Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the international history of community culture and culture-based adult learning through showing the initiatives of a Post-Socialist country through introducing some initiatives from 1950, without claim for completeness. Additions to the History of Community Culture and Culture-based Adult…

Institutionalised forms of adult learning and education (ALE) such as community learning centres (CLCs) and related models are found in most parts of the world. These are spaces offering opportunities for literacy and skills training, health and citizenship, general, liberal and vocational education, in line with fuller recognition of the meaning…

When academics, who occupy a traditional position of power and privilege, engage with community members whose thinking, attitudes, and responses have been shaped by ongoing sociohistorical oppression and disadvantage, democratic participation is not easy to attain. Yet, unless community members feel able to participate freely, the valuable local…

Like a lot of people, the author has been trying to get his mind around David Cameron's Big Society agenda, and what it means for his own institution, City Lit. There has already been a lot written about this subject, especially in the press, much of it reflecting a degree of scepticism. Where to start? The author thinks the Prime Minister tried…

Political leaders like to put forward guiding ideas or themes which pull their individual decisions into a broader narrative. For John Major it was Back to Basics, for Tony Blair it was the Third Way and for David Cameron it is the Big Society. While Mr. Blair relied on Lord Giddens to add intellectual weight to his idea, Mr. Cameron's legacy idea…

It is just about impossible to find an adult education department in Canada that does not have a critical social justice orientation, quite often oriented to community development. Many of the faculty identify themselves with the local and or global activist community, and they see their work as merging learning and justice concerns to build up…

This book assembles over 50 papers from the 7th Triennial European Research Conference of the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA), which was held from the 4th to the 7th of September 2013 at Humboldt-University in Berlin. The title of the conference was "Changing Configurations of Adult Education in Transitional…

This chapter examines the cultural influences and applications of women's social capital networks on women's knowledge construction, community development, and autonomy within their cultures and the adult learning context.

In March 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledged that the situation in the Chinese countryside is desperate and claimed new resources would be devoted to healthcare and education. This announcement should have pleased architects of the Chinese "learning initiative" who are building learning cities and villages. The authors describe why…

Describes a recent community education pilot scheme organized by Islington Adult Education Institute in North London. Also discusses the process of learning in adults, economic factors affecting a neighborhood, criticisms of community work, the "process" view of learning, and the challenge for adult educators. (CT)

Discusses historiographic issues involved in researching learning in community and gives a brief history. Describes three types: autonomous learning groups, community development groups, and community action groups. Poses critical questions for understanding the relationship between learning and community. (Contains 54 references.) (SK)

The Antigonish Movement, a Nova Scotian community development approach, and a Sri Lankan community-based adult education movement are used to illustrate spiritual principles for adult education/community development: ecological base, social justice, human dignity, community base, action for liberation, and combined action and reflection. (SK)

The Process Model of Experiential Learning, expanded from Dean (1993), is based on stages adapted from Pfeiffer and Jones (1983) and assumes a group of learners working together under the guidance of a group leader or facilitator. The model consists of seven stages, each composed of four different functions: leader's role regarding the content of…

IN THIS COMPILATION OF ABSTRACTS OF 78 DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS AND MASTER'S THESES PREPARED AT FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY IN ADULT EDUCATION AND RELATED FIELDS, 48 PERCENT COME FROM THE FIELD OF EDUCATION (EDUCATION, HOME AND FAMILY LIFE, AND SOCIAL WELFARE), 6 PERCENT FROM PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY, AND THE REMAINDER FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS. RESEARCH…

This document is a tentative effort to lay out some of the components and implications of the "learning how to learn" concept. It is intended to be used in theory building and practical applications in the realm of adult education. Four chapters are included: The Concept (with the subheadings Concerning Terminology, The Learner's Needs, Some…