The German gymnasium teacher Alexander Kapp (1800-1869) was to all appearances the first one to use the "andragogy concept" as a term for "adult learning." In 1833 he published the book "Platon's Erziehungslehre, als Pädagogik für die Einzelnen und als Staatspädagogik. Oder dessen praktische Philosophie." This book…

Since the 1980s, educators in adult basic education and special education have speculated that a substantial if unknown percentage of adults have specific learning disabilities (LDs) and have sought to identify and address effectively the needs of these learners. Two rarely intersecting bodies of historical literature on LDs provide the background…

Many of the great successes in the history of American education have been in the adult learning area. Some examples include the Americanization of immigrants, the public library movement, cooperative (agricultural) extension, continuing professional education, and distance education. Despite these achievements, adult education has enjoyed little…

This paper identifies and describes specific applications of knowledge from other disciplines to adult education. It is observed that the concept of adult educators' borrowing from other fields has been widely discussed in both North and South America. Verner's criteria for selecting usable material are cited. The following four general topics of…

This paper reviews significant events and resources that have emerged since the 1992 publication of "Adult Literacy Education: Current and Future Directions. An Update" by Hanna Fingeret. It analyzes major milestones in research and practice in literacy education that have occurred in the last decade. The paper begins by looking at the…

This document contains six papers exploring emerging viewpoints, issues, and trends related to mentoring and adult learning. "Mentoring: From Athena to the 21st Century" (Catherine A. Hansman) traces the definitions of the term "mentor" and mentoring practices that have evolved since antiquity. "Emerging Perspectives on…

These 41 papers reflect the conference's focus on nonformal adult education. A major goal of the conference was to facilitate dialogue between researchers and practitioners who are concerned with lifelong learning issues. Four papers focus on aging, specifically intergenerational experiences, preretirement leisure counseling, aging of the work…

This handbook contains 48 articles on adult and continuing education. Part 1, which deals with adult education as a field of professional practice, includes articles on such topics as the social and historical contexts of adult and continuing education, adult education and international development, the voluntary sector and adult education, and…

These proceedings consist of 44 presentations in these categories: distance education and evaluation; community issues and research; multicultural issues and research; teaching and learning; research methods; and organizational development. The papers are "Philosophical Foundations of Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning" (Alfred);…

This book, which incorporates information gathered through research in the United Kingdom and the United States, explores the nature and importance of learning throughout the human life cycle. The following are among the topics examined: (1) learning and third age education (the emergence of education for adults, third age education); (2) learning…