Adult life consists of alternating periods of stability and transition. The nature of life transitions in adulthood and their potential for learning and development are the focus of this chapter.

How adults change over time is best understood through consideration of three kinds of time: historical time period, chronological age, and culturally specific social timetable of life events. Time provides a context for understanding developmental processes. (SK)

Examination of the library-learner dynamic within an environment of change defines literacy broadly and relates it to educational design. Libraries are placed within overall structure of the national education system and resulting cooperative efforts are described, as well as attributes of the adult and related stages of life development. (EM)

These narrative accounts follow a group of young adults searching for meaning during the ten years after their college graduation, and offer insights into how higher education might create conditions for this search to occur during college. This longitudinal study is based on interviews with 39 participants at various points during their…

This book is designed to influence adult educators to make more intentional choices toward developmental growth in their work with adult learners. Part 1 provides a rationale for attending to developmental growth of adult learners and a framework of intentions to encourage such development. Chapter 1 describes characteristics of adult learners and…

A study explored how adults perceived program learning; whether program learning helped them enact a particular social role; and whether they changed while participating in the program. For a year or more, researchers studied experiences of learning and change of 41 adult learners enrolled in three programs--at a community college, family literacy…

The authors carefully followed for a year or more the inner experiences of learning and change of 41 ABE/ESOL (Adult Basic Education/English for Speakers of Other Languages) learners from all over the world. They were enrolled in three distinct U.S. programs (a community college, a family literacy site, and a workplace site), each oriented to…

How do ABE/ESOL (Adult Basic Education/English for Speakers of Other Languages) programs shape adult learners, and how do adult learners, in turn, shape their programs? Beyond the acquisition of important skills (such as greater fluency in the English language) what are the bigger internal meanings for adults of participating in ABE/ESOL…