Adult and Community Educators: Dr. Ching Mey See and Dr. Nicelma King

Mishele Adams

Kim Clist

Joe DeGraaf

3/12/17

Group Member	Roles	Commented On
Mishele Adams	Planned roles, structure of paper and timeline. Researched See. Edited paper, completed summary table	Group 4
Kim Clist	Planned roles, structure of paper and timeline. Researched and interviewed King. Edited paper, completed summary table	Group 1 & Group 4
Joe DeGraaf	Planned roles, structure of paper and timeline. Wrote and edited paper, created references and citations.	Group 1, 3 (in email), and 4

Introduction

        Adult community educators do not tend to hold the spotlight for global praise or recognition. Their tireless efforts often go unnoticed and underappreciated. Dr. Ching Mey See and Dr. Nicelma King are two educators whose work in the areas of community and adult education deserve the highest praise and special acknowledgment.

Background

        Dr. See was born in 1956 and throughout her storied career has contributed immensely to not only her country of Malaysia, but also to the international field of education. The Malay culture is one of diversity. With the population being comprised of Malays, Chinese, and Indians, there is no one distinct culture (Kennedy, 2000, pg. 44). A distinct history of communal living no doubt influenced Dr. See’s attraction to community education and she has carried this focus throughout her career (Kennedy, 2000, pg. 46).

        Dr. Nicelma King’s story takes place closer to home, having come of age in the 1960s in California. During an interview with one of the authors she described what her mother calls “first colored syndrome,” where she has been the first black person or the first black woman to achieve many things throughout her life and career. She explained she has been able to accomplish much of this because she chooses to disregard what others may think of her and to just “charge in and do it” as a means of adapting and always moving forward.

Profile

        Dr. See received her bachelor’s degree with honors as well as her diploma in education and her master’s of education degree from the University of Malaysia in 1979, 1980, and 1987 respectively (Ching, 2017). After this, she went on to earn a doctorate in philosophy from Ohio State University in 1996 (Ching, 2017).

        Dr. See’s studies propelled her to a career in education and counseling where she has contributed a wealth of material for educators throughout the world. Dr. See has published “20 academic books and more than 250 international and national academic journal papers/chapters” (See, 2016). She has served in a variety of capacities for the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), where she is currently a professor. While her academic pursuits take up much of her time, she is also a council member for several international organizations including the International Association for Counseling and the National Board of Certified Counselors International (See, 2016).

As a licensed and registered counselor with the Malaysia Board of Counselors, she has focused several of her many works on the topics of psychology and counseling for communities. Her main areas of research include mental health, counselor education, as well as educational psychology. Her work sheds light on new and important practices to improve educational opportunities for potential learners throughout the world.

Dr. King earned her bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and PhD from UCLA. She then spent nine years as a social science researcher at a local community college and then at USC. Dr. King “served as local Director of the University of California's non-formal, non-credit public service education program from 1981-1988” (International, 2015).

Since 1988, she has been the Director of the North Central Region of the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (International, 2015). She has also served actively for the Black Leadership Coalition on Education and the Board of Directors of the Santa Monica YWCA (International, 2015). Dr. King has spent much of her professional career working toward providing mental health and nutrition education to diverse communities in California.

Perspectives

        Dr. See’s work has seen a considerable focus on providing educational programs for individuals with disabilities, whether they are children, adults, or seniors. Her efforts are facilitated by her department at USM, though her other professional activities keep her active in other communities throughout the region. Based on the subject matter of many of her articles as well as her professional involvements, Dr. See has a passion for reaching underprivileged and underrepresented individuals.

Dr. See has put her expertise in education and in psychology to use in reaching rural communities with enrichment programs like My Village Adoption (International, 2016) in addition to research that benefits individuals with autism, such as a recent article on animal assisted therapy for autistic children (Mey, 2017). Through much of her work, Dr. See attempts to reach those who need assistance, guidance, or help by providing education and psychological support programs.

Dr. King explained to us that she does not “have any global educational philosophies.” She went further stating, “You can’t have hard and fast rules. Every situation is so unique.” However, Dr. King believes that one of the most important things a community educator can do is to remain humble when interacting with the difficulties in people’s lives. This humility lends more credibility to the learner and forces the educator to seek to understand the individual as well as their unique situation. In this way, we can treat each learner with the respect that they deserve, no matter the differences we share.

Dr. King argues that one of the most significant issues facing community educators today is irrelevancy in light of improved technologies. With the dawn of search engines and instantly accessible information online, Dr. King questions what the role of the educator is and can be. She noted that the information often found online is absent of proof or fact. Even if the information is indeed true, the learner does not have the context or the skills to apply what they have learned. This, she explains, is the challenge for educators in the coming years.

Contributions

Dr. See’s greatest contribution has often been to build up the regional network known as Asia-Pacific University-Community Engagement Network (APUCEN) (International, 2016). APUCEN works to promote and instill community engagement, capacity building, information and resource sharing, and to work as a platform for joint flagship projects among the Asia-Pacific member schools (Objectives, 2016). As part of her work for this organization, Dr. See seeks to bring a closer sense of community and thereby improve the educational opportunities and progress of Malaysia and the surrounding region.

Dr. See’s heavy involvement in an astounding number of organizations, conferences, and literary works allow her to have a far-reaching impact on community development. She has employed her prolificacy to influence individuals and organizations throughout the world, and especially in the Asia-Pacific region, toward a stronger network of communities that allows for the disabled, underrepresented, and uneducated to gain the opportunities they need to achieve greater lifelong success.

Dr. King was inducted to the International Adult Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 1996 (International, 2015), the same organization that inducted Dr. See in 2016 (International, 2016). She has authored or co-authored more than fifteen RAND Reports for the RAND Corporation, which is an organization that researches and “develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous” (About, 2017). These papers focus on evaluating the civil rights efforts within school districts, in particular measuring the success of desegregation efforts. Her Journal of Extension article, “Increasing African-American Participation in Nutrition Education Programs for Low-Income Consumers,” takes aim at the significant decrease in utilization of nutritional education programs by African-Americans. The study identified more relevant strategies to reach these audiences (King, 2004). Dr. King has also written several papers for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

In addition to her scholarly work, Dr. King presented at the Symposium to Examine Black Mental Health Disparities, which sought to help practitioners recognize and understand the impact of microaggressions. She also helped orchestrate “the provision of many innovative programs involving 4-H ASAP, an after-school activities program in public housing communities and Gardening Angels, a volunteer-based gardening and community improvement program focused on low income areas of the city” (International, 2015).

Impact

        Dr. See’s impact cannot be particularly defined as it is too broad and far reaching. At the very least, her efforts to increase education and opportunity to the underprivileged has improved education at USM. Her contributions to academic literature have allowed her valuable lessons and experience to shape how community programs are formed and operate. She has made her mark on the Asia-Pacific region, improving the cultural connections and networking that allow for a more fully functioning education system.

        In 1996, Dr. King was recognized by the International Adult Continuing Education Hall of Fame for being an up and coming educator as well as a vocal advocate for community education and land grant universities. She went on to explain in her interview that she ultimately believes she was awarded because she was a woman of color. However, she explained that why she was chosen matters far less than the impact she is making on her communities. She continued by saying that learners benefit from seeing people who have a similar appearance to them and that this can help diminish some issues of credibility and trust. As such, Dr. King has been able to successfully pursue her passions in nutritional and mental health education for underserved audiences, including a large percentage of people of color.

Implications

        The community educators examined above come from varied and vastly different backgrounds and experiences. Their differences are many but their impacts have been equally profound. Each has helped to shape their communities and to work toward the betterment of the underprivileged.

        Community educators can learn many things from these educators, not least of which is to have clear understanding of who they are serving. Discovering which communities an educator can provide the most benefit to is integral to success. Each of these educators was able to use their distinctive situations to reach their community, seeking out the issues and challenges unique to them and searching for ways to make positive change.

        Both Dr. See and Dr. King have actively worked to find what areas in education are lacking for their communities. Dr. See has noted the lack of network and opportunity for the mentally disabled as well as the Asia-Pacific region at large. Dr. King has accurately noted the shift toward an internet age where fact and evidence are losing importance. Community educators must look to the trends and patterns in the world around them, as well as the communities they belong to, in order to pursue solutions to challenges that may not yet be visible. It is this continuous effort toward progress that has made each of these educators notable and successful. It is this same effort that community educators must adopt.

Conclusion

        Dr. See and Dr. King are highly successful individuals in the field of adult and community education. They have embraced their unique settings and circumstances in ways that have brought about positive change and awareness. Their work stands as a testament to those who would aspire to benefit their own community, to fight for equality and opportunity, and to see the world progress toward positive change.

Table 1. Summary of Adult Educators

	Ching Mey See	Nicelma King
Time period	1980s-Present	1960s - Present
Background	Advocate for the underprivileged and disabled community, specifically in the Asia-Pacific region.	Advocate for underserved audiences, especially people of color in education
Profile	BA, MA from University of Malaysia. PhD from Ohio State University. Current professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Malaysia Board of Counselors	BA, MA, and PhD from University of Southern California. Educator at UC-Davis, Family Living Educator with Cooperative Extension
Perspectives	Focus on providing educational programs for individuals with disabilities and autism; specifically focuses on helping the Asia-Pacific region.	Focus on nutrition education and medical access. Community Education must come from a place of having humility and being open to the unique situations/needs of learners.
Contributions	Published over 20 books and 250 international and national academic journal papers/chapters. Malaysia Board of Counselors.	Research, scholarly articles. presentations and curriculum geared toward reaching underserved audiences in humble and equitable ways. 4-H ASAP, and Gardening Angels
Impact	International Adult Continuing Education Hall of Fame, 2016.	International Adult Continuing Education Hall of Fame, 1996.
Implications	The lack of network and opportunity for the mentally disabled as well as the Asia-Pacific region at large	Equitable education is still an issue to be addressed in our society, and in order to reach underserved audiences, educators must remain relevant, particularly in the age of digital information as well as  humble amongst the communities they serve. King says, “Even irrational beliefs must be treated with respect.”

References

About the RAND Corporation | RAND. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/about.html

Ching Mey See (born October 7, 1956), Malaysian psychology and counseling professor | Prabook. (2017). Retrieved from http://prabook.com/web/person-view.html?profileId=300776

International Adult Continuing Education Hall of Fame. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.halloffame.outreach.ou.edu/1996/king_n.html

International Adult Continuing Education Hall of Fame. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.halloffame.outreach.ou.edu/2016/See.html

Kennedy, J. (2000). Malaysian culture and the leadership of organisations: a GLOBE study. Malaysian Management Review, 35(2), 42-53.

King, N., & Turner, B. (2004). Increasing African-American Participation in Nutrition Education Programs for Low-Income Consumers. Journal of Extension, 42(3). Retrieved from https://www.joe.org/joe/2004june/a7.php

Mey, S. (2017). Animal Assisted Therapy for Children with Autism. International Journal Of Child Development And Mental Health, 5(1), 29-42. Retrieved from https://www.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/cdmh/article/view/76405

Objectives of APUCEN. (2016). Retrieved from https://apucen.usm.my/index.php/en/about-apucen/objectives-of-apucen

See Ching Mey — Home. (2016). Retrieved from http://pacfaccaascape.w.pacfa.currinda.com/see-ching-mey