No “haughty and inaccessible ivory tower”: Laval University and Adult Education, 1930–1965

Abstract

Canadian universities today assert their social relevance through highlighting processes such as community engagement, knowledge mobilization, and the promotion of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Much can be learned about such processes through examining an era in which Canadian universities asserted their social relevance through another vocabulary: that of adult education and extension. This article provides a case study of adult education work undertaken at Laval University from 1930 through 1965. Through reconstructing programs and practices at Laval, this article offers insight into past and present efforts of universities to pursue educational objectives with which they are not traditionally associated. The article narrates an important chapter in Canadian educational history, and also elucidates five lessons of importance to contemporary educational scholars and leaders: beware of institution-centric thinking, know how you can help people make a living, partner with external organizations, play to your institutional strengths, and serve and learn from others.

Champions of democracy or agents of professionalization? The extension era at the universities of Toronto, Queen's, and McMaster

“…In terms of historical periodization, university extension in Canada began with public lectures offered at Dalhousie, Acadia, and McGill in the 1840s and 1850s (Dunlop, 1981), and in evening courses delivered by Laval in the 1870s (McLean, 2023a). However, sustained extension work began with the delivery of extramural courses by Queen's in the 1880s and the establishment of a Senate Committee on University Extension at Toronto in 1894.…”

“…From 1920 through 1960, hundreds of thousands of Canadians participated in university extension programs annually. Such programs included: “Better Farming Trains” through which the University of Saskatchewan provided instruction in agricultural production and rural household management (McLean, 2007a; 2007b); the “Antigonish Movement” through which St. Francis Xavier University engaged in cooperative education and development work with rural communities (Alexander, 1997; Welton, 2013); traveling lecturers and film circuits through which the universities of Alberta and British Columbia provided education and entertainment to widely dispersed rural communities (McLean, 2007c; McLean & Damer, 2012); and evening courses through which the universities of McGill, Laval, and Montreal delivered part‐time education (McLean, 2009, 2011, 2023a, 2023b; McLean & Rollwagen, 2010).…”