Opportunities for success if functionally illiterate adults are educated and do educational opportunities exist for sustainable and livable concepts?" Carla L. Brown Public Policy & Administration – Local Government Management for Sustainable Communities May 7, 2011

Purpose The goal of this study is to determine the ability for functionally illiterate adults in Detroit; especially those displaced by the decrease in the automotive industry to gain the education necessary to start over again. Social change will be produced by creating an economically sustainable environment, enhancing public policy and greater good in addition to simultaneously improving education for our displaced stakeholders. The study will be important because the City of Detroit needs a bridge to assist displaced workers that are functionally illiterate in “re-inventing themselves” and positioning themselves for the new information age with a hands-on pedagogy.

Statement of the Problem As the City of Detroit rebounds from lucrative years in the industrial age, the assumption is that 47% of the adult population in the city is functionally illiterate (Detroit literacy coalition, 2008). Does the opportunity exist to create training opportunities that will bridge the gap for these adults and position adults for training in sustainable and livable concepts with a hands-on pedagogy? To assess the ability of unemployed Detroit citizenry to gain meaningful employment, research will be collected. Can we then encourage businesses to come to Michigan as we will have the potential workforce to complete the jobs (Brown, 2010)?

Research Questions and/or Hypothesis What social change will be promoted as a result of education and instruction in sustainable and livable concepts in the Metropolitan Detroit area? The question being answered in the research suggests that both a qualitative and a quantitative model should be used to gain a sense of the phenomenon that the Metropolitan Detroit area finds itself in as a result of economic crisis. Is there a value-added component that will be gained by offering education and instruction to our displaced workers? How will the functionally illiterate adult population here in Detroit be able to position themselves for success if we are unclear what pedagogy will work best for the subject? Is one approach favored over another for implementation of educational programs for displaced workers not interested in gaining education and instruction in Metro Detroit?

Research Methodology The sample population will include unemployed individuals that have been displaced as a result of the decrease in the automotive industry. The sample will include participants that have not secured employment after six months of unemployment at Michigan job banks within the City of Detroit or “No Worker Left Behind” programs. Additional sample participants will be employees in the job banks, data mining and collaboration with Data Driven Detroit, an organization located in Detroit that “provides accessible high-quality information and analysis to drive informed decision- making that will strengthen communities in Southeast Michigan” (Data Driven Detroit, 2010), “No Worker Left Behind” and other community job retraining programs that see the effects of the lack of education and can assist with data of participant interest for employment.

Research Design The mixed-method research study would include case studies and interviews (if possible) of no less than 20 individuals in the City of Detroit displaced as a result of unemployment and have not been able to secure employment because of limited education. These interviews will place emphasis on individuals that worked in the automotive industry and are displaced as a result of downsizing. Data analysis will support the discoveries of the research via census records for education, state databases with unemployment statistics against education and participation in job retraining banks.