This article concludes a volume on emotions and adult learning with a conversation about the book itself. In this article, the authors reflect on the ways in which the preceding articles contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of emotions in adult learning.

Learning is an act of hope. Although adults enter learning experiences from many frames of emotion and cognitive beliefs, each views this experience as the purposeful choice for a new and different future, a future of hope and possibilities. For adult learners, the pursuit of higher education is a choice and a life-changing engagement. Given the…

This article describes different ways of understanding emotions and their role in adult learning. The author suggests that people's understanding of emotions is shifting from one where they are viewed as an obstacle to reason and knowing to more holistic and integral ways of knowing one's self and the world. In this article, he provides a…

Service learning is one of the most pervasive education innovations of the past generation and has demonstrated much success in connecting schooling with community service. Service learning is designed to be integrated into, and enhance, the academic curriculum. It is believed, and there is growing evidence to show, that participation in service…

This chapter, rooted in life span developmental research and theory, examines domains of subjective well-being: emotional, social, and psychological. What is the impact of these domains on the learner's experience of education? It invites the reader to consider implications for learning through the use of learners' narratives.

Emotions play a more significant part in the process of critique than many acknowledge, and we must take them into account when thinking about adult education practices.

Learning from program failure hinges upon acknowledging that everybody fails and having the ability to cope. Coping techniques may include accepting blame, denying failure, analyzing failure, blaming others, talking and sharing, remaining objective, using stress management techniques, and taking another risk. (SK)

Defines learning environment as the physical surroundings, psychological or emotional conditions, and sociocultural influences affecting the growth and development of an adult engaged in learning. Suggests that ingrained views of learning environments can be changed by perspective transformation, paradigm shift, and personal philosophy. (SK)

Context is vitally important for urban adult education because it tends to create physical, psychological, and sociocultural distance between and among learners and various providers of adult and continuing education programs, thereby creating barriers and the differential provision of adult learning opportunities for some urban populations.