Master in Postsecondary, Adult, and Continuing Education

To develop adult educators who are able to anticipate and respond to the changing developmental issues of diverse adult learners, organizations, and communities.A specialty for those interested in the facilitation of adult learning in college and workplace settings. The Postsecondary, Adult, and Continuing Education program is offered at Portland State University.

The Postsecondary, Adult, and Continuing Education specialty at Portland State University is guided by a specific set of principles and values that is incorporated into course content and interactions:

• A commitment to social justice and equity
• The empowerment of change agents and agency
• The integration of theory, research, assessment, and practice
• The promotion of sound educational, social, economic, cultural, and environmental leadership and decision-making
• The development of reflective practitioners
• The fostering of life-long learning within inclusive, interdependent communities
• The utilization of appropriate and contemporary resources and technology
• Leveraging of multiple paradigms and perspectives to inform decision-making for the collective good

PACE learning outcomes

As a result of successfully completing the program, all graduates are expected to demonstrate their learning in the following core areas:

• Understand foundational concepts regarding individual learners across intellectual, emotional, and cultural dimensions.
• Apply the research and theoretical concepts of epistemology, pedagogy, and performance to individual educational practice.
• Understand foundational concepts (historical and current) of the organizational policies and procedures, alternate learning formats, and external forces that influence learning environments.
• Apply the research and theoretical concepts of learning environments to individual practice through the creation of equitable policies and programs, individual and group professional development, and sustainable organizational practices.
• Effectively use oral communication, written communication, research/assessment techniques, and technology appropriate to educational practice.