This commentary urges researchers and readers to rethink definitions of adulthood and its relevance in literacy research by arguing that adult readers are distinct from children and even college students. More specifically, it argues that adult literacy learners (those reading at the 8th-grade level equivalent or below and those who did not…

In the authors' conference presentation, they sought to emphasize that in his well-known book, "Democracy and Education" (1916), John Dewey's goal was to describe an education appropriate to a democracy. They point out that he also believed that his approach was a more humane way of teaching and, as many have argued since (e.g., Paley,…

According to Debra Bragg, Amy Pickard's article "WIOA: Implications for Low-Scoring Adult Learners" (EJ1125478) offers a provocative analysis of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that is important for any educator to read, especially educators who work with adult learners in postsecondary education. Pickard's…

Good ideas have many parents, bad ones are often orphans. And since it is now 20 years since the first Adult Learners' Week in England, and the idea has been adopted and adapted to local circumstances in 55 countries, there must be something going for it. As the twenty-first Adult Learners' Week gets underway, the author reflects on the origins of…

This article examines the kind of space formed by philosophical discussion of education with lower-income, adult learners making their way back to structured education amidst work and life responsibilities. It explores two new social contexts that define this experience of return to education. The first is the sociability of philosophical…

Demands of the modern workforce, coupled with rapid advances in educational technology, have created a new paradigm of doctoral learning. No longer designed with the traditional academic in mind, doctoral education has expanded to accommodate the expectations, demands, and expertise of working professionals. Simultaneously, traditional academic…

In Adult Learners' Week last year there was a first-time national award, sponsored by Pearson, for the Adult Apprentice of the Year. There were 81 nominees from across the age range and from a multitude of jobs. Staff at NIACE were keen to find out more about their stories so they analysed their nominations, asked for more information and…

From time to time, every educator asks the question "why am I doing this?" Some of the answers may relate to personal goals or needs, but some are invariably focused on beliefs about the impact their work has on learners. For postsecondary educators, those answers may include thoughts about increased employability or better citizenship or mastery…

After so many years of invisibility, adult students in higher education have finally begun to come into their own. As a newly discovered marketing niche, adults are seen by budget-driven college administrators as important financial plums. As vocal advocates for their own needs, they have made the issue of access a legitimate consideration in the…

During the affluent noughties it was sometimes said of government that it had "more visions than Mystic Meg and more pilots than British Airways". In 2011, the pilots, the pathfinders, the new initiatives are largely gone--implementation is the name of the game--but the visions remain. The latest one, as it affects adult learners, is in…

In a previous study it has been suggested that there are six stages that adults move through before they feel ready to participate in higher education, and proposed a chain-of-response (COR) model to describe the process. In this study we examine the reported experiences of nine adult entrants during the second year of a work-related degree…

This essay offers a commentary on how the relationship between language and literacy practices in and out of school has been conceptualized. It draws upon two new books in the field. Shirley Brice Heath's new book, "Words at Work and Play: Three Decades in Family and Community Life," which makes use of rich ethnographic accounts of…

Today the system of supplementary professional education (SPE) is the main institutionalized subunit that is oriented toward "adult learners". Surveys have shown that in many cases investment in SPE is more profitable, predictable, reliable, and short term than that in any other form of education. Data on supplemental professional…

This book offers new readings of the theory, politics, policy, and practice of radical adult education and learning where people's lives are understood as complex and interrelated matters. Brookfield and Holst's poetics and deeply human prose sound rebellious; the authors confront some of the main radical trends in the field of adult education…

This article aims to continue the conversation initiated by Denis O'Sullivan in the 2008 issue of the "Adult Learner". O'Sullivan raises several important points about the nature of Irish adult education and the need to develop a rigorous theoretical basis for the authors' work. The authors wish to engage with O'Sullivan's observations…