In the winter of 2007, a small group of faculty and administrators at East Carolina University (ECU) began discussions with personnel at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Monroe, Virginia, regarding the education and continuing professional development of U.S. Army civilian interns and careerists (two types of…

Taxonomies are unavoidably infused with recommendations of what ought or ought not to be. Thus, use of descriptive taxonomies may have a normatively conservative effect independent of user intentions. The importance of taxonomies to adult education necessitates a critical understanding of their normative features. (SK)

Four types of program failure are (1) termination before implementing a planned program; (2) insufficient enrollment; (3) failure to meet participant expectations; and (4) failure to achieve objectives. Speculations about probable causes of failure can lead to principles for improving practice and to theories about program failure. (SK)

A study examined the situation-specific program development strategies used in 47 different settings in the southwestern United States from January 1987 to January 1988. Specialized and elite interviews were administered to program developers to identify the approaches that are being used and to determine how they relate to the approaches…

Adult learner participation in program planning is accepted more in theory than in practice. Resistance to change and contextual constraints inhibit its implementation. Strategies addressing these two obstacles can encourage participation in situations where it meets learners' educational needs. (SK)

There appears to be a gap between adult education "academics" and "practitioners." This article explores a plausible reason for this occurrence and considers one approach that might be adopted at yearly meetings to bridge this fissure--the adult education clusters game. (CT)

This Seminar guide is part of NCSALL's (National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy's) effort to help connect research and practice in the field of adult education and family literacy. The purpose of the three-hour seminar is to help practitioners, program directors, state staff, and other policymakers read and discuss NCSALL's…

Concerns about health care costs and quality are focusing increasing attention on physicians and their continuing medical education (CME). These concerns have produced several calls for "a new definition," "a new vision," "repositioning," "reinventing," and "transforming" CME. However, differences in conceptualizations and vocabularies have…

This comparative study explored differences in perceptions between Canadian and US post secondary faculty in the fields of adult education (AdEd) and human resource development (HRD) on program development issues in the emerging field of "workplace learning." In fall of 2001, The Adult Education and Human Resource Development Faculty…

This guide for current and prospective adult educators is a comprehensive, practical conceptual framework for planning, designing/implementing, and evaluating/accounting for adult education programs. Chapter 1 describes the programming process. Chapter 2 describes 13 nationally recognized models of the adult education programming process, the…

Social practice professionals' stubborn application of the quantitative paradigm of science in social contexts has created and perpetuated the current state of affairs such as high unemployment and rampant crime. The goal is to replace the traditional quantitative beliefs and assumptions with alternatives that create and perpetuate a more…

In this book, Ronald M. Cervero and Arthur L. Wilson offer a theory that accounts for planners' lived experience and provides a guide for developing effective educational programs for adults. The book presents three planning case studies that illustrate how power, interests, ethical commitment, and negotiation are central to planners' everyday…

Learning in Retirement (LIR) programs are formal programs predicated on the principle that adult learners are capable of developing, designing, and delivering high-quality instructional programs. Issues associated with teaching computer use to senior citizens were examined in a case study of a small private college's establishment of an LIR…

A process model for the restructuring of educational administration preparation programs is described, with a focus on program content, delivery, and context. Recommendations are made for utilization of a problem-solving, andragogical approach and for structured administrator preparation programs based on the integration of theory and practice.…

These proceedings contain 11 refereed papers and 2 symposia in which researchers and practitioners share research findings focusing on the link between research and practice in adult, continuing, and community education. "Literacy Skill Standards for the Workplace" (Eunice N. Askov) summarizes efforts leading toward voluntary industry skill…