This research explored the transformational and co-transformational potential of collage, assemblage and mixed media in an accelerated undergraduate adult course on imagination and creativity. The methods were qualitative and arts-based artist-teacher inquiry within a constructivist art class for ten, female adult learners. Informed by the…

For the past 40 years adult learning theory has stressed the need for adults to share in the planning of their own learning and socially construct new knowledge by building on their background knowledge and life experiences. Despite growing acceptance of social-constructivist pedagogies in community-based literacy programs and even corporate…

Effective communication with teachers is a critical element of any successful professional development. Teachers are the foundational component of any educational system. It is vital that adequate attention is focused on appropriate and effective training of these teachers. Ideally, professional development offers a means of collaborative support…

This qualitative research study explores key challenges and literacy needs of adults from war-affected backgrounds. Poverty, stress and anxiety, years of formal education, and lack of English language proficiency were cited by the adult learners as barriers to fulfilling their potential. This study also presents perspectives of teachers who have…

When adult learners return to formal education after a period of absence, coping with change is a constant and often omnipresent challenge. As they come to break down previous barriers to success in an educational arena, many adult learners are able to change the perceptions they have of themselves as learners. Previously held assumptions are…

This case study examines a group of archaeologists working at a new project that strives to be more environmentally friendly and community inclusive, and positions these archaeologists as adult learners who are simultaneously creating a new vision of archaeology and learning to enact new forms of archaeological practice. Using the framework of…

This report describes the general features of "online learning communities," community organizations that have constructed learning delivery systems that effectively combine elements of the distance learning and traditional models of instruction. It discusses the online learning community framework and explains the four features of these…

Life is more complex than ever for adults in the 21st century as a result of technological advances; the changing nature of work, workplaces, and working relationships; international economic competition; the changing demographics of workers, families, and communities; and longer life spans. Learning to cope with all these changing…

This book narrates the story of a literacy circle that was created by adults who were attending basic literacy and new reader classes. The introduction provides in-depth discussions of each of the seven principles of dialogic learning, which are as follows: egalitarian dialogue; cultural intelligence; transformation; instrumental dimension;…

Robert Kegan's constructive-development theory of adult growth postulates three different ways of knowing (instrumental, socializing, and self-authoring) and suggests that, although individuals develop differently, individual development can never be separated from culture. The potential of the constructive-development perspective on adult…

The Bob Steele Reading Center was established in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1986 under board and staff leadership of the Literacy Volunteers of America-Connecticut (LVA-CT). The center has been under the management of Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford (LVGH) since 1989. Located in an alternative high school in a predominantly Hispanic…

This document contains the proceedings of a 1999 conference on adult, continuing, and community education held in St. Louis, Missouri. The following 39 papers are included: "Program Effectiveness Evaluation: Recertification and Job Upgrading for Adult Refugees" (Non-Native Speakers of English) (Adelman); "Rethinking the Linkages between Higher and…