Leisure education is an important part of community development as well as citizen engagement, and can be offered through a wide-range of providers. Community colleges have historically played an important role in offering these programs, yet little documentation has reported how they are operated or structured. The purpose for conducting the…

Adult education instructors are as diverse as the students they teach. Their professional backgrounds, training, licenses, and modalities of teaching (online, in person, open vs. closed enrollment, etc.) vary widely, which can make the planning of meaningful, effective professional development challenging. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a…

This chapter highlights several of the significant design and facilitation considerations used to support adult working learners pursuing online learning across educational contexts. These include the integration of inclusive online learning practices, the design and facilitation of quality interactions in the online environment, and application…

Trauma-informed practices have emerged as a promising approach to fostering equitable and inclusive learning environments. Initially applied in human services and K-12 education, these practices are expanding into adult and continuing education due to the pervasive nature of trauma. As the adoption of a trauma-informed approach grows, so does the…

This article examines the design structure and interface of online courses and explains how program-wide design standards can benefit the learner, educator, and organization as a whole. Standards in program design can help support learner success, and these examples serve as a guide when designing, updating, or improving online adult and…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Adult and Community Learning Services Unit and UPD Consulting engaged in a multiyear partnership to provide adult education providers across the state with people-centered, action-oriented training opportunities focused on antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI). This…

The process of migration to a new country brings with it a host of challenges, and therefore also learning needs. Some countries have systems in place to facilitate the transition of migrants into society, often including adult education programs. Those programs, however, cannot be effective if blithely designed in ignorance of the…

One in every six adults in the United States is an immigrant. These immigrant adults contribute to the vitality of local communities and economies across the country, but many also face barriers to integration and economic mobility, including limited English proficiency, varied levels of formal education, and persistent employment in low-wage…

Our nation's economy and global competitiveness depend on an educated, skilled workforce that can quickly adapt to changes in technology and business processes. Adult educators understand that adult learners need opportunities to obtain workplace and career management skills through work-based learning experiences that prepare them for the complex…

State adult education systems, which receive significant funding from the U.S. government, are the primary source of many key integration services for adult immigrants--from English classes and literacy programs to civics courses and some workforce development activities. Although such programs have existed for decades, the passage of the…

The need to develop international cross-cultural perspectives has led many educators to create study abroad programs for their learners. One way to support this learning in adult higher education is to offer education abroad programs -- often short-term international field experiences led by faculty for adult students. In the current study, we…

The following article describes how one organization, the Coady International Institute, met multiple monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning objectives while still staying true to its roots in transformative adult education. The Learning from Stories of Change (LSC) methodology brought together stories-based techniques with aspects of the…

Adult education programs play a critical role in preparing immigrants and New Americans (multilingual learners) for employment by building English language skills and supporting workforce preparation and training. Addressing multilingual learners' economic integration needs, one of the three pillars of immigrant integration, along with civic and…

In 2017, the government launched Career Learning Pilots in order to test the design and provision of various training approaches for working adults with low to intermediate skills. As part of this initiative, the Department for Education provided approximately £11.3 million in funding to pilot projects that offered flexible and accessible ways of…

Immigrant adults in the United States often have limited opportunities to learn English. To address this issue and to strengthen the preparation of future English language teachers, a practicum course offered in a Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL) program in California was modified to engage student…