That budget includes 21 billion dollars for public education, which serves more than 1.1 million students. One of the most highlighted public educational programs is its adult continuing education program. This paper will investigate the elements that the city government has fostered to make adult continuing education program a great success despite having multiracial and language barriers among the residents of the city. With various helpful resources, the city government made good use of existing software and hardware, and constructed a solid blueprint for the adult continuing education program which encourages adults to participate in learning. In this huge program, not only will drop-outs, immigrants or aspiring learners enjoy the opportunity to develop their professional subject skills, improve their educational standards, and strengthen their confidence in entering the job market, but also fulfill their social duties. This popular adult continuing education program has created a strong sense of community. The results have changed the entire city.