In investigating the place of consumption in education it is necessary to question both critical theory's language of manipulation and neo-liberalism's language of rational action as ways of explaining the significance of consumption in people's lives and where it has assumed a central status in the contemporary social order. This paper argues…

This special book review section contains reviews of 18 books in adult and continuing education and development. Subjects include rural development, feminist discourse, group facilitation, Paulo Freire, professional development, social change, participatory action research, and the ecology of written language. (SK)

The article describes Iran's attempts to eradicate illiteracy. (MF)

The following papers are included: "Seminar's Focus on Practice Puts Action on the Human Level" (Margaret Gayfer); "Literacy: What Do Definitions Tell Us?" (Carman Hunter); "The Practice of Literacy in the Netherlands" (Ella Bohnenn); "The Approach of Popular Literacy Groups in Quebec" (Louise Miller); "Perspectives and Lessons from the Adult…

The article is a short historical survey of post World War II publications in adult education research. (MF)

Is there really a connection between "adult education" and "peace" today: or are many of today's adult educators so busy they are not interested in the big issues of the day? Or is it perhaps that concerns about "world peace" appear to be too remote to be influenced by adult education initiatives? The purpose of this…

The article identifies major influences contributing to the improvement in quality and quantity of adult education research in the United States. (Authors/MF)

A systems perspective of adult literacy assessment stresses use of comprehensive, holistic strategies. For literacy methods, systems theory emphasizes the holistic nature of the adult in relation to the complex web of systems. Systems theory applied to materials reflects the plurality of literacies and the need for a variety of materials. (SK)

This article reports on the authors' application of Freire's ideas as put forward in "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" regarding issues of adult illiteracy and disabled women in Trinidad and Tobago. The author used Freire's concept of the importance of learning the words of the oppressor, of getting people to talk together, of the teacher…

The study has hinted that programed learning among adults in Tanzania fares as well as face-to-face teaching among equivalent students, and that a combination of methods tends to produce better results than face-to-face instruction alone; further research, however, remains to be done with enlarged samples. (Author/AJ)

In this paper, the authors develop a conceptual framework for exploring the notion of "translating the art of citizenship." They then consider two particular examples from their work as university teachers which illustrate how they are trying to translate the art of citizenship by developing a more expressive pedagogy of citizenship. First, a CD…