Background/Context: The implications of complexity theory have become a recurring topic in the literatures of a wide range of scholarly and professional fields including adult education. This paper builds on literature calling attention to the educational need for pedagogically addressing the implications of the intensifying complexity in the…

Engineering educators are often not familiar with the theories and research findings of educational psychology, adult development, curriculum design, and instruction design. Even the published research in engineering/computing education does not sufficiently leverage this body of knowledge. Often in the educational reports and recommendations by…

In this article, we examine adult education literature as it relates to all aspects of popular culture. After an extensive literature review we found that, increasingly, adult educators are investigating popular culture's connection with adult education and learning; however, we argue that much more work needs to be done in this area, specifically…

Adult development theory can assist supervisors in understanding the needs of staff member sin various stages on their psychosocial and career development. A chart was created that identifies developmental tasks or challenges many student affairs professionals face during their working lives, and approaches supervisors may use to assist staff in…

This paper explores the ideas of six adult educators from the 1920s to determine the relevance of their thinking to modern adult educators. Three were chose from Britain: Albert Mansbridge, Basil Yeaxlee, and Richard Tawney. From the United States, three influential theorists in the area were Edward Thorndike, John Dewey, and Eduard Lindeman.…

Numerous models have been developed to analyze the relationship between adult education, adult learning, and adult development. Squires' contingency model postulates that the how of teaching is determined by the nature and characteristics of the participants (the who), the content (the what), and the setting (the where) in which teaching takes…

Intended for adult educators, this book is a comprehensive overview and synthesis of what is known about adult learning. Part 1 describes the context of learning. Chapters 1-4 describe the following: the sociocultural context; the range of settings and ways they influence learners and the learning process; literature on who participates in formal…

The purpose of a review of course materials and teaching methods in the area of adult development and learning was to identify commonalities that existed in course titles, objectives, content areas, texts, required reading, resources used, course requirements, and instructional processes. Thirty-two course syllabi and 1 curriculum guide from 24…

This report focuses on the research aspects of the Equipped for the Future (EFF) project that works toward system reform for adult literacy and lifelong learning. Section 1 describes the EFF process 1993-97, the impetus for EFF, and approaches to system reform. Section 2 explores the research processes EFF uses to build a framework that could…

Many organizations are not satisfied that their methods of evaluating training are rigorous or extensive enough to answer questions of value to them. Complaints about Kirkpatrick's popular four-step model (1959) of training evaluation are that each level is assumed to be associated with the previous and next levels and that the model is too simple…

This report provides an overview of the second year of the Family Education and Training Program, a project constructed to: (1) investigate the impact of a comprehensive child care training program on the employability of low-income mothers; and (2) assess the effect of training and support in parenting and job readiness on parenting skills and…

New approaches to the education of older adults can be identified through a review of the literature on the following topics: developmental perspectives (including generativity and integrity) and adult development, life span habits (as determined by longitudinal research), gender roles, reminiscence, cognitive, and need-based learning. One of the…

The evolving role of work in society and the factors driving emerging trends in work were examined to assist career development practitioners in helping individuals deal with life-role balance. Donald Super's life-space theory was presented as a framework for adult career development and used as a backdrop for discussing how adults can crystallize…

This book provides information and strategies on how adult educators can integrate action learning concepts in their teaching practice. The book defines action learning as going beyond the traditional idea of "learn by doing" and applies it to various organizational cultures and educational contexts. Chapter 1 introduces the origins of action…