For more than 50 years, governmental and independent reviews have published proposals for strengthening adult learning opportunities, showing a remarkable consistency in the advice offered to government. They have, however, had little more than short-term impact on policy or provision. Since the early 2000s, under the influence of neoliberal…

The literature regarding the social organisation of 'adult' learning opportunities throughout the life course postulates different significations of policy concepts such as 'lifelong education', 'permanent education', 'recurrent education', and 'lifelong learning' in the 1970s. This paper examines policy formation processes in France during the…

The need for individual, community and institutional lifelong learning grows and changes with turbulent social, political and economic change. The national adult education non-government organisation (NGO), Adult Learning Australia, can influence the course of policymaking and ultimately the national culture through diverse activities within or…

The world of work is changing. Digitalisation, deepening globalisation and population ageing are having a profound impact on the type and quality of jobs that are available and the skills required to perform them. To what extent individuals, firms and economies can harness the benefits of these changes critically depends on the readiness of adult…

Validation of prior learning (VPL), also referred to as recognition, validation and accreditation of prior learning (RVA), is becoming an increasingly important political issue at both European and international levels. In 2012, the European Council, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation…

Most of us realize that increasing the education of adults who did not complete high school is good. Fewer of us realize just how good. This report on one of the Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB) Challenge to Lead Goals for Education focuses on the considerable impact of closing the education gap for these adults in SREB states. The…

This article tells the story of policies relevant to education, ageism and older adults between 1999 and 2005. It follows an article published in a previous "New Zealand Journal of Adult Learning" that described and critiqued policy developments between the 1980s and 2001. The story is located in the context of ongoing historical…

Sustaining reform requires district leaders to develop a supportive infrastructure, nurture professional communities, reduce turnover, and use facilitators to build capacity. Bringing educators up to speed means providing abundant staff development, balancing pressure with support, providing adult learning time, and reducing fragmentation and…

The Minnesota Department of Education's Office of Community and Adult Basic Education commissioned an evaluation the 18 adult refugee English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs funded in 1985-86 through the Minnesota Refugee Program Office of the Department of Human Services. The purpose of the evaluation was to identify effective practices and…

The current and future role of educational technology in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction in the United States is examined, drawing on practice, literature, and the experiences of an Arlington, Virginia program. Throughout, policy implications are drawn from the discussion. First, the ESL service delivery system is examined and…

This report presents the results of a research development project to establish a suitable structural framework for the development of a European policy in the field of adult language learning. The report is divided into six sections: (1) the introduction in which the purpose of the work and the operative questions are discussed; (2) a discussion…

In February 2000, the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) cosponsored a national literacy summit of more than 100 representatives from the field of adult literacy and basic education in Washington, DC. During the summit, 29 adult literacy teachers from 5 states (Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, and…

Based on 5 years of empirical research conducted in 24 countries from every region of the world, this book examines the content and dynamics of adult learning policies and strategies, including the measures to promote the expression of learning demand and the new role of the state and other institutions. After presenting a reconstructed and…

A working group of professionals and practitioners from across England was formed to identify the basic skills needs of and adults with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and to determine how to better meet those needs. The working group sent out a "call for evidence" and used its own networks to gather evidence. The evidence was…

This document consists of 12 papers that, together, summarize the key issues underpinning future research and policy development related to intergenerational programs (IPs). "Introduction" (Alan Hatton-Yeo) discusses the project out of which the papers developed. "A General Assessment of IP Initiatives in the Countries…